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a craven [noun]
craven 作形容词时通常放在名词前，含贬义，表示‘怯懦的、畏缩的’行为或人。
The lie was a craven attempt to save his reputation.
这个谎言是为了挽救他名声而做出的怯懦之举。
怯懦的；胆小的
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
怯懦的；胆小的
lacking courage; cowardly
The lie was a craven attempt to save his reputation.
这个谎言是为了挽救他名声而做出的怯懦之举。
不愿战斗；连最基本的勇气都没有；极其怯懦。
Unwilling to fight; lacking even the rudiments of courage; extremely cowardly.
He was too craven to admit his mistake.
他太怯懦了，不敢承认自己的错误。
The craven mayor left the city during the disaster.
那位怯懦的市长在灾难期间离开了城市。
It would be craven to ignore the evidence.
无视证据将是怯懦的表现。
craven 作形容词时通常放在名词前，含贬义，表示‘怯懦的、畏缩的’行为或人。
The lie was a craven attempt to save his reputation.
这个谎言是为了挽救他名声而做出的怯懦之举。
be too craven to do sth 意思是‘胆小到不敢做某事’，后接动词原形。
She was too craven to ask for a raise.
她太胆小了，不敢要求加薪。
craven 作名词时意为‘懦夫、胆小鬼’，复数形式为 cravens，多用于书面或正式语境。
He was a craven who always fled from danger.
他是个总是临阵脱逃的懦夫。
Not this
He is craven.
Use this
He is a craven.
craven 作名词表示“懦夫”时是可数名词单数，前面需要加冠词 a；不加 a 时 craven 会被理解成形容词“怯懦的”，句意变成“他是怯懦的”。
Not this
There were many craven in the army.
Use this
There were many cravens in the army.
craven 作名词的复数是 cravens，many 后要用复数形式；写成 craven 会被看成形容词或单数名词，造成语法和意义错误。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
胆小的懦夫
He dismissed the attacker as a craven coward.
他斥责那个袭击者是个胆小的懦夫。
怯懦的恐惧
Her decision was driven by craven fear rather than sound judgment.
她的决定是出于怯懦的恐惧，而非明智的判断。
怯懦的投降
The ceasefire was criticized as a craven surrender to the rebels.
这项停火协议被批评为对叛军的怯懦投降。
怯懦的行为
Bullying someone smaller is a craven act.
欺负比自己弱小的人是怯懦的行为。
怯懦的撤退
Their craven retreat left the village defenseless.
他们怯懦的撤退使村庄失去了防御。
Use craven naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
联想：craven 开头像 crave（渴望），懦夫最渴望的是安全，而非勇气。
语域：formal 常见场景：formal writing、literary narrative craven 作形容词意为“怯懦的”，作名词意为“懦夫”。两种用法都比较书面、正式，多出现在文学、历史或修辞性文本中；在随意口语中通常较少使用，且带有贬义。
与 craven 真正押韵的词是 raven、haven、shaven，词尾都读 /-eɪvən/。注意 heaven 拼写相似但读 /ˈhɛvən/，不押韵；crave 少了末尾的 /n/；cavern 的首个元音和重音也不同。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.