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be a coward
He is a coward and never defends his friends.
他是个懦夫，从不为朋友辩护。
懦夫；胆小鬼
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
懦夫；胆小鬼
a person who shows fear or timidity
He is a coward and never defends his friends.
他是个懦夫，从不为朋友辩护。
缺乏勇气的人；懦夫。
A person who lacks courage.
表现出恐惧或胆怯的人
a person who shows fear or timidity
英国剧作家、演员和作曲家,以其机智和成熟的喜剧著称(1899-1973)
English dramatist and actor and composer noted for his witty and sophisticated comedies (1899-1973)
He was called a coward for refusing to join the fight.
他因为拒绝参战而被人称为懦夫。
Only a coward would spread rumors behind her back.
只有懦夫才会在背后散布谣言。
She later admitted she had been a coward and apologized.
她后来承认自己当时是个懦夫，并道了歉。
He is a coward and never defends his friends.
他是个懦夫，从不为朋友辩护。
"call sb a coward" 中的 "sb" 可以是宾语，也可以是双宾语结构。
They called him a coward for backing out of the race.
他们叫他胆小鬼，因为他退出了比赛。
此结构强调因胆小而不去做某事。
She was too much of a coward to complain about the unfair treatment.
她太懦弱了，不敢抱怨不公平的待遇。
"be no coward" 是否定强调，表示一点也不胆小。
Despite his fears, he is no coward when it comes to helping others.
尽管他有恐惧，但在帮助别人方面他绝不是懦夫。
Not this
He is such coward.
Use this
He is such a coward.
coward 是可数名词，单数名词前需要限定词，such a 中的不定冠词 a 不能省略，因此要说 such a coward。
Not this
Don't be so coward.
Use this
Don't be so cowardly.
coward 是名词，不能直接作表语形容词；表示“胆小的”要用形容词 cowardly，所以应说 Don't be so cowardly。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
骂某人是懦夫
He called me a coward for not fighting back.
他因为我没有还手而骂我是懦夫。
自认的懦夫
She is a self-confessed coward when it comes to spiders.
她自认一看到蜘蛛就胆小。
懦夫的做法；可耻的逃避办法
Running away was the coward's way out.
逃跑是懦夫的做法。
把某人说成是懦夫
The press branded him a coward for leaving the battlefield.
新闻界把他离开战场的行为说成是懦夫之举。
装怯懦；表现出胆小
In the story, he plays the coward at first but later shows great courage.
故事里他起初表现得很胆小，后来却表现出巨大的勇气。
懦夫的出路；最怯懦的逃避手段
Instead of apologizing, he took the coward's way out and pretended nothing had happened.
他没有道歉，而是采取懦夫的做法，假装什么都没发生。
懦夫在死之前就已经死过很多次；勇士一生只死一次。
In Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Caesar says this to his wife to explain that fearing death makes cowards suffer over and over, while the brave die only once.
在莎士比亚的《尤利乌斯·凯撒》中，凯撒对妻子说这句话，解释懦夫因惧怕死亡而反复受苦，而勇敢的人只会死一次。
懦夫无法表现出爱；爱是勇者的特权。
This quotation is attributed to Mahatma Gandhi, who suggests that love requires courage, so only the brave can truly love.
这句话出自圣雄甘地，他认为爱需要勇气，因此只有勇敢的人才能真正去爱。
Use coward naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
把 coward 拆成 cow(牛)+ard，想象一头受惊的牛只会逃跑躲避，遇事就躲的人就是懦夫。
语域：neutral 常见场景：日常对话、文学作品、新闻评论 coward 在语体上较为中性，通常用于一般口语和书面语；词义带有贬义，指胆小、缺乏勇气的人，语气直白，带批评意味，但不算俚语或特别正式。
在美国英语中，coward /ˈkaʊɝd/ 与 powered /ˈpaʊɚd/、towered /ˈtaʊɚd/、flowered /ˈflaʊɚd/、devoured /dɪˈvaʊɚd/ 押韵，韵脚都是 /aʊɚd/。注意：拼写结尾像 -ward 的 word /wɝd/ 和 ward /wɔːrd/ 与 coward 发音不同，并不押韵。
Dictionary facts from DICTIONARY_API_DEV, ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.