---
title: cowardice — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «cowardice» in the school dictionary: Cowardice is a lack of courage: being too afraid to do what is right or what is needed. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# cowardice

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Cowardice, Running, knight, It, She, Bullying · **What happens:** be, do, need, run away, leave, not be · **To what, where:** lack, shameful act, friend, act, cowardice, truth · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«cowardice» 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: [cowardice in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/cowardice.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Cowardice is a lack of courage: being too afraid to do what is right or what is needed.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cowardice:m1:1
# text = Cowardice is a lack of courage: being too afraid to do what is right or what is needed.
1	Cowardice	cowardice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	lack	lack	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	courage	courage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
8	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	10	cop	_	_
9	too	too	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	afraid	afraid	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	parataxis	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	xcomp	_	_
13	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	15	nsubj	_	_
14	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
15	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	ccomp	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
17	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	19	nsubj:pass	_	_
18	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	19	aux:pass	_	_
19	needed	need	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	15	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Cowardice | a lack |  |  |  | of courage | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | afraid *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **do** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | right *property* | tree rules |
| 5 | **need** | present · passive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: subject=Theme |

<!-- .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}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A shameful act done because of fear.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cowardice:m2:1
# text = A shameful act done because of fear.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	shameful	shameful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	act	act	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	done	do	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	because	because	ADP	IN	ExtPos=ADP	7	case	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	fixed	_	_
7	fear	fear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | participle |  | a shameful act *not said here* |  |  |  | because fear | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Running away and leaving his friend was an act of cowardice.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cowardice:x1:1
# text = Running away and leaving his friend was an act of cowardice.
1	Running	run	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	9	csubj	_	_
2	away	away	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
3	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	leaving	leave	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	1	conj	_	_
5	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	friend	friend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
8	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	act	act	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	cowardice	cowardice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **run away** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | away *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **leave** | gerund |  | his friend |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent friend=Theme |
| 3 | **is a** | past | Running | a act |  |  |  | of cowardice | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The knight was ashamed of his cowardice.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cowardice:x2:1
# text = The knight was ashamed of his cowardice.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	knight	knight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	ashamed	ashamed	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	cowardice	cowardice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the knight |  |  |  |  | of his cowardice; ashamed *property* | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It isn't cowardice to walk away from a fight.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cowardice:x3:1
# text = It isn't cowardice to walk away from a fight.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	cowardice	cowardice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	walk	walk	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	acl	_	_
7	away	away	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
8	from	from	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	fight	fight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is a** | present | It | cowardice |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **walk away** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | away *property* | vn resign-10.11-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She overcame her cowardice and told the truth.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cowardice:x4:1
# text = She overcame her cowardice and told the truth.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	overcame	overcome	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	cowardice	cowardice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	told	tell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	truth	truth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **overcome** | past | She | her cowardice |  |  |  |  | vn exceed-90 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot cowardice=Theme |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past | She *not said here* | the truth |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent truth=Recipient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Bullying a smaller child is a kind of cowardice.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cowardice:x5:1
# text = Bullying a smaller child is a kind of cowardice.
1	Bullying	bully	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	csubj	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	smaller	small	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	4	amod	_	_
4	child	child	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	kind	kind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	cowardice	cowardice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bully** | gerund |  |  | a smaller child |  |  |  | vn captain-29.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent child=Beneficiary |
| 2 | **is a** | present | Bullying | a kind |  |  |  | of cowardice | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The soldier was accused of cowardice.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cowardice:x6:1
# text = The soldier was accused of cowardice.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	soldier	soldier	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	accused	accuse	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	cowardice	cowardice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **accuse** | past · passive |  | the soldier |  |  |  | of cowardice | vn suspect-81 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: subject=Theme of cowardice=Attribute |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
That’s the worst kind of cowardice,” said the troop-horse. “Anybody can be forgiven for being scared in the night, I think, if they see things they don’t understand.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* That’s the worst kind of cowardice,” said the troop-horse.

<!-- fold The tree, 11 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cowardice:x7:1
# text = That’s the worst kind of cowardice,” said the troop-horse.
1	That	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	’s	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	worst	bad	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	5	amod	_	_
5	kind	kind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	ccomp	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	cowardice	cowardice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	”	"	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
10	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
12	troop	troop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	horse	horse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | That | the worst kind |  |  |  | of cowardice | tree rules |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | past |  | the troop horse |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent horse=Topic |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* “Anybody can be forgiven for being scared in the night, I think, if they see things they don’t understand.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cowardice:x7:2
# text = “Anybody can be forgiven for being scared in the night, I think, if they see things they don’t understand.
1	“	"	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Anybody	anybody	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	forgiven	forgive	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	8	cop	_	_
8	scared	scared	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	xcomp	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
13	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
14	think	think	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
16	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	18	mark	_	_
17	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	nsubj	_	_
18	see	see	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	conj	_	_
19	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	obj	_	_
20	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	23	nsubj	_	_
21	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	23	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	n’t	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	23	advmod	_	_
23	understand	understand	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	19	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **forgive** *in a quote* | can · passive |  | Anybody |  |  |  |  | vn judgment-33.1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |
| 2 | **is** *in a quote* | gerund |  |  |  |  | night | scared *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **think** *speech: other* *in a quote* | present | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **see** *a condition, not said to happen, in a quote* | present | they | things |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer thing=Stimulus |
| 5 | **not** **understand** *in a quote* | present · do-support | things *= thing* | things *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer thing=Stimulus |

<!-- 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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