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
  • Even in districts that have staff dedicated to teaching Black history, some teachers are afraid of violating state law, according to Brian Knowles, who oversees African American, Holocaust and Latino studies for the Palm Beach County school district.
    Kate Payne, Los Angeles Times, 25 Dec. 2024
  • James Mangold isn’t afraid of being thought of as a journeyman director.
    Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of afraid
Adjective
  • When Martin dies in class after getting frightened in a dream, the sheet is accidentally pulled off of his gurney to reveal his death rictus.
    Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2024
  • His fervor to determine who took the weapon reveals a shockingly monstrous side, turning his wife and children into frightened suspects and leading to a jarring tonal-shift ending that proves to be a cathartic, believable final destination for a film simmering with mistrust and anger.
    Tim Grierson, Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 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
  • That evening, in the no man’s land, a field strewn with empty water bottles, four Shia families sat on a picnic blanket around a burner attached to a gas tank, looking scared and drinking yerba mate.
    Eliza Griswold, The New Yorker, 17 Dec. 2024
  • Once glued to their hiding spot, a scared cat may not come out when called by its owner.
    Claire Thornton, USA TODAY, 13 Dec. 2024
Definition of scared
Adjective
  • 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
  • Dancing around Spider-Man without ever getting to use him also contributed to the feeling that these spin-off films were merely exercises in, ahem, craven opportunism.
    Adam B. Vary, Variety, 14 Dec. 2024
Definition of craven
Adjective
  • Going slowly and applying heat with a hair dryer can help reduce the risk of damage, but the difficulty of this process is a solid reason to be careful with your installation.
    Simon Hill, WIRED, 27 Dec. 2024
  • Identifying ground zero for the advent of Dengue Fever can be tricky, but careful research has identified Aquarius Records in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District as the primary origin of the infectiously melodic band.
    Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News, 27 Dec. 2024
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 30 Dec. 2024.

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