dastardly

adjective

das·​tard·​ly ˈda-stərd-lē 

1

: cowardly

2

: characterized by underhandedness or treachery

a dastardly attack

a dastardly villain

dastardliness noun

Synonyms

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

Choose the Right Synonym for dastardly

cowardly, pusillanimous, craven, dastardly mean having or showing a lack of courage.

cowardly implies a weak or ignoble lack of courage.

a cowardly failure to stand up for principle

pusillanimous suggests a contemptible lack of courage.

the pusillanimous fear of a future full of possibility

craven suggests extreme defeatism and complete lack of resistance.

secretly despised her own craven yes-men

dastardly often implies behavior that is both cowardly and treacherous or skulking or outrageous.

a dastardly attack on unarmed civilians

Examples of dastardly in a Sentence

a dastardly attack on innocent civilians

his dastardly conduct in a critical moment haunted him for the rest of his life

Recent Examples on the Web

Even despite his loss to Cody Rhodes at Royal Rumble, Owens has been doing some of the best work of his career as a former babyface-turned-heel who feels justified in recent dastardly actions. —Blake Oestriecher, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2025

Brooks' Spaceballs is primarily a Star Wars parody with Lone Starr (Bill Pullman) and his alien sidekick, Barf (John Candy), rescuing Princess Vespa (Daphne Zuniga) from the Spaceballs – all while evading capture from the dastardly Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis). —Grace Dean, Space.com, 11 Feb. 2025

For nearly three years the citizens of Sibley County and McLeod County were subject to the dastardly deeds of the band. —Kay Johnson, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025

Along the way, Glenn and Rachel’s teen daughter Abby, away at school, gets pulled into the fray, ultimately becoming an invaluable part of the effort to save Rachel and stop the criminals from a truly dastardly deed. —John Warner, Chicago Tribune, 25 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1542, in the meaning defined at sense 1