(A) petty and contemptible thing(s).
A low-ranking officer who lords over and needlessly makes life miserable for his underlings; a petty, abusive martinet.
coward
cowardly
petty and contemptible; contemptibly unimportant. (Compare bullshit.)
something that causes privation or indicates an absence
causing privation; depriving
consisting in the absence of something; negative
indicating the absence of something