as in afraid
having or showing a shameful lack of courage
the pacifist was mistakenly accused of being a lily-livered coward
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Recent Examples of lily-livered
Contrary to the nationalist account, resistance has not generally been the result of America’s leaders being weak-kneed and lily-livered.
—
Ronald R. Krebs, Foreign Affairs, 29 May 2017
Ronald R. Krebs, Foreign Affairs, 29 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lily-livered
Adjective
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The premise is that America is caught in a bind between a political left that’s too afraid of growth and a political right that hates government investment and involvement.—
Scott Peters,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
11 July 2025
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The revelation helps explain why the giant snakes — which can grow to 18 feet in Florida — are not afraid to swallow creatures that are nearly equal in size, experts say.—
Mark Price
July 11,
Miami Herald,
11 July 2025
Adjective
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Some also have lost lawyers, dismayed by the pusillanimous behavior of their leaders.—
Michael Hiltzik,
Los Angeles Times,
28 May 2025
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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
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Those cowardly films ignore the ideological confusion and moral bankruptcy that precede political and creative failure.—
Armond White,
National Review,
4 July 2025
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And unlike the cowardly ambiguity and doubletalk toward Iran and its nuclear program in the past by Barack Obama, John Kerry, Joe Biden and Antony Blinken, Trump was clear as a bell.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
4 July 2025
Adjective
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The craven hypocrisy of all this no longer registers for the right.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
27 June 2025
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Scheider returns as Amity Island’s beleaguered police chief, a man still forced to work with Murray Hamilton’s craven mayor, who’s somehow kept his job after keeping the beaches open during the last shark attack.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
21 June 2025
Adjective
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Audience noises at the NRG Stadium in Houston went from frightened gasps to applause as the descent was completed.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
29 June 2025
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Things were hectic in the mall, Stain, 45, said, with lots of frightened people running to the exits.—
Lillie Davidson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 June 2025
Adjective
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An erect, sprawling, and spineless cactus, the flowers are white, fragrant, and measure 12 inches long and 8 inches wide.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
15 June 2025
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Some House Democrats have called their party spineless.—
Alex Travelli,
New York Times,
26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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An officer said the man was dehydrated, confused and scared when he was rescued, according to WBZ.—
Jillian Frankel,
People.com,
30 June 2025
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All small business owners suffer financially when their employees are taken or too scared to come to work.—
Billal Rahman
Dan Gooding,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 June 2025
Adjective
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Listen, by doing it this way, with a press release instead of a press conference, Rose looks both gutless and gutty at the same time.—
Mike Lupica,
New York Daily News,
6 June 2025
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Two baseballs flew down toward the San Diego Padres’ Jurickson Profar from the left-field corner stands, the gutless moves of two cowards.—
Bill Plaschke,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Oct. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Lily-livered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lily-livered. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
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