as in afraid
having or showing a shameful lack of courage
too chickenhearted to speak up, even though she knew a terrible injustice was being committed
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chickenhearted
Adjective
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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
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Mara looks aptly frightened and confused, or maybe that was just my own face reflected in the screen.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
18 Mar. 2026
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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
Adjective
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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
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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
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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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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
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A lot of directors would have been scared or nervous to shoot that.—
Jason P. Frank,
Vulture,
14 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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To watch Industry wrestle with the extreme consequences of its characters’ greedy and craven choices is to watch a series blossom with new ambition.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
2 Mar. 2026
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But to defend books coverage in these craven terms is already to concede too much.—
Becca Rothfeld,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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This is not the first time the United States has taken careful aim in Iran and shot its own feet.—
Nicholas D. Kristof,
Mercury News,
21 Mar. 2026
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Kang noted that Demon Hunters’ visual style was consciously shaped by her lifelong love of anime and manhwa — Korean comics and graphic novels — and executed with careful attention to Korean linguistic and cultural nuances, even though the film’s lingua franca is American English.—
Dan Bilefsky,
HollywoodReporter,
21 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The mayor denounced the attack as a cowardly act of aggression against the city's Jewish community.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 Mar. 2026
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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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Cite this Entry
“Chickenhearted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chickenhearted. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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