fainthearted adj : lacking conviction or boldness or courage; "faint heart ne'er won fair lady" [syn: faint, timid]

English

Adjective

1. Faint of heart; irresolute; fearful.
   • 1719: Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/ot2www-pubeng?specfile=/texts/english/modeng/publicsearch/modengpub.o2w&act=text&offset=193841263&textreg=2&query=+fainthearted&id=DefCru1

     Upon this, our guide, who, by the way, was but a fainthearted fellow, bid us keep in a ready posture, for he believed there were more wolves a-coming. We kept our arms ready, and our eyes about us...

   • 1866: Louisa May Alcott, Behind a Mask: or, A Woman's Power http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/ot2www-pubeng?specfile=/texts/english/modeng/publicsearch/modengpub.o2w&act=text&offset=59916136&textreg=1&query=+fainthearted&id=AlcBehi

     "Fainthearted knight! You should have stayed and covered my retreat. Hark! they are coming! Hide! Hide!" she panted, half in fear, half in merriment, as the gay pursuers rapidly drew nearer.

Synonyms

• afraid
• cowardly
• meek
• timid

Antonyms

• brave
• determined
• steadfast
• stouthearted

afraid, chicken, cowardly, diffident, faint, feckless, feeble, frightened, ineffectual, irresolute, lily-livered, puny, pusillanimous, scared, shy, timid, timorous, weak, white-liveredabulic, afraid, chicken, chickenhearted, coward, cowardly, cowed, daunted, dismayed, faint, fearful, feeble, feebleminded, frail, funking, funky, henhearted, infirm, intimidated, invertebrate, lily-livered, milk-livered, milksoppish, milksoppy, mousy, overtimid, overtimorous, panic-prone, panicky, pigeonhearted, pliable, rabbity, sissified, sissy, soft, spineless, timid, timorous, unmanly, unmanned, weak, weak-kneed, weak-minded, weak-willed, weakhearted, white-livered, yellow