coward
coward Lexical Profile
coward Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A person who lacks the courage to face danger, difficulty, opposition, or pain, and who readily gives way to fear.
"He refused to speak up during the meeting, worried that his colleagues would think him a coward for avoiding the controversy."
• adjective
Lacking courage or resolution; timid or faint-hearted (now chiefly literary or archaic).
"In the play, the protagonist reproaches his own coward heart for hesitating at the crucial moment."
Word Nuance & Usage
While 'coward' is overwhelmingly used as a noun in modern English, its use as an attributive adjective (e.g., 'a coward act') is chiefly literary or archaic, having been largely replaced by 'cowardly'.
• Rhymes for coward
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the 13th century from Old French 'coart', derived from 'coe' (from Latin 'cauda', meaning 'tail') plus the pejorative suffix '-ard', originally evoking the image of a frightened animal turning tail or tucking its tail between its legs.