Cowardice

//ˈkaʊədɪs// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Lack of courage. countable, uncountable

    "The ſecond property of your excellent ſherris, is the vvarming of the blood, vvhich before (cold & ſetled) left the lyuer vvhite & pale, vvhich is the badge of puſilanimitie and covvardize: but the ſherris vvarmes it, and makes it courſe from the invvards to the partes extreames, […]"

  2. 2
    the trait of lacking courage wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
cowardlinesscowardlinessabject fearabuliaadynamiaaffright

Example

More examples

"There are several good protections against temptation, but the surest is cowardice."

Etymology

From Middle English cowardise, borrowed from Anglo-Norman cuardise (modern French couardise).

More for "cowardice"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.