as in coward
a person who shows a shameful lack of courage in the face of danger
a staunch hawk during the drumbeat for war, he proved to be a chicken when it came to actually fighting it
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in yellow
having or showing a shameful lack of courage
too chicken to go through with the stunt
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nominal
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
just concentrate on the important duties of the job and forget about the chicken stuff
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of chicken
Shane Enete, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
Transfer to a plate, and loosely cover with foil to keep warm (temperature will continue to rise as chicken rests).
—Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 29 Apr. 2025
But there’s also a tasty sea bass in prawn sauce with paria (an Andean cheese), and a yellow chicken stew.
—Jennifer Kester, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
On Monday, April 28, the chicken joint announced the return of its popular menu item, Chicken & Waffles, according to a press release.
—Rachel Raposas, People.com, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chicken
Noun
My next unnecessary thing to grow in is taking care of chickens.
—Shane Enete, Forbes.com, 9 May 2025
Transfer to a plate, and loosely cover with foil to keep warm (temperature will continue to rise as chicken rests).
—Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 29 Apr. 2025
But there’s also a tasty sea bass in prawn sauce with paria (an Andean cheese), and a yellow chicken stew.
—Jennifer Kester, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
On Monday, April 28, the chicken joint announced the return of its popular menu item, Chicken & Waffles, according to a press release.
—Rachel Raposas, People.com, 28 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for chicken
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chicken
Noun
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Floundering in his career and stressed about planning his wedding, Yvan’s woes compound when his oldest friends turn their insults on him, calling him a coward, an amoeba and a fan of motel art.—
Emily McClanathan,
Chicago Tribune,
7 May 2025
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That’s when one coward hit me from behind with a backpack.—
Brie Stimson , Louis Casiano,
FOXNews.com,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The look features bright coral eyeshadow covering the eyelid, a fuchsia shade in the crease, and a swipe of fluorescent yellow eyeliner on the outside half of the eye and right under the brow.—
Andrea Park,
Teen Vogue,
20 July 2017
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Three prominent Austin chefs teamed up with the Youngblood family to build a new restaurant from scratch that looks like a legacy chicken dinner house, down to the bright blue-and-yellow colors and the helpings of hot yeast rolls with honey.—
Bud Kennedy,
star-telegram,
19 July 2017
Adjective
-
Chris Lombardi, founder of Matador Records, recalls first pitching Perry’s idea to Stephen Malkmus, the band’s notoriously laconic chief songwriter, singer, guitarist and nominal leader.—
Mark Olsen,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2025
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What’s more, most state parks have no admission fee while a few charge a nominal fee of a few dollars.—
Roger Sands,
Forbes.com,
4 May 2025
Adjective
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And remember: Don't ever be afraid to give it a good shake.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
12 May 2025
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Why are the Cleveland Guardians so afraid of letting Ben Lively pitch into the sixth inning or the third time through a batting order?—
Zack Meisel,
New York Times,
12 May 2025
Adjective
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However, at some point while walking the red carpet on Saturday, May 17, the two got mixed up in slight blunder when the Twilight star, 39, ended up standing on top of his costar's elegant Dior gown that, according to Vogue, took 250 hours to create.—
Michelle Lee,
People.com,
19 May 2025
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Meanwhile, a DeepMind researcher discussed adversarial machine learning, a phenomenon where slight manipulations to input data can drastically alter an AI’s output.—
Korok Ray,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
Adjective
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Well, Netflix has found another one of these aspirational gurus who are scared to die and are willing to go to extreme lengths to preserve their physique — at any cost.—
Rebecca Aizin,
People.com,
16 May 2025
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And when that wall is porous, the people in the editorial department are forced to run scared from truth-telling.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
15 May 2025
Adjective
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These tiny crystals form in magma and absorb trace amounts of uranium, which decays over time into lead.—
Ella Jeffries,
Smithsonian Magazine,
16 May 2025
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During the war, the U.S. military printed more than a million tiny paperback books for men to carry into battle, called Armed Services Editions.—
Martha Hall Kelly,
People.com,
16 May 2025
Adjective
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The frightened Maltese was swimming in circles, but Desalvo and his colleagues were able to pull her to safety.—
Rebecca White,
New York Daily News,
10 May 2025
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The first few attempts to free the dog failed, then the rescuers cleverly used a tarp to hoist the frightened animal to safety.—
Kendall Malinchock,
USA Today,
9 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Chicken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chicken. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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