Cowardly

There is a strong feeling in favour of cowardly and prudential proverbs.

Cowardly, he slinked over to the window and peered suspiciously out into the empty street.

Tom is shy and cowardly.

Grr! Avoid not, unwelcome evil and cowardly beast!

Therefore, putting on one side imaginary things concerning a prince, and discussing those which are real, I say that all men when they are spoken of, and chiefly princes for being more highly placed, are remarkable for some of those qualities which bring them either blame or praise; and thus it is that one is reputed liberal, another miserly, using a Tuscan term (because an avaricious person in our language is still he who desires to possess by robbery, whilst we call one miserly who deprives himself too much of the use of his own); one is reputed generous, one rapacious; one cruel, one compassionate; one faithless, another faithful; one effeminate and cowardly, another bold and brave; one affable, another haughty; one lascivious, another chaste; one sincere, another cunning; one hard, another easy; one grave, another frivolous; one religious, another unbelieving, and the like.

"It would be cowardly of us to turn back now", the exhausted rebel leader said scratching his chin, "we should go forward to the bitter end."

To threaten the children of a blind fighter for human rights, who's daughter can't go to school, is extremely cowardly. A government who's guilty of that kind of abomination is not worth any respect from its population.

It was cowardly, and I'm sorry.

Although she calls all the others cowardly, she nonetheless lacks any courage herself.

The smaller and more cowardly the dog, the louder it barks.