# cowardly

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈkaʊədli/ · frequency rank #16,673

## Definitions
1. Showing cowardice; lacking in courage; weakly fearful.

## Etymology
From Middle English *cowardly (adjective) and cowardly (adverb), equivalent to coward + -ly. Displaced native Old English earg.

## Easily confused with
- **coward** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/coward-vs-cowardly)

## Common misspellings (13)
`ccowardly`, `coawrdly`, `cowadrly`, `cowarddly`, `cowardlly`, `cowardlyy`, `cowardyl`, `cowarldy`, `cowarrdly`, `cowradly`, `cowwardly`, `cwoardly`, `ocwardly`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/cowardly