cowardly B2 Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈkaʊɝdli/ UK /ˈkaʊədli/ See IPA manual Freq #10050 Meanings 1 adj Lacking courage; afraid to face danger or difficulty. It was a cowardly act to attack someone from behind. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · lacking courage; afraid to... chicken-heartedfearful ↔ Opposites brave Etymology AI details From Middle English *cowardly (adjective) and cowardly (adverb), equivalent to coward + -ly. Displaced native Old English earg. *cowardly Middle English View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # cowardly **Type:** Word **Level:** B2 **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˈkaʊɝdli/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈkaʊədli/ **Frequency rank:** 10050 ## Meanings 1. Lacking courage; afraid to face danger or difficulty. ## Examples - It was a cowardly act to attack someone from behind. ## Antonyms - brave ## Roots and Affixes - Root: *cowardly ## Etymology From Middle English *cowardly (adjective) and cowardly (adverb), equivalent to coward + -ly. Displaced native Old English earg. ## AI Etymology Cowardly is from Middle English *cowardly (adjective) and cowardly (adverb), equivalent to coward plus -ly. Displaced native Old English earg. The suffix -ly recasts equivalent to coward as an adverb: the lexical idea remains recognizable, but the word now describes manner, degree, or circumstance rather than naming the quality by itself. In use as an adjective, cowardly denotes lacking courage; afraid to face danger or difficulty. ## Topics - Describing Qualities markdown