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pusillanimous

adjective

pu·​sil·​lan·​i·​mous ˌpyü-sə-ˈla-nə-məs How to pronounce pusillanimous (audio)
 also  ˌpyü-zə-
: lacking courage and resolution : marked by contemptible timidity
pusillanimously adverb

Did you know?

Do you know someone who has a small, weak spirit, someone whose reserve of inner strength is too small to draw from in times of danger and adversity? If so, you'll find pusillanimous to be the perfect descriptor for that person. The Latin roots of this derisive adjective are pusillus, meaning "very small" (and related to pusus, meaning "boy") and animus, which means "spirit" and is the ancestor to many words in our language, including "animal" and "animate." Pusillanimous first appeared in English in the 16th century, but it gained prominence in the 1970s when Vice President Spiro Agnew famously accused his ideological rivals of "pusillanimous pussyfooting." And despite what you may have heard, pusillanimous does not serve as the basis for pussyfoot, pussycat, or a certain related vulgarism.

Synonyms

Choose the Right Synonym for pusillanimous

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

Example Sentences

pusillanimous politicians who vote according to whichever way the political wind is blowing
Recent Examples on the Web 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 Goldwater’s presidential run gave voice to those who yearned for a real conservative, rejecting Dwight Eisenhower as a pusillanimous moderate. Patrick Iber, The New Republic, 11 Aug. 2020 American politicians, the pusillanimous and the mountebanks and even their opposites, used to be as highfalutin as Foghorn Leghorn with their gibes, which made politics fun for fans of Shakespeare, the Bible or obscure history. oregonlive, 31 Mar. 2020 The pusillanimous, corporate-speak testimony of several corporate executives is quoted at length — perhaps at too great a length. Douglas Preston, New York Times, 1 May 2018 See More

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin pusillanimis, from Latin pusillus very small (diminutive of pusus boy) + animus spirit; perhaps akin to Latin puer child — more at puerile, animate

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pusillanimous was in the 15th century

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