dastard

/'dæstəd/
Học thuật
Thân thiện
Definition

  1. Noun:

    • A despicable coward: A person who is contemptibly cowardly, especially one who commits malicious or treacherous acts while avoiding personal risk or confrontation.

  2. Adjective:

    • Despicably cowardly: Characterized by or showing a shameful lack of courage, often in a treacherous or malicious manner.
Examples of Usage

  • Noun:

    • The villain in the story was a dastard who would only attack from behind.
    • He was branded a dastard for betraying his comrades to save himself.

  • Adjective:

    • The general condemned the dastard act of poisoning the enemy's water supply.
    • It was a dastard scheme, designed to ruin her reputation without any risk to the plotters.
Advanced Usage
  • The term dastard is now somewhat archaic and literary. It carries a strong connotation of moral judgment and contempt, often implying that the cowardice is combined with malice or underhanded behavior. It is a more severe and specific insult than simply "coward."
  • "dastardly": This is the much more common adjectival form.
    • The pirates hatched a dastardly plot to kidnap the governor's daughter.
Variants and Related Words
  • Dastardly (adj): Wickedly cowardly and treacherous.
    • The spy was known for his dastardly deeds.
  • Dastardliness (n): The quality of being dastardly.
Synonyms
  • Coward (n): A person who lacks courage. (Less severe and judgmental than )
  • Poltroon (n): An utter coward. (Similar in strength and archaism to )
  • Craven (adj/n): Contemptibly lacking in courage.
  • Recreant (n): A coward who deserts a cause. (Archaic)
Related Idioms and Phrases
  • While there are no common idioms using the exact word dastard, the concept is captured in phrases like:
    • To stab in the back: To betray someone treacherously.
      • His dastardly behavior was the ultimate stab in the back.
    • To have a yellow streak: To be cowardly.
      • The dastard was said to have a yellow streak a mile wide.
Adjective
  1. despicably cowardly
    • the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on...December 7th- F.D. Roosevelt
Noun
  1. a despicable coward

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