noun / adjective (informal as noun adjunct) · neutral
coward
UK/ˈkaʊəd/US/ˈkaʊərd/COW·ard
Band 6-7speakingtask2
a person who lacks courage; behaviour that shows fear instead of courage
Examples
“He was called a coward for refusing to stand up to the bully.”
“Calling someone 'a coward' is strong language in a debate.”
“She felt too coward to speak up at the meeting.”
Band 8 sentence
“Labeling someone a 'coward' in academic discussion is unhelpful; it's better to critique specific actions.”
Collocations
- be called a coward
- cowardly behaviour
- act cowardly
Word family
coward ncowardly adj / advcowardice n
Common mistakes
He is coward.→He is a coward.
He behaved very coward.→He behaved very cowardly.
Say it for a higher band
5afraid→6timid→7+coward
Synonyms
timid
craven
Easily confused
timid
“She was too timid to ask for a raise despite her good performance.”
Related words
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In -ward
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