1
as in coward
a person who shows a shameful lack of courage in the face of danger
denounced as curs those police officers who deserted their posts during the hurricane and its aftermath
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bastard
a person whose behavior is offensive to others
only a cur would abandon friends in their time of need
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cur
Since switching to bears, Propst and Starks have accumulated a sound, reliable pack of bear dogs-redbones, Walkers, mountain curs and black-and-tans.
—
John McCoy, Outdoor Life, 12 Nov. 2025
Overlooked time and again, the 7-year-old black mouth cur mix has finally been given a new lease on life thanks to Lakeshore PAWS, a nonprofit animal rescue based in Valparaiso, Indiana.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
His Orlok is more feral and red-blooded than previous iterations, appearing swathed in ursine furs and accompanied by mangy curs.
—Celia Mattison, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2024
His arch nemesis, Richard Nixon, had fled the White House like a diseased cur after the Watergate scandal and in his disappearance from the political scene, Thompson lost perhaps his greatest muse.
—Rory Feehan, SPIN, 9 Nov. 2023
On a blustery Saturday afternoon in April, 18 of 25 groups there had dogs off a leash, including this reporter with her black mouth cur mix, Archer.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Aug. 2023
In 1957, four mountain music players from Georgia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee discovered a shared love for the old mountain curs, and organized a breeding effort that saved the original mountain cur from extinction.
—Kyle Wintersteen, Field & Stream, 30 Jan. 2023
Behind the bar, the enormous portrait of the family’s late dog Rio — a black mouth cur for whom the restaurant is named — watches over the room.
—Sarah Blaskovich, Dallas News, 21 Dec. 2020
Pop it into first gear, low range, and this cur will claw halfway up the Washington Monument with no driver at the wheel.
—John Phillips, Car and Driver, 24 Mar. 2020
John McCoy, Outdoor Life, 12 Nov. 2025
Overlooked time and again, the 7-year-old black mouth cur mix has finally been given a new lease on life thanks to Lakeshore PAWS, a nonprofit animal rescue based in Valparaiso, Indiana.
—Alice Gibbs, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
His Orlok is more feral and red-blooded than previous iterations, appearing swathed in ursine furs and accompanied by mangy curs.
—Celia Mattison, Vulture, 27 Dec. 2024
His arch nemesis, Richard Nixon, had fled the White House like a diseased cur after the Watergate scandal and in his disappearance from the political scene, Thompson lost perhaps his greatest muse.
—Rory Feehan, SPIN, 9 Nov. 2023
On a blustery Saturday afternoon in April, 18 of 25 groups there had dogs off a leash, including this reporter with her black mouth cur mix, Archer.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 4 Aug. 2023
In 1957, four mountain music players from Georgia, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee discovered a shared love for the old mountain curs, and organized a breeding effort that saved the original mountain cur from extinction.
—Kyle Wintersteen, Field & Stream, 30 Jan. 2023
Behind the bar, the enormous portrait of the family’s late dog Rio — a black mouth cur for whom the restaurant is named — watches over the room.
—Sarah Blaskovich, Dallas News, 21 Dec. 2020
Pop it into first gear, low range, and this cur will claw halfway up the Washington Monument with no driver at the wheel.
—John Phillips, Car and Driver, 24 Mar. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cur
Noun
-
Maekar refuses, earning a cutting rebuttal from Dunk about the royal upbringing that turned Daeron (Henry Ashton) into a drunken coward and Aerion into an arrogant and cruel madman.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
23 Feb. 2026
-
Please do not take the coward’s way.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The billboards feature several animals killed by the rodenticide including a dog, cat, fox, eagle, owl, and hawk.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
2 Mar. 2026
-
In ancient China, the eclipse was interpreted as a cosmic dragon or dog attempting to swallow the moon whole.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
No gasoline from water taxis, no jerk smoke from a beach shack, no sunscreen haze wafting off a catamaran day trip.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
25 Feb. 2026
-
But with Chase alternating between sunny tour guide and cagey sparring partner, Zenovich manages to surgically separate jerk from unconventional genius, as well as the wounded man underneath.—
Ben Crandell,
Sun Sentinel,
25 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Heated Rivalry is okay, but for Connor Storrie clown is more easy.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
1 Mar. 2026
-
In front of him, idolatrous Republican lawmakers popped up and down to applaud like clowns in wind-up music boxes of old.—
Jackie Calmes,
Mercury News,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Owens has spotted coyotes, crayfish, snakes, bats, foxes, skunks and a wide array of butterflies and moths on her daily walks through the forest.—
Jenna Ebbers,
Kansas City Star,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Some mammal species are highly susceptible to HPAI, including domestic cats, skunks, foxes, raccoons, bobcats, mountain lions and black bears.—
Faith Bugenhagen,
Austin American Statesman,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Natural products inspired by organisms include GLP-1 receptor agonists for weight loss, spider and snake venoms, and compounds from plants and fungi with potential uses in pain relief and cancer treatment.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
6 Mar. 2026
-
Owens has spotted coyotes, crayfish, snakes, bats, foxes, skunks and a wide array of butterflies and moths on her daily walks through the forest.—
Jenna Ebbers,
Kansas City Star,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Largest rat surrender in years This was the largest rat surrender that the MSPCA has seen in more than five years, and 60% more than the total number of rats the organization adopted out in 2025.—
Neal Riley,
CBS News,
3 Mar. 2026
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Several new billboards on Interstate 84 in Hartford and West Hartford are sending a not-so-gentile reminder that rat poison kills more than just rats.—
Stephen Underwood,
Hartford Courant,
2 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Cur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cur. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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