spineless Hear it!

spineless Definition

spine·less (spīnlis)

adjective

  1. having no backbone; invertebrate
  2. having a weak or flexible backbone
  3. lacking courage, resistance, willpower, etc.
  4. without spines, or thorny processes

spineless Related Forms
spine·lessly adverb spine·less·ness noun
spineless Synonyms

spineless

modif.

  1. Flexible

    pliable, limber, soft; see flexible 1.

  2. Weak

    timid, fearful, frightened; see cowardly 1, weak 3.

spineless Usage Examples

Modifies a noun

  • coward: And what have the spineless cowards at the FA done?
  • politician: Tony Blair, that bogus spineless politician who runs our country.
  • performance: January 12 A spineless performance The government's vision for the NHS was shamed by the inconvenient failure of its new IT system.
  • capitulation: Or is it just the worst kind of spineless, liberal capitulation to secular sensibilities?
  • government: We will no longer allow spineless British governments or their security puppets to play politics with our lives.
  • bunch: It's never Blair or Brown or Prescott or any others of that spineless bunch.

Modifying Another Word

  • too: I think Hague is too spineless to come up with any views of his own.
  • so: Or we slip and fall yet again to our desires of one sort or another and feel angry with ourselves for being so spineless.
  • rather: It's not a thoroughly unlikeable film, but the female characters are thin and the gentlemen rather spineless.
  • not: We want to make strong, helpful women of them - not spineless jellyfish!

Browse dictionary entries near spineless

  1. spinel
  2. spine-tingling
  3. spine
  4. spindrift
  5. spindly
  6. spindling
  7. spindlelegs
  8. spindle tree
  9. spindle-legged
  10. spindle
  1. spinescent
  2. spinet
  3. spiniferous
  4. spinifex
  5. spininess
  6. spinnaker
  7. spinner
  8. spinneret
  9. spinney
  10. spinning