1
as in afraid
having or showing a shameful lack of courage
the victors had only contempt for the recreant enemy soldiers who surrendered without firing a shot
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in traitorous
not true in one's allegiance to someone or something
recreant campaign workers who walked out as soon as their candidate began dropping in the polls
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in deserter
a person who abandons a cause or organization usually without right
traditionally armies have dealt harshly with recreants, with execution being a common punishment for desertion during wartime
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
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
3
as in traitor
one who betrays a trust or an allegiance
a spy and recreant to his country
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for recreant
Adjective
-
Most people are afraid of trying to do that.—
Jeanna Bryner,
Scientific American,
16 June 2026 -
There is no reason to be afraid.—
Ingrid Vasquez,
PEOPLE,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
Instead of forsaking him for this — the most traitorous act ever committed by an American president — congressional Republicans quickly embraced him as the leader of their party once again.—
James Speyer,
New York Daily News,
26 May 2026
-
And at the very center of Hell is Satan himself, the traitorous Archangel Lucifer, depicted as a monstrous creature with wings and three heads.—
Keith Cooper,
Space.com,
11 May 2026
Noun
-
And within his own country’s history, particularly, Dhont discovered the fates that met would-be deserters who were caught — brutal sentences often leading to death.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
12 May 2026
-
During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln pardoned many Union deserters; after it, Andrew Johnson blanket pardoned nearly all Confederate soldiers.—
Willem Marx,
Vanity Fair,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Her father didn't kill her; a murdering coward did.—
Ross Guidotti,
CBS News,
2 June 2026
-
Severance star Zach Cherry is Gary, a coward who isn’t sure he can be loved.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
1 June 2026
Noun
-
Both groups were accused of being spies, traitors and collaborators, according to the report.—
Sam Metz,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2026
-
He was shunned by his homeland and called a traitor.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
Adjective
-
Sour coffee with cream and rustling umbrellas and frightened tourists, impervious to death.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Dec. 2025
-
Deborah Gilmour Smyth leads the Backyard cast as Gladys with an incredible, tour de force performance that begins with joy, laughter and vivaciousness and gradually, over the course of two hours, moves toward frightened, childlike and submissive.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
The audit seeks to identify false information intentionally submitted in fraudulent medical applications or certifications.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
11 Dec. 2025
-
Trump undermined the argument of his prepared remarks by riffing on the economy with a series of unconvincing, hyperbolic assertions and false statements.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
11 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
People didn’t come to the series with a working knowledge of the State Department, ready to see what the renegades were like.—
Debora Cahn,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
-
Young Julian might also be surprised by how your Corpus crew, which started kind of like a renegade group of friends, now has real community impact.—
Kory Grow,
Rolling Stone,
14 May 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Recreant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recreant. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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