- spineless
- adjective Date: 1827 1. free from spines, thorns, or prickles 2. a. having no spinal column ; invertebrate b. lacking strength of character • spinelessly adverb • spinelessness noun
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
spineless
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Spineless — Spine less, a. 1. Having no spine, or vertebral column. [1913 Webster] 2. Having no thorns or barbs. [PJC] 3. lacking in strength of character; cowardly, in a physical or moral sense. [PJC] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
spineless — index irresolute, obsequious, powerless Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
spineless — 1827, of animals, from SPINE (Cf. spine) + LESS (Cf. less). Meaning “lacking moral force” is from 1885. Related: Spinelessly; spinelessness … Etymology dictionary
spineless — [adj] cowardly amoebalike*, fainthearted, fearful, feeble, forceless, frightened, gutless*, impotent, inadequate, ineffective, ineffectual, invertebrate, irresolute, lily livered*, nerveless, pithless, soft, spiritless, squeamish, submissive,… … New thesaurus
spineless — ► ADJECTIVE 1) having no spine; invertebrate. 2) (of an animal or plant) lacking spines. 3) lacking courage and determination. DERIVATIVES spinelessly adverb spinelessness noun … English terms dictionary
spineless — [spīn′lis] adj. 1. having no backbone; invertebrate 2. having a weak or flexible backbone 3. lacking courage, resistance, willpower, etc. 4. without spines, or thorny processes spinelessly adv. spinelessness n … English World dictionary
spineless — spine|less [ spaınləs ] adjective 1. ) not brave or determined enough to deal with a situation well: spineless acceptance 2. ) a spineless animal does not have a SPINE … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
spineless — [[t]spa͟ɪnləs[/t]] ADJ GRADED (disapproval) If you say that someone is spineless, you mean that they are afraid to take action or oppose people when they should. ...bureaucrats and spineless politicians … English dictionary
spineless — adjective 1 lacking courage and determination: a bunch of spineless do gooders 2 without a spine: spineless creatures such as jellyfish spinelessly adverb spinelessness noun (U) … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
spineless — UK [ˈspaɪnləs] / US adjective 1) not brave or determined enough to deal with a situation well Critics condemned the government s decision to back down as spineless. 2) a spineless animal does not have a spine … English dictionary
Spineless — Gène de la drosophile La drosophile Drosophila melanogaster est un animal modèle de la génétique. Sa petite taille, son taux de reproduction ainsi que son cycle de vie court permettent d en faire facilement l élevage dans de simples bocaux à… … Wikipédia en Français
