craven

play

adjective cra·ven \ˈkrā-vən\

Definition of craven

1 archaic : defeated, vanquished
2 : lacking the least bit of courage : contemptibly fainthearted … craven mercenaries who would not fight … — Thomas Fleming

craven

noun

cravenly

adverb

cravenness

play \ˈkrā-vən-nəs\ noun

See craven defined for English-language learners

See craven defined for kids

craven was our Word of the Day on 12/17/2007. Hear the podcast!

Examples of craven in a Sentence

a craven refusal to deliver the unwelcome news personally

Recent Examples of craven from the Web

Meyer is on the one hand, as a politician and person, more awful than ever—more craven, more selfish, more willing to betray those who are loyal to her for momentary political gain.

— megan garber, The Atlantic, "The Most Pessimistic Episode of Veep Yet", 26 June 2017
On the other hand, at least the Senate waited to get this CBO score before voting, which is a lot more than Paul Ryan and his merry band of craven simpletons in the House can say these days.

— jay willis, GQ, "The CBO Score for Senate Republicans' Health Care Bill Is Worse Than You Thought", 26 June 2017
Exhausted from having craven boneheads chosen to lead departments governing the environment, the Treasury, education, and the interior.

— graydon carter, The Hive, "Trump’s White House: The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight", 19 June 2017
The details — the dog that licks the drifter's hand, the description of the beauty that drives him mad, his increasingly craven offers to keep her — echo the wordplay that made Berry rock 'n' roll's first poet.

— greg kot, chicagotribune.com, "Chuck Berry's final album a mix of glory-days references, a few surprises", 9 June 2017
In any case, Senate Republicans are painted into a corner—and their only response may be to push something equally, if not more, craven.

— alex shephard, New Republic, "House Republicans screwed Senate Republicans on Trumpcare.", 24 May 2017
Starving terrorists of their territory, of their funding, and the false allure of the craven ideology will be the basis for easily defeating them.

— washington post staff, Washington Post, "President Trump’s full speech from Saudi Arabia on global terrorism", 21 May 2017
Starving terrorists of their territory, their funding, and the false allure of their craven ideology, will be the basis for defeating them.

— CNN, "Transcript of Trump's speech in Saudi Arabia", 21 May 2017
Starving terrorists of their territory, their funding, and the false allure of their craven ideology, will be the basis for defeating them.

— NBC News, "Read Trump’s Speech to the Muslim World Here", 21 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'craven'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Craven and its synonyms "dastardly" and "pusillanimous" are all basically fancy words for "cowardly." Don't be afraid to use them - here's a little information to help you recognize the subtle distinctions in their connotations. "Craven" suggests extreme defeatism and complete lack of resistance. One might speak of "craven yes-men." "Dastardly" often implies behavior that is both cowardly and treacherous or skulking or outrageous, as in this example: "a dastardly attack on unarmed civilians." "Pusillanimous" suggests a contemptible lack of courage (e.g., "After the attack, one editorialist characterized the witnesses as 'the pusillanimous bystanders'").

Origin and Etymology of craven

Middle English cravant

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First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

Synonym Discussion of craven

cowardly, pusillanimous, craven, dastardly mean having or showing a lack of courage. cowardly implies a weak or ignoble lack of courage. a cowardly failure to stand up for principle pusillanimous suggests a contemptible lack of courage. the pusillanimous fear of a future full of possibility craven suggests extreme defeatism and complete lack of resistance. secretly despised her own craven yes-men dastardly often implies behavior that is both cowardly and treacherous or skulking or outrageous. a dastardly attack on unarmed civilians