cower
To crouch or cringe, or to avoid or shy away from something, in fearTo crouch or cringe, or to avoid or shy away from something, in fear.
» Tom was cowering behind his bar.
Meaning
5 senses(intransitive)To crouch or cringe, or to avoid or shy away from something, in fear.
He'd be useless in war. He'd just cower in his bunker until the enemy came in and shot him, or until the war was over.
(transitive)To cause to cower; to frighten into submission.
(figuratively, intransitive)To be a coward; to hide away or refuse to face opposition due to fear.
(archaic, intransitive)To crouch in general.
kauern, ängstlich hocken
съёживатьсяsʺjóživatʹsja, съёжитьсяsʺjóžitʹsja, сжима́тьсяsžimátʹsja
crouch or curl up
(obsolete, transitive)To cherish with care.
Examples
16 sentencesTom was cowering behind his bar.
Tom's dog cowered under the kitchen table during the storm.
ruСобака Тома забилась под кухонный стол во время бури.
deToms Hund kauerte unter dem Tisch während des Gewitters.
Ziri cowered like a stray puppy.
Ziri's dog started whimpering and cowering.
Janos cowered in the camper, terrified.
Translations
6 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English couren, cowre, from Middle Low German kûren (“to lie in wait; linger”)From Middle English couren, cowre, from Middle Low German kûren (“to lie in wait; linger”) or from North Germanic (Icelandic kúra (“to doze”)); according to Pokorny, all are ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to curve, bend”), see also Proto-Germanic *kuddô (“shell, pod”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
cowers, cowering, cowered, coweredSynonyms
6 synonymsWord family
5 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle