craven

[krey-vuhn]

See more synonyms for craven on Thesaurus.com

adjective

cowardly; contemptibly timid; pusillanimous.

noun

a coward.

verb (used with object)

to make cowardly.

Idioms

cry craven, to yield; capitulate; give up.

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 (see recreant)

Related formscra·ven·ly, adverbcra·ven·ness, nounun·cra·ven, adjective

Synonyms for craven

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1. dastardly, fearful, timorous.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for craven

mean-spirited, chicken, yellow, poltroon, dastard, quitter, coward, wimp, nebbish, recreant, caitiff, weakling, wuss, cowardly, dastardly, fearful, gutless, lily-livered, pusillanimous, scared

Examples from the Web for craven

Contemporary Examples of craven

It might be helpful, now, if a few of these craven Republicans had the stones to say it.
You, Chris McDaniel, Are No Ned Lamont
Michael Tomasky
June 27, 2014
Maybe he could no longer bear the craven truth about himself.
The Killer Klansman’s Missing Years as a Federal Informant
Michael Daly
April 15, 2014
Film stars and politicians are still bussed in to sell their products, in the most craven way possible.
Which Stephen Colbert Will We See on CBS?
Tim Teeman
April 10, 2014
And the President took Pelosi's way, not the highway of craven calculation.
The Indispensible Nancy Pelosi
Robert Shrum
March 25, 2014
Six miles from Craven Cottage, where Fulham play their home games, is the stadium where this soccer revolution began 10 years ago.
English Premier League Is Now an American Billionaires’ Paradise
Nico Hines
July 11, 2013

Historical Examples of craven

And with the detective went a man whose gait was slinking, craven.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
Hobbs had seemed more of the craven type which Stryker graced so conspicuously.
The Black Bag
Louis Joseph Vance
"Craven Street, please," said the girl, and added a house number.
The Black Bag
Louis Joseph Vance
In his heart he was ashamed of his fears; in his heart he knew himself for a craven.
The Sea-Hawk
Raphael Sabatini
Swounds, but an empty stomach is a craven comrade in a desperate enterprise.
The Tavern Knight
Rafael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for craven

craven

adjective

cowardly; mean-spirited

noun

a coward

Derived Formscravenly, adverbcravenness, noun

Word Origin for craven

C13 cravant, probably from Old French crevant bursting, from crever to burst, die, from Latin crepāre to burst, crack

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 craven

adj.

early 13c., cravant, perhaps from Old French crevante "defeated," past participle of cravanter "to strike down, to fall down," from Latin crepare "to crack, creak." Sense affected by crave and moved from "defeated" to "cowardly" (c.1400) perhaps via intermediary sense of "confess oneself defeated." Related: Cravenly; cravenness.