recreant
[ rek-ree-uhnt ]
adjective
cowardly or craven.
unfaithful, disloyal, or traitorous.
noun
a coward.
an apostate, traitor, or renegade.
Origin of recreant
11300–50; Middle English <Old French, adj. and noun use of present participle of recreire to yield in a contest, equivalent to re-re- + creire<Latin crēdere to believe
Other words for recreant
1 | dastardly, pusillanimous, base, faint-hearted, yellow |
2 | faithless, untrue, apostate |
3 | dastard |
Opposites for recreant
Other words from recreant
- rec·re·ance, rec·re·an·cy, noun
- rec·re·ant·ly, adverb
- un·rec·re·ant, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use recreant in a sentence
He smiled to see her grieving at this recreance of her memory to her conscience.
The Lady of the Aroostook | William Dean Howells
British Dictionary definitions for recreant
recreant
/ (ˈrɛkrɪənt) archaic /
adjective
cowardly; faint-hearted
disloyal
noun
a disloyal or cowardly person
Origin of recreant
1C14: from Old French, from recroire to surrender, from re- + Latin crēdere to believe; compare miscreant
Derived forms of recreant
- recreance or recreancy, noun
- recreantly, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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