as in intimidated
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as in bullied
to make timid or fearful by or as if by threats
a sharp glare cowed the child into being quiet
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cowed
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
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
-
With Ethan Hawke's newbie simmering against the go-for-broke finesse of Denzel Washington's very bad, no-good officer, Training Day revels in tension, with washes of blue and green augmenting scenes where Hawke is bullied into getting high.—
Eric Farwell,
Entertainment Weekly,
12 June 2026
-
In 2019, Teresa and Gia shared that then-9-year-old Audriana was bullied at school because of her father.—
Jamie Ballard,
PEOPLE,
12 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
-
Dolma told me that when the wind turbines were being built, their noise frightened her livestock and carried across the valley, disturbing neighbors during windy times.—
Sanggay Tashi,
The Conversation,
11 June 2026
-
Hunters often lit blazing fires, which disoriented and frightened the elk, and as many animals as possible were killed.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 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
-
Lab testing showed that the candies had no illicit substances in them, but the waxy substance was found to contain THC and the crushed pills allegedly contained cocaine and fentanyl, state police wrote.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
13 June 2026
-
Pour into a glass filled with crushed ice.—
Claudia Alarcón,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
And the dejected diehard of a downtrodden franchise isn’t truly stuck in a one-sided detrimental relationship.—
Jacob Feldman,
Sportico.com,
11 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cowed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cowed. Accessed 19 Jun. 2026.
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