as in frightened
to make timid or fearful by or as if by threats
a sharp glare cowed the child into being quiet
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in intimidated
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cowed
Juliana Kim, NPR, 6 Sep. 2025
CEOs are cowed by the list, the FT’s Gillian Tett says.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2025
My hunch is that many who in private criticize Israel or America’s support for Israel never say a word in public, cowed into silence by the sword of Damocles hanging over them — the omnipresent threat of charges of antisemitism.
—Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025
In each of these instances, Trump wants power and the majority Republicans in Congress have been too cowed to resist him.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Quoting the president's message, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat, said his city would not be cowed by threats of military deployment.
—Juliana Kim, NPR, 6 Sep. 2025
CEOs are cowed by the list, the FT’s Gillian Tett says.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2025
My hunch is that many who in private criticize Israel or America’s support for Israel never say a word in public, cowed into silence by the sword of Damocles hanging over them — the omnipresent threat of charges of antisemitism.
—Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2025
In each of these instances, Trump wants power and the majority Republicans in Congress have been too cowed to resist him.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cowed
Verb
-
For anyone who loves cooking or has long been intimidated by it, Typhur has designed a future where every meal can be mastered, and every cook can have the power of precision in their hands.—
Matt Emma,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Riki felt intimidated at the mere mention of a neighborhood like Ebisu, and her friend showed up that day looking especially elegant, her hair dyed a stylish reddish-brown, dazzling everyone around her.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Not to the extent that the user is necessarily being browbeaten.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Family pets, especially dogs, are frightened by the noise and will hide or try to run away.—
Phil Diehl,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 Aug. 2025
-
In the first Nobody, Odenkirk’s Hutch has to reignite the sleeping assassin within himself after his family was frightened by a botched home invasion.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The series was originally based on a novel by Margaret Atwood and followed June's life in a dystopian world called Gilead following a Second American Civil War, where women are oppressed and only used in society for their fertility.—
Liza Esquibias,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Even the long oppressed Russian people would cheer.—
Peter Lucas,
Boston Herald,
21 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Friends of mine received unwanted explicit snaps from male peers, some were contacted by complete strangers, and many were bullied on the platform.—
Annabelle Canela,
Parents,
12 Sep. 2025
-
His twin sister, Danielle, who is also autistic, was bullied by classmates and became suicidal.—
Fred Clasen-Kelly,
ABC News,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The crushed garter snake is scrawled on the tarmac in an ampersand.—
Rosanna Warren,
The Atlantic,
7 Sep. 2025
-
Made to look like a creepy graveyard, Halloween dirt pudding starts with a layer of thick chocolate pudding that's topped with crushed chocolate cookies.—
Maria Sabella,
Better Homes & Gardens,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Beneath Grisham’s pen, Dot Black was a blue-collar chain-smoker meant to stand in for all downtrodden Southern whites.—
Graham Hillard,
The Washington Examiner,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Those ticket sales would be a huge boon to movie theater owners after the all-important summer stretch ended on a downtrodden note.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cowed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cowed. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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