chickenhearted

adjective

ˈchi-kən-ˌhär-təd How to pronounce chickenhearted (audio)
Definition of chickenheartednext
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for chickenhearted
  1. afraid
  2. frightened
  3. yellow
  4. pusillanimous
  5. scared
  6. craven
  7. careful
  8. cowardly
Adjective
  • Some children might regress to an earlier stage of development, becoming afraid of going to school and leaving their parents.
    Jenny Gold, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2025
  • In need of a way to raise funds, but afraid of the political consequences of implementing new taxes, state lawmakers opted to experiment with a lottery.
    Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY, 11 Jan. 2025
Definition of afraid
Adjective
  • For the 34th time in two years cops have been called by frightened neighbors or Hollis herself to quell the volcanic quarrels inside Peppermill Apartments unit B-312.
    Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2025
  • My friends were confused by my abrupt stop and the frightened and befuddled look on my face — except for one, whose eyes were also bulging wide.
    Thomas Wheatley, Axios, 31 Oct. 2024
Definition of frightened
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
Definition of yellow
Adjective
  • Mark Kelly Americans who are rightfully appalled by the pusillanimous response to anti-Semitism on college campuses have been pulling their donations and calling for restrictions on anti-Israel student groups.
    Arthur Levitt, WSJ, 12 Nov. 2023
  • Those clumsy tales revealed Chazelle’s pusillanimous career ambitions.
    Armond White, National Review, 13 Jan. 2023
Definition of pusillanimous
Adjective
  • Read Next Florida Shelter thought dog was scared — but something else was wrong.
    Simone Jasper, Miami Herald, 15 Jan. 2025
  • Advertisement Thirty years ago, Blake was himself a scared kid.
    Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 15 Jan. 2025
Definition of scared
Adjective
  • The main one is that the powerbrokers in the MLB offices are craven, and their souls have been replaced with line graphs going up and up and up.
    Grant Brisbee, The Athletic, 18 July 2024
  • To keep Kiara's mind off things, Rafiki tells the story of young Mufasa (Aaron Pierre), who got washed away from his family by a huge flood and was saved by Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), the prince of his pride who shows early signs of his craven nature and eventual heel turn as Scar.
    Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 17 Dec. 2024
Definition of craven
Adjective
  • From general manager Kyle Davidson on down, the Blackhawks are always careful not to criticize Jones.
    Scott Powers, The Athletic, 14 Jan. 2025
  • But be careful when scrolling, as the answers are at the end of the article.
    John Mac Ghlionn, Newsweek, 14 Jan. 2025
Definition of careful
Adjective
  • Social media has erupted with praise for this cowardly attack.
    Dan Perry, Newsweek, 17 Dec. 2024
  • The cowardly cook will turn to squid as a replacement, but only cuttlefish deliver the essential alien squirm, and the relevant recipes are a treat.
    Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2024
Definition of cowardly
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.

Thesaurus Entries Near chickenhearted

chicken feed

chickenhearted

chickening (out)

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Chickenhearted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chickenhearted. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.

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