These words mean lacking courage to a degree that arouses disapproval and disgust. Cowardly is the most common word of the three, and is applied opprobriously to persons who are unwilling or unable to prevent their fear or timidity from influencing their actions unduly; it can also refer to the actions themselves: In the Wild West, shooting a man in the back was considered cowardly ; too cowardly to stand up and fight.

Craven and pusillanimous are formal words encountered mainly in writing. Craven is applied to persons or conduct that is outrageously or abjectly cowardly , and that flagrantly violates the prevailing cultural standards of courage: The craven captive grovelled at our feet, begging for mercy. Pusillanimous differs from the other terms in pointing more strongly to temperamental timidity than to fear as the basis of the resulting action or inaction. Pusillanimous represents a contemptible moral squeamishness rather than a physical cowardliness, although it is quite possible for the same person to be both pusillanimous and cowardly . What chiefly distinguishes the pusillanimous person, however, is his unwillingness to press for his right: His pusillanimous reaction was to sigh and say, "Well, it really won’t do to make a fuss."