MEANING
To crouch or draw oneself inward in fear of harm.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- cower behind a chair
- cower in a corner
- cower before a bully
On the page
The dog cowered beneath the table when the fireworks began.
She found him cowering behind the overturned desk.
The editor refused to cower before the threatened lawsuit.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- cower / cowers
- Past tense
- cowered
- Past participle
- cowered
- Present participle
- cowering
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- cower / cowers
- Present continuous
- am/is/are cowering
- Present perfect
- have/has cowered
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been cowering
- Past
- cowered
- Past continuous
- was/were cowering
- Past perfect
- had cowered
- Past perfect continuous
- had been cowering
- Future
- will cower / cowers
- Future continuous
- will be cowering
- Future perfect
- will have cowered
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been cowering
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: fear. A sustained protective posture, unlike a brief flinch; figurative uses imply submission to threats. Verb forms (base, third-person singular, past, past participle, -ing): cower, cowers, cowered, cowered, cowering.
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