What does poltroon mean?
Poltroon is a literary and strongly derogatory noun for an utter or despicable coward. It is more than a neutral label for someone who is afraid: the word implies that the person's cowardice is contemptible and that their conduct is reprehensible. In modern English, it survives mainly in formal prose, historical writing, literature, and exaggerated insult rather than in ordinary neutral description. A speaker might call a rival a poltroon in a heated exchange, while a narrator might use the word to portray a character as morally despicable. Because of its strongly condemnatory tone, poltroon generally appears where the speaker is unmistakably criticizing the person being described. The word is uncommon in casual speech but remains distinctive in literature, where it conveys both cowardice and the speaker's contempt. Knowing it enriches older texts and emphasizes the difference between ordinary fear and the sort of cowardice the word treats as shameful.
nounA contemptible or utter coward.
- A person who is contemptibly or utterly cowardly.
"His detractors dismissed him as a poltroon for abandoning his post at the first sign of danger."
"The king branded his brother a poltroon after he fled the battlefield without a backward glance."
"The novel uses the word 'poltroon' as a swaggering insult between two bitter rivals."
The plural is poltroons, with no change to the final syllable.
"The novel condemns the rulers it portrays as cowards and poltroons."
The insult is pointed: a poltroon is not merely someone who feels afraid, but someone who is despicably cowardly.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does poltroon come from?
The word entered English in the early 17th century through French poltron, meaning 'coward,' from Italian poltrone, meaning 'idler' or 'coward.' The source word had earlier senses connected with a colt or young horse, and its development toward the sense 'coward' associated weakness and idleness with an ineffective person. English adopted the pejorative sense 'despicable coward,' which remains the word's only common modern meaning.
Related word forms
How poltroon is actually used
Strongly derogatory and literary, with a somewhat archaic or historical tone. It survives in formal prose, older literature, and emphatic speech, but is uncommon in neutral conversation.