Meaning & use
pusillanimous
Showing a lack of courage or determination; cowardly, especially in the face of danger.
See it in a sentence
Critics called the senator's refusal to take a stand a pusillanimous act of self-preservation.
It felt pusillanimous to stay silent while our colleague was blamed for someone else's mistake.
A note on using this word
A formal, literary word; in everyday speech "cowardly" or "spineless" would sound far more natural.
Words with a similar meaning
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Words with an opposite meaning
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pusillanimous”, then compare your use with the examples above.
Your draft stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.