Word · Frequency #14789
cowards
懦夫；胆小鬼
cowards is the plural of coward.
a person who shows fear or timidity
- 1.
A person who lacks courage.
缺乏勇气的人；懦夫。
- 2.
a person who shows fear or timidity
表现出恐惧或胆怯的人
- 3.
English dramatist and actor and composer noted for his witty and sophisticated comedies (1899-1973)
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)
缺乏勇气的人；懦夫。；表现出恐惧或胆怯的人；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)；懦弱的人；胆小的人
In use
He was called a coward for refusing to join the fight.
Only a coward would spread rumors behind her back.
She later admitted she had been a coward and apologized.
be a coward
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
"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。
be too much of a coward to do sth
此结构强调因胆小而不去做某事。
Connections
Collocations
- call someone a coward
- 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。
- a self-confessed coward
- 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。
- coward's way out
- 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。
- brand someone a coward
- 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。
- play the coward
- 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。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
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。
Context & Register
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。
Pronunciation & Spelling
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。
Usage priority
Collins 词频等级为 1，建议结合例句记忆，而不是只背中文释义。
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from DICTIONARY_API_DEV, ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.