recreant 1 of 2

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recreant

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noun

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as in coward
a person who shows a shameful lack of courage in the face of danger the historian reserved his greatest contempt for those recreants who opposed the witch hunt but lacked the courage to speak out against it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for recreant
Adjective
  • The government hopes for rain, but people are already afraid.
    Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 10 Nov. 2025
  • As a result, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin wasn't afraid to acknowledge just how bad things went for star quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the rest of his team as a whole.
    MSNBC Newsweek, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025
Adjective
  • Clarisse looks intimidating climbing out of a boat, as does Bushnell’s traitorous Luke, who wields a sharp-looking knife.
    Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 24 July 2025
  • There's a delicious whodunit aspect to it, too, as the list of five potentially traitorous suspects includes the operative's own high-profile wife (Cate Blanchett).
    Brian Truitt, USA Today, 4 July 2025
Noun
  • More important, though, is the fact that the judge who posited that hordes of deserters could follow Vovchenko’s example seems to be overstepping his role.
    Air Mail, Air Mail, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Language purists like to remind anyone who will listen that decimation actually means the slaughter of one in ten people, and was the military punishment wielded by the Roman army against deserters and mutineers.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Fear of the base, of Trump’s wrath or of primary challenges is now paramount for these cowards.
    Dan Perry, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
  • The crowd applauds for 13 seconds both at the intense, almost Chris Farley–esque yell itself and the absurdity of Maron’s desire to be a manly coward.
    John Roy, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • When an anarchist frames one of them for treason, another is determined to track down a traitor.
    Carly Tagen-Dye, PEOPLE, 2 Nov. 2025
  • The competition show takes place in Scotland and has cast members divided into two groups, traitors and faithfuls, and the faithfuls try to vote off the traitors to win a cash prize.
    Jenni Fink, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Nearly a week later, Scott and Kodi Allred, a couple traveling to visit their son at the University of Northern Colorado, saw the frightened black dachshund darting along the same stretch of road near Elk Mountain.
    Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Sometimes, a frightened reaction is inexplicable.
    The Atlantic Culture Desk, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The title-winning standard has been lower in recent years; City won it with 86, 93, 89 and 91 points between 2020-21 and 2023-24 and Liverpool with 84 points last season, but some of those totals give a false impression.
    Oliver Kay, New York Times, 8 Nov. 2025
  • The month prior, she was sentenced to one year and nine months in prison for using marijuana while owning a firearm and making false statements about drug use, per the newspaper.
    Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 8 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • Paso Robles is independent, even a bit renegade.
    Justin Goldman, AFAR Media, 24 Oct. 2025
  • For years, Hollywood content creators have warned about piracy, whether through bootleg VHS tapes, or BitTorrent, or renegade streaming providers.
    Dominic Patten, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2025
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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Cite this Entry

“Recreant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recreant. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.

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