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cowardice
Sign in to saveAlso known as cowardness
right|thumb|The Cowardly Lion, from [[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]] Cowardice is a characteristic wherein excessive fear prevents an individual from taking a risk or facing danger. It is the opposite of courage. As a label, "cowardice" indicates a failure of character in the face of a challenge. One who succumbs to cowardice is known as a coward.
Cowardice is when excessive fear prevents someone from taking risks or facing danger—essentially the opposite of courage. The label "cowardice" suggests a failure of character when someone gives in to that fear rather than confronting a challenge.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
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- Etymology
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right|thumb|The Cowardly Lion, from [[The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]] Cowardice is a characteristic wherein excessive fear prevents an individual from taking a risk or facing danger. It is the opposite of courage. As a label, "cowardice" indicates a failure of character in the face of a challenge. One who succumbs to cowardice is known as a coward.
As the opposite of bravery, which many historical and current human societies reward, cowardice is seen as a character flaw that is detrimental to society and thus the failure to face one's fear is often stigmatized or punished.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “cowardice” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.