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单词 craven
释义

Definition of craven in English:

craven

adjective ˈkreɪv(ə)nˈkreɪvən
  • Contemptibly lacking in courage; cowardly.

    a craven abdication of his moral duty
    Example sentencesExamples
    • Harr was craven, had always been, and the little courage he'd summoned up to come out here and try to take her down was deserting him fast.
    • It basically makes him look like a weak, indecisive, craven leader.
    • There is no reason for this other than craven cowardice in the face of power.
    • A man of honor, a man of undeniable courage has been depicted as a craven coward by these memos.
    • It also pays well and makes them look less craven.
    • The first two are so terrified of their circulation numbers that they'll do any chaotic, craven thing to boost them (other than print challenging pieces, of course).
    • On the whole, the Law School has been somewhat less craven than the average administration, and its faculty includes more vigorous defenders of free speech than is usually the case.
    • Misguided craven cowards have debased the nobleness of mankind.
    • There's something simultaneously craven and arrogant about the manner in which senior Catholic politicians use their positions to wrangle papal audiences, often at taxpayers' expense.
    • This answer, amazingly, wasn't craven enough.
    • Sure, they can whine about negative depictions, but much of that is caused by their own lack of character and craven pandering.
    • It would be better to say that the Boy Scouts prevailed with a good constitutional argument, supported by weak evidence, craven apprehensions and unthinking hostility.
    • Will he take us deeper into the lives of some craven misfits?
    • All of the apologizers are craven, but my favorite is a young woman holding up a sign that says: ‘I tried!’
    • The considered teaching of churchmen and philosophers still holds incarnate beauty to be, at best, the unintended consequence of accident or design and, at worst, plain old craven idolatry.
    • And who should know better than he that it is craven to belittle a man's service because it didn't extend over some arbitrary stretch of time?
    • But it wasn't that the nation saw that politicians were all a bunch of craven opportunists.
    • Ignoring the situation or simply hoping that it will disappear of its own accord is craven, misguided and, most importantly, dangerous.
    • Please check your facts before you accuse us of being craven.
    • Regrettably, though, there seem to be at least a few examples of the cheapest, most craven opportunism.
    Synonyms
    faint-hearted, lily-livered, chicken-hearted, pigeon-hearted, spiritless, spineless
    cowardly, lily-livered, faint-hearted, chicken-hearted, pigeon-hearted, spiritless, spineless, timid, timorous, fearful, trembling, quaking, shrinking, cowering, afraid of one's own shadow, pusillanimous, weak, feeble, soft
noun ˈkreɪv(ə)nˈkreɪvən
archaic
  • A cowardly person.

    Synonyms
    weakling, milksop, namby-pamby, mouse

Derivatives

  • cravenly

  • adverb
    • I wept, cravenly begged to serve, and vowed to do whatever they wanted me to do.
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Surely it is about time that the government stopped cravenly giving these companies every single thing they demand?
      • Worse still, we cravenly side with that most odious of creatures, the bullying boss.
      • Well, at least they have a good excuse for a cravenly political move.
      • We do not need to cravenly give up our own civil rights and our freedoms in order to achieve more security.
  • cravenness

  • noun ˈkreɪv(ə)nnɪs
    • Characters thus afflicted may be realistic but they are also tiresomely predictable in their cravenness.
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Their cravenness on immigration is deeply disturbing.
      • Why did people behave as they did - whether with cruelty or kindness, cravenness or courage?
      • It calls for ‘responsibility,’ then shirks it with surreal cravenness.
      • No, what I like about this plan is it's complete cravenness.

Origin

Middle English cravant 'defeated', perhaps via Anglo-Norman French from Old French cravante, past participle of cravanter 'crush, overwhelm', based on Latin crepare 'burst'. The change in the ending in the 17th century was due to association with past participles ending in -en (see -en3).

Rhymes

graven, haven, maven, shaven, Stratford-upon-Avon
 
 

Definition of craven in US English:

craven

adjectiveˈkreɪvənˈkrāvən
  • Contemptibly lacking in courage; cowardly.

    a craven abdication of his moral duty
    Example sentencesExamples
    • All of the apologizers are craven, but my favorite is a young woman holding up a sign that says: ‘I tried!’
    • It basically makes him look like a weak, indecisive, craven leader.
    • There is no reason for this other than craven cowardice in the face of power.
    • Will he take us deeper into the lives of some craven misfits?
    • Sure, they can whine about negative depictions, but much of that is caused by their own lack of character and craven pandering.
    • Ignoring the situation or simply hoping that it will disappear of its own accord is craven, misguided and, most importantly, dangerous.
    • It would be better to say that the Boy Scouts prevailed with a good constitutional argument, supported by weak evidence, craven apprehensions and unthinking hostility.
    • A man of honor, a man of undeniable courage has been depicted as a craven coward by these memos.
    • On the whole, the Law School has been somewhat less craven than the average administration, and its faculty includes more vigorous defenders of free speech than is usually the case.
    • But it wasn't that the nation saw that politicians were all a bunch of craven opportunists.
    • Harr was craven, had always been, and the little courage he'd summoned up to come out here and try to take her down was deserting him fast.
    • Regrettably, though, there seem to be at least a few examples of the cheapest, most craven opportunism.
    • The first two are so terrified of their circulation numbers that they'll do any chaotic, craven thing to boost them (other than print challenging pieces, of course).
    • And who should know better than he that it is craven to belittle a man's service because it didn't extend over some arbitrary stretch of time?
    • Misguided craven cowards have debased the nobleness of mankind.
    • This answer, amazingly, wasn't craven enough.
    • There's something simultaneously craven and arrogant about the manner in which senior Catholic politicians use their positions to wrangle papal audiences, often at taxpayers' expense.
    • The considered teaching of churchmen and philosophers still holds incarnate beauty to be, at best, the unintended consequence of accident or design and, at worst, plain old craven idolatry.
    • Please check your facts before you accuse us of being craven.
    • It also pays well and makes them look less craven.
    Synonyms
    faint-hearted, lily-livered, chicken-hearted, pigeon-hearted, spiritless, spineless
    cowardly, lily-livered, faint-hearted, chicken-hearted, pigeon-hearted, spiritless, spineless, timid, timorous, fearful, trembling, quaking, shrinking, cowering, afraid of one's own shadow, pusillanimous, weak, feeble, soft
nounˈkreɪvənˈkrāvən
archaic
  • A cowardly person.

    Synonyms
    weakling, milksop, namby-pamby, mouse

Origin

Middle English cravant ‘defeated’, perhaps via Anglo-Norman French from Old French cravante, past participle of cravanter ‘crush, overwhelm’, based on Latin crepare ‘burst’. The change in the ending in the 17th century was due to association with past participles ending in -en (see -en).

 
 
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更新时间:2024/9/22 12:29:01