How To Use Cowardice In A Sentence

Severus mounted the tribunal, sternly reproached them with perfidy and cowardice, dismissed them with ignominy from the trust which they had betrayed, despoiled them of their splendid ornaments, and banished them, on pain of death, to the distance of a hundred miles from the capital. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
We have to make a definite move to cross over the boundary from cowardice to bravery.
Again, here at CENTCOM, for the past few days they have been criticizing Iraqi military for what they term cowardice on the battlefield. CNN Transcript Mar 29, 2003
Due to a combination of cowardice, claustrophobia and Crohn's disease, I do not react well to being kettled at marches.
This brought Jeffrey an enormous sense of relief, then a feeling of disgust at his own cowardice. BLINDSIGHTED

One opposite to courage is cowardice, but another is rashness, foolhardiness.
He fought against dishonesty and corruption, opportunism and cowardice.
Wall is a tremendously challenging artist, as his stuff essentially mocks both the Cartier-Bresson 'Decisive Moment' as self-glorifying bushwa, and the Modernist painters' photography-induced flight from Realism as cowardice. Kenneth Hite's Journal
I understand their haste but future generations may not be as sympathetic to our cowardice and laziness. Times, Sunday Times
Three hundred and six British servicemen were shot for offences against military law, including cowardice and desertion. Times, Sunday Times
The Romans even figured out how to deter cowardice that causes the death of others with the technique called decimation: If a legion lost a battle and there was suspicion of cowardice, 10 percent of the soldiers and commanders - usually chosen at random - were put to death. NYT > Home Page
Methinks the anonymous disruptor is trying to distract us from his/her cowardice. Protesters Demand UVa Contractors Living Wage at cvillenews.com
Is it cowardice, the lack of moral backbone to tell the truth whatever the cost?
a solitary instance of cowardice
Above all, Byrd has decried the cowardice of Congress in its acceptance of the wholesale repudiation of the US Constitution.
A counterargument would stress that the greatest learning is derived from the inimitable, silence betrays cowardice, disaffiliation and indie culture give the lie to the unavoidability of affiliation, the literary field exists in many sites other than the academy, self-victimization is the reigning philosophy, program writers are more self-commodifying than the disaffiliated, the system purges internal feedback from dissenters, and the end of excellence is well in sight. Anis Shivani: Can Writing Be Taught? The Systems-Theory Rationalizations Of An Insider
Medieval people had a horror of treachery and cowardice; the two were often felt to go hand in hand.
The implications of political apathy and cowardice are all the more significant for these revealing admissions.
They openly berated and chastised any hint of cowardice in their sons.
He says infantry that didn't keep moving and attacking would be accused of cowardice or dereliction of duty.
Medieval people had a horror of treachery and cowardice; the two were often felt to go hand in hand.
There is no reason for this other than craven cowardice in the face of power.
On this latter point the earl of Shelburne rcmonftrated veiy warmly with his colleagues, urging in forciUe language the fupinenefs, the cowardice, the tij-eachery, the befotted ftupidity of permitting Lfiwis to rob the Corficans of their ina« lienable rights, and to overturn the balance of power by annexing to his dominions an ifland that would give him coniiderable in - fluence in the affiurs of Italy, and a dangerous extenfion of con - troul over the trade of the Mediterranean. Memoirs of the right honourable edmund burke
I should have your throat cut for cowardice you miserable wretch!
It is the novelist's innate cowardice that makes him depute to imaginary personalities the sins that he is too cautious to commit for himself. Where's the show?
You can accuse me of cowardice, but I still wouldn't volunteer to fight in a war.
Workers then come to exhibit some of the more traditional virtues such as generosity and trustfulness, and avoid some of the more traditional vices such as cowardice, stinginess, and self-indulgence.
Or: he'd take one look at the police, realize the jig was up and I was seriously not someone worth messing with, and he'd clam up, recede into his cowardice, and all-too-compliantly-and-deferentially slink out the door. A Bite-Sized Piece
A pardon need not imply that a soldier did not desert, or show cowardice, or disobey orders.
In a single act of cowardice and betrayal, if not treason, the US congress has 'scuttled' the Articles of Impeachment drawn up and carefully researched by Dennis Kucinich. Liberty Betrayed
The only think that's stopping me is fear, cowardice, a reluctance to take risks and look dumb.
Some have dismissed this as cowardice by the court, but its not really.
It seeks pardons only for those killed for desertion and cowardice.
That's completely wrong, a feeble excuse for laziness or cowardice. Times, Sunday Times
Not yet aware of this truth, nor, indeed, in the least suspecting Gawtrey of worse offences than those of a charlatanic and equivocal profession, the young man mused over his protector's cowardice in disdain and wonder: till, wearied with conjectures, distrust, and shame at his own strange position of obligation to one whom he could not respect, he fell asleep. Night and Morning, Complete
It is an act of moral cowardice for a society to neglect its poor.
Not wanting to admit that an innocent man might have been executed is the ultimate cowardice!! Live Blog from the Anchor Desk 10/05/09
Given these attitudes, they are prone to a number of vices, including lack of generosity, cowardice, and intemperance.
a man...feels it a peculiar insult to be taunted with cowardice by a woman
The whole episode smacks of expediency and cowardice.
He openly accused his opponents of cowardice.
Even the corporate media, for all its fawning cowardice, hasn't been as derelict as blog rhetoric would paint it.
Endurance and softness are mentioned in connection with courage and cowardice in order to distinguish them.
He thought about ritual suicide and how it had changed from a demonstration of bravery to one of cowardice.
Schoolboys cannot understand that this shrinking from danger (I speak of palpable danger), which they call cowardice, nearly always emanates from a superior intellect. The Channings
This left the two that had claimed most lives - cowardice and desertion. Times, Sunday Times
His meditations are interrupted by two figures from his past, who remind him of separate acts of cowardice and inhumanity.
McCormack is breaking with his pattern of cowardice and exhibiting some spine for a change.
It was an act of unspeakable barbarity and cowardice. The Sun
He's a series of contradictory characteristics - valor/cowardice, nobility/cravenness, promiscuity / uxoriousness, selfishness/camaraderie, and every one of them is genuine, as the situation demands.
Here, I. Christ warns his disciples to take heed of hypocrisy, and of cowardice in professing Christianity and preaching the gospel, ver. Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume V (Matthew to John)
They say cowardice is infectious; but then argument is, on the other hand, a great emboldener; and so when each had said his say, my mother made them a speech. Treasure Island
That was cowardice worthy of franchise forfeiture, because the Broncos were at least a competent team.
Cowardice is called meekness; to temporize is to be charitable and reverent; to speak truth, and shame the devil, is to offend weak brethren, who, somehow or other, never complain of their weak consciences till you hit them hard. Alton Locke, Tailor and Poet An Autobiography
His cowardice reflects on his character.
It is a public health disaster, born out of outright political cowardice. Times, Sunday Times
Bat Ye'or defined dhimmitude thus (my emphasis): dhimmitude [...] represents a behavior dictated by fear (terrorism), pacifism when aggressed, rather than resistance, servility because of cowardice and vulnerability. Archive 2008-07-01
I fear I will never know if it is cowardice, or the bravest thing I have ever done.
This left the two that had claimed most lives - cowardice and desertion. Times, Sunday Times
On the contrary, those that have deserted him shall be ashamed before him; they shall be ashamed of themselves, ashamed of their unbelief, their cowardice, ingratitude, temerity, and folly, in forsaking so glorious a Redeemer. Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume VI (Acts to Revelation)
It was an act of unspeakable barbarity and cowardice. The Sun
This cavalry was quickly dispersed at the Battle of Sedgemoor, contemporaries claimed on account of Grey's own cowardice and ineptitude.
The union's betrayals have not merely been the product of the cowardice of a few self-seeking union leaders.
The girl had had a nervous breakdown, she added, expressing shame and regret at her adolescent cowardice.
They've dropped the cowardice charges but he's going to be charged with dereliction of duty.
Nor does he have any sense of how his deployment of an aphorism about courage jars with his own personal conduct in ducking an election and a referendum in short order and his wider reputation for personal and political cowardice. Archive 2007-10-14
It is an act of moral cowardice for a society to neglect its poor.
His sidekick is really funny; the spirits force him to wear a samurai topknot in penance for his cowardice in the “battle league” and the reactions of other people seeing it never get old (I especially like the waitress who is so flustered she drops her serving tray). Fantastic Fest – Battle League In Kyoto (Kamogawa Horumo) « Geek Related
If there is evidence of moral cowardice and a lack of conviction among the pro-war lobby, however, it is more than matched among the antis.
NATO again condemned the cowardice of the attack on civilians for the second day in a row. Two Deadly Attacks In Two Days « Unambiguously Ambidextrous
Three hundred and six British servicemen were shot for offences against military law, including cowardice and desertion. Times, Sunday Times
If there was an Olympic medal for cowardice, I'd be a contender for gold.
Politics and religion are blended seamlessly with personal feuds, courage with cowardice. The Times Literary Supplement
Do not confound it with cowardice or ill-temper.
It would have been an act of cowardice to back out, a kind of gutless weakness…
Obama's dramatic cowardice on health care tells me a lot about his intentions. signing statement restraint is just one more piece of ballast he's jettisoning off the hope boat. still, I'd choose him over McCain't. Another Obama letdown (Jack Bog's Blog)
Thou hast been spellbound by an evil eye, my darling, and the fainting which you call cowardice is the work of magic. The Fair Maid of Perth
The author of one letter, which I threw away with reflexive cowardice, threatened to beat me up.
I believe that what you term your cowardice is merely a physical weakness," declared the girl. Aunt Jane's Nieces in the Red Cross
pitiful exhibition of cowardice
Prime Ministers need many qualities, political cowardice is not one. The Sun
Excuse me, Balsquith; but that consideration is what we call cowardice in the army. Press Cuttings
They are the legacy of years of neglect and political cowardice. Times, Sunday Times
There is no reason for this other than craven cowardice in the face of power.
'Dear, do you wish me to help you against what you call your cowardice? Born in Exile
To know this and yet continue on the crusade is a logic of cowardice and extreme idiocy. Think Progress » House passes sham Iraq resolution.
Against that apocalyptic reality, the 17 shell-shocked British soldiers shot for "cowardice" look like the only sane men in uniform on the continent.
Given these attitudes, they are prone to a number of vices, including lack of generosity, cowardice, and intemperance.
But within all this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we shall live: courageously or in cowardice, honorably or dishonorably, with purpose or in drift.
And Clyde, as instantly sensing the profoundness of his own failure, his own cowardice or inadequateness for such an occasion, as instantly yielding to a tide of submerged hate, not only for himself, but An American Tragedy
There is one thing that is worse than evil and that is cowardice in the face of it.
He hedged his statements in a way that suggested ignorance or cowardice.
Unlike the domesticated animal, whose chief characteristics are cowardice, stupidity, and apathy, the wild variety is remarkable for its sagacity and admirably developed senses.
Now this is my turn to accuse, but I base my accusation on fact, not fear and cowardice.
It's also known as equivocating cowardice and habitual hedging and weather veining. Obama Wins Vast Majority Of Pennsylvania Newspaper Endorsements
There are several good protections against temptations, but the surest is cowardice. Matthew Yglesias » Israeli Officials Think Road to Peace Runs Through Teheran
In one scene, she accuses them of cowardice for trying to sell British sovereignty cheap. The Sun
Our wreastling at armes, is turned to wallowyng in Ladies laps, our courage, to cowardice, our running to ryot, our Bowes into Bolles, and our Dartes to Dishes. The More Things Change II
abject cowardice
The terrorist action has been condemned as an act of barbarism and cowardice.
We sometimes rely far more upon God than God desires us to do, and there are occasions when a novena is the refuge of laziness or cowardice. Life of Father Hecker
Therefore intemperance, which is overcome by pleasure, is a less grievous sin than cowardice, which is overcome by fear. Summa Theologica, Part II-II (Secunda Secundae) Translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province
Antiochus was furious alike at what he termed the insolence of a handful of outlaws, and the cowardice of his picked troops, who had flaunted their banners and gone forth as if to assured victory, and had then fled like some gay-plumed bird before the swoop of the eagle. Hebrew Heroes A Tale Founded on Jewish History
They are so long-suffering that we are going to lose patience with them; we are going to accuse them of cowardice; the Irish people believe they are cowards; their very leniency is put down to cowardice. The Irish Problem
Think all pigeon-hearted bullies grow up to regret their acts of cowardice.
His inertia was not cowardice, but political conviction. Times, Sunday Times
Cowardice is a concept foreign to your very being, and by nature you are something of an adventurer.
The essential problem in this area is the cowardice, hypocrisy and opportunism of our political leaders. Times, Sunday Times
It is an act of moral cowardice for a society to neglect its poor.
To take to it with a chisel would be an act of intellectual laziness and moral cowardice. Times, Sunday Times
And while yellow symbolises cowardice in the UK and US, it is the colour of mourning in Egypt and Burma.
He tested his learning and cunningness till people called him intelligent and brave; he tested his cowardice and brutality till he could kill and die at the drop of a penny; he tested his mind till he could argue anything and everything.
Is it really just a case of editorial cowardice or am I just plain wrong?
To pick on a country with half the population of Wiltshire was cowardice, not courage. Times, Sunday Times
He said many of the men who were shot for cowardice were in fact suffering from shell shock.
Witter is equally uncomplimentary about Hatton, all but accusing him of cowardice for failing to meet him so far.
The Premier's failure to seize it was an act of gross cowardice.
But Don's the quintessential quiet guy who must overcome his cowardice and be a man.
To connect AKP with Hizbullah or any other terror organization is tactlessness and cowardice, he said. Release of Radical Group's Leaders Causes Shock in Turkey
The truth is that their anonymous campaigns are born, not out of doing good but out of a sulphurous mixture of envy, resentment and moral cowardice.
His girlfriend is disgusted at his cowardice.
Then - through cowardice, lack of principle, and disunity - they blew it.
For mere seconds I toyed with cowardice, before curiosity and professionalism won out.
I can remember that I was both a coward and a boaster; but I have frequently remarked that the quality which we call cowardice in Frank Mildmay Or, The Naval Officer
For all their weakness, cowardice, and self-delusion, these men strike an unexpected, sympathetic chord.
Its support for the war and its prostration before Bush are not only a matter of cowardice.
That spiritual confidence and authority available to the average believer was confirmed in Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, where I learned that boldness comes from the original Greek word, parrhesia, meaning "outspokenness; unreserved utterance; freedom of speech; with frankness, candor, careful courage; and the opposite of cowardice, timidity or fear. Larry Ross: Oral Roberts Showed Us the Way to the Throne
Though the winged spur no longer adorn the booted heel of an Earl of Annandale, the time may not be far distant when some liberal and popular monarch of England shall restore a title forfeited neither through cowardice nor dishonour, but from an erroneous sense of duty. Wacousta : a tale of the Pontiac conspiracy (Complete)
Those who believe that advocating a war from afar is a sign of personal courage and strength, and that opposing a war from afar is a sign of personal cowardice and weakness. Think Progress » Neocons Resurrect Plans For Regional War In The Middle East
And yet she's also, in a strange way, a highly moral person; it's just that she doesn't confuse morality with strait-laced cowardice and want of adventure.
In January, 1917, five French soldiers are condemned to death for acts of alleged cowardice.
He blamed the bomber losses on the failure of the fighters to give proper protection, only just stopping short of an outright accusation of cowardice. FIGHTER BOYS: Saving Britain 1940
Daschle, who epitomized political cowardice and conciliation, was a fitting symbol of the Democratic Party's prostration before the Bush administration and the ultra-right.
Over 300, he said, some for desertion, some for cowardice, and two for falling asleep at their posts.
Antony emerged triumphant and the dominant partner of the triumvirate, while Octavian's seeming cowardice caused a severe if temporary setback to his ambitions.
Ressentiment sometimes goads such mass movements into a fleeting brilliance, but they curdle and collapse, tragi-comically or catastrophically, on their own cowardice, ignorance, and lies. Jim Sleeper: Behind The Snarking About OWS
Any soldier displaying cowardice in the face of the enemy was shot.
was now clear of the charge of cowardice
Their ancestors shall be ashamed of their cowardice, in fleeing from the first onset (v. 12), or, Your mother, Babylon itself, the mother-city, shall be confounded, when she sees herself deserted by those that should have been her guards. Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume IV (Isaiah to Malachi)
We are all going to pay the price of his double cowardice: not standing up to his right wing and not cleaning up the mess he made. Times, Sunday Times
And Aubin let that happen - pure cowardice, made worse by the fact that he pleaded self-justification. MOONDROP TO MURDER
That a majority of the women of the United States accept, without protest, the disabilities which grow out of their disfranchisement is simply an evidence of their ignorance and cowardice, while the minority who demand a higher political status clearly prove their superior intelligence and wisdom. Eighty Years and More: Reminiscences 1815-1897
These hints stopt the mouth of Partridge; nor did he open it again till Jones, having thrown some sarcastical jokes on his cowardice, he offered to excuse himself on the inequality of firearms, saying, “A thousand naked men are nothing to one pistol; for though it is true it will kill but one at a single discharge, yet who can tell but that one may be himself?” The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
It was possible to speak more freely of courage, of cowardice, of fears and fantasies.
When virtual intervention isn't enough, iBoy brutally exposes the empty bravado and cowardice of the local thugs in tense fight scenes - just before he concusses them. NYT > Home Page
He said many of the men who were shot for cowardice were in fact suffering from shell shock.
He said many of the men who were shot for cowardice were in fact suffering from shell shock.
But remaining silent in the face of hatred is not a perspective, it is rueful cowardice.
a shameful display of cowardice
Hilariously, the airline builder's problems are even spilling over into the French Assembly, where prime minister Dominique de Villepin sparked uproar yesterday when he accused the Socialist leader of cowardice in a debate over the crisis. On wings and a prayer
He said many of the men who were shot for cowardice were in fact suffering from shell shock.
It eradicates cowardice, destroys doubt, fills you with vitality, lets you do the impossible…
The thin man complained and continued to argue but no-one took notice but Michael, who growled tersely at his cowardice.
` ` This craven, '' he thought, ` ` will lose the day in pure faintness and cowardice of heart, which he calls tender conscience. The Talisman
It was then openly proposed to withdraw Sherman; and John Hickman, of Pennsylvania, who had been elected as an anti-Lecompton Democrat, but had gone over to the Republicans, took the floor to resist what he characterized as cowardice and treachery. Four years under Marse Robert,
By the salic law, any man-night, by a public declaration, exempt himself from his family quarrels: but then he was considered by the law as no longer belonging to the family; and he was deprived of all right of succession, as the punishment of his cowardice. [ The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.I., Part A. From the Britons of Early Times to King John
The terrorist action has been condemned as an act of barbarism and cowardice.
Bravery, for example, is a virtue which lies between the extremes of cowardice and rashness.
The truth is that their anonymous campaigns are born, not out of doing good but out of a sulphurous mixture of envy, resentment and moral cowardice.
Then he had the nerve to be pleased when it was little more than cowardice in the face of the enemy. Times, Sunday Times
They are four characters in search of an objective correlative, their intimacies obstructed by lofty words - honesty, cowardice, love - that seem, after a while, to mean nothing at all.
They were not burning and slaying indiscriminately, but while despising the Romans, as they called the Gauls, for their cowardice, they were in awe of the superior civilization and the knowledge of arts. A Book of Golden Deeds
You can accuse me of cowardice, but I still wouldn't volunteer to fight in a war.
The wicked world pursue their evil cause boldly, but alas! the people of God shame their honourable cause and profession by their cowardice.
There is, of course, a strong political case for cowardice in the face of the enemy. Times, Sunday Times
Defeat on the pitch can lead, and has led, to accusations not only of bribery but cowardice and even treason.
When he acts with prudence, he must see to it that his prudence is not mistaken for cowardice or sloth.
His book is a tale of cowardice, perfidy, hubris, idiocy and occasional heroism - told with considerable panache.
Fischer's obsequiousness is not simply, or even primarily, a reflection of his subjective cowardice and political spinelessness.
Cowardice is not my style.
Peaceful will be executed by a firing squad for cowardice because he refused to obey an order that sent the rest of his unit to their deaths.
In his book, he takes a platoon through a year of battle in the jungle undergrowth, cowardice, heroism, gallantry and the white feather.
It is an act of moral cowardice for a society to neglect its poor.
Despite the transparent nonsense of it all, Finlayson felt his guts tighten at the word cowardice.
He said many of the men who were shot for cowardice were in fact suffering from shell shock.
The terrorist action has been condemned as an act of barbarism and cowardice.
Generations of men and suffered, fought, and died to win the constitutional rights you so easily throw away in what can only be described as dishonorable cowardice. The Volokh Conspiracy » Is Obamacare Constitutional?
[FN#94] Here the silence is of cowardice and the passage is a fling at the "timeserving" of the Olema, a favourite theme, like Arabian nights. English
Lett me see ... oll your naughtee ways, drinking, and smoking and ... that you are a verree shameless rake-but he would give no particulars, was that nott mean of him? ... oah, and that you were a scoundrel, and told stretchers - and he said you were most cowardice - which I did nott believe, you are so famous -" "But you believed the rest, eh? THE NUMBERS
Suicide sometimes proceeds from cowardice, but not always; for cowardice sometimes prevents it; since as many live because they are afraid to die, as die because they are afraid to live. Charles Caleb Colton
This indirect sort of accusation on his part represents the worst sort of managerial cowardice.
If he funks it, he will confirm the impression of cowardice given by his recent letter.
Defence chiefs were last night under renewed pressure to pardon hundreds of soldiers executed for cowardice during the First World War after it emerged that several officers were spared the firing squad for the same offence.
The Boy remains behind and comments on the cowardice and petty thieving of his associates, whom he plans to leave.
I have seen him, in Paris, commit what I call the cowardice of thought. Beatrix
The cowardice of those prepared to gossip to journalists but not join 24 others in signing a secret letter is pitiable.

How To Use Cowardice In A Sentence

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