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
Adjective
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After long mornings at my father’s bedside, my mother and I arrived at Confiserie Sprüngli weary and afraid.—
Aleksandra Crapanzano,
The Atlantic,
27 Oct. 2025 -
And while Parker wasn’t afraid of no ghosts, what about Huey Lewis’ lawyers?—
Joe Lynch,
Billboard,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The timeless combination of yellow cake and chocolate frosting is a bucket list must that’s easy to whip up for birthdays, holidays, or any day.—
Kaitlyn Yarborough,
Southern Living,
31 Oct. 2025
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Behind those waiting along the driveway, a tan fence concealed the demolition of the East Wing, though a yellow bulldozer peeked out over the top.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA Today,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In the past, many manga and anime publishers were scared to work with Hollywood.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Oct. 2025
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There is no reason for this team, when playing complementary football, to be scared of anyone.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The Japanese had cyclotrons but no nuclear lobby driven by frightened, concerned, or ambitious scientists.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Oct. 2025
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Her parents were opposed to the Russian occupation but too frightened to talk about it.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Those same records also showed that the only other purchases of BAM in the state of Colorado had been from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife agency and the National Parks Service — both of which maintained careful records of any use of the drug, per the indictment.—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
30 Oct. 2025
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Be careful when handling debris that may have blown into your yard.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Oct. 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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That larger significance is remarkably unheroic and fatalistic.—
Gabriel Winslow-Yost,
Harper's Magazine,
23 Sep. 2024
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In the world of The Boys, based on the gleefully scabrous 2000s indie comic-book series of the same name by writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson, superheroes are real, pop-culture-dominating, and with rare exceptions, entirely unheroic.—
Brian Hiatt,
Rolling Stone,
13 June 2024
Adjective
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Shmi, who died for nothing, the cowardly Jedi refusing to free her, refusing to interfere.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 Oct. 2025
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My cowardly stread ended today, however.—
Emma Specter,
Vogue,
17 Oct. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Milk-livered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/milk-livered. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.
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