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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cowed
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
On the admin end, colleges have been lately cowed by new regulations at the Department of Education.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 20 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
Glaser herself appeared somewhat cowed by her own brazenness — which turned out to be the setup for another bit.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Jan. 2026
The senator and Navy veteran isn’t likely to be cowed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s lawless attempt to silence him by seeking to demote him post-retirement.
—Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 7 Jan. 2026
Verb
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
On the admin end, colleges have been lately cowed by new regulations at the Department of Education.
—Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 20 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
Glaser herself appeared somewhat cowed by her own brazenness — which turned out to be the setup for another bit.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 12 Jan. 2026
The senator and Navy veteran isn’t likely to be cowed by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s lawless attempt to silence him by seeking to demote him post-retirement.
—Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 7 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cowed
Adjective
-
Rather than feel awkward or intimidated, Momiki says a bond was formed.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
-
Many people feel too intimidated to join a facility where other exercisers can see them.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Justin is being bullied at school, but doesn’t want to burden his father.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
15 May 2026
-
Amar, who is nine years old, has been hit and bullied at school; once, a classmate strangled him.—
Annie Hylton,
New Yorker,
14 May 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
-
The Lord in your convent frightened me, Jesus with his bloody palms and gaping mouth, eyes rolled back in terror.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 May 2026
-
Lee Cronin was both flattered and frightened when Jason Blum suggested titling his The Mummy reimagining as Lee Cronin’s The Mummy.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Apr. 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
-
Many people bike the park's crushed-limestone trail one way, then take the train back to their starting point.—
Robert Annis,
Midwest Living,
16 May 2026
-
Unique ice cream flavors include Baklava (honey ice cream with phyllo dough, almond paste and crushed almonds) for Algeria and Sachertote (chocolate ice cream with chocolate sponge cake and an apricot swirl) for Austria.—
Noelle Alviz-Gransee
May 15,
Kansas City Star,
15 May 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 22 May. 2026.
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