quail
/kweil/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- A small, short-tailed game bird: A quail is a small, ground-nesting bird in the pheasant family, often hunted for sport or food.
- The meat of this bird: Quail also refers to the flesh of this bird, considered a delicacy.
Verb:
- To feel or show fear; to flinch or cower: To quail means to draw back in fear, terror, or dread.
Examples
Noun:
- We heard the call of a quail in the field.
- For dinner, we had roasted quail with herbs.
Verb:
- Even experienced soldiers may quail at the sight of such destruction.
- She did not quail before her critics and defended her ideas bravely.
Advanced Usage
- "to quail at the thought of": to feel frightened or apprehensive about something imagined.
- He quailed at the thought of giving a speech to a thousand people.
Variants and Related Words
- Quali (n): An alternative, less common spelling for the bird.
- Quailing (adj): The act of showing fear. (e.g., )
Synonyms
- Noun: game bird, partridge (Note: partridge is a different but related bird).
- Verb: cower, flinch, recoil, shrink, blench.
Related Phrases
- To make someone quail: to cause someone to feel fear.
- The general's stern gaze was enough to make the recruits quail.
Idioms
- None that feature the verb 'quail' as a standalone, core component. (Common idioms like "quail in one's boots" are variations of "quake in one's boots").
Noun
- small gallinaceous game birds
- flesh of quail; suitable for roasting or broiling if young; otherwise must be braised
Verb
- draw back, as with fear or pain
- she flinched when they showed the slaughtering of the calf