cowardly
/ˈkaʊədli/ adjective, adverb
Forms cowardlier cowardliest
- adjective Showing cowardice; lacking in courage; weakly fearful.
- adverb (archaic) In the manner of a coward, cowardlily.
Synonyms
craven backboneless base soft bitch-ass boneless caitiff candy-assed chicken chicken-hearted chicken-livered chickenshit courageless cowardish cowardy cowhearted cowish cravenhearted cringey dastard fearful
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English *cowardly (adjective) and cowardly (adverb), equivalent to coward + -ly. Displaced native Old English earg.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Wanting courage; basely or weakly timid or fearful; pusillanimous; spiritless.
- adjective Proceeding from fear of danger or other consequences; befitting a coward; dastardly; base; as, cowardly malignity. Macualay.
- adverb In the manner of a coward. Spenser.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “cowardly”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details