What's the difference between pusillanimous and timorous?

Pusillanimous


Definition:

  • (a.) Destitute of a manly or courageous strength and firmness of mind; of weak spirit; mean-spirited; spiritless; cowardly; -- said of persons, as, a pussillanimous prince.
  • (a.) Evincing, or characterized by, weakness of mind, and want of courage; feeble; as, pusillanimous counsels.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) It is a pusillanimous, jargon-ridden, self-perpetuating proof of Parkinson's law .
  • (2) Is there any Eurosceptic in this pusillanimous cabinet with the guts to speak his mind and put principles and country before personal ambition?” the Mail asks.
  • (3) To be a bystander when one's discipline does offer insights and methods of value discernment is pusillanimous.
  • (4) He was the government’s top Europe adviser at David Cameron’s side throughout Britain’s EU renegotiation, where some accused him of pusillanimity in the face of Brussels intransigence .
  • (5) Result: the normally admirable Mr Grieve risked seeming a pusillanimous ministerial jobsworth unwilling to let the public learn the full truth about our foolish and meddling heir to the throne.
  • (6) But to make that a reason to abandon the policy would be pusillanimous in the extreme.
  • (7) This may be just what ministers' friends say to appease backbench plotters feeling betrayed by the apparent pusillanimity of cabinet failure to jump after Purnell.
  • (8) The Mail made clear its frustration: “Is there any Eurosceptic in this pusillanimous cabinet with the guts to speak his mind and put principles and country before personal ambition?” But while the Times called Boris Johnson “right”, the Sun is expected to take a far tougher line on a man the paper has already outed, along with Michael Gove, as being on the side of in.
  • (9) Britain and France, Europe's two military heavyweights, took the lead on the Libyan intervention in the teeth of outright opposition from Germany and pusillanimity in Washington.
  • (10) Why aren’t these faithless, pusillanimous people retaliating as they should, by surging towards Ukip with cries of revenge against all Muslims?
  • (11) For some, Wapping planted a decisive nail in the coffin of what Andrew Neil, a former Murdoch editor, has described as "all that was wrong with British industry: pusillanimous management, pig-headed unions, crazy restrictive practices, endless strikes and industrial disruption, and archaic technology".
  • (12) But only nine days into his administration, Clinton found himself at a press conference explaining “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, an awkward (and many thought pusillanimous) compromise to permit gays and lesbians to serve in the military.
  • (13) The British government – pusillanimous as ever – thinks it is too sensitive a subject for us to ask the US why it is flouting an international agreement.
  • (14) The question then is, is this pusillanimity on his part?
  • (15) The pusillanimity of the remain campaign’s failure to counter these claims was indefensible.
  • (16) Amid so many humanitarian emergencies, it would be callous of Mr Cameron to pursue this nomination and pusillanimous of the secretary general to accept it.
  • (17) Heads should roll," he wrote on his website, "Isn't it really about time we decent, nice, liberal people stopped being so pusillanimously terrified of being thought 'Islamophobic' and stood up for decent, nice, liberal values?"

Timorous


Definition:

  • (a.) Fearful of danger; timid; deficient in courage.
  • (a.) Indicating, or caused by, fear; as, timorous doubts.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Disguised as "trainers", these lethal aircraft were used against the villages of East Timor.
  • (2) The epidemiology of Timor filariasis was observed during a clinical and parasitologic survey of persons living in a remote village on the island of Flores, Southeast Indonesia.
  • (3) Whistleblowers with dual citizenship who speak out on Australia’s national security – including those involved in allegations that Timor-Leste’s cabinet room was bugged – could face having their citizenship revoked under proposed laws.
  • (4) A spokeswoman for the AFP did not confirm the particular section of the referral, but said in a statement: “On 13 December 2013, the Australian federal police received a referral from the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation relating to an allegation a former Australian intelligence officer disclosed information relating to operational activity in Timor-Leste.
  • (5) In 50 per cent the gynaecologist was to timorous because of a length of more than 7 cm.
  • (6) Australia has made fresh promises limiting how it might use documents at the heart of a dispute with Timor-Leste , attempting to weaken the case for the international court of justice to order the sensitive material be surrendered.
  • (7) We must not allow ideological opposition to dams to hold back development.” Money will also be pumped into trade and tourism, as a way of attracting investment in the region, including $2.5m for fostering business links with Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.
  • (8) Daw Suu Kyi is the leader and is the one with the primary responsibility to lead, and lead with courage, humanity and compassion.” ‘It will blow up’: fears Myanmar's deadly crackdown on Muslims will spiral out of control Read more Nobel peace laureates who signed the letter include Jose Ramos-Horta , former president of East Timor, and Yemeni opposition activist Tawakul Karman .
  • (9) Impressed, one forgets that Australia has sustained continual military action since 1999, from East Timor to Afghanistan and Iraq.
  • (10) Voluntas vincendi maior timore perdendi” – “The will to win is greater than the fear of losing.” Anderlecht’s Steven Defour sees red over Standard Liège fans’ banner Read more This self-determination has proved vital.
  • (11) Collaery told the ABC he believed the key witness had been arrested in Canberra – the former intelligence official who had come forward as a whistleblower in the Timor case.
  • (12) We collect intelligence to save Australian lives, to save the lives of Australian people, to promote Australian values, to promote the universal decencies of humanity and to help our friends and neighbours, including Indonesia, and as I said our intelligence has been instrumental in defending many terrorist attacks in Indonesia and elsewhere.” Abbott’s comments come as a court case continues in the international court of justice in which East Timor has accused Australia of “unprecedented, improper and inexplicable” conduct after it raided the offices of a lawyer representing the country in a dispute over an oil and gas treaty.
  • (13) Timor-Leste has now initiated arbitration under article 23 of the Timor Sea treaty.
  • (14) Suharto gained his biggest reward for destroying the Indonesian left when he invaded East Timor in December 1975, only a day after the US president, Gerald Ford, and his secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, had dined with him.
  • (15) Timor-Leste is reluctant to pursue the Indonesian military for its crimes, provable in part due to Australian eavesdropping, in the name of enhanced relations with its all-powerful neighbour in Jakarta.
  • (16) It does not amount to a waiver of the rights which Timor-Leste has under international law in respect to its property,” he said.
  • (17) The pair reached an agreement that should have brought unity to East Timor, which has suffered awful violence since Indonesia invaded in 1975.
  • (18) The veracity of the allegations, which relate to negotiations in the Timor-Leste capital Dili in 2004 and Canberra in 2005, is yet to be publicly proven.
  • (19) Timor-Leste says Australia has failed to provide an explanation for the allegations.
  • (20) In 1999 one of those involved in Australia’s Timor-Leste intelligence operations told me: “When they say it, we hear it.” And that included the militias’ plans to raze the province after the autonomy ballot.