being a sheep

Meanings

1. 1phraseidiominformaldisapproving

   The act or habit of following what everyone else does without thinking for yourself.

   Grammar: Used as a noun phrase; often after 'mean' or 'is about', or as the subject of a sentence.

   Patterns

   • being a sheep
   • being a sheep and doing something
   • it means being a sheep

   Being a sheep and buying the same phone as everyone else is not a real choice.

   He said that voting for the party just because his friends did was being a sheep.

   I don't want to be a sheep and wear the same clothes as everyone at school.

2. 2phraseidiominformaldisapproving

   The state of lacking independent thought and simply copying the actions of a group.

   Grammar: Used to criticize a person's or group's behavior; often in the pattern 'it is about being a sheep'.

   Patterns

   • it is about being a sheep
   • what being a sheep means

   For her, being a sheep means never asking why things are done a certain way.

   The teacher warned us against being a sheep and copying our neighbor's answers.

Common combinations

being a sheep and following the crowd

Being a sheep and following the crowd won't make you happy.

accused of being a sheep

He was accused of being a sheep for agreeing with everything the boss said.

stop being a sheep

Stop being a sheep and make your own decision.

the problem with being a sheep

The problem with being a sheep is that you never learn to think for yourself.

Synonyms and how they differ

conformity

Conformity is a neutral noun for matching group behavior; 'being a sheep' is informal and critical, suggesting stupidity.

herd mentality

Herd mentality describes the group's tendency; 'being a sheep' focuses on the individual person who follows.

Opposites

Commonly confused: being a sheep or sheepish?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “being a sheep”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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