spineless

spineless

English

Etymology

    From spine + -less.

    Pronunciation

    • Audio (Southern England):(file)

    Adjective

    spineless (comparative more spineless, superlative most spineless)

    1. (not comparable) Having no spines, prickles, or thorns.
      Synonyms: unspined, unspiny
      Antonyms: spined, spiny
      Coordinate terms: barbless, thornless (sometimes synonymous)
    2. (not comparable) Having no spinal column.
      Synonym: invertebrate
    3. Cowardly, uncourageous; lacking character.
      Synonyms: invertebrate; gutless, boneless (British); see also Thesaurus:cowardly
      • 2006, Robin Holt, Wittgenstein, Politics and Human Rights, →ISBN:
        If this results in a society which MacIntyre has criticized as being the province of the manager, the aesthete and the analyst, types almost sinister in their philosophical lightmindedness, superficiality, programmed uninterestingness, and their depressingly spineless willingness to grant the presence of 'despicable types' for the sake of political freedom, then so be it.
      • 2012, Vagif Sultanly, Iraj Ismaely, Modern Azerbaijanian Prose[1]:
        Killership requires a person to become brave and polite. It is not deal of weakwilled and spineless people. This deal likes neither cheating nor foolishness.

    Derived terms

    Translations

    Further reading

    • spineless”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

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