spineless

English

Etymology

From spine +‎ -less.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Adjective

spineless (comparative more spineless, superlative most spineless)

1. (not comparable) Having no spines, prickles, or thorns.

   Synonyms: unspined, unspiny

   Antonyms: spined, spiny

   Coordinate terms: barbless, thornless (sometimes synonymous)

2. (not comparable) Having no spinal column.

   Synonym: invertebrate

3. Cowardly, uncourageous; lacking character.

   Synonyms: invertebrate; gutless, boneless (British); see also Thesaurus:cowardly

   • 2006, Robin Holt, Wittgenstein, Politics and Human Rights, →ISBN:

     If this results in a society which MacIntyre has criticized as being the province of the manager, the aesthete and the analyst, types almost sinister in their philosophical lightmindedness, superficiality, programmed uninterestingness, and their depressingly spineless willingness to grant the presence of 'despicable types' for the sake of political freedom, then so be it.

   • 2012, Vagif Sultanly, Iraj Ismaely, Modern Azerbaijanian Prose‎^[1]:

     Killership requires a person to become brave and polite. It is not deal of weakwilled and spineless people. This deal likes neither cheating nor foolishness.

Derived terms

• spinelessness
• spineless sadism

Translations

having no spine

• Belarusian: бесхрыбе́тны (bjesxrybjétny)
• Bulgarian: безгръбна́чен (bg) (bezgrǎbnáčen)
• Czech: bezpáteřný
• Estonian: selgrootu
• Finnish: selkärangaton (fi)
• German: rückgratlos (de), stachellos
• Macedonian: безрбетен (bezrbeten)
• Maori: iwituararokore
• Polish: bezkręgowy (pl)
• Russian: бесхребе́тный (ru) (besxrebétnyj), беспозвоно́чный (ru) (bespozvonóčnyj)
• Swedish: ryggradslös (sv)
• Ukrainian: безхребе́тний (uk) (bezxrebétnyj)

uncourageous

• Belarusian: бесхара́ктарны (bjesxaráktarny), бесхрыбе́тны (bjesxrybjétny), мяккаце́лы (mjakkacjély), бязво́льны (be) (bjazvólʹny)
• Bulgarian: безхара́ктерен (bg) (bezharákteren)
• Estonian: selgrootu
• Finnish: selkärangaton (fi)
• French: lâche (fr)
• German: rückgratlos (de), willenlos (de)
• Hebrew: חֲסַר חוּט שִׁדְרָה m (ḥasár ḥut shidrá), חֲסַר עַמּוּד שִׁדְרָה m (ḥasár 'amúd shidrá)
• Maori: hūngoingoi
• Polish: tchórzliwy (pl)
• Russian: бесхара́ктерный (ru) (besxarákternyj), бесхребе́тный (ru) (besxrebétnyj), мягкоте́лый (ru) (mjaxkotélyj), безво́льный (ru) (bezvólʹnyj)
• Swedish: ryggradslös (sv)
• Turkish: ödlek (tr), tabansız (tr) (figurative)
• Ukrainian: безхара́ктерний (uk) (bezxarákternyj), м'якоті́лий (mʺjakotílyj), безві́льний (bezvílʹnyj), безхребе́тний (uk) (bezxrebétnyj)

Further reading

• “spineless”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• penisless