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Courage vs Coward - What's the difference?

courage | coward |

As nouns the difference between courage and coward

is that courage is the quality of a confident character not to be afraid or intimidated easily but without being incautious or inconsiderate while coward is a person who lacks courage.

As a verb courage

is to encourage.

As an adjective coward is

cowardly.

As a proper noun Coward is

{{surname}.

courage

English

Noun

(-)
  • The quality of a confident character not to be afraid or intimidated easily but without being incautious or inconsiderate.
    • "A great part of courage is the courage of having done the thing before." —
    It takes a lot of courage to be successful in business.
  • The ability to do things which one finds frightening.
    • "Courage is not the absence of fear. It is acting in spite of it." —
    He plucked up the courage to tell her how he felt.

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * courageous * discourage * encourage

    Related terms

    * cardiac

    Verb

    (courag)
  • (label) To encourage.
  • *:
  • *:And wete yow wel sayd kynge Arthur vnto Vrres syster I shalle begynne to handle hym and serche vnto my power not presumyng vpon me that I am soo worthy to hele youre sone by my dedes / but I wille courage other men of worshyp to doo as I wylle doo
  • *(William Tyndale) (1494-1536)
  • *:Paul writeth unto Timothyto courage him.

    • See also

    * fearlessness * bield English abstract nouns ----

    coward

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A person who lacks courage.
  • * 1856 : (Gustave Flaubert), (Madame Bovary), Part II Chapter IV, translated by Eleanor Marx-Aveling
    • He tortured himself to find out how he could make his declaration to her, and always halting between the fear of displeasing her and the shame of being such a coward , he wept with discouragement and desire. Then he took energetic resolutions, wrote letters that he tore up, put it off to times that he again deferred.

    Synonyms

    * chicken * See also

    Derived terms

    * cowardly * cowardice

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Cowardly.
  • *, II.17:
  • *:It is a coward and servile humour, for a man to disguise and hide himselfe under a maske, and not dare to shew himselfe as he is.
  • * Shakespeare
    • He raised the house with loud and coward cries.
  • * Prior
    • Invading fears repel my coward joy.
  • (heraldry, of a lion) Borne in the escutcheon with his tail doubled between his legs.
    • English words suffixed with -ard