as in cowardly
having or showing a shameful lack of courage
his dastardly conduct in a critical moment haunted him for the rest of his life
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Recent Examples of dastardly
The dastardly First Order has set up a base in the northeast corner.
—
Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Phaedra Parks, a lawyer turned reality star turned mortician turned reality star, has become the surprise fan favorite of the second season of Peacock’s dastardly game of deception The Traitors.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 1 Mar. 2024
Based on author Gregory Maguire’s spin on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the perspective of its most dastardly villain, Wicked follows would-be nemeses Galinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba as their unlikely friendship blossoms in college.
—Sezin Koehler, EW.com, 28 Feb. 2025
The closer analogy may actually be to Star Wars, a story about a boy named Luke Skywalker who is told that a dastardly villain called Darth Vader killed his father, Anakin Skywalker, only to discover that Vader is his father.
—Eliana Dockterman, Time, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dastardly
Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
Phaedra Parks, a lawyer turned reality star turned mortician turned reality star, has become the surprise fan favorite of the second season of Peacock’s dastardly game of deception The Traitors.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 1 Mar. 2024
Based on author Gregory Maguire’s spin on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the perspective of its most dastardly villain, Wicked follows would-be nemeses Galinda (Ariana Grande) and Elphaba as their unlikely friendship blossoms in college.
—Sezin Koehler, EW.com, 28 Feb. 2025
The closer analogy may actually be to Star Wars, a story about a boy named Luke Skywalker who is told that a dastardly villain called Darth Vader killed his father, Anakin Skywalker, only to discover that Vader is his father.
—Eliana Dockterman, Time, 31 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for dastardly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dastardly
Adjective
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Those who resort to violence to undermine our state and nation must be held accountable, and our state leaders must reinforce through decisive action that these cowardly attacks will not be tolerated.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2025
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The cowardly capitulation of Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps are negative examples to be learned from.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
29 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Moreover, Rocket has a relatively new CEO who wants to dominate the mortgage industry and is not afraid of technology, previously working at Intuit, PayPal, Groupon and Microsoft.—
Kenneth Squire,
CNBC,
24 May 2025
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The youngest cast member at the time, Williams set the tone for the raw emotion the show was not afraid to show over the years.—
Jen Juneau,
People.com,
24 May 2025
Adjective
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Though authorities in South Yorkshire and centrally were to blame for the disaster, some of the deceased were still fighting for their lives when those responsible started shifting the focus away from their own failings, buttressed by support from craven sections of the media.—
Simon Hughes,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2025
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Lead actors Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Anthony Mackie share minimal chemistry, though the episode’s most craven move has to be contriving a loophole giving the romantic opposites an easy out.—
Charles Bramesco,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Plus, hearing from the new owners, those dogs have also been scared and skittish around humans.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 May 2025
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While gold is a popular choice when investors are scared, other alternatives such as infrastructure and real estate offer similar protection.—
Eric Satz,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
Adjective
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Horses are naturally skittish animals that can easily become frightened and bolt.—
Moná Thomas,
People.com,
27 May 2025
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Footage from the immediate aftermath captured mothers and fathers clutching children on their hips, running through the mist of water dousing the flames, while frightened dogs scrambled alongside them.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
23 May 2025
Adjective
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Some also have lost lawyers, dismayed by the pusillanimous behavior of their leaders.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
28 May 2025
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The second believed the United States could attain comprehensive security through military-technological means and saw diplomacy as a quixotic or pusillanimous enterprise that dishonored and weakened the country.—
A. Wess Mitchell,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The look features bright coral eyeshadow covering the eyelid, a fuchsia shade in the crease, and a swipe of fluorescent yellow eyeliner on the outside half of the eye and right under the brow.—
Andrea Park,
Teen Vogue,
20 July 2017
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Three prominent Austin chefs teamed up with the Youngblood family to build a new restaurant from scratch that looks like a legacy chicken dinner house, down to the bright blue-and-yellow colors and the helpings of hot yeast rolls with honey.—
Bud Kennedy,
star-telegram,
19 July 2017
Adjective
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That larger significance is remarkably unheroic and fatalistic.—
Gabriel Winslow-Yost,
Harper's Magazine,
23 Sep. 2024
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In the world of The Boys, based on the gleefully scabrous 2000s indie comic-book series of the same name by writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson, superheroes are real, pop-culture-dominating, and with rare exceptions, entirely unheroic.—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
13 June 2024
Cite this Entry
“Dastardly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dastardly. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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