CHICKEN-LIVERED Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

chicken-livered

adjective

ˈchi-kən-ˌli-vərd

Definition of chicken-livered

as in afraid

having or showing a shameful lack of courage a chicken-livered newspaper editor who has been afraid to take on the town's powerful business elite

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for chicken-livered

Adjective

Her patient, Maya, who is afraid of doctors and hospitals, squealed with excitement.

— Deepa Fernandes, STAT, 8 Oct. 2026
Daly will play Helen Adler, a dedicated birder who’s not afraid to ruffle feathers when her flock is threatened.

— Isabelle Farina, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of afraid

Adjective

Flávio Bolsonaro addressed the press and a small group of supporters, including some wearing green and yellow Brazil jerseys and one woman wrapped in the Israeli flag, outside his Brasilia house.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 5 Oct. 2026
However, if interest expense continues to outpace income growth while unemployment rises, real wages cool, and delinquencies broaden, the signal will turn from yellow to red.

— Harvey Stober, CNBC, 4 Oct. 2026

Definition of yellow

Adjective

Many members of the public also described to reporters and on social media feeling intimidated, scared and harassed by heavily armed security guards hired by the film company to keep the public off streets closed for the movie set.

— ABC News, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026
More than anything, this adaptation feels scared of being too unlikable or scaring anyone too much.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of scared

Adjective

The capital’s numerous skyscrapers amplified the sensation of movement, sending frightened residents into streets and open spaces.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026
Meanwhile, some of the frightened and wary passengers wondered about them and whether they could be trusted.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of frightened

Adjective

Democratic congressional candidates will also need to be careful about balancing partisan messages to their base with more measured appeals to independent voters.

— Julio Borquez, The Conversation, 8 Oct. 2026
But perhaps the biggest challenge of all was being extremely careful not to pass moral judgment on the story or any of the characters being portrayed.

— Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of careful

Adjective

Some also have lost lawyers, dismayed by the pusillanimous behavior of their leaders.

— Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2025
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

Definition of pusillanimous

Adjective

Yes, Arsenal fan Neel from New Delhi held his nerve on the final day to shake off the persistent and heroic challenge of six-year-old Wilfred — and the meandering, distinctly unheroic challenge of a 51-year-old journalist.

— Oliver Kay, New York Times, 26 May 2026
That larger significance is remarkably unheroic and fatalistic.

— Gabriel Winslow-Yost, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024

Definition of unheroic

Adjective

To know that a torture as violent as rape is about to happen ‘upstairs’ and not do ANYTHING ABOUT IT, is sick, cowardly and cold.

— Alex Ritman, Variety, 28 Sep. 2026
In the case stood the cowardly lion's costume from the original film The Wizard of Oz from 1938.

— Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 22 Sep. 2026

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.

Browse Nearby Words

Chicken Littles

chicken-livered

chicken (out)

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“Chicken-livered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chicken-livered. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of chicken-livered

adjective

Example Sentences

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