cowed 1 of 2

cowed

2 of 2

verb

past tense of cow

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cowed
Verb
Producers have been cowed internally after the show has been undermined by a media company that has consistently refused to stand up for it in public. Brian Steinberg, Variety, 9 June 2026 Not since Roy Hodgson in 2010 had a Liverpool manager seemed so cowed by an obvious act of hostility. Simon Hughes, New York Times, 30 May 2026 The first two signal the domestic draw that pulls her lover into her orbit, time and time again; the last, her unwillingness to be cowed when the powers that be come to threaten her—and her influence over the other characters, to resist the bootheel of the bully. Literary Hub, 20 May 2026 Still, the stereotype of the Spirit customer was not of a traveller cowed by a need to be thrifty. Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 9 May 2026 The Kid Line of Marat Khusnutdinov, Fraser Minten and James Hagens drew raves from Sturm in the first two games up in Buffalo for its details and refusal to be cowed by the hostile environment in Buffalo. Stephen Conroy, Hartford Courant, 24 Apr. 2026 Bruce Springsteen was standing up to the president, while universities and law firms were being cudgeled and cowed. Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 23 Mar. 2026 We cannot be cowed into quiescence. Brian Kolp, Chicago Tribune, 4 Feb. 2026 School curriculums were sanitized; the press was cowed. Eve Fairbanks, The Dial, 27 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cowed
Adjective
  • In traditional settings, people often feel rushed, intimidated, and unseen.
    Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 May 2026
  • You may be used to texting and Snapchat, and may feel intimidated to talk to clients one-on-one on a call.
    Heather Kelly, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
Verb
  • Bonnie's new device Lilypad initially causes problems with this, leading her to be brutally bullied in a group chat and shamed into rejecting her toys.
    Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 20 June 2026
  • After a difficult childhood and a painful falling out with her family, Daveigh was bullied and struggled to find safety and happiness in downtown LA.
    Kimberly Nordyke, HollywoodReporter, 17 June 2026
Adjective
  • Audiences who endured the Miramax era have been browbeaten to believe that the best picture Oscar should go to a period piece that chokes out a sob from audiences.
    Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Not to the extent that the user is necessarily being browbeaten.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • But her outbursts frightened the children too.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 June 2026
  • What frightened me most was what might happen to my children.
    Monica Rodriguez-Aguilera, New York Daily News, 15 June 2026
Adjective
  • The Irish were the original oppressed people from the English Empire, and the original colony.
    Dan Adler, Vanity Fair, 15 May 2026
  • The body pointed to the fact that Iran’s Farabi cinema body, which oversees the country’s submission, was directly controlled by the hardline Islamic Republic regime government, which in turn has suppressed freedom of speech and brutally oppressed filmmakers across its 47 years in power.
    Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 May 2026
Adjective
  • To continue to sell their product in Australia, many manufacturers, including Caesarstone and Cosentino, now market slabs that are made from crushed glass rather than quartz.
    David Michaels, Fortune, 21 June 2026
  • Top with more crushed ice, and garnish with a mint sprig.
    Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 20 June 2026
Adjective
  • My resting face is downtrodden.
    Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 21 June 2026
  • Consumers from both countries grew fed up with their economies in 2022, and those sentiment reports have remained downtrodden.
    David Goldman, CNN Money, 14 May 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Cowed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cowed. Accessed 26 Jun. 2026.

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