craven
/ˈkɹeɪ.vən/adjective
craven is spelled C-R-A-V-E-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, craven means “Unwilling to fight; lacking even the rudiments of courage; extremely cowardly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in craven?
| Letters | 6: C-R-A-V-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 22,651st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is craven?
Craven appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce craven?
- /ˈkɹeɪ.vən/
Craven has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-craven.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with craven?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as craven.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: cavern.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of craven
- more craven comparative
- most craven superlative
- cravens present, singular, he/she/it
- cravening participle, present
- cravened participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does craven mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Unwilling to fight; lacking even the rudiments of courage; extremely cowardly.
noun
- 1
archaicA coward.
verb
- 1
archaicTo make craven.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Craven in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | lâche , couard |
| German | feige , Feigling, feiger Hund |
| Portuguese | covarde |
| Spanish | cobarde |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does craven come from?
From Middle English cravant, either borrowed from Old French cravanté (“defeated”), past participle of cravanter (ultimately from Latin crepare), or a modification of creaunt (“defeated”) after craven (“to crave”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).