Synonyms of chicken

chicken 1 of 2

noun

ˈchi-kᵊn 

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

• coward
• funk
• craven
• snake
• cur
• sissy
• poltroon
• dastard
• pussy
• cream puff
• recreant
• ostrich
• defeatist
• sneak
• weakling
• wimp
• quitter
• milquetoast
• caitiff
• pushover
• scaramouch

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• hero
• stalwart
• valiant
• daredevil

chicken

2 of 2

adjective

1

as in yellow

having or showing a shameful lack of courage

too chicken to go through with the stunt

Synonyms & Similar Words

• yellow
• afraid
• scared
• frightened
• cowardly
• careful
• chickenhearted
• pusillanimous
• spineless
• craven
• milk-livered
• gutless
• dastardly
• chicken-livered
• unheroic
• poltroon
• recreant
• timid
• lily-livered
• fearful
• weak
• cautious
• timorous
• wary
• feeble
• diffident
• fainthearted
• bashful
• coy
• shy
• unmanly
• soft

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• brave
• daring
• stout
• heroic
• courageous
• hardy
• fearless
• gallant
• valiant
• intrepid
• bold
• gutsy
• stalwart
• cheeky
• brazen
• dauntless
• valorous
• audacious
• spirited
• lionhearted
• spunky
• doughty
• plucky
• stouthearted
• greathearted
• nervy
• determined
• resolute

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• nominal
• slight
• tiny
• petty
• peanut
• pimping
• Mickey Mouse
• trivial
• minute
• piddling
• insignificant
• trifling
• negligible
• inconsequential
• niggling
• footling
• inconsiderable
• paltry
• picayune
• measly
• no-account
• de minimis
• piffling
• piddly
• little
• puny
• inferior
• imperceptible
• small-fry
• mean
• inappreciable
• one-horse
• pettifogging
• two-bit
• hairsplitting
• quibbling
• nitpicking

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• big
• important
• considerable
• significant
• substantial
• serious
• material
• outstanding
• consequential
• prominent
• striking
• remarkable
• conspicuous
• weighty
• noteworthy
• pivotal
• appreciable
• measurable
• eventful
• momentous
• discernible

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of chicken

Noun

Her first hit item was a baby rattle shaped like a chicken drumstick that was sold wrapped in cellophane, much like a meat-counter purchase. — Leigh-Ann Jackson, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2026

The cockatoo has won out over the kangaroo, the koala and the bin chicken to become the emblem of the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics — after a bit of an embarrassing social media leak. — ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026

On top of both pool and beach access, guests can help harvest the ingredients that will later be turned into their own food, visit the Beach Plum chickens, and go searching for Cape May Diamonds, and much more. — Margaux Anbouba, Vogue, 5 Oct. 2026

Schnitzel is usually the province of subtler, tenderer meats—your chicken breasts, your veal rounds. — Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026

Phrases Containing chicken

• Chicken Little
• chicken feed