as in cowardly
having or showing a shameful lack of courage
a military commander who was so poltroon that he surrendered without having fired so much as a single shot
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in coward
a person who shows a shameful lack of courage in the face of danger
those poltroons in the state legislature who have caved in to bigotry on this important issue of basic civil rights
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of poltroon
Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 15 Jan. 2021
Noun
And there’s the awkward fact of Giuliani’s having failed, in spite of his most abject scheming, to manage to overturn the presidential election that Donald Trump lost to a wobbly poltroon on the edge of 80.
—Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 15 Jan. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for poltroon
Adjective
-
Two beloved members of the Tijuana journalism community were killed in two separate cowardly attacks.—
Tania Navarro,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Mar. 2025
-
Playing Switzerland is a dangerous game for a Housewife — never choosing a side is seen as a cowardly position that quickly wears thin.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
The Real Madrid forward reportedly referred to Messi and his teammates as cowards for retreating to the dressing room after Brazilian police attacked a section of Argentine fans.—
Felipe Cardenas,
The Athletic,
26 Feb. 2025
-
The employees are spoiled and the investors are cowards.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
The New Yorker,
19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
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
Adjective
-
His untraditional views attracted the attention of health journalists eager to hear more about the quick-talking, engaging surgeon who wasn’t afraid of discussing such unprecedented strategies.—
Alice Park,
TIME,
13 Mar. 2025
-
Inside the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, vital support staff are gone, international partnerships have been strained, and workers are afraid to discuss threats to democracy that they’re now prohibited from countering.—
Eric Geller,
WIRED,
13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Fresh off a terrifying election cycle that feels like a fever dream (or the most craven Ryan Murphy series), America in 2025 is downright disorienting.—
Christopher Rosa,
Glamour,
14 Feb. 2025
-
Trump has already turned a national tragedy into a craven, baseless political attack by blaming DEI programs at the FAA and past administrations.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
31 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
Musk and Trump must be stopped before more Americans are killed, and only those spineless Republicans in Congress can stop them.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
4 Mar. 2025
-
His spineless vice president and defense secretary then echoed Trump’s garbage.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
31 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
And this week, there’s a very nice sequence in which Matty walks a frightened Zoey, step-by-step, through what to expect when she gets arrested.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2025
-
Igor tries to subdue Ani, who's frightened and enraged, kicking and screaming at the prospect of being separated from her new husband.—
Mandalit del Barco,
NPR,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The look features bright coral eyeshadow covering the eyelid, a fuchsia shade in the crease, and a swipe of fluorescent yellow eyeliner on the outside half of the eye and right under the brow.—
Andrea Park,
Teen Vogue,
20 July 2017
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Three prominent Austin chefs teamed up with the Youngblood family to build a new restaurant from scratch that looks like a legacy chicken dinner house, down to the bright blue-and-yellow colors and the helpings of hot yeast rolls with honey.—
Bud Kennedy,
star-telegram,
19 July 2017
Cite this Entry
“Poltroon.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/poltroon. Accessed 16 Mar. 2025.
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