If you describe someone as cowardly, you disapprove of them because they are easily frightened and avoid doing dangerous and difficult things.
[disapproval]
I was too cowardly to complain.
...a cowardly act of violence.
Synonyms: faint-hearted, scared, spineless, gutless [informal] More Synonyms of cowardly
cowardly in British English
(ˈkaʊədlɪ)
adjective
of or characteristic of a coward; lacking courage
Derived forms
cowardliness (ˈcowardliness)
noun
cowardly in American English
(ˈkaʊərdli)
adjective
1.
of or typical of a coward; shamefully fearful
adverb
2.
in the manner of a coward
SYNONYMY NOTE: cowardly, the general term, suggests a reprehensible lack of courage in the face of dangeror pain [a cowardly deserter]; craven implies abject or fainthearted fear [a craven fear for one's life]; pusillanimous implies an ignoble, contemptible lack of courage or endurance [pusillanimous submission]; dastardly connotes a sneaking, malicious cowardice that is manifested in a despicable act [a dastardly informer]
OPPOSITE: brave
Derived forms
cowardliness (ˈcowardliness)
noun
Examples of 'cowardly' in a sentence
cowardly
Our cowardly lion of a bureaucracy throws issue after issue into the long grass when confronted by the mice that roar.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The cowardly way he ended things has robbed any respect I had for him.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The only cowardly thing about him is that he will not tell us if it is winnable.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
It was a cowardly attack by a strong man on a distinctly weaker woman.
The Sun (2014)
Know that they have killed my son in the most cowardly way.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
He did not deserve to have it taken from him in a cowardly attack.
The Sun (2013)
It struck me as a cowardly way to behave.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
He offered to replace cash cowardly thugs stole from the 82-year-old.
The Sun (2008)
Will Eve be able to forgive him or are some acts too cowardly to ignore?
The Sun (2014)
To denounce or shrug off a call for co-operation is an easy and cowardly thing.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Something has to be done to stop this dreadful, cowardly act.
The Sun (2015)
Why reject him, in a cowardly way?
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
For big men, they sure are acting cowardly.
The Sun (2015)
It's a terribly cowardly thing to do.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
A more cowardly attack is barely conceivable.
The Sun (2012)
I thought it was a dreadfully cowardly thing to do.
The Sun (2013)
It was a cowardly attack.
The Sun (2011)
Studies have shown that people who commit such cowardly sickening acts against innocent defenceless animals move on to attack bigger things, such as people.
The Sun (2015)
What happened here was an unprovoked and cowardly attack,' he said.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Police branded the attack 'disgusting and cowardly'.
The Sun (2013)
But he added: 'It was a cowardly attack.
The Sun (2012)
Instead we are forced, through the cowardly acts of our superiors, to hide in shame.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
In other languages
cowardly
British English: cowardly /ˈkaʊədlɪ/ ADJECTIVE
Someone who is cowardly is easily frightened and so avoids doing dangerous or difficult things.
I was too cowardly to complain.
American English: cowardly
Arabic: جَبَان
Brazilian Portuguese: covardemente
Chinese: 胆怯的
Croatian: kukavički
Czech: zbabělý
Danish: kujonagtig
Dutch: lafhartig
European Spanish: cobarde
Finnish: pelkurimainen
French: lâche peu courageux
German: feige
Greek: δειλός
Italian: vigliacco
Japanese: 臆病な
Korean: 겁 많은
Norwegian: feig
Polish: tchórzliwy
European Portuguese: covardemente
Romanian: laș
Russian: трусливый
Latin American Spanish: cobarde
Swedish: feg
Thai: อย่างขี้ขลาด
Turkish: korkakça
Ukrainian: полохливий
Vietnamese: hèn nhát
Chinese translation of 'cowardly'
cowardly
(ˈkauədlɪ)
adj
[act]怯懦的 (qiènuò de)
[person]胆(膽)小的 (dǎnxiǎo de)
(adjective)
I was too cowardly to complain.
Synonyms
faint-hearted
The voters may be ready to punish the politicians who devised a faint-hearted solidarity pact.
scared
spineless
bureaucrats and spineless politicians
gutless (informal)
He has proved himself to be a gutless coward.
base
soft
yellow (informal)
You yellow dogs!
weak
a clash between a weak minister and a domineering civil servant
chicken (slang)
shrinking
fearful
I had often been very fearful and isolated.
craven
a craven need to please
abject
dastardly (old-fashioned)
He described the crime as a dastardly act.
boneless
timorous (literary)
He is a reclusive, timorous creature.
weak-kneed (informal)
pusillanimous
The authorities are too pusillanimous to deal with this situation.