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Glite Dictionary
to cower in fear

to cower in fear

2 6.8
To shrink back and crouch because you feel very afraid
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈkaʊər ɪn fɪr/
translation icon : encogerse de miedo
  • The dog cowered in fear when it heard the loud thunder.
  • a child cowering in fear

Children would cower in fear because I was bats.

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Examples

  • Inside the bronze Buddha, three young Thai girls cower in fear.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • 74A Data is huddled in a corner of the room, cowering in fear.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • You were cowering in fear just a minute ago!

    As The Day Goes By (2023)

  • We will not cower in fear.

    Blog text (6)

  • They want all of us cowering in fear.

    Blog text (21)

  • Rather than cowering in fear, children can be encouraged to view the world as a mirror reflecting their own consciousness.

    Academic text (1990)

  • It'll happen, but at least I don't live my life cowering in fear.

    Blog text (13)

  • It is amusing to see these corporate honchos cowering in fear.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • As for you foreigners, I appreciate your concern, but I would much rather have the ability to match any aggressor with my skill with a firearm than to cower in fear and hope for help from the police.

    Blog text (15)

  • Town marshal Link Appleyard (Andy Devine), the putative representative of political authority, cowers in fear as Liberty commandeers a table, evicting the patrons seated there.

    Academic text (1999)

Synonyms

to cower
vsto cower in fear
41 6.1

To bend down or move back because you are afraid

is a low physical reaction tied to extreme fear and submission
to shrink
vsto cower in fear
34 2.3

Move back suddenly because of fear or pain

is similar but emphasizes prolonged crouch from extreme submission
to cringe
vsto cower in fear
6 5.1

To pull back quickly because you are afraid or to show you give up

is more about intense fear leading to a low physical collapse
to shrink back
vsto cower in fear
  • Informal
1 4.7

Move away because you are afraid or disgusted

is closer to a physical crouch from deep fear and submission
to cower at
vsto cower in fear
1 7.2

To move back and make your body smaller because you are afraid of something

is similar but focuses on extreme fear with crouching posture
to turtle up
vsto cower in fear
  • Informal
9.8

To become quiet and avoid people when feeling stressed or afraid

is more about a sudden physical crouch from great fear and submission

Antonyms

to stand firm
22 3.7

Keep your decision or opinion when others try to make you change

How Fearful

to cower in fear
2 6.8
to cower
41 6.1
to recoil
19 4.9
to shrink back
  • Informal
1 4.7
to flinch
71 4.1

Surface Forms

cower in fear infinitive
cowered in fear past
cowered in fear past participle
cowering in fear present participle
cowers in fear third person singular

Morphology

cower + in + fear

The phrase is fully compositional: 'cower' already means to shrink or crouch from fear and the prepositional phrase 'in fear' simply specifies the cause. Because the meaning is a direct combination of the constituent meanings and mirrors common cross-linguistic patterns, a B1 learner who knows the words would understand it.

Etymology

Cower in fear paints a simple picture: a person or animal makes themselves small by crouching and pulling in when something scary is near. The verb cower is the act of curling down and being in fear explains the reason, so the phrase means 'to crouch down or pull away because you are very afraid'.