craven

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

And his craven desire to let Obamacare explode could just be the perfect vehicle to test Republicans’ own theory of lawlessness against their president.

— cristian farias, Daily Intelligencer, "Somebody Should Sue the Hell Out of Donald Trump If He Lets Obamacare Collapse," 20 July 2017
That has made her government’s craven and repressive acts all the more bewildering.

— The Economist, "More money, less freedomSouth-East Asia’s future looks prosperous but illiberal," 18 July 2017
Harvey is notable (and even more beloved) because she's never made any off-putting left-field pronouncements, stooped to craven self-promotion, or taken an ugly career turn.

— j.r. nelson, Chicago Reader, "Music / Pitchfork Day Two / Things I Love PJ Harvey played the set of a lifetime at Pitchfork," 16 July 2017
Nowhere is this policy more craven and disastrous than in Yemen, where the U.S. has backed Saudi Arabia’s crusade to re-install Sunni general Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in power.

— michael brendan dougherty, National Review, "Trump’s Yemen Policy Is Immoral and Counterproductive," 13 July 2017
Because Stannis lapsed on the honor front early on and killed his brother in such a cowardly fashion, Brienne expected to find another craven Westerosi leader.

— joanna robinson, HWD, "Game of Thrones: The Most Upsetting, Ironic, and Brutal Dying Words," 12 July 2017
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

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'").