cower

[kou-er]

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verb (used without object)

to crouch, as in fear or shame.

Nearby words

Origin of cower

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

SYNONYMS FOR cower

cringe, recoil, flinch, quail.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cower ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formscow·er·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cowering

Samwell Tarly starts the episode his same old pining, cowering self.
Game of Thrones’ 'The Watchers on the Wall': The Battle of Castle Black Is One For the Ages|Andrew Romano|June 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The officers warned my cowering Oma (grandma) what might await the cousin if she ever did return.
Survived Hitler, Returned to Germany|Steve North|May 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The man who appears resolute and forceful in public is, behind closed doors, cowering in fear.
Searching Hard for Mugabe’s Conscience|James Kirchick|January 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the incident, 12-year-old Muhammad Al-Dura was reportedly shot and killed by Israeli forces while cowering behind his father.
Press Advocates: Israeli Report On Al-Dura Affair 'Absurd and Unacceptable'|Ali Gharib|May 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Split up into ones and twos, they are easy targets for the shooters, who find it easy to pick off cowering people one by one.
Can Collective Action Stop Mass Shooters?|Megan McArdle|December 18, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Hervey, cowering in the chair, thus met with an antagonist against whom he had no armor.
The Green Mummy|Fergus Hume
He was standing over her now, and she was cowering before him, her shaking hands rising as though to ward off his eyes.
The Ward of King Canute|Ottilie A. Liljencrantz
Filling his cupped hands with water, he sent up shower after shower of mimic rain between them and the miserable, cowering beast.
Strange Stories of the Great River|Abbie Johnston Grosvenor
They bend their necks, cowering before the fierce glow, but daring it, and prepared to face it at even closer range.
Back Home|Eugene Wood
Crash after crash sent them cowering under the covers of their beds.
Ethel Morton at Rose House|Mabell S. C. Smith

British Dictionary definitions for cowering

cower

verb

(intr) to crouch or cringe, as in fear

Word Origin for cower

C13: from Middle Low German kūren to lie in wait; related to Swedish kura to lie in wait, Danish kure to squat

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

Word Origin and History for cowering

cower

c.1300, probably from Middle Low German *kuren "lie in wait" (Modern German kauern), or similar Scandinavian words meaning "to squat" and "to doze" (e.g. Old Norse kura, Danish, Norwegian kure, Swedish kura). Thus unrelated to coward. Related: Cowered; cowering.