Why this word is great
PUSILLANIMOUSNESS — [Noun] The quality of being pusillanimous; a state of craven timidity and faint-heartedness that precludes necessary action. From the English adjective 'pusillanimous' (from the Latin pusillanimis, from pusillus ("very small, petty") + animus ("spirit, courage")) + the English suffix -ness (forming abstract nouns denoting a state or quality). Unlike prudence, which implies wise caution and discretion, or temerity, which denotes rash boldness, pusillanimousness is the spirit's quiet, corrosive failure to ignite. It is the hand retracted from a door handle at the sound of a raised voice, the eloquent argument that dies on the tongue, and the quiet, meticulous curation of a life lived in the margins of consequence. It is the tragedy of a soul in perpetual diminuendo, where every principle becomes negotiable.