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 Synonyms for lily-livered
Adjective
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The ruling leaves trans student-athletes and their advocates feeling angry and afraid.
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Pregnant mothers are afraid of their babies not being able to have a home.
Adjective
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Some also have lost lawyers, dismayed by the pusillanimous behavior of their leaders.
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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.
Adjective
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Or maybe the problem is Cape Fear itself for being too cowardly to commit to the certainty that drove the previous versions of this story.
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But even the most perfect Constitution can be undone by the wicked with the help of the bought, the stupid, and the cowardly.
Adjective
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In 2024, The Onion purchased Infowars, the conspiracy website born of the craven lunatic/Sandy Hook shooting denier Alex Jones.
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It’s populated by craven, cowardly traitors.
Adjective
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Rodríguez acknowledged that many remain too frightened to return home even after inspections declared some buildings safe.
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Some days are spent inside an Ebola Treatment Unit caring for patients who are frightened, isolated, and desperately ill.
Adjective
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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.
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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.
Adjective
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Humans are scared of him, so Nero becomes Rocco’s favorite thief.
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People are very scared of being human.
Adjective
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Keane called out the Red Wings as gutless for waiting for a home game to exact revenge.
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But this seems a lot more gutless than ruthless.
Cite this Entry
“Lily-livered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lily-livered. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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