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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Recent Examples of coward
Dana Williams, Forbes.com, 1 May 2026
Across 17 tracks, Amos positions herself as both conqueror and coward, exploring how the greed and individualism of modern society has allowed tech feudalists and 21st-century robber barons to make out like kings.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 1 May 2026
James Arthur, The New York Review of Books, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for coward
Noun
The Lion—who called himself a coward—kept showing up anyway, shaking and terrified, and fighting every single time.
—Dana Williams, Forbes.com, 1 May 2026
Across 17 tracks, Amos positions herself as both conqueror and coward, exploring how the greed and individualism of modern society has allowed tech feudalists and 21st-century robber barons to make out like kings.
—Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 1 May 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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In 2024, The Onion purchased Infowars, the conspiracy website born of the craven lunatic/Sandy Hook shooting denier Alex Jones.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
29 Apr. 2026
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Obi-Wan, the craven victor, revealing his true self.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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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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The joke is on the cowardly villagers, and on Hoja himself, all of whom now have to live in a village terrorized by two war elephants instead of one.—
Perin Gürel,
The Conversation,
22 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Make fried favorites like french fries and chicken nuggets with 75 percent less fat in this compact air fryer.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
8 June 2026
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Improved nutrition and ingredient quality Fresh dog food typically uses ingredients that pet owners recognize, such as chicken, broccoli or grains.—
Faith Wakefield,
USA Today,
8 June 2026
Adjective
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Keane called out the Red Wings as gutless for waiting for a home game to exact revenge.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
28 May 2026
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But this seems a lot more gutless than ruthless.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
20 May 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 10 Jun. 2026.
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