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milk-livered

adjective

ˈmilk-ˌli-vərd How to pronounce milk-livered (audio)
Definition of milk-liverednext
archaic
as in afraid
having or showing a shameful lack of courage vented his spleen at those milk-livered men who refused to fight for king and country

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for milk-livered
  1. afraid
  2. yellow
  3. scared
  4. frightened
  5. careful
  6. pusillanimous
  7. unheroic
  8. cowardly
Adjective
  • Some school teachers aren't afraid to reference the meme in class.
    — Owen Carry, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2026
  • In this age of unremitting test screenings and CinemaScore, downer endings typically score lower, so Abrams appreciates that Cregger and Sony weren’t afraid to figuratively twist the knife in the audience.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of afraid
Adjective
  • Signet Jewelers said diamond tennis bracelets, tennis necklaces, studs, and yellow gold are resonating with Gen Z shoppers entering the category, including men.
    — Tatiana Sataua, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Clooney complemented her bright yellow dress with a stack of dark brown, yellow, and black bangle bracelets, gold earrings, metallic gold leather wedge heels, and her signature oversized black sunglasses.
    — Lara Walsh, InStyle, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of yellow
Adjective
  • My parents were tense and distracted while my siblings were scared.
    — Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Some of the sellers took a real beating on the way out, because the negative articles were so persuasive and the owners so scared.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of scared
Adjective
  • Nations are sustained not just by declarations and famous generals, but by less celebrated moments when frightened, exhausted people decide not to give up.
    — Harry Ostrer, New York Daily News, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Also at top of mind was the film’s sound design, which is deliberately used as another tool to make the audience feel frightened and uncomfortable.
    — William Earl, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of frightened
Adjective
  • Renault is careful to frame this as a style exercise rather than a preview of a production model.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Awash with new property tax funds, local governments often haven’t been careful stewards of residents’ tax dollars.
    — Elaine Parker, The Orlando Sentinel, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of careful
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
Definition of pusillanimous
Adjective
  • Yes, Arsenal fan Neel from New Delhi held his nerve on the final day to shake off the persistent and heroic challenge of six-year-old Wilfred — and the meandering, distinctly unheroic challenge of a 51-year-old journalist.
    — Oliver Kay, New York Times, 26 May 2026
  • That larger significance is remarkably unheroic and fatalistic.
    — Gabriel Winslow-Yost, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024
Definition of unheroic
Adjective
  • In the case stood the cowardly lion's costume from the original film The Wizard of Oz from 1938.
    — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 22 Sep. 2026
  • The cowardly, devious Turgeniev has assimilated to the comforts of the West —that alone is enough for Fyodor to detest him.
    — Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of cowardly
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

milking
milk-livered
milks
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Cite this Entry

“Milk-livered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/milk-livered. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

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