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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That's the part so many seem afraid to say out loud.—
Dan Zaksheske OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
23 June 2026 -
The people who worked for cooperatives were particularly afraid.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 June 2026
Adjective
-
This butter-yellow tunic feels cheerful, airy, and incredibly chic for summer.—
Rosie Marder,
Travel + Leisure,
24 June 2026
-
Neon blue airbrushing radiated off a sunshine-yellow base, while hot pink auras stood in stark contrast to white French tips.—
Ariel Wodarcyk,
InStyle,
23 June 2026
Adjective
-
Still, farmworkers across the country are scared to go to work.—
Lisa Meierotto,
The Conversation,
22 June 2026
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In Utah, doctors continue to reassure scared patients and lobby for better public health policy.—
Devi Shastri,
Los Angeles Times,
20 June 2026
Adjective
-
Even young raccoons can bite or scratch when frightened, and wild animals can carry parasites and diseases, says Rakestraw.—
Michelle Mastro,
Martha Stewart,
20 June 2026
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When customers are frustrated, frightened, confused or considering leaving, those become high-risk moments.—
Demetri Giannikopoulos,
Forbes.com,
20 June 2026
Adjective
-
China walked a careful diplomatic line during the conflict.—
Simone McCarthy,
CNN Money,
20 June 2026
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All that plus nightly turndown service and 24-hour room service reflect the careful attention paid to guests at Moon Palace The Grand—Cancun.—
Chelsea Adams,
USA Today,
20 June 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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Yes, Arsenal fan Neel from New Delhi held his nerve on the final day to shake off the persistent and heroic challenge of six-year-old Wilfred — and the meandering, distinctly unheroic challenge of a 51-year-old journalist.—
Oliver Kay,
New York Times,
26 May 2026
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That larger significance is remarkably unheroic and fatalistic.—
Gabriel Winslow-Yost,
Harper's Magazine,
23 Sep. 2024
Adjective
-
Lindsey Graham is a career, corrupt, cowardly politician.—
Kathryn Watson,
CBS News,
10 June 2026
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This caused a great clamor of approval, and a modicum of tepid ooh-la-la disapproval by the folks who actually approved but who were too cowardly to say so, back in the day.—
Guy Martin,
Forbes.com,
26 May 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 24 Jun. 2026.
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