tim·or·ous

[tim-er-uhs]
adjective
1.
full of fear; fearful: The noise made them timorous.
2.
subject to fear; timid.
3.
characterized by or indicating fear: a timorous whisper.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English < Medieval Latin timōrōsus (Latin timōr- (stem of timor) fear + -ōsus -ous)

tim·or·ous·ly, adverb
tim·or·ous·ness, noun
o·ver·tim·or·ous, adjective
o·ver·tim·or·ous·ly, adverb
o·ver·tim·or·ous·ness, noun
un·tim·or·ous, adjective
un·tim·or·ous·ly, adverb
un·tim·or·ous·ness, noun


1. See cowardly.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Timorous is a GRE word you need to know.
So is axiom. Does it mean:
to praise, extol
a self-evident truth that requires no proof, a universally accepted principle or rule
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World English Dictionary
timorous (ˈtɪmərəs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  fearful or timid
2.  indicating fear or timidity
 
[C15: from Old French temoros, from Medieval Latin timōrōsus, from Latin timor fear, from timēre to be afraid]
 
'timorously
 
adv
 
'timorousness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

timorous
mid-15c., from O.Fr. temeros (14c.), from M.L. timorosus "fearful," from L. timor "fear," from timere "to fear." Some early sense confused by mistaken identification with M.E. temerous "rash" (see temerity).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The censors are inevitably timorous, possibly cretinous bureaucrats blind or indifferent to art's necessities.
It attached itself to everything that was done order was enforced with no timorous authority.
We are becoming a nation of moles, timorous creatures who scurry through side and subterranean entrances.
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