as in afraid
having or showing a shameful lack of courage
a cowardly bully who picks on the weak and defenseless vile charges that were made in a cowardly, unsigned letter
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in cravenly
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cowardly
Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024
Instead, the anti-death penalty interests in this country conduct their arguments in insidious and even cowardly ways, all in effort to avoid a clear yes or no debate about the death penalty itself.
—Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 26 Dec. 2024
Jon Watts and Christopher Ford's scripts for the first three episodes had already teased the blue alien character could be the beating heart of the show, and the fourth chapter doubles down on his role as a cowardly but compassionate soul.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 18 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for cowardly
Adjective
Taka, the more cowardly lion, will eventually earn a name that isn’t going to surprise anybody.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 19 Dec. 2024
Instead, the anti-death penalty interests in this country conduct their arguments in insidious and even cowardly ways, all in effort to avoid a clear yes or no debate about the death penalty itself.
—Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024
Adverb
Their allegations do not reflect a review of the actual evidence, and are a malicious and cowardly assault on the truth.
—Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 26 Dec. 2024
Jon Watts and Christopher Ford's scripts for the first three episodes had already teased the blue alien character could be the beating heart of the show, and the fourth chapter doubles down on his role as a cowardly but compassionate soul.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 18 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for cowardly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cowardly
Adjective
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In that moment, McConaughey exemplified a leader who isn’t afraid to embrace vulnerability—a trait that can foster trust and authenticity in any leadership role.—
Vibhas Ratanjee,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
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Don’t be afraid to geek out: The happiest people don’t play it cool.—
Jessica Weiss, Contributor,
CNBC,
1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Fresh off a terrifying election cycle that feels like a fever dream (or the most craven Ryan Murphy series), America in 2025 is downright disorienting.—
Christopher Rosa,
Glamour,
14 Feb. 2025
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Trump has already turned a national tragedy into a craven, baseless political attack by blaming DEI programs at the FAA and past administrations.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
31 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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And people who are scared are less likely to want to stay here.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Mar. 2025
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For people fresh out of school, my advice as a lawyer is, don’t be scared to seek counsel but above all, don’t be scared to ask for things.—
Joelle Diderich,
WWD,
4 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Musk and Trump must be stopped before more Americans are killed, and only those spineless Republicans in Congress can stop them.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
4 Mar. 2025
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His spineless vice president and defense secretary then echoed Trump’s garbage.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
31 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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And the really jaw-dropping part of AMLO’s gutless abdication?—
Tim Padgett,
Sun Sentinel,
18 Aug. 2024
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Two baseballs flew down toward the San Diego Padres’ Jurickson Profar from the left-field corner stands, the gutless moves of two cowards.—
Bill Plaschke,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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And this week, there’s a very nice sequence in which Matty walks a frightened Zoey, step-by-step, through what to expect when she gets arrested.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2025
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Igor tries to subdue Ani, who's frightened and enraged, kicking and screaming at the prospect of being separated from her new husband.—
Mandalit del Barco,
NPR,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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There was no fanfare — indeed no announcement or change in Oscar rules — but a firestorm of controversy resulted, followed by the Academy’s cowardly, pusillanimous silence on the issue.—
Armond White,
National Review,
5 Mar. 2025
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Mark Kelly Americans who are rightfully appalled by the pusillanimous response to anti-Semitism on college campuses have been pulling their donations and calling for restrictions on anti-Israel student groups.—
Arthur Levitt,
WSJ,
12 Nov. 2023
Adjective
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Even despite his loss to Cody Rhodes at Royal Rumble, Owens has been doing some of the best work of his career as a former babyface-turned-heel who feels justified in recent dastardly actions.—
Blake Oestriecher,
Forbes,
2 Mar. 2025
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Brooks' Spaceballs is primarily a Star Wars parody with Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and his alien sidekick, Barf (John Candy), rescuing Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga) from the Spaceballs – all while evading capture from the dastardly Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis).—
Grace Dean,
Space.com,
11 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cowardly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cowardly. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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