字典中的10大熱詞
Business Insider
2017-10-09
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如果你碰到一個(gè)詞,，不知道它的意思，顯然會(huì)去做一件事：查字典,。 有些詞往往更容易難住我們,，美國權(quán)威字典韋氏詞典就提供了例證，列出了用戶在旗下在線字典查閱最頻繁的十個(gè)詞,。 在英語中,，哪些是人們查閱最多的詞？答案可能出人意料,。比方說,，你不會(huì)去查一些非常晦澀難解的科學(xué)術(shù)語,，因?yàn)楦緵]有多少人知道這些詞,，更談不上費(fèi)勁去查了。 韋氏詞典的編纂者科瑞·斯坦普爾告訴美國財(cái)經(jīng)科技新聞網(wǎng)站Business Insider,，人們查閱最多的 “語言方面的攔路虎”,，它們很常見，但總是讓讀者困惑,。 以下就是韋氏詞典統(tǒng)計(jì)的十大查閱最頻繁詞語： 自命不凡（Pretentious） 如果有人不靠譜地說自己有多重要,、多了不起、多有名氣,，或者夸大自己的重要性,、價(jià)值或者名望，那這人就是自命不凡?，F(xiàn)實(shí)生活中,，有的人非精釀啤酒不喝，有的人自認(rèn)為開豐田的油電混合動(dòng)力車普銳斯特別環(huán)保,，他們就屬于這類自命不凡的人,。 無處不在（Ubiquitous） 無處不在用來描述某種事物很普及常見，比如電視和快餐,。 憤世嫉俗（Cynical） 如果有人不相信別人的動(dòng)機(jī),，或者認(rèn)為人類的行為大多是自私之舉，那就是憤世嫉俗的人。這種人可能質(zhì)疑別人為什么幫自己,，懷疑別人這么做的真正目的不是想幫忙,。 無動(dòng)于衷（Apathetic） 簡單來說，假如你不在意某件事,，那就是無動(dòng)于衷了,。這個(gè)詞和“冷漠”是同義詞。 棘手難題（Conundrum） 這個(gè)詞是指那種錯(cuò)綜復(fù)雜的難題,。韋氏詞典認(rèn)為,，它常用于描述看似不可能解答的道德、社會(huì)學(xué)和經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)問題,，但也泛指一切謎團(tuán)或者神秘事物,。 縱然（Albeit） 當(dāng)你想說即便只是在小鎮(zhèn)上過了一晚，也是很奢華,、花費(fèi)不菲的,，可以用這個(gè)詞替代“即便如此”。 模棱兩可（Ambiguous） 說一件事模棱兩可,，是指它至少有兩種角度理解意思都說得通,。比如“the peasants are revolting”這句英文就是模棱兩可的，因?yàn)樗赡苁钦f農(nóng)民要造反,，也可能想說農(nóng)民讓人厭惡,。我們需要多些信息確定哪種才是真正要表達(dá)的意思。 節(jié)操（Integrity） 說一個(gè)人有節(jié)操,，是指此人有一套嚴(yán)格遵循的價(jià)值觀,。比如我們希望領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人處事有德行，而一些作品熱賣的音樂家可能為了媚俗而犧牲了自己的藝術(shù)操守,，因此受到批評(píng),。 影響（Affect/Effect） 如果單說詞義，大家并不是搞不清楚影響的意思,?？墒牵谑褂猛瑯颖磉_(dá)影響這個(gè)意思的兩個(gè)英文詞affect和effect時(shí),，的確有些不同,。最容易區(qū)分的解釋是，前者通常是動(dòng)詞,，后者常用作名詞,。比如天氣可以影響人的心情，在這句話里要用affect,。我們說一項(xiàng)新政可能產(chǎn)生毀滅性的影響,，那就要用effect。 愛（Love） 這個(gè)詞至少字面上看一點(diǎn)也不難理解。但如果必須解釋一下,，你能說情究竟什么是愛嗎,？韋氏詞典推測(cè)，這就是很多人需要查字典了解這個(gè)詞的原因,。不管怎樣，在韋氏詞典上,，愛的定義只是“出于親緣關(guān)系或者個(gè)人關(guān)系,，對(duì)他人產(chǎn)生強(qiáng)烈的好感”或者“基于性欲的吸引力”。（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)） 本文首發(fā)于美國財(cái)經(jīng)科技新聞網(wǎng)站BusinessInsider.com,。 譯者：Pessy 審稿：夏林 |
When you don't know the meaning of a word, there's one obvious place to turn: the dictionary. Naturally, some words tend to confuse people more than others, as evidenced by Merriam-Webster's list of the 10 most looked-up words in its online dictionary. So what are the most sought-after definitions in the English language? Probably not what you expect. You won't find hyper-obscure scientific terms, for example, because not enough people know them to bother looking them up. Rather, the most looked-up words are ones that are "middle of the road linguistically" — common enough to perpetually perplex readers, as Merriam-Webster lexicographer Kory Stamper told Business Insider. Here are the 10 most looked-up words and their definitions: Pretentious Someone is pretentious if they express unwarranted or exaggerated importance, worth, or stature. Think beer snobs or Prius drivers, as the stereotypes go. Ubiquitous Ubiquitous is used to describe something that is widespread and constantly encountered, like television or fast food. Cynical Someone is cynical if they are distrustful of people's motives, or believe that human conduct is motivated primarily by self-interest. A cynical person might question why you offer to do them a favor, thinking to themselves, "what do they really want?" Apathetic Simply put, you're apathetic if you don't care about something. A synonym for apathetic is "indifferent." Conundrum A conundrum is an intricate and difficult problem. According to Merriam-Webster, it's often used to describe seemingly unanswerable questions involving ethics, sociology, and economics, but it can also refer generally to any puzzle or mystery. Albeit Albeit is a one-word substitute for "even though," like when you describe an extravagant, albeit expensive, night on the town. Ambiguous Something that is ambiguous can be understood in two or more possible ways. For example, the sentence "the peasants are revolting" is ambiguous, because it could mean the peasants are rebelling in the streets, or that they are physically disgusting. We need more information to clear up the ambiguity. Integrity Integrity is the firm adherence to a code of values. We expect our leaders to act with moral integrity, for example, and musicians who "sell out" might get criticized for compromising their artistic integrity. Affect/Effect The definitions of these words aren't confusing, but remembering when to use each one can sure be tricky. A good rule of thumb is that "affect" is usually a verb and "effect" is usually a noun. The weather can affect your mood, and a new policy can have a devastating effect. Love OK, so this one isn't confusing at all, at least when taken at face value. But what exactly is love, if you had to explain it? Merriam-Webster speculates it's that exact question that drives so many people to look up "love" in the dictionary. For what it's worth, the dictionary defines love as "strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties" or "attraction based on sexual desire." This article originally appeared on BusinessInsider.com |
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