cowardice.

Failure to face danger or difficulty because of fear, judged as blameworthy.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• accuse someone of cowardice
• an act of cowardice
• moral cowardice

On the page

The captain called the retreat cowardice, though the bridge was already burning.

He later regretted the cowardice that had kept him silent.

Refusing a pointless duel was prudence, not cowardice.

Usage notes

Primary category: fear. Strongly evaluative; an accusation may be unfair. Unlike timidity, it implies a moral criticism, not merely low confidence. Usually uncountable in this sense. Derived family (not additional inflections or records): coward; cowardly.