as in afraid
having or showing a shameful lack of courage
too chickenhearted to speak up, even though she knew a terrible injustice was being committed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chickenhearted
Adjective
-
The youngest cast member at the time, Williams set the tone for the raw emotion the show was not afraid to show over the years.—
Jen Juneau,
People.com,
24 May 2025 -
Moreover, Rocket has a relatively new CEO who wants to dominate the mortgage industry and is not afraid of technology, previously working at Intuit, PayPal, Groupon and Microsoft.—
Kenneth Squire,
CNBC,
24 May 2025
Adjective
-
The frightened Maltese was swimming in circles, but Desalvo and his colleagues were able to pull her to safety.—
Rebecca White,
New York Daily News,
10 May 2025
-
The first few attempts to free the dog failed, then the rescuers cleverly used a tarp to hoist the frightened animal to safety.—
Kendall Malinchock,
USA Today,
9 May 2025
Adjective
-
The look features bright coral eyeshadow covering the eyelid, a fuchsia shade in the crease, and a swipe of fluorescent yellow eyeliner on the outside half of the eye and right under the brow.—
Andrea Park,
Teen Vogue,
20 July 2017
-
Three prominent Austin chefs teamed up with the Youngblood family to build a new restaurant from scratch that looks like a legacy chicken dinner house, down to the bright blue-and-yellow colors and the helpings of hot yeast rolls with honey.—
Bud Kennedy,
star-telegram,
19 July 2017
Adjective
-
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
-
In this instance, though, the Administration is not attempting to trample on powerless civil servants or migrants, or pusillanimous law firms, or universities that don’t have as much money as Harvard does.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Plus, hearing from the new owners, those dogs have also been scared and skittish around humans.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 May 2025
-
While gold is a popular choice when investors are scared, other alternatives such as infrastructure and real estate offer similar protection.—
Eric Satz,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
Adjective
-
Though authorities in South Yorkshire and centrally were to blame for the disaster, some of the deceased were still fighting for their lives when those responsible started shifting the focus away from their own failings, buttressed by support from craven sections of the media.—
Simon Hughes,
New York Times,
28 Apr. 2025
-
Lead actors Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Anthony Mackie share minimal chemistry, though the episode’s most craven move has to be contriving a loophole giving the romantic opposites an easy out.—
Charles Bramesco,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Watch out for slippery roads: Be extra careful during the first half hour after rain begins.—
Bay Area Weather Report,
Mercury News,
25 May 2025
-
Many participants with conflicting ideologies also reported cohabiting peacefully for the most part, while being careful not to bring up divisive topics and focus on their similarities instead.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2025
Adjective
-
Those who resort to violence to undermine our state and nation must be held accountable, and our state leaders must reinforce through decisive action that these cowardly attacks will not be tolerated.—
Ron Estes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2025
-
The cowardly capitulation of Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps are negative examples to be learned from.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
29 Mar. 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.
Cite this Entry
“Chickenhearted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chickenhearted. Accessed 1 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share