1.
[syn: cowardly, fearful]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Cowardly \Cow"ard*ly\, a.
1. Wanting courage; basely or weakly timid or fearful;
pusillanimous; spiritless.
[1913 Webster]
The cowardly rascals that ran from the battle.
--Shak.
[1913 Webster]
2. Proceeding from fear of danger or other consequences;
befitting a coward; dastardly; base; as, cowardly
malignity. --Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]
The cowardly rashness of those who dare not look
danger in the face. --Burke.
Syn: Timid; fearful; timorous; dastardly; pusillanimous;
recreant; craven; faint-hearted; chicken-hearted;
white-livered.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Cowardly \Cow"ard*ly\, adv.
In the manner of a coward. --Spenser.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
cowardly
adj 1: lacking courage; ignobly timid and faint-hearted;
"cowardly dogs, ye will not aid me then"- P.B.Shelley
[syn: cowardly, fearful] [ant: brave, courageous]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
117 Moby Thesaurus words for "cowardly":
abulic, afraid, anemic, asthenic, bashful, bloodless, caitiff,
chicken, chickenhearted, coward, cowed, craven, dastardly, daunted,
debilitated, diffident, dismayed, drooping, droopy, dull, effete,
etiolated, faint, fainthearted, faintish, fearful, fearing,
fearsome, feeble, feebleminded, flabby, flaccid, floppy, frail,
frightened, funking, funky, gone, goosy, gutless, henhearted,
imbecile, impotent, in fear, infirm, intimidated, invertebrate,
jumpy, languid, languorous, lily-livered, limber, limp, listless,
lustless, marrowless, milk-livered, milksoppish, milksoppy, mousy,
namby-pamby, nerveless, nervous, overtimid, overtimorous,
panic-prone, panicky, pigeonhearted, pithless, pliable, poltroon,
poltroonish, pooped, powerless, pusillanimous, rabbity, recreant,
rubbery, sapless, scared, scary, shaky, shivery, shrinking, shy,
sinewless, sissified, sissy, skittery, skittish, slack, soft,
spineless, spunkless, startlish, strengthless, timid, timorous,
trembling, tremulous, trepidant, trigger-happy, unhardened,
unmanly, unmanned, unnerved, unstrung, vile, weak, weak-kneed,
weak-minded, weak-willed, weakhearted, weakly, white-livered,
worthless, yellow