as in afraid
having or showing a shameful lack of courage
pusillanimous politicians who vote according to whichever way the political wind is blowing
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Recent Examples of pusillanimous
Some also have lost lawyers, dismayed by the pusillanimous behavior of their leaders.
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Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2025
The second believed the United States could attain comprehensive security through military-technological means and saw diplomacy as a quixotic or pusillanimous enterprise that dishonored and weakened the country.
—A. Wess Mitchell, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025
In this instance, though, the Administration is not attempting to trample on powerless civil servants or migrants, or pusillanimous law firms, or universities that don’t have as much money as Harvard does.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025
There was no fanfare — indeed no announcement or change in Oscar rules — but a firestorm of controversy resulted, followed by the Academy’s cowardly, pusillanimous silence on the issue.
—Armond White, National Review, 5 Mar. 2025
Mark Kelly Americans who are rightfully appalled by the pusillanimous response to anti-Semitism on college campuses have been pulling their donations and calling for restrictions on anti-Israel student groups.
—Arthur Levitt, WSJ, 12 Nov. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pusillanimous
Adjective
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The opposition ranged from clinical and code-based to angry and afraid.—
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From animal prints to floral patterns and everything in between, don’t be afraid to let loose and have fun with patterns in your space.—
Adjective
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So does the craven poor judgment required by any public officials who hire him.—
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Unlike their cynical and craven counterparts in Texas, a majority of Indiana Republican state senators understood that short-term electoral gains weren’t worth sacrificing their principles.—
Adjective
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In Humphrey Cobb’s 1935 novel about a trio of French soldiers condemned to death at random by their cowardly superiors, Kubrick found a perfect vessel for his obsessions.—
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Deputy Brown’s courage in the face of an unprovoked and cowardly attack reflects the very best of our profession.—
Adjective
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Nearly a week later, Scott and Kodi Allred, a couple traveling to visit their son at the University of Northern Colorado, saw the frightened black dachshund darting along the same stretch of road near Elk Mountain.—
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Sometimes, a frightened reaction is inexplicable.—
Adjective
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In a year of gutless moves by major media companies, this may be the most gutless.—
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Listen, by doing it this way, with a press release instead of a press conference, Rose looks both gutless and gutty at the same time.—
Adjective
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My candidacy is a symbol of the end of the weak-kneed, feckless Republican leadership of Mitch McConnell, and the spineless swamp jellyfish that are in the United States Senate representing the Republicans.—
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Because Republicans in Congress are spineless.—
Adjective
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The birds were scared away by a resident’s dog.—
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As Hodges stood there, scared and vulnerable, the man grabbed his baton and bashed him on the head with it, rupturing his lip and smashing his skull.—
Adjective
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Yiyoguaje sported a spectacular headdress of layered feathers that cascaded down his back, blue and pink, green and yellow, topped by three long macaw feathers standing up like spears.—
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While many greens can skew yellow or murky, its blue base keeps the color clean and sophisticated.—
Cite this Entry
“Pusillanimous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pusillanimous. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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