coward
Lacks all nerve
A coward lacks courage to face danger, difficulty, or pain.
The word carries strong disapproval—to call someone a coward questions their character: He was too much of a coward to tell her the truth.
Cowardly behavior involves avoiding confrontation or risk out of fear rather than prudence.
Don't be a coward—just ask her out.
Lacking courage or determination
- faintheartedCowardly, easily discouraged
- chickenheartedLacking bravery or nerve
- lily-liveredWeak and easily frightened
- gutlessLacking bravery or nerve
spineless · yellow-bellied · weak-willed · timorous · cringing · cowering · shrinking · unheroic
Contemptibly lacking nerve
- poltroonAbject coward
- recreantDisloyal coward
- caitiffContemptible coward
- yellow-bellySlang for coward
chicken · milksop · wimp · sissy · weakling · jellyfish · doormat · pushover
Domestic fowl for eating
- yellowHue between green and orange
- gutlessLacking bravery or nerve
- wussTimid, weak person
- candy-assWeak, cowardly person
pansy · punk · baby · scaredy-cat · worm · slug · sniveler · snowflake
Depart swiftly from threat
- retreatSanctuary or withdrawal
- withdrawRemove or pull away
- shrinkDecrease in size
- cowerShrink back in dread
cringe · hide · skulk · slink · bolt · escape · avoid · evade
Intense anticipatory fear
- terrorExtreme, overwhelming fear
- panicUncontrollable sudden fear
- frightSudden intense fear
- trepidationFearful uncertainty
apprehension · anxiety · alarm · jitters · nervousness · timidity · fearfulness · paralysis
pusillanimous
Lacking courage or determination
- faintheartedCowardly, easily discouraged
- chickenheartedLacking bravery or nerve
- lily-liveredWeak and easily frightened
gutless · spineless · yellow-bellied · weak-willed · timorous · cringing · cowering · shrinking · unheroic · dastardly
craven
Contemptibly lacking nerve
yellow-belly · chicken · milksop · wimp · sissy · weakling · jellyfish · doormat · pushover · quitter
chicken
Domestic fowl for eating
candy-ass · pansy · punk · baby · scaredy-cat · worm · slug · sniveler · snowflake · lightweight
flee
Depart swiftly from threat
cower · cringe · hide · skulk · slink · bolt · escape · avoid · evade · surrender
dread
Intense anticipatory fear
trepidation · apprehension · anxiety · alarm · jitters · nervousness · timidity · fearfulness · paralysis · hesitation
- cowardicecraven, gutless, spineless, yellow, yellow-bellied
- Playground Insultsbaby, brat, crybaby, dummy, dork
- cowardschicken, wimp, milquetoast, poltroon, craven
- Shakespearean insultsknave, varlet, villain, rogue, scoundrel
- Trojan WarTroy, Achilles, Hector, Helen, Odysseus
- fearfear, dread, afraid, fright, frightened
cowardvaliant
Courageously determined
hero · brave · courageous · fearless · heroine
cowardaggressor
One who initiates conflict
fighter · combatant · challenger · confronter · attacker
- Cowardly LionTimorous big cat seeking bravery