as in afraid
having or showing a shameful lack of courage
a craven refusal to deliver the unwelcome news personally
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in coward
a person who shows a shameful lack of courage in the face of danger
a craven who ran away and left everyone else behind to deal with the crisis
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of craven
Chicago Tribune, 3 July 2025
Unlike the Founders who risked their lives, this bunch, with precious few exceptions, is too craven to risk even their jobs.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 3 July 2025
Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for craven
Adjective
While health care and food assistance command the most attention, the craven assault on clean energy cannot be minimized.
—Noun
Missourians have the opportunity to put this craven power grab up for a vote.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for craven
Adjective
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Taylor Swift knows what excellence requires and is not afraid to demand it.—
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Don’t be afraid to use your gut instinct.—
Noun
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We are told that politics is for cowards, literary analysis is for women, education is a system of liberal indoctrination, brave individuals must resist the herd.—
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Punk then made his entrance to confront Lynch, calling Rollins a coward for hiding behind his wife.—
Adjective
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In practice, despite his rhetoric, Israel’s longest serving prime minister’s security policy was widely seen as cautious and relatively restrained, even derided as cowardly by political rivals, who also mocked his inability to make decisive moves.—
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Violence in a place of worship is a cowardly and criminal act.—
Adjective
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Some also have lost lawyers, dismayed by the pusillanimous behavior of their leaders.—
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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.—
Adjective
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Alolkoy, said despite the bear's small size and obviously scared state, the store quickly erupted in a chaotic scene.—
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Are players scared to talk about it publicly?—
Adjective
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The frightened campers are supposed to deliver the scares — but that only works as a set-up if the villain is lurking behind the next tree.—
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Republicans are frightened, too.—
Adjective
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In a year of gutless moves by major media companies, this may be the most gutless.—
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Listen, by doing it this way, with a press release instead of a press conference, Rose looks both gutless and gutty at the same time.—
Adjective
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Within hours — in what could only be described as a spineless and cowardly move — the network and those broadcasters took the bait and silenced him.—
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That kind of spineless politics is what people are sick of.—
Cite this Entry
“Craven.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/craven. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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