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
  • Sometimes in big matches, being afraid of taking a risk is the riskiest strategy of all.
    — Kyle Feldscher, CNN Money, 16 July 2026
  • Pay attention to the wash and cut, and don’t be afraid to ditch your plain blue jeans for bolder alternatives.
    — India Roby, Glamour, 15 July 2026
Definition of afraid
Adjective
  • The 50 walleyes also have yellow tags with contact information, just in case they are caught by a lucky angler.
    — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 14 July 2026
  • Scheffler had not seen conditions like this — a combination of yellow and brown, which translates to firm and fiery in a links vocabulary.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 July 2026
Definition of yellow
Adjective
  • The Cubs haven’t been scared of taking pitchers who have had that procedure in their history or even missing some of their draft year because of it.
    — Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2026
  • This result, though—an impotent, scared team that is clearly not ready for the moment—feels like two steps forward and one very large step back.
    — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 8 July 2026
Definition of scared
Adjective
  • The bear, seemingly frightened, quickly turns away from the boy and continues running, sliding under a boat parked in the driveway.
    — Mason Leib, ABC News, 7 July 2026
  • In May, a frightened horse rammed into another carriage, causing the vehicle to flip over, injuring the driver.
    — ANDREA SACHS THE WASHINGTON POST, Arkansas Online, 28 June 2026
Definition of frightened
Adjective
  • When an accident brings the enigmatic Gaia into their lives, unexpected desires begin to take shape, unsettling the careful balance that has long defined their relationship.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 9 July 2026
  • Be careful when handling debris that may have blown into your yard.
    — CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 8 July 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
  • 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.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 26 June 2026
  • But even the most perfect Constitution can be undone by the wicked with the help of the bought, the stupid, and the cowardly.
    — Ann Manov, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 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 17 Jul. 2026.

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