craven.

Showing a pronounced lack of courage, judged contemptuously by the speaker.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• craven surrender
• craven retreat
• craven behavior

On the page

The commander called the withdrawal a craven surrender.

She rejected his craven attempt to blame the youngest worker.

What he described as prudence, his rival dismissed as craven behavior.

Usage notes

Primary category: fear. Forms: Comparative more craven; superlative most craven. Also a less common count noun, plural cravens. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.