Synonyms: faint-heartedness, weakness, softness, fearfulness More Synonyms of cowardice
cowardice in British English
(ˈkaʊədɪs)
noun
lack of courage in facing danger, pain, or difficulty
cowardice in American English
(ˈkaʊərˌdɪs)
noun
lack of courage; esp., shamefully excessive fear of danger, difficulty, or suffering
Word origin
ME & OFr couardise < couard: see coward
Examples of 'cowardice' in a sentence
cowardice
They are the legacy of years of neglect and political cowardice.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
To take to it with a chisel would be an act of intellectual laziness and moral cowardice.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Then he had the nerve to be pleased when it was little more than cowardice in the face of the enemy.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
It is a public health disaster, born out of outright political cowardice.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
His inertia was not cowardice, but political conviction.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Politics and religion are blended seamlessly with personal feuds, courage with cowardice.
The Times Literary Supplement (2012)
This left the two that had claimed most lives - cowardice and desertion.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
I understand their haste but future generations may not be as sympathetic to our cowardice and laziness.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Prime Ministers need many qualities, political cowardice is not one.
The Sun (2007)
That's completely wrong, a feeble excuse for laziness or cowardice.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
To pick on a country with half the population of Wiltshire was cowardice, not courage.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
There is, of course, a strong political case for cowardice in the face of the enemy.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Three hundred and six British servicemen were shot for offences against military law, including cowardice and desertion.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Quotations
To know what is right and not to do it is the worst cowardiceConfuciusAnalects
`I cannot do this. This is too much for me. I shall ruin myself if I take this risk. I cannot take the leap, it's impossible. All of me will be gone if I do this, and I cling to myself'J.N.Figgis
In other languages
cowardice
British English: cowardice NOUN
Cowardice is cowardly behaviour.
He openly accused his opponents of cowardice.
American English: cowardice
Brazilian Portuguese: covardia
Chinese: 胆小
European Spanish: cobardía
French: lâcheté
German: Feigheit
Italian: vigliaccheria
Japanese: 憶病
Korean: 비겁함
European Portuguese: cobardia
Latin American Spanish: cobardía
(noun)
Definition
lack of courage
He openly accused his opponents of cowardice.
Synonyms
faint-heartedness
weakness
People are always taking advantage of his weakness.
softness
fearfulness
pusillanimity
spinelessness
timorousness
cravenness
dastardliness
recreance or recreancy (archaic)
Quotations
To know what is right and not to do it is the worst cowardice [Confucius – Analects]`I cannot do this. This is too much for me. I shall ruin myself if I take this risk. I cannot take the leap, it's impossible. All of me will be gone if I do this, and I cling to myself' [J.N.Figgis]
Additional synonyms
in the sense of weakness
Definition
the state of being weak
People are always taking advantage of his weakness.