as in afraid
having or showing a shameful lack of courage
a craven refusal to deliver the unwelcome news personally
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in coward
a person who shows a shameful lack of courage in the face of danger
a craven who ran away and left everyone else behind to deal with the crisis
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of craven
Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2026
Good intentions run into craven expectations, however, and invariably, the types of terrible choices and consequences that, in Soto’s admirably unsentimental narrative style, wouldn’t be out of place in either a silent-era disaster comedy or a darkly tragic indie.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 29 Apr. 2026
Obi-Wan, the craven victor, revealing his true self.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for craven
Adjective
Assad’s betrayal was so breathtakingly craven that some people had trouble believing it at first.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2026
Good intentions run into craven expectations, however, and invariably, the types of terrible choices and consequences that, in Soto’s admirably unsentimental narrative style, wouldn’t be out of place in either a silent-era disaster comedy or a darkly tragic indie.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 30 Jan. 2026
Noun
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
Obi-Wan, the craven victor, revealing his true self.
—Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for craven
Recent Examples of Synonyms for craven
Adjective
-
Unlike the coolly impassive Pop artists, the Who weren’t afraid to get personal, or to let their art echo the anxious, kinky, maladjusted yammering in their own heads.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
Meanwhile, aggressive immigration enforcement has made some people afraid to seek care at all, worsening public health outcomes.—
Daniela Flores,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
Severance star Zach Cherry is Gary, a coward who isn’t sure he can be loved.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
1 June 2026
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And, in a way, this coward is the only sane one.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
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
Adjective
-
Some also have lost lawyers, dismayed by the pusillanimous behavior of their leaders.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
28 May 2025
-
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
Adjective
-
Essentially, for all of the offense’s success during a surprising 2025 season, defenses still weren’t scared of the Patriots.—
Chad Graff,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
-
The exchanges, which take place at the children’s school in Southern California, leave her scared and depressed for days.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
The entries never become frightened.—
Kate Casey,
Vanity Fair,
2 June 2026
-
Fireworks set off without authorization in Rome reportedly triggered a mass stampede of frightened horses during a late-night rehearsal for Italy’s annual Republic Day parade, injuring multiple riders and animals.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
Some of Thomas’s critique appeared to be aimed at weak-willed conservatives, including his fellow-Justices, for being, as Thomas perceives it, too spineless to stand up for the ideals enshrined in the Declaration.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
21 May 2026
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Republicans in Congress have become spineless sycophants to a president who only sees the beauty of this country in dollar signs.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
26 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Craven.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/craven. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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