as in craven
a person who shows a shameful lack of courage in the face of danger
the soldiers who ran as soon as the first shots were fired were branded as cowards
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as in cowardly
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of coward
Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Jan. 2026
And Trump calls ’em almost like cowards.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Jan. 2026
James Arthur, The New York Review of Books, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for coward
Noun
Please do not take the coward’s way.
—Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Jan. 2026
And Trump calls ’em almost like cowards.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
Whoomp, whoomp bumped the coward heart.
—James Arthur, The New York Review of Books, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for coward
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coward
Noun
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As cold fronts continue to pummel the East coast and craven billionaires and mad kings continue to play pickle-ball with our rights, lifting up the light has rarely felt more important.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Obi-Wan, the craven victor, revealing his true self.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
On the flat arid plains below lives the farming community of the Bezaris, who are generally seen by the Hazerans as a group of privileged, cowardly usurers.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
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We will not be defined by the cowardly acts, but instead be defined by our unwavering response and our resolve to defeat them.—
Alexandra Simon,
CBS News,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Put chicken in a bowl, add Creole seasoning and work it in with a large spoon or your hands.—
Oc Register,
Oc Register,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Surrounded by farmland and wetlands, three generations of the Hunter family have grown crops and raised cattle, chickens and horses in this quiet corner of northwest Indiana.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
2 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
And all the while, our gutless politicians watch from the sidelines so as to not interfere and risk angering their party.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Trump and the gutless GOP Congress may be leading America into World War III.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
10 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Some also have lost lawyers, dismayed by the pusillanimous behavior of their leaders.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
28 May 2025
-
The second believed the United States could attain comprehensive security through military-technological means and saw diplomacy as a quixotic or pusillanimous enterprise that dishonored and weakened the country.—
A. Wess Mitchell,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Coward.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coward. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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