MILK-LIVERED Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

milk-livered

adjective

ˈmilk-ˌli-vərd

Definition of milk-livered

archaic

as in afraid

having or showing a shameful lack of courage vented his spleen at those milk-livered men who refused to fight for king and country

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for milk-livered

Adjective

Once again, Slow Horses isn’t afraid to acknowledge its heroes are in a terrible situation and will pay the price for it.

— Scott Tobias, Vulture, 21 Oct. 2026
Fond of travel but afraid to fly, Pan would take longish vacations in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, or Mexico, sometimes accompanied by his nieces.

— David Hajdu, Vanity Fair, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of afraid

Adjective

In either case, the projector will rotate through the primary colors more rapidly, which helps minimize the likelihood of seeing rainbow artifacts (flashes of red, green, blue, and—in this case—yellow).

— M. David Stone, PC Magazine, 18 Oct. 2026
The arrest tally reported Sunday approached the nearly 2,000 recorded nationwide during a single day of yellow vest protests in December 2018.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of yellow

Adjective

The move comes after years of criticism from animal rights advocates who charge that the horses are overworked, get easily scared and live in inadequate stables with drivers flouting city regulations.

— Gloria Pazmino, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026
Older riders, who once sold important organs to buy in-line fours, are now too old and too scared to even care what 14,000rpm in top means on an in-line four.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of scared

Adjective

Discovering that your identity has been stolen can leave you feeling angry, frightened and unsure where to begin.

— Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 15 Oct. 2026
In one video, a young orangutan can be seen crouching in the corner of a small, dark crate, its frightened eyes wide open.

— Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of frightened

Adjective

Full-scale, 10-foot Hulk standins helped actors and camera crews judge his dimensions on set, and even his pants required careful attention.

— Davide Abbatescianni, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
Turning a field into a recognizable maze requires specialized planning and careful execution.

— Alexa Liacko, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of careful

Adjective

Some also have lost lawyers, dismayed by the pusillanimous behavior of their leaders.

— Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2025
The second believed the United States could attain comprehensive security through military-technological means and saw diplomacy as a quixotic or pusillanimous enterprise that dishonored and weakened the country.

— A. Wess Mitchell, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025

Definition of pusillanimous

Adjective

Yes, Arsenal fan Neel from New Delhi held his nerve on the final day to shake off the persistent and heroic challenge of six-year-old Wilfred — and the meandering, distinctly unheroic challenge of a 51-year-old journalist.

— Oliver Kay, New York Times, 26 May 2026
That larger significance is remarkably unheroic and fatalistic.

— Gabriel Winslow-Yost, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024

Definition of unheroic

Adjective

The cowardly strike on civilians—some of whom were religious pilgrims—took the lives of at least 14 people and injured more than 300.

— Brian Sullivan, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026
To know that a torture as violent as rape is about to happen ‘upstairs’ and not do ANYTHING ABOUT IT, is sick, cowardly and cold.

— Alex Ritman, Variety, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of cowardly

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

milking

milk-livered

milks

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Milk-livered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/milk-livered. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of milk-livered

adjective

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

vocation

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes