uncourageous

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌʌnkəˈreɪdʒəs/ UK /ˌʌnkəˈreɪdʒəs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
lacking courage; timid or cowardly

It was an uncourageous decision to flee at the first sign of trouble.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · lacking courage; timid or... cowardly timid fearful cravenspinelessfaint-hearted

Opposites

courageous brave bold valiant fearless

Word family

Derived forms uncourageously

Related forms courageous courage encourage

Etymology

From un- ('not') + courageous, from Old French corageus, from corage ('courage, heart'), from Latin cor ('heart').

un- Old English corage Middle English cor Latin *ḱerd- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# uncourageous

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌʌnkəˈreɪdʒəs/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌʌnkəˈreɪdʒəs/

## Meanings
1. lacking courage; timid or cowardly

## Examples
- It was an uncourageous decision to flee at the first sign of trouble.

## Synonyms
- cowardly
- timid
- fearful
- craven
- spineless
- faint-hearted

## Antonyms
- courageous
- brave
- bold
- valiant
- fearless

## Derived Forms
- uncourageously

## Related Forms
- courageous
- courage
- encourage

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: un-
- Root: corage
- Root: cor
- Root: *ḱerd-

## Etymology
From un- ('not') + courageous, from Old French corageus, from corage ('courage, heart'), from Latin cor ('heart').

## AI Etymology
Uncourageous is from un- ('not') + courageous, from Old French corageus, from corage ('courage, heart'), from Latin cor ('heart'). Important recorded forms include un- (Old English), corage (Old French), cor (Latin), and *ḱerd- (Proto-Indo-European). Morphologically, the un- element marks negation, reversal, removal, or deprivation, while the base supplies the action, quality, or state being denied or undone. The modern sense is largely compositional, with the historical elements narrowing into a stable English lexical item. In current use it covers lacking courage; timid or cowardly. The wider family includes derived forms such as uncourageously and related words such as courageous, courage, and encourage.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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