scarecrow
- 01 B1 Intermediate
n.a figure made of straw and old clothes that farmers put in fields to scare birds away.
n.an effigy, typically constructed from straw and discarded clothing, positioned in agricultural fields to deter avian pests.
Simple“The farmer built a tall scarecrow to keep the crows away from the corn.”
In context“The traditional scarecrow stood motionless in the center of the wheat field, its tattered coat fluttering in the autumn breeze.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a person who looks very thin, messy, or is wearing ragged clothes.
n.a derogatory term for a person perceived as resembling a scarecrow, specifically one who is gaunt, awkward, or dressed in rags.
Simple“After weeks of traveling in the rain, he looked like a total scarecrow.”
In context“The protagonist was described as a human scarecrow, with limbs too long for his frame and clothes that had seen better decades.”
Synonymsragamuffinwaif - 03 C1 Advanced
n.something that looks scary but is not actually dangerous.
n.a figurative term for an object or situation that appears formidable or threatening but lacks the power to cause actual harm.
Simple“The new law turned out to be a scarecrow with no way to punish people.”
In context“Critics argued that the military buildup was a mere scarecrow, designed to appease the public without intending to initiate actual conflict.”
Synonyms - 04 C2 Proficiency
v.to make someone look or act stiff and strange, like a straw figure.
v.to cause a person or their posture to appear rigid, awkward, or ungainly, reminiscent of an effigy.
Simple“The heavy, oversized coat seemed to scarecrow his small frame.”
In context“The ill-fitting ceremonial armor served only to scarecrow the young squire, making his every movement appear jerky and unnatural.”
Synonymsstiffen
The noun is derived from scare (“to frighten, startle, terrify”) + crow (“bird of the genus Corvus”). The word displaced other terms such as bogle (now dialectal, dated), sewel or shewel, and shoy-hoy (perhaps imitative of the cry of crows). The verb is derived from the noun.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.