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
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 chicken
Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 16 Mar. 2026
The menu includes Easter ham, steamship round beef and roast chicken, plus breakfast items, pastas, salads, chilled shrimp, sushi, and 12 different dessert cakes, tarts, cookies and ice creams.
—Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Mar. 2026
This way, every component in the soup will reheat more evenly—you won’t be left with scalding hot broth and cold shredded chicken.
—Riley Wofford, Martha Stewart, 16 Mar. 2026
The Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich was one of three Chick-fil-A items to sell at least 10,000 units last year, alongside the spicy chicken sandwich and waffle chips.
—David Eckert, Austin American Statesman, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for chicken
Noun
The menu is tight, just roast chicken shiitake-ginger sauce and fried chicken with cucumber-radish pickles.
—Scott Hocker, TheWeek, 16 Mar. 2026
The menu includes Easter ham, steamship round beef and roast chicken, plus breakfast items, pastas, salads, chilled shrimp, sushi, and 12 different dessert cakes, tarts, cookies and ice creams.
—Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 16 Mar. 2026
This way, every component in the soup will reheat more evenly—you won’t be left with scalding hot broth and cold shredded chicken.
—Riley Wofford, Martha Stewart, 16 Mar. 2026
The Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich was one of three Chick-fil-A items to sell at least 10,000 units last year, alongside the spicy chicken sandwich and waffle chips.
—David Eckert, Austin American Statesman, 16 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for chicken
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chicken
Noun
-
John Cornyn is a coward who has refused to support abolishing the filibuster to pass this bill.—
Jack Fink,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
-
John Cornyn is a coward who has refused to support abolishing the filibuster to pass this bill.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Red, white and blue and Venezuela’s yellow, blue and red filled the stadium -- as did the political overtones the WBC could not ignore.—
Greg Cote
Updated March 17,
Miami Herald,
18 Mar. 2026
-
Pair it with Emme Parsons’s gold metallic sandals and Dôen’s roomy raffia tote for that effortless summer feeling—but don’t forget to bring along La Ligne’s butter-yellow cashmere cardigan for when spring temperatures dip.—
Laura Jackson,
Vogue,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The bar provides seasonings, baked potatoes, and salad for a nominal fee.—
Jill Robbins,
Southern Living,
14 Mar. 2026
-
That’s two of the largest single day increases going back to 2005 in terms of nominal increase in cents per gallon, according to GasBuddy.—
Robert Ferris,
CNBC,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Designed to encourage everyone to let their creativity run wild and to not be afraid to stand out from the crowd.—
Tory Johnson,
ABC News,
17 Mar. 2026
-
God complex Having legions of loyal followers who regard you as Muad'Dib, the Fremen chosen one, can clearly go to your head, and Paul isn't afraid to put on a show for the masses.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
17 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Also, God forbid, but the examining team might need to unstitch a section of the dress, and there was just the slightest chance that it wouldn’t be put back exactly as it had been received.—
Han Ong,
New Yorker,
15 Mar. 2026
-
Yet by the end of Saturday night, there were slight glimmers of optimism for a team that hasn’t had much to cheer for this season.—
Joshua Kloke,
New York Times,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
From Special Forces to life in Richardson In Richardson, where Paktiawal settled, his family has questions, and the community is scared.—
Bo Evans,
CBS News,
17 Mar. 2026
-
A lot of directors would have been scared or nervous to shoot that.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
These tiny emitters resemble miniature ski jumps that launch beams of light into free space.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Unlike crustaceans, insects developed a system of oxygen intake through tiny holes in their bodies.—
Andrew Coletti,
Popular Science,
12 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Try Visual Deterrents Birds are easily frightened, so adding colorful flags that wave in the wind may keep them from landing on your lawn and dining on your grass seed.—
Michelle Mastro,
The Spruce,
13 Mar. 2026
-
And a new study, published in the journal Emotion, suggests that a robot that mimics human breathing can also pass on frightened feelings.—
Simon Makin,
Scientific American,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Chicken.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chicken. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
