- spineless
- [[t]spa͟ɪnləs[/t]]
ADJ-GRADED (disapproval)If you say that someone is spineless, you mean that they are afraid to take action or oppose people when they should.
...bureaucrats and spineless politicians.
English dictionary. 2008.
spineless
Look at other dictionaries:
Spineless — Spine less, a. 1. Having no spine, or vertebral column. [1913 Webster] 2. Having no thorns or barbs. [PJC] 3. lacking in strength of character; cowardly, in a physical or moral sense. [PJC] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
spineless — index irresolute, obsequious, powerless Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
spineless — 1827, of animals, from SPINE (Cf. spine) + LESS (Cf. less). Meaning “lacking moral force” is from 1885. Related: Spinelessly; spinelessness … Etymology dictionary
spineless — [adj] cowardly amoebalike*, fainthearted, fearful, feeble, forceless, frightened, gutless*, impotent, inadequate, ineffective, ineffectual, invertebrate, irresolute, lily livered*, nerveless, pithless, soft, spiritless, squeamish, submissive,… … New thesaurus
spineless — ► ADJECTIVE 1) having no spine; invertebrate. 2) (of an animal or plant) lacking spines. 3) lacking courage and determination. DERIVATIVES spinelessly adverb spinelessness noun … English terms dictionary
spineless — [spīn′lis] adj. 1. having no backbone; invertebrate 2. having a weak or flexible backbone 3. lacking courage, resistance, willpower, etc. 4. without spines, or thorny processes spinelessly adv. spinelessness n … English World dictionary
spineless — spine|less [ spaınləs ] adjective 1. ) not brave or determined enough to deal with a situation well: spineless acceptance 2. ) a spineless animal does not have a SPINE … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
spineless — adjective 1 lacking courage and determination: a bunch of spineless do gooders 2 without a spine: spineless creatures such as jellyfish spinelessly adverb spinelessness noun (U) … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
spineless — UK [ˈspaɪnləs] / US adjective 1) not brave or determined enough to deal with a situation well Critics condemned the government s decision to back down as spineless. 2) a spineless animal does not have a spine … English dictionary
Spineless — Gène de la drosophile La drosophile Drosophila melanogaster est un animal modèle de la génétique. Sa petite taille, son taux de reproduction ainsi que son cycle de vie court permettent d en faire facilement l élevage dans de simples bocaux à… … Wikipédia en Français
