craven
Americanadjective
noun
verb (used with object)
idioms
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- cravenly adverb
- cravenness noun
- uncraven adjective
Etymology
Origin of craven
1175–1225; Middle English cravant, cravaunde defeated < Old French craventé, past participle of cravanter to crush, overwhelm (< Vulgar Latin *crepantāre ), influenced by Middle English creaunt defeated ( recreant )
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.
In a December 1904 message to Congress, Roosevelt disdained any “unmanly” inclination to a “peace of tyrannous terror, the peace of craven weakness, the peace of injustice.”
From Salon
That shift, combined with the algorithm’s demand for attention, has made culture more beige and craven.
From Los Angeles Times
More churlish souls might attribute such stubborn determination to craven commercial interests, but something more is in play.
From Los Angeles Times
These craven handovers will have an entirely predictable result: They will only encourage further extortionate suits against news organizations.
From Salon
Webb and screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson had two options: Mimic the 1937 cartoon shot for shot and be slammed for the craven inessentiality of such an exercise, or change anything and face fans’ wrath.
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
