coward
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
Someone who shows fear or timidity.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kowerdSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkaʊɚd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A person who shows fear or timidity
“He felt like a coward for hiding instead of helping his friends.”
A person who lacks courage.
adjective
Cowardly.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A person who shows fear or timidity
Used this way, coward is a common word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It sounds natural in ordinary conversation and in expressive writing alike.
“He felt like a coward for hiding instead of helping his friends.”
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “coward for …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: coward for …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.