cower

verb

cow·​er ˈkau̇(-ə)r 

cowered; cowering; cowers

intransitive verb

: to shrink away or crouch especially for shelter from something that menaces, domineers, or dismays

They all cowered silently in their places, seeming to know in advance that some terrible thing was about to happen.

—George Orwell

Synonyms

• cringe
• grovel
• quail

Choose the Right Synonym for cower

fawn, toady, truckle, cringe, cower mean to behave abjectly before a superior.

fawn implies seeking favor by servile flattery or exaggerated attention.

waiters fawning over a celebrity

toady suggests the attempt to ingratiate oneself by an abjectly menial or subservient attitude.

toadying to his boss

truckle implies the subordination of oneself and one's desires or judgment to those of a superior.

truckling to a powerful lobbyist

cringe suggests a bowing or shrinking in fear or servility.

a cringing sycophant

cower suggests a display of abject fear in the company of threatening or domineering people.

cowering before a bully

Examples of cower in a Sentence

They cowered at the sight of the gun.

She was cowering in the closet.

I cowered behind the door.

Recent Examples on the Web

During solar eclipses, when the sky briefly turns dark, dogs may cower, birds stop flying and grow quiet, and nocturnal creatures emerge. —Mallory Moench, TIME, 7 Apr. 2024

Most of the dead were killed cowering in basements when their homes collapsed upon them. —Jerome Hansen, Jack Schermerhorn, Ralph Nelson and Ken McCormick, Detroit Free Press, 6 Apr. 2024

Against both Houston and Princeton, the Wildcats cowered. —Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2024

Both cousins were injured and Rifi had had to cower amid the dead in an early morning melee that erupted when the rare aid convoy passed an Israeli military checkpoint and entered Gaza City. —Jonathan Baran, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024

But rather than cower in fear, there’s a confident air about each of them. —Jenna Wang, Peoplemag, 24 Feb. 2024

Pictures of a mother clutching her baby, a young family cowering in a bomb shelter, and heroic Russian soldiers recall images of World War II, which Russian propagandists routinely use to legitimize the current conflict. —Francesca Ebel, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024

Craig Melvin and Hoda Kotb could only look on in fear, cowering from Larry David’s famous Hulk-like strength. —Vulture, 1 Feb. 2024

The young men cowered in the waiting room and on the upper floors, terrified that their attackers might find them. —Alma Guillermoprieto, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English couren, probably from Middle Low German kūren

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

cower

verb

cow·​er ˈkau̇(-ə)r 

: to shrink away or crouch down (as from fear)