craven

/'kreivən/

Thân thiện

The knight proved craven when he fled from the dragon.

Definition

1. Adjective:

   • Lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful: Describes a person or action that shows a complete and shameful lack of bravery, often to the point of being contemptible.
   • Cowardly in a mean-spirited way: Implies not just fear, but a dishonorable willingness to betray or abandon others to avoid danger or difficulty.

2. Noun:

   • An abject coward: A person who is utterly contemptible due to their complete lack of courage.

Usage

• Adjective: Used to describe a person's character, behavior, or a specific action that is marked by a complete absence of bravery. It is a strong, condemnatory term.
• Noun: Used to label a person who is defined by their extreme cowardice.

Examples

• Adjective:

  • His craven refusal to defend his friend from the bullies shocked everyone.
  • The general condemned the craven act of surrendering the city without a fight.
  • It was a craven decision motivated solely by fear of losing his job.

• Noun:

  • History remembers him not as a hero, but as a craven who fled the battlefield.
  • Do not listen to the advice of a craven.

Advanced Usage

• "To cry craven": An archaic phrase meaning to admit defeat, to surrender, or to confess one's cowardice.
  • The knight was forced to cry craven and yield the field.

Variants and Related Words

• Cravenly (adverb): In a craven manner.
  • He acted cravenly to save his own skin.
• Cravenness (noun): The quality or state of being craven.
  • His cravenness was a disappointment to his followers.

Synonyms

• Cowardly: Lacking courage. (Less strong and contemptuous than ).
• Dastardly: Wicked and cowardly.
• Recreant: Unfaithful or cowardly. (Archaic/literary).
• Pusillanimous: Showing a lack of courage or determination. (More formal).

Antonyms

• Brave
• Courageous
• Valiant
• Intrepid

Notes

The word craven carries a strong moral judgment and implies a despicable, shameful level of fear that leads to dishonorable actions. It is more severe than simply calling someone "scared."

Học thuật

Adjective

1. lacking even the rudiments of courage; abjectly fearful
   • the craven fellow turned and ran
   • a craven proposal to raise the white flag
   • this recreant knight- Spenser

Noun

1. an abject coward

Từ đồng nghĩa

• recreant
• poltroon