Meanings
comparative more fainthearted · superlative most fainthearted · alternative faint-hearted · alternative faint of heart · alternative faint-heart
- Faint of heart; irresolute; fearful.
"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.
1866, Louisa May Alcott, Behind a Mask: or, A Woman's Power1 more example
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...
1719, Daniel Defoe, Robinson CrusoeSynonyms: afraid, cowardly, meek, timid · Antonyms: brave, determined, steadfast, stouthearted
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveFaint of heart; irresolute; fearful.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivelacking conviction or boldness or courage
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Ancient Greek ἄθυμος
- ἄθυμος (áthumos)lacking courage, timid
Bulgarian страхлив, малодушен
- страхлив (strahliv)lacking courage, timid
- малодушен (malodušen)lacking courage, timid
Chinese Mandarin 膽怯 /胆怯, 無勇氣的 /无勇气的
- 膽怯 /胆怯 (dǎnqiè)lacking courage, timid
- 無勇氣的 /无勇气的lacking courage, timid
- 无勇气的 (wú yǒngqì de)lacking courage, timid
Danish frygtsom, forsagt
- frygtsomlacking courage, timid
- forsagtlacking courage, timid
Finnish arka, herkkä
- arkalacking courage, timid
- herkkälacking courage, timid
- pelokaslacking courage, timid
French timoré
- timorélacking courage, timid
German zaghaft, feige
- zaghaftlacking courage, timid
- feigelacking courage, timid
- mutloslacking courage, timid
- schüchternlacking courage, timid
- furchtsamlacking courage, timid
Hungarian bátortalan
- bátortalanlacking courage, timid
Japanese 勇気のない
- 勇気のない (yūki no nai)lacking courage, timid
Māori harotu, hōpīpī
- harotulacking courage, timid
- hōpīpīlacking courage, timid
- hopīlacking courage, timid
- tunutunulacking courage, timid
Norwegian Bokmål forknytt
- forknyttlacking courage, timid
Russian малоду́шный, трусли́вый
- малоду́шный (malodúšnyj)lacking courage, timid
- трусли́вый (truslívyj)lacking courage, timid
- ро́бкий (róbkij)lacking courage, timid
- боязли́вый (bojazlívyj)lacking courage, timid
- сла́бый духом (slábyj)lacking courage, timid
Spanish pusilánime, medroso
- pusilánimelacking courage, timid
- medrosolacking courage, timid
- apocadolacking courage, timid
Swedish försagd, klenmodig
- försagdlacking courage, timid
- klenmodiglacking courage, timid
- modlöslacking courage, timid
- räddhågadlacking courage, timid
- nedslagenlacking courage, timid
- räddlacking courage, timid
- osäkerlacking courage, timid
Turkish ürkek
- ürkeklacking courage, timid
Cite this entry
fainthearted. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fainthearted
“fainthearted.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fainthearted. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fainthearted,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fainthearted.
Source: fainthearted on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.