as in to intimidate
to make timid or fearful by or as if by threats
a sharp glare cowed the child into being quiet
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cow
The temptation to dig the hole deeper is even stronger just now, with Gaza a smoldering ruin and all potential regional challengers cowed.
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Max Rodenbeck, TIME, 17 Jan. 2025
Key to this is Torres as Eunice, a woman who refuses to be defined by grief or cowed by police intimidation, and her determination to keep her family together is especially inspirational in today’s uncertain world, where happiness is fast becoming an act of rebellion in itself.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 20 Dec. 2024
Showing up at that dinner uninvited is a power play intended to cow both other oligarchs and Trump.
—Gord Magill, Newsweek, 21 Dec. 2024
These populist leaders have taken their election victories as mandates to pack the judiciary, shackle the press, cow the business community, silence and prosecute critics, and assert political dominance over the civil service, prosecutors, tax authorities, the security apparatus, and the military.
—Larry Diamond, Foreign Affairs, 8 Nov. 2024
See All Example Sentences for cow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cow
Verb
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Trump files spurious lawsuits to force his targets to defend themselves financially and legally and intimidate others from crossing him — or to surrender and settle, as ABC News did.—
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Trying to circumvent that process by removing or intimidating a judge – with violence or with impeachment – could endanger both judges and their families, and American democracy, experts and legal scholars say.—
Verb
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While being black or white may not be inherent to Snape’s character, Potter fans note that this will set up situations like James Potter bullying a young black kid in the ‘70s which are certainly not good optics and totally change the dynamics of the James/Lily/Snape storyline.—
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The claims range from a prosecutor addressing an attorney by her first name and interfering with witnesses during depositions, to allegations that prosecutors withheld evidence, bullied a witness and engaged in selective prosecution of a mother whose son was shot and killed by police.—
Verb
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Seeing those kinds of numbers in headlines may have started to frighten U.S. consumers, data shows.—
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While full autonomy may frighten many, most drivers do still want automakers to focus on safety tech.—
Verb
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Higher prices and looming economic uncertainty could scare off consumers, experts previously told ABC News.—
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Mozer yelled out of his apartment window, scaring Moseley off.—
Verb
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Elliott Hill went from badgering a Nike executive for an internship to leading the company four years after retiring.—
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In the late 1980s, Steve had a nasty episode at Harvard, badgered by the politically correct, and unsupported by the university at large.—
Verb
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Lilian, startled, looked around at the door, and that made the sisters laugh: Lilian, too, was tricked, just like the hedgehog.—
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Homelessness and trauma can cause people to startle reflexively when touched, Greig says, part of the reason the site’s staff offers hugs to clients and encourages them to call family.—
Cite this Entry
“Cow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cow. Accessed 17 Mar. 2025.
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