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
  • So my encouragement to young Latino artists out there is to keep creating and don’t be afraid of creating.
    — Julyssa Lopez, Rolling Stone, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Not afraid of breaking tradition, Morgan and Jezzel decided to find their wedding gowns together and made eight salon visits in two weeks.
    — Shelby Wax, Vogue, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of afraid
Adjective
  • Kash explains that turmeric contains a specific type of polyphenol called curcumin, which is known for its anti-inflammatory properties (and is what gives the spice its bright yellow color).
    — Marie Bladt, Vogue, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Reuters footage from the aftermath showed yellow trucks mounted on sheets of concrete, as survivors sifted through grey debris.
    — Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of yellow
Adjective
  • Lastly, to dull the war-mongering vigor of the Rivermen, Ormund installs small, scared little boys, ripped from their homes, all along the chemin de ronde — a baby human shield for Ser Daeron the Daring’s great army.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
  • And feeling so scared and so overwound by the idea that this was going to make or break our career.
    — Jim Ryan, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of scared
Adjective
  • Use of QACs soared during the Covid-19 pandemic as frightened masses sanitized themselves and nearly everything else in sight.
    — Sandee LaMotte, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Families were frightened, communities were looking for guidance, and clinicians were desperate for answers.
    — Ronald Nahass, STAT, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of frightened
Adjective
  • Kurz said that the field team put careful consideration into selecting each site.
    — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Steve Bardens/Getty Images Brighton & Hove Albion must be careful that the chill of winter does not arrive much earlier than normal for them this season in the Conference League.
    — Andy Naylor, New York Times, 14 Aug. 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
  • The trans actor Elliot Page plays Sinon, a poor boy from Ithaca who is brave enough to travel with Odysseus in place of the cowardly aristocrat Antinous, played by Robert Pattinson.
    — Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 24 July 2026
  • Weiss, Maher says, told him her internal critics are too cowardly to say anything to her face.
    — Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 23 July 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.

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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 14 Aug. 2026.

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