---
title: coward — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «coward» in the school dictionary: A coward is a person who is too afraid to do what is right, brave or necessary, or who runs away from danger or difficulty. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# coward

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** coward, person, Calling, strong insult, they, bully · **What happens:** be, do, run away, call, mean, have · **To what, where:** person, danger, someone, strong insult, courage, coward · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«coward» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [coward in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/coward.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A coward is a person who is too afraid to do what is right, brave or necessary, or who runs away from danger or difficulty.

<!-- fold The tree, 25 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:coward:m1:1
# text = A coward is a person who is too afraid to do what is right, brave or necessary, or who runs away from danger or difficulty.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	coward	coward	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
8	too	too	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	afraid	afraid	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	acl:relcl	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	xcomp	_	_
12	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	14	nsubj	_	_
13	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	cop	_	_
14	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
16	brave	brave	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	conj	_	_
17	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
18	necessary	necessary	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
20	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	22	cc	_	_
21	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	22	nsubj	_	_
22	runs	run	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	conj	_	_
23	away	away	ADV	RB	_	22	advmod	_	_
24	from	from	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
25	danger	danger	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obl	_	_
26	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	27	cc	_	_
27	difficulty	difficulty	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a coward | a person |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | a person |  |  |  |  | afraid *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **do** | to-infinitive | a person *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | right *property* | tree rules |
| 5 | **be** |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 6 | **be** |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 7 | **run away** | present |  |  |  | danger or difficulty |  | away *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme from danger=Trajectory |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: insult — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Calling someone a coward is a strong insult meaning they have no courage.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:coward:m2:1
# text = Calling someone a coward is a strong insult meaning they have no courage.
1	Calling	call	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	csubj	_	_
2	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	1	obj	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	coward	coward	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	strong	strong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	insult	insult	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	meaning	mean	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	acl	_	_
10	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	ccomp	_	_
12	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	13	det	_	_
13	courage	courage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | gerund |  | someone |  |  |  |  | vn dub-29.3.2 «NP V NP NP»: agent=Agent someone=Theme coward=Result |
| 2 | **is a** | present | Calling | a strong insult |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **mean** | gerund | a strong insult *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 4 | **have** | present | they | no courage |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent courage=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The bully was a coward who only picked on small children.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:coward:x1:1
# text = The bully was a coward who only picked on small children.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	bully	bully	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	coward	coward	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
7	only	only	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	picked	pick	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl:relcl	_	_
9	on	on	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	children	child	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | the bully | a coward |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **pick** | participle | a coward |  |  |  |  | on small children | vn chew-39.2 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent on child=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cowardly lion in the story was really brave in the end.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:coward:x2:1
# text = The cowardly lion in the story was really brave in the end.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	cowardly	cowardly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	lion	lion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
8	really	really	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	brave	brave	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	end	end	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the cowardly lion in the story |  |  |  | in the end | brave *property* | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He called me a coward because I wouldn't jump off the wall.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:coward:x3:1
# text = He called me a coward because I wouldn't jump off the wall.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	called	call	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	coward	coward	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	xcomp	_	_
6	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
7	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
8	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	10	advmod	_	_
10	jump	jump	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
11	off	off	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	wall	wall	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | past | He |  | me |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent i=Recipient |
| 2 | **not** **jump off** | would | I | the wall |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme wall=Trajectory |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Telling the truth when it is hard is the opposite of being a coward.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:coward:x4:1
# text = Telling the truth when it is hard is the opposite of being a coward.
1	Telling	tell	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	10	csubj	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	truth	truth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	7	advmod	_	_
5	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	expl	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	advcl	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	opposite	opposite	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	14	cop	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	coward	coward	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | gerund |  | the truth |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent truth=Recipient |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | hard *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **is a** | present | Telling | the opposite |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **is** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | of a coward | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The soldier was not a coward; he stayed to help his friends.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:coward:x5:1
# text = The soldier was not a coward; he stayed to help his friends.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	soldier	soldier	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	coward	coward	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	stayed	stay	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	parataxis	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	help	help	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	advcl	_	_
12	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	friends	friend	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is a** | past | the soldier | a coward |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **stay** | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **help** | to-infinitive | he *not said here* |  | his friends |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent friend=Beneficiary |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Running away from the fight was not cowardly; it was sensible.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:coward:x6:1
# text = Running away from the fight was not cowardly; it was sensible.
1	Running	run	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	csubj	_	_
2	away	away	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
3	from	from	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	fight	fight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
6	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	8	advmod	_	_
8	cowardly	cowardly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
11	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
12	sensible	sensible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **run away** | gerund |  |  |  | the fight |  | away *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme from fight=Trajectory |
| 2 | **not** **is** | past | Running |  |  |  |  | cowardly *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** | past | fight |  |  |  |  | sensible *property* | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Two Tails is a great coward.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:coward:x7:1
# text = Two Tails is a great coward.
1	Two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	2	nummod	_	_
2	Tails	tail	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	coward	coward	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Two Tails | a great coward |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
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