Synonyms of cowardly
69 similar words · 1 opposite word
Another word for cowardly is white-hearted. Other synonyms of cowardly are chicken-hearted, mouse-hearted, rabbit-hearted, poor-spirited and low-hearted. The opposite of cowardly is brave.
Synonyms and similar words for cowardly
adjectiveShowing cowardice; lacking in courage; weakly fearful.
- cravenUnwilling to fight; lacking even the rudiments of courage; extremely cowardly.
- backboneless figurativelyCowardly, spineless.
- baseMorally reprehensible, immoral; cowardly.
- soft
- bitch-ass derogatoryWeak, cowardly; unmanly.
- boneless BritishLacking strength, courage, or resolve.
- caitiffEspecially despicable; cowardly.
- candy-assed Canada, USCowardly; timid; wimpy.
- chickenCowardly.
- chicken-heartedNot brave; lacking courage; cowardly.
- chicken-liveredCowardly.
- chickenshit slang, vulgarCowardly.
- couragelessDevoid of courage; fearful, cowardly.
- cowardy BritishCowardly.
- cowheartedCowardly.
- cowishFearful; cowardly.
- cravenheartedCowardly.
- cringeyCringing; cowardly.
- dastardMeanly shrinking from danger, cowardly, dastardly.
- dastardlyIn the manner of a dastard; marked by cowardice; pusillanimous.
- dickless figuratively, slangWimpy; cowardly; not manly.
- dough-faced USCowardly.
- faintheartedFaint of heart; irresolute; fearful.
- fearful
- fraidy USCowardly.
- gizzardless figurativelyLacking courage, cowardly.
- invertebrateCowardly, uncourageous; lacking character.
- gutlessCowardly; lacking courage or morals.
- hen-heartedCowardly; timid.
- kiasiUnwilling to take a risk for fear that something bad or unfavorable will happen; cowardly, overly cautious and...
- lily-livered figurativelyCowardly, lacking courage.
- liver-facedLily-livered; cowardly.
- low-heartedMorally reprehensible, cowardly, or untrustworthy.
- milk-liveredCowardly; timorous; lacking bravery.
- mouse-heartedCowardly; timid.
- mousy
- nervelessLacking nerve: fearful; cowardly.
- nutlessWithout nuts (testicles); cowardly or castrated.
- pigeon-liveredCowardly.
- poltroonishResembling a poltroon; cowardly.
- poor-spiritedCowardly.
- punkCowardly.
- pusillanimousShowing ignoble cowardice, or contemptible timidity.
- pussylikeCowardly.
- ratlikeResembling or characteristic of a rat, whether physically or (in behavioral terms) cunning, disloyal, or cowardly.
- rabbit-heartedTimid; cowardly.
- recrayedCowardly, recreant.
- retromingentCowardly.
- sissy derogatoryCowardly.
- spinelessCowardly, uncourageous; lacking character.
- timidLacking in courage or confidence.
- timorous
- unheartyNot hearty.
- weak-kneed
- white-heartedCowardly; lily-livered.
- white-liveredLily-livered; cowardly.
- wimpishCharacteristic of a wimp.
- yellowLacking courage.
- yellow-belliedUncourageous, cowardly.
- cowardish obsoleteCowardly.
- heartless obsoleteWithout courage; fearful, cowardly.
- invalorous obsoleteLacking valour; cowardly.
- liver-hearted archaicCowardly.
- miching US, dialectalHiding; skulking; cowardly or freeloading.
- milky obsoleteCowardly.
- niddering archaicSynonym of nithing (“cowardly, dastardly; notoriously evil or wicked; infamous”).
- nidering archaic
- niding archaic
- nithing archaicCowardly, dastardly.
Opposite of cowardly
adjectiveMore antonyms
- braveStrong in the face of fear; courageous.
Meaning of cowardly
- adjective Showing cowardice; lacking in courage; weakly fearful.
- adverb In the manner of a coward, cowardlily.
cowardly in other languages
Questions about synonyms of cowardly
- What is another word for cowardly?
- Cowardly has 69 synonyms on Word.ws, such as white-hearted, chicken-hearted, mouse-hearted, rabbit-hearted, poor-spirited, low-hearted, craven and base.
- What is the opposite of cowardly?
- The opposite of cowardly is brave.
- What does cowardly mean?
- Cowardly means showing cowardice; lacking in courage; weakly fearful.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: cowardly (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Synonyms of cowardly.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/cowardly. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.