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
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.
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Arthur Levitt, WSJ, 12 Nov. 2023
Those clumsy tales revealed Chazelle’s pusillanimous career ambitions.
—Armond White, National Review, 13 Jan. 2023
This is a remarkably pusillanimous way of framing the case.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2022
This book should—but won’t—be read by Joe Biden’s national security team, not to mention the pusillanimous leaders of Germany and France.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes, 2 Aug. 2022
His pusillanimous and fraudulent conduct must be stopped.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 8 July 2022
Where the president should be direct and full-throated, Biden has been, at best, indirect and pusillanimous.
—The Editors, National Review, 12 May 2022
Rifkin’s story should rage against the pusillanimous like Roth and the hero of Look Back in Anger.
—Armond White, National Review, 4 Feb. 2022
The English were led by the exemplary Admiral Edward Vernon — after whom the Washington family home, Mount Vernon, would be named — and the incompetent, pusillanimous General Thomas Wentworth.
—Washington Post, 10 Nov. 2021
Arthur Levitt, WSJ, 12 Nov. 2023
Those clumsy tales revealed Chazelle’s pusillanimous career ambitions.
—Armond White, National Review, 13 Jan. 2023
This is a remarkably pusillanimous way of framing the case.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2022
This book should—but won’t—be read by Joe Biden’s national security team, not to mention the pusillanimous leaders of Germany and France.
—Steve Forbes, Forbes, 2 Aug. 2022
His pusillanimous and fraudulent conduct must be stopped.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 8 July 2022
Where the president should be direct and full-throated, Biden has been, at best, indirect and pusillanimous.
—The Editors, National Review, 12 May 2022
Rifkin’s story should rage against the pusillanimous like Roth and the hero of Look Back in Anger.
—Armond White, National Review, 4 Feb. 2022
The English were led by the exemplary Admiral Edward Vernon — after whom the Washington family home, Mount Vernon, would be named — and the incompetent, pusillanimous General Thomas Wentworth.
—Washington Post, 10 Nov. 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pusillanimous
Adjective
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Many Americans are afraid of what the aftermath of the election could bring.Jenna Bednar, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2024
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By its conception, AI does not make mistakes, does not take bribes and is not afraid of anything.Oleksandr Sheremeta, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Since then, Trump has regularly lobbed attacks at the military and its top leaders, accusing them of being politically craven and operationally incompetent.Ronald R. Krebs, Foreign Affairs, 28 Sep. 2021
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The callousness of investigators, the craven police interrogation methods that seek to discount the memory of survivors by insisting the truth hinges on minute details and the vitriol of a misogynistic public are all on display in Black Box Diaries.Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Because, in this land of weak governments and cowardly corporations, the Coastal Commission is the rare California institution with a spine.Joe Mathews, The Mercury News, 8 Nov. 2024
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The latter has become a franchise so hobbled by its cowardly inability to commit to anything other than its original characters (especially the Skywalkers) and ideas (good versus evil) that it’s basically become stuck inside itself.Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 8 Aug. 2024
Adjective
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James Giordano, a neurobiology researcher at Georgetown University Medical Center, says getting frightened triggers a specific response in the human body.Jennifer Stavros, WIRED, 31 Oct. 2024
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Affected businesses can lose money or go bankrupt, because frightened customers choose to dine elsewhere.Mark Kortepeter, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024
Adjective
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Two baseballs flew down toward the San Diego Padres’ Jurickson Profar from the left-field corner stands, the gutless moves of two cowards.Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2024
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Putin’s machismo posturing, additionally, is undergirded by a view of Russia as a country of real men opposing a pampered, gutless, and decadent West.Stephen Kotkin, Foreign Affairs, 1 Mar. 2015
Adjective
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There’s also the charming indecision, the earnest desire to weigh all options against each other and seeing every side so that the only logical conclusion is to be mired in a well-meaning state of paralysis — which, in another dialect, translates to spineless lack of resolve and commitment phobia.Goth Shakira, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2024
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The cast has an abundance of exceptional performances from Kevin Kline (outstanding!), Lesley Manville, Sacha Baron Cohen (so good as Catherine’s spineless husband), and Kodi Smith-McPhee as their son.Baz Bamigboye, Deadline, 2 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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Two of the biggest forces in all of Hollywood are joining forces, and everyone should be scared.Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 8 Nov. 2024
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Most on each side are scared, not just concerned, if the other side wins, and while most voters express confidence this election is being conducted fairly and accurately, Harris voters are more confident than Trump voters are.Jennifer De Pinto, CBS News, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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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
Articles Related to pusillanimous
Thesaurus Entries Near pusillanimous
Cite this Entry
“Pusillanimous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pusillanimous. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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