craven

[ krey-vuhn ]

/ ˈkreɪ vən /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: craven / cravenness on Thesaurus.com

adjective

cowardly; contemptibly timid; pusillanimous.

noun

a coward.

verb (used with object)

to make cowardly.

OTHER WORDS FOR craven

1 dastardly, fearful, timorous.

See synonyms for craven on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CUDDLE UP! A COZY QUIZ ON FALL WORDS HAS ARRIVED

If autumn is your ideal season, spice up your repertoire of "fall" vocabulary with this quiz on some warm and vivid descriptive words for the season.

Question 1 of 10

Which of the following words means “to make a crackling sound; crackle”?

crisp

crepitate

fuscous

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Idioms about craven

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)

OTHER WORDS FROM craven

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

Words nearby craven

craunch, cravat, cravat bandage, crave, craveable, craven, craving, craw, crawdad, crawdaddy, crawfish

How to use craven in a sentence

While momagers, stage moms, and moms craven for their own fame developed into their own, negative reality-TV trope over the time that Keeping Up… has been on air, Jenner has managed to turn that stereotype into a triumph for herself.
The Devil Works Hard, But Kris Jenner Always Worked Harder|Kevin Fallon|June 11, 2021|The Daily Beast
It’s an embarrassment to have someone who is either so gullible–or so craven–representing our city in a visible way.
QAnon Candidates Are Winning Local Elections. Can They Be Stopped?|Vera Bergengruen|April 16, 2021|Time
Anyway, there’s also something craven about encouraging people to work harder and longer hours during a freakin’ pandemic.
The 5 worst Super Bowl commercials, from Dolly Parton’s betrayal to that awkward Oatly jingle|Maura Judkis, Sonia Rao|February 8, 2021|Washington Post
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
And the President took Pelosi's way, not the highway of craven calculation.
The Indispensible Nancy Pelosi|Robert Shrum|March 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
I will write again soon and add to the melancholy picture of a once powerful nation shuddering with craven fears.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, November 4, 1914|Various
Karl replied: In a bad way are we with our King for he is both halt & craven.
The Sagas of Olaf Tryggvason and of Harald The Tyrant (Harald Haardraade)|Snorri Sturluson
Then spake Vandrad: The King is not craven, but neither he is victorious.
The Sagas of Olaf Tryggvason and of Harald The Tyrant (Harald Haardraade)|Snorri Sturluson
Or, if dialect poetry must be concerned only with rustic life, was the Craven dalesman to have no voice in the matter?
Yorkshire Dialect Poems|F.W. Moorman
He had punished a man for a base and craven act; he had challenged him and met him in fair fight.
A Life Sentence|Adeline Sergeant

British Dictionary definitions for craven

craven

/ (ˈkreɪvən) /

adjective

cowardly; mean-spirited

noun

a coward

Derived forms of craven

cravenly, 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

craven

OTHER WORDS FOR craven

Idioms about craven

Origin of craven

OTHER WORDS FROM craven

Words nearby craven

Words related to craven

How to use craven in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for craven

Derived forms of craven

Word Origin for craven