as in afraid
having or showing a shameful lack of courage
a chicken-livered newspaper editor who has been afraid to take on the town's powerful business elite
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chicken-livered
Adjective
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All your really doing is physically hurting your child–which might lead them to feel angry, afraid, or betrayed.—
Sherri Gordon,
Parents,
3 Mar. 2026 -
Over its eight-year run, ABC’s The Rookie has never been afraid to color outside the lines of the network TV cop show format.—
Josef Adalian,
Vulture,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Earlier this week, Savannah marked one month since her mother's disappearance by visiting the shrine of yellow flowers, cards, and messages left outside of Nancy’s home with her sister Annie and her brother-in-law, Tommaso Cioni.—
Mekishana Pierre,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Mar. 2026
-
Use yellow sticky cards to monitor for pests.—
Arricca Elin SanSone,
Southern Living,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
On April 25, 2025, the dog was allegedly scared, skittish couldn’t walk.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
27 Feb. 2026
-
Everyone was scared and afraid to go outside.—
DP Opinion,
Denver Post,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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In a crisis, Tori puts those life-saving skills to use, transforming from a frightened and threatened young woman into a fierce warrior.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Feb. 2026
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Slowly round your back toward the ceiling, tucking your chin slightly and drawing your belly button in (like a frightened cat).—
Stephanie Anderson Witmer,
Health,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Be careful when handling debris that may have blown into your yard.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
28 Feb. 2026
-
To make the most of spring planting, start with site preparation and careful plant selection.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
28 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Some also have lost lawyers, dismayed by the pusillanimous behavior of their leaders.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
28 May 2025
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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
Adjective
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That larger significance is remarkably unheroic and fatalistic.—
Gabriel Winslow-Yost,
Harper's Magazine,
23 Sep. 2024
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In the world of The Boys, based on the gleefully scabrous 2000s indie comic-book series of the same name by writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson, superheroes are real, pop-culture-dominating, and with rare exceptions, entirely unheroic.—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
13 June 2024
Adjective
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On the flat arid plains below lives the farming community of the Bezaris, who are generally seen by the Hazerans as a group of privileged, cowardly usurers.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
26 Feb. 2026
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We will not be defined by the cowardly acts, but instead be defined by our unwavering response and our resolve to defeat them.—
Alexandra Simon,
CBS News,
24 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Chicken-livered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chicken-livered. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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