recreant

1 of 2

adjective

rec·​re·​ant ˈre-krē-ənt 

1

: crying for mercy : cowardly

2

: unfaithful to duty or allegiance

recreant

2 of 2

noun

1

: coward

2

: apostate, deserter

Synonyms

Adjective

• chicken
• chicken-livered
• chickenhearted
• cowardly
• craven
• dastardly
• gutless
• lily-livered
• milk-livered [archaic]
• poltroon
• pusillanimous
• spineless
• unheroic
• yellow

Noun

• apostate
• defector
• deserter
• renegade

Examples of recreant in a Sentence

Adjective

the victors had only contempt for the recreant enemy soldiers who surrendered without firing a shot

recreant campaign workers who walked out as soon as their candidate began dropping in the polls

Noun

traditionally armies have dealt harshly with recreants, with execution being a common punishment for desertion during wartime

the historian reserved his greatest contempt for those recreants who opposed the witch hunt but lacked the courage to speak out against it

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from present participle of (se) recreire to give up, yield, from Medieval Latin (se) recredere to resign oneself (to a judgment), from Latin re- + credere to believe — more at creed

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

recreant

1 of 2 adjective

rec·​re·​ant ˈrek-rē-ənt 

1

: crying for mercy : cowardly

2

: unfaithful to duty or allegiance

recreant

2 of 2 noun

1

: coward

2

: one that is unfaithful : betrayer, deserter