cower

Even if ambition results in a flop, it’s far more admirable to swing hard and strike out than it is to cower in the proverbial dugout.

From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026

“Repression is inevitable when demanding justice, so we must not cower at it.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2026

Resident Andrew Sordyll says he often hears the "constant revving of loud, high-performance engines" over the TV at night that makes his dog "cower".

From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2024

Because the court did not cower in the face of this resistance, our country continued forward on the path toward a more just and democratic society.

From Slate ● Feb. 7, 2024

Thalia already had Aegis on her arm, and even our own teammates were giving her a wide berth, trying not to cower before the bronze head of Medusa.

From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan

That’s not the culture of an organization that, even in its darkest times, cowers to no one and challenges everyone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 6, 2025

"He doesn't want to go for a walk when he has a muzzle on, he shivers and cowers down, it's horrible to see, but once he's up here he's like a new puppy again."

From BBC ● Feb. 1, 2024

She cowers in tiny, dark places at every bang.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 22, 2023

The official synopsis from Fox reads: Bart accidentally sees a brand-new superhero movie a month before it comes out… and the world cowers before his newfound plot-spoiling powers.

From The Verge ● Feb. 26, 2020

Sara cowers in her seat and silently chews her peanut-butter sandwich.

From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass

“Others might have cowered or taken time to regroup and figure out what they should do,” said Wald.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026

He briefly cowered, before realizing it was a taped-up black cricket ball that soared up from the ground floor.

From Salon ● Dec. 15, 2022

Lincoln’s time was one of passionate intensity, of loud voices and closed minds, of demagogues who exploited public opinion and conflict-averse officeholders who cowered in fear of it.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 25, 2022

She got back to the bathroom and closed the door just as a tree uprooted and fell into the house, feet from where they cowered.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 13, 2021

MacDuff cowered between us, as scared as we were.

From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn

The distance between Americans and the people in other countries cowering as death rains down on them from the sky has always been vast both geographically and culturally.

From Salon ● Mar. 20, 2026

For Ms. Sweeney and Ms. Seyfried it provides an endless variety of opportunities to run through the soap-opera playbook of screaming, cowering, deceiving and attacking depending on the circumstances, which grow increasingly horrifying.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

On Friday, Musk shared two side-by-side A.I.-generated images of graffiti-style stencils: a smiling, handsome Kirk, and a cowering, dying Zarutska.

From Slate ● Sep. 12, 2025

“It would be a mistake to think California is cowering in the face of this onslaught,” Newsom said in the 2,300-word address accompanied by a shortened video version.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2025

She was too busy cowering behind her cash register.

From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan