Synonyms

cower

American

[kou-er] / ˈkaʊ ər /

verb (used without object)

to crouch, as in fear or shame.

Synonyms:

quail , flinch , recoil , cringe

cower British

/ ˈkaʊə /

verb

(intr) to crouch or cringe, as in fear

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

coweringly adverb

Etymology

Origin of cower

1250–1300; Middle English couren; cognate with Norwegian, Swedish kūra, Middle Low German kūren, German kauern

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“This is a story of happiness,” Gibson insists at one point, refusing to cower to cancer.

From Salon

"There are two things you can do – you can either do what they want you to do and cower. Let yourself be put in a box and stay there – or you fight back," he added.

From BBC

Another clip showed his clerk—a relative—cowering behind the counter as gunfire erupted outside.

From The Wall Street Journal

Other victims, cowering in terror, are shot in the legs or beaten with heavy clubs.

From BBC

Newsrooms, tech companies and TV networks cower before a president bringing his critics to heel with threats of flimsy lawsuits.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023