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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When people aren’t afraid to flag phishing emails, report missteps or question suspicious behavior, organizations become more adaptive and resilient.—
Aliasgar Dohadwala,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025 -
According to new research from SoFi, 44% of students and parents feel uninformed about student loans but are probably too afraid to ask questions.—
Brian Walsh,
Fortune,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Native viburnums, such as Arrowwood and Blackhaw, show off red, yellow and purple foliage in the fall, along with berries that also become winter bird feeders.—
Chris McKeown,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
6 Sep. 2025
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In late summer, stop watering and when the leaves start to yellow, cut them about 2 inches above the bulb.—
Paul Cappiello,
Louisville Courier Journal,
5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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This version of Frankenstein’s monster enters the world as a frightened newborn babe, scared and curious and desperate for human affection.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
9 Sep. 2025
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In fact, Vanngo wants everyone to keep in mind that makeup is meant to be played and experimented with, so don’t be scared to try a new look.—
Celia Shatzman,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Using towels and a garden hose fitted with a piece of wood, the rescuers guided the frightened kitten through the winding pipes.—
Ronnie Li,
USA Today,
5 Sep. 2025
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When 17 children from one classroom inexplicably run out into the night, a frightened insular community starts pointing fingers at their young schoolteacher (Julia Garner) and the sole survivor, Alex (Cary Christopher).—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Both coaches and players have been respectful of the other team all week, careful not to produce any bulletin board material.—
Tom Murphy,
Arkansas Online,
5 Sep. 2025
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Ben Lewis Doherty, playing a boy named Sam whose life is upended by Robbie, is the show’s greatest innocent, a softhearted moppet who warns deer to be careful when crossing the street.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 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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Now innocent children are dying because so many people were too cowardly to speak up.—
Suzanne Blake,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Aug. 2025
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The rest of the statement was full of equally cowardly equivocation.—
Sahar Mustafah
August 27,
Literary Hub,
27 Aug. 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 11 Sep. 2025.
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