as in craven
a person who shows a shameful lack of courage in the face of danger
the soldiers who ran as soon as the first shots were fired were branded as cowards
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as in cowardly
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of coward
Megan McCluskey, Time, 23 Feb. 2026
Please do not take the coward’s way.
—Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Jan. 2026
James Arthur, The New York Review of Books, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for coward
Noun
Maekar refuses, earning a cutting rebuttal from Dunk about the royal upbringing that turned Daeron (Henry Ashton) into a drunken coward and Aerion into an arrogant and cruel madman.
—Megan McCluskey, Time, 23 Feb. 2026
Please do not take the coward’s way.
—Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Jan. 2026
Adjective
Whoomp, whoomp bumped the coward heart.
—James Arthur, The New York Review of Books, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for coward
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coward
Noun
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As cold fronts continue to pummel the East coast and craven billionaires and mad kings continue to play pickle-ball with our rights, lifting up the light has rarely felt more important.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Obi-Wan, the craven victor, revealing his true self.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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It’s populated by craven, cowardly traitors.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Thomas Jefferson, the great hero of the Declaration of Independence, is shown as hypocritical, cowardly, manipulative, a schemer of every kind.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Black soldier fly larvae efficiently break down organic waste into nutrient-rich compost, which is then used as a sustainable feed for chickens and fish.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Mar. 2026
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Among the thousands who marched around the lakefront once the speeches wrapped up walked a man in an inflatable chicken suit.—
Shun Graves,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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And all the while, our gutless politicians watch from the sidelines so as to not interfere and risk angering their party.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
27 Jan. 2026
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As a result, politicians have been too gutless to tax their biggest donors.—
Joe Garofoli,
San Francisco Chronicle,
18 Jan. 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
Cite this Entry
“Coward.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coward. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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