SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
recreant
adjective
Cowardly or disloyal, especially in abandoning a duty.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Cowardly
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topRecreant is literary or old-fashioned and strongly condemnatory. Timid and fearful describe apprehension without necessarily implying moral failure.
Disloyal to a duty
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topIn this sense, recreant condemns abandonment of a cause or duty. Cowardice may motivate the abandonment but is a separate emphasis.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See recreant in use
The old tale describes a recreant guard who deserts his post.
A recreant messenger deserted a promised delivery because he feared criticism at the destination, leaving companions dependent on news that never arrived.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license