— cowardliness , n.
/kow"euhrd lee/ , adj.
1. lacking courage; contemptibly timid.
2. characteristic of or befitting a coward; despicably mean, covert, or unprincipled: a cowardly attack on a weak, defenseless man.
adv.
3. like a coward.
[ 1275-1325; ME (adv.); see COWARD, -LY ]
Syn. 1. craven, poltroon, dastardly, pusillanimous, fainthearted, white-livered, lily-livered, chicken-hearted, fearful, afraid, scared. COWARDLY, TIMID, TIMOROUS refer to a lack of courage or self-confidence. COWARDLY means weakly or basely fearful in the presence of danger: The cowardly wretch deserted his comrades in battle. TIMID means lacking in boldness or self-confidence even when there is no danger present: a timid person who stood in the way of his own advancement. TIMOROUS suggests a timidity based on an exaggeration of dangers or on an imaginary creation of dangers: timorous as a mouse.
Ant. 1. brave.