yellow

adjective

ˈye-(ˌ)lō How to pronounce yellow (audio)
Definition of yellownext
as in afraid
having or showing a shameful lack of courage you'll come with us into the cave, unless you're yellow

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of yellow Next thing her cohosts knew, Guthrie was in a yellow gingham dress on the Today plaza. — Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 7 July 2026 Available in blue, pink, purple, yellow, and white flowers, catmint is a member of the mint family or Lamiaceae. — Steve Bender, Southern Living, 7 July 2026 This involves submitting the purple category first, followed by blue, green and yellow. — Kris Holt, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026 Add shortening and continue cutting in until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal with butter bits no larger than small peas. — Kate Bradshaw, Mercury News, 7 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for yellow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for yellow
  1. afraid
  2. scared
  3. frightened
  4. careful
  5. pusillanimous
  6. spineless
  7. cowardly
  8. craven
Adjective
  • If your bathroom has a basic flush mount, don’t be afraid to replace it with something more eye-catching, like a sputnik chandelier or a lantern pendant.
    — Marisa Suzanne Martin, The Spruce, 8 July 2026
  • People shouldn’t be afraid, Hammerschlag says, because human-shark encounters are extremely rare—you’re statistically more likely to be killed by lightning.
    — Sam Nichols, Scientific American, 8 July 2026
Definition of afraid
Adjective
  • On Saturday, July 4, the Kansas City, Kansas, Fire Department rescued a dog that had fallen into a well after running away scared from the sound of fireworks.
    — Emily Harter, Kansas City Star, 6 July 2026
  • Playing happily one second, and too scared to be alone the next.
    — Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 5 July 2026
Definition of scared
Adjective
  • The bear, seemingly frightened, quickly turns away from the boy and continues running, sliding under a boat parked in the driveway.
    — Mason Leib, ABC News, 7 July 2026
  • In May, a frightened horse rammed into another carriage, causing the vehicle to flip over, injuring the driver.
    — ANDREA SACHS THE WASHINGTON POST, Arkansas Online, 28 June 2026
Definition of frightened
Adjective
  • When an accident brings the enigmatic Gaia into their lives, unexpected desires begin to take shape, unsettling the careful balance that has long defined their relationship.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 9 July 2026
  • Be careful when handling debris that may have blown into your yard.
    — CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 8 July 2026
Definition of careful
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
Definition of pusillanimous
Adjective
  • And now the nation will probably never get back to normal because a spineless GOP can never admit that it’s been conned.
    — Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 22 May 2026
  • Some of Thomas’s critique appeared to be aimed at weak-willed conservatives, including his fellow-Justices, for being, as Thomas perceives it, too spineless to stand up for the ideals enshrined in the Declaration.
    — Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 21 May 2026
Definition of spineless
Adjective
  • Or maybe the problem is Cape Fear itself for being too cowardly to commit to the certainty that drove the previous versions of this story.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 26 June 2026
  • But even the most perfect Constitution can be undone by the wicked with the help of the bought, the stupid, and the cowardly.
    — Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026
Definition of cowardly
Adjective
  • Not an inspiration for craven pundits and politicians to use players as divisive avatars.
    — Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 2 July 2026
  • In 2024, The Onion purchased Infowars, the conspiracy website born of the craven lunatic/Sandy Hook shooting denier Alex Jones.
    — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 29 Apr. 2026
Definition of craven

Browse Nearby Words

yelling
yellow
yells
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Yellow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/yellow. Accessed 12 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on yellow

Nglish: Translation of yellow for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about yellow

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of fulcrum

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All