recreant 1 of 2

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recreant

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noun

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as in coward
a person who shows a shameful lack of courage in the face of danger the historian reserved his greatest contempt for those recreants who opposed the witch hunt but lacked the courage to speak out against it

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for recreant
Adjective
  • On the experimental end, the label isn’t afraid to push boundaries, as evidenced by Magnificent Little Dudes, a captivating collaboration between Japanese ambient artist Chihei Hatakeyama and jazz drummer Shun Ishiwaka.
    Steve Baltin, Forbes.com, 5 June 2025
  • Your soul craves experiences that deepen your understanding of the world; don’t be afraid to indulge in it.
    Valerie Mesa, People.com, 5 June 2025
Adjective
  • Michael Fassbender plays a British intelligence officer tasked with finding who leaked a top-secret software program and betrayed their country, and the list of five potentially traitorous suspects includes his own high-profile wife (Cate Blanchett).
    Brian Truitt, USA Today, 10 May 2025
  • Smith made out their former collaborators to be ungrateful and traitorous, and the kids weren't given the space to question her command.
    Zoey Lyttle, People.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Russia is also reported to have forcibly sent hundreds of its military deserters to the front line in Ukraine.
    Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Apr. 2025
  • Its return hearkens back to other periods in American history when firing squads were more common, such as the colonial era and the Civil War, when it was used against deserters.
    Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 7 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Floundering in his career and stressed about planning his wedding, Yvan’s woes compound when his oldest friends turn their insults on him, calling him a coward, an amoeba and a fan of motel art.
    Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 7 May 2025
  • That’s when one coward hit me from behind with a backpack.
    Brie Stimson , Louis Casiano, FOXNews.com, 26 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • In an effort to figure out who the traitor on his team is, Ethan Hunt needs the NOC list, which contains the identities of every American spy.
    Mike Ryan, IndieWire, 27 May 2025
  • The Confederacy — traitors — were fighting to keep my ancestors enslaved.
    Hashim Coates, Denver Post, 5 May 2025
Adjective
  • Horses are naturally skittish animals that can easily become frightened and bolt.
    Moná Thomas, People.com, 27 May 2025
  • Footage from the immediate aftermath captured mothers and fathers clutching children on their hips, running through the mist of water dousing the flames, while frightened dogs scrambled alongside them.
    Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 23 May 2025
Adjective
  • Their accountant filed two false corporate tax returns, claiming one of the couple’s firms earned no money in 2015 and 2016.
    Howard Gleckman, Forbes.com, 30 May 2025
  • The couple was convicted in 2022 of conspiring to defraud banks out of more than $30 million in loans by submitting false documents.
    Eric Tucker, Chicago Tribune, 30 May 2025
Noun
  • The director Doris Wishman was a renegade: a woman who made lurid exploitation films at a time when American underground cinema was a man’s playground.
    Erik Piepenburg, New York Times, 2 June 2025
  • Krasinski plays Luke, the sort of quippy renegade who clearly watched too many Indiana Jones movies in his youth.
    Frank Scheck, HollywoodReporter, 22 May 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Recreant.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recreant. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.

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