also: きょじゃく
noun
Literary or formal term for cowardice or weakness of spirit. Not used in everyday conversation; more common in written or classical contexts.
彼の怯弱な態度が、戦いの前にすでに敗北を予感させた。
His cowardly attitude foreshadowed defeat even before the battle.
Compound of 怯 (fear, cowardice) and 弱 (weakness). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the spelling is conventionally associated with the meaning of cowardice or timidity.