recreants

plural of recreant
1
2
as in cowards
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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for recreants
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
  • Harry Truman granted amnesty to certain World War II deserters, while Jimmy Carter granted pardons to hundreds of thousands of individuals who dodged the draft during the Vietnam War.
    Stewart Ulrich, The Conversation, 15 Dec. 2025
Noun
  • To me, the most notable change — outside of Robert not getting fully naked, you cowards — is that the meltdown is witnessed by much more of the senior class.
    Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 13 Aug. 2026
  • In reality, the refs just do the bidding of the cowards behind the curtain.
    Jay Caspian Kang, New Yorker, 14 July 2026
Noun
  • In reality, the big debate has been about questions such as whether military bases should be named for traitors and whether governments should host monuments to a rebellion to defend slavery.
    David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 21 July 2026
  • Those who opposed the coup, like Tom Keith's grandfather, are still often thought of as traitors, just as his distant relatives are.
    Lee Cowan, CBS News, 12 July 2026
Noun
  • Al-Sharaa ousted President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 in an offensive led by HTS rebels.
    Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 25 Aug. 2026
  • The designation remained throughout the rule of his son Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled by rebels led by current President Ahmed al-Sharaa in December 2024.
    Reuters, NBC news, 24 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Pigs grunt and chickens squawk in the mist, laundry is hung out on the line, and air conditioning is non-existent.
    Jennifer Leigh Parker, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Its lush grounds were home to rabbits, chickens, and other small barnyard animals.
    Juliana Ukiomogbe, Architectural Digest, 19 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Israel, meanwhile, has remained suspicious of the new authorities in Damascus, led by former Islamist insurgents.
    Andrew Wilks, Los Angeles Times, 22 Aug. 2026
  • In both races, the two incumbents faced insurgents who ran under the democratic socialist banner with campaigns that emphasized universal health care, cost-of-living concerns and opposition to Israel.
    Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 19 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • In short, this list reminded me that our radicals and renegades are the best thing about this great nation.
    Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 6 July 2026
  • There are Sixties rock bands like the Sonics and the Small Faces, and pioneering hippie renegades like Love or the Thirteenth Floor Elevators.
    Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 24 June 2026
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

“Recreants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recreants. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

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