underhanded

more underhanded (comparative)
most underhanded (superlative)

underhand

除了“人手不足的”以外的义项

Golf is an underhanded game, because we must swing the club in an underhanded motion in order to play the ball off the ground.

2011，Edward A Tischler，The Way Of The Golfer: Searching For New Horizons, →ISBN，頁 25:

They were actually underhanded threats to call off the lawsuit and then all insurance agents in the hospital district would get a dividend for the premiums paid.

2007，Dewey Anderson，When Satan Came to Moose Lake, →ISBN，頁 118:

Was the federal government being underhanded and hypocritical in officially praising the merits of federalism, but in missing no opportunity to promote Canadian nationalism?

2009，Alain-G. Gagnon，Contemporary Canadian Federalism, →ISBN:

The pap phoned and we told him that Kirschner probably peddled them himself and now was accusing you of acting underhanded so he did not have out to pay out any more dough.

2010，Al Walentis & Polly Kahl，The Secret World of Jon and Kate, →ISBN，頁 152:

There were underhanded ploys that were effective but were deplored by the hospital administration.

2014，Carl Douglass，The Long Climb, →ISBN:

His underhanded trick backfired and he was disqualified.

他卑鄙的计俩适得其反，让他失去了资格。

不真心的，挖苦的，讽刺的

Of course, sometimes compliments just aren't really compliments. Underhanded compliments are, for better or worse, nothing new or unusual.

2012，Hanne Blank，The Unapologetic Fat Girl's Guide to Exercise and Other Incendiary Acts, →ISBN，頁 56:

Poking underhanded fun at the contestants live on stage was absolutely inexcusable.

2013，Charmaine Ross，Makeover Miracle, →ISBN:

“Have you seen my film?” He's asking about Election, his deliriously sardonic and underhanded satire of politics and high school culture that follows trepidatious government teacher (Matthew Broderick) through increasingly bizarre attempts to sideline a senior's fanatical student body presidential campaign.

2014，Julie Levinson，Alexander Payne: Interviews, →ISBN:

An underhanded compliment is actually criticism.

秘密的，私下的，鬼鬼祟祟的

And, although the mystery of an unsigned note rather thrilled her, it seemed underhanded. And June hated underhanded things.

1903，Arthur Wellington Brayley, Arthur Wilson Tarbell, & Joe Mitchell Chapple，National Magazine - Volume 19，頁 493:

A general agreement should be made among the nations, that henceforth, all underhanded diplomatic agreements be abolished, and that complete publicity be observed in discussing and transacting international affairs.

1918，Cambrian ... Published in the Interest of the Welsh People and Their Descendants in the United States Volume 38:

He moved in closer, covertly noticing Vienna's underhanded peek.

2011，Celine Flux，Sit-Ups and Supersex, →ISBN，頁 289:

Between 9.30, when the first shot was fired, and 11.45 a.m., the enemy, well aware of his vast superiority in men — the ' Intrepid,' being, as was usual with the Company's cruisers, underhanded — made two attempts to run her on board and throw an overpowering force on the brig's decks.

1877，Charles Rathbone Low，History of the Indian Navy: (1613-1863)，頁 209:

Jude and me can make out to work the boat and get a livin', but we're too underhanded for a big job.

2008，H. De Vere Stacpoole，Satan: a Story of the Sea King's Country, →ISBN，頁 51:

The government believed that most plantations in St. Vincent were “underhanded” and the phenomenon of runaways, or marronage, only exacerbated the problem.

2012，Christopher Taylor，The Black Carib Wars: Freedom, Survival, and the Making of the Garifuna，頁 1617033111:


untenable

more untenable (comparative)
most untenable (superlative)

unholdable

（观点、立场等） 站不住脚的

indefensible

（观点、立场等） 站不住脚的

tenable

（观点、立场等） 站不住脚的

defensible

（观点、立场等） 站不住脚的

sustainable

（观点、立场等） 站不住脚的

（观点、立场等） 站不住脚的

The theory of cold fusion was untenable.

They are seeking to escape from the unpleasant implications of an untenable status dilemma. They desire but cannot afford a prestigious social status.

1970，Gary Schwartz，Sect Ideologies and Social Status，頁 219:

The rumors about Anderson nevertheless placed Glasgow in an untenable social position, for close friends either suspected or knew of their engagement.

1998，Susan Goodman，Ellen Glasgow: a biography，頁 149:

The modern family would be an artificial and untenable social structure in this early period, just as the clan appears to be an artificial institution in our own society.

2012，Heather A. Brown，Marx on Gender and the Family: A Critical Study，頁 183:

Celebrating him [Robert E. Lee] in the time of George Floyd became, at last, untenable.

2021年October26日，Peter Baker，“The Case Against Winston Churchill”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

He describes the untenable position of the railways' finances reasonably dispassionately. From 1952 onwards, British Railways ran an operational deficit, and in 1961 made an annual loss of £86.9 million.

2023年March8日，Gareth Dennis，“The Reshaping of things to come...”, in RAIL，期 978，頁 44:

[…] ceilings, staircases, all that make a house habitable had vanished in the flare of his conflagration, and since his soul could no longer dwell there, it dwelt instead, so to speak, in the pleasant garden which surrounded the untenable house.

1915，Edward Frederic Benson，The Oakleyites，頁 84:

The floor was a veritable mud puddle, and even the meager bedding of old reindeer skins was wet from the dripping walls and ceiling. This untenable dwelling housed a family of six Eskimos: a grandmother, father and mother and three children.

It is equally plausible to interpret the evidence to imply a life-span extending well into the fifth century, followed by a phase when the building became increasingly shabby and then untenable.

2007，Roger White，Britannia Prima: Britain's Last Roman Province，頁 192:


untoward

more untoward (comparative)
most untoward (superlative)

difficult

麻烦的，困难的，棘手的，难以控制的

fractious

麻烦的，困难的，棘手的，难以控制的

stubborn

麻烦的，困难的，棘手的，难以控制的

troublesome

麻烦的，困难的，棘手的，难以控制的

uncontrollable

麻烦的，困难的，棘手的，难以控制的

unruly

麻烦的，困难的，棘手的，难以控制的

Honest men for the most part, but men with whom the world had dealt hardly; the failures of all countries, men sobered by toil and saddened by exile, who had been driven to fight for the dominion of an untoward soil, to sow where others should gather, the advance-guard of a mighty civilization to be.

1900, Willa Cather, "Eric Hermannson's Soul," Cosmopolitan 28:633 (April):

At Tebay however, he began to get the mastery over these untoward conditions, and actually got back a little time up to Shap, after which all was plain sailing.

1941 November，Cecil J. Allen，“British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine，頁 484:

No untoward effects were reported; however, this was not a blinded or controlled study.

2004，Jan Riordan，章號 5, in Breastfeeding and Human Lactation, →ISBN，頁 149:

However, these guidelines may not be applicable to all individuals with refractory epilepsy, in whom seizure control is not achieved without using polytherapy or resection surgery with their untoward side effects.

2007，Steven C. Schachter et al.，章號 4, in Behavioral Aspects of Epilepsy: Principles and Practice, →ISBN，頁 282:

麻烦的，困难的，棘手的，难以控制的

The managing director was very depressed at the news, but realized that trying to prove anything untoward had taken place would be very difficult.

2005，John Martin，Organizational Behaviour and Management, →ISBN，頁 518:

“I have a suspicion that someone is trying to recategorize my generosity to ex-girlfriends as something more untoward,” Gaetz said. As only he could.

2021年April8日，Gail Collins，引 Matt Gaetz, “Here’s … Matt Gaetz”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:


facetious

源自法語 facétieux，源自拉丁語 facētia (“幽默”)，源自facētus (“幽默的”)。

more facetious (comparative)
most facetious (superlative)

Robbie's joke about Heather's appearance was just him being facetious.

Robbie开Heather长相的玩笑只是因为他轻浮而已。

Glamour for its own sake is not something I have ever been particularly interested in,” Stella McCartney said backstage after her catwalk show. Which could sound like a facetious statement from a fashion designer who was, at that moment, standing among the marble-slabbed floors, elaborately frescoed ceilings and giant chandeliers of the Palais Garnier opera house, where the show was staged.

2017年October2日，Jess Cartner-Morle，“Stella McCartney lays waste to disposable fashion in Paris”, in the Guardian:


unassailable

more unassailable (comparative)
most unassailable (superlative)

His recourse to written documents to make his discourse unassailable has created a virtually unalterable situation even as he is on the verge of being forced to “see through” Tartuffe.

1990，Larry W. Riggs，“Moliere’s “Poststructuralism”: Demolition of Transcendentalist Discourse in Le Tartuffe”, in Symposium: A Quarterly Journal in Modern Literatures，卷 44, 號 1, →DOI，頁 53:

None of the processes, however, is either uniform or unassailable. The contradictions and distortions within any hegemonic discourse, as well as the discrepancies between it and the popular understandings of common sense, leave it ever vulnerable to penetration, criticism, and refusal.

1990，James Brow，“Notes on Community, Hegemony, and the Uses of the Past”, in Anthropological Quarterly，卷 63, 號 1, George Washington U Institute for Ethnographic Research, →JSTOR，頁 5:

She won the debate with her unassailable logic.

她通过缜密的逻辑赢得了辩论。


feckless

源自低地蘇格蘭語 feckless，低地蘇格蘭語 fectless (“徒劳的”)的变体，等价于effect + -less。

more feckless (comparative)
most feckless (superlative)

软弱的，缺乏意志力的，不负责任的

It is the beauty of great games when they are played at their highest level and the extraordinary thing now is that we do not have to trawl back through all the years of your inexorable progress from feckless beach boy to master sportsman.


fiery

源自中古英語 fyry，源自fyr (“火”)。等价于fire + -y。

more fiery (comparative)
fierier (comparative)
most fiery (superlative)
fieriest (superlative)

Blast after blast, fiery outbreak after fiery outbreak, like a flaming barrage from within,[…]most of Edison's grounds soon became an inferno. As though on an incendiary rampage, the fires systematically devoured the contents of Edison's headquarters and facilities.

2006，Edwin Black，章號 1, in Internal Combustion:

The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom.[…]Drifts of yellow vapour, fiery, parching, stinging, filled the air.

1892，James Yoxall，章號 5, in The Lonely Pyramid:

a fiery temper


feisty

1896年美洲，feist (“攻击性强的小型犬”) + -y，feist (现已罕用)原指“恶臭”，更早指“屁”，源自中古英語←古英語←原始日耳曼語，应该源自原始印歐語。详见feist。

feistier (comparative)
more feisty (comparative)
feistiest (superlative)
most feisty (superlative)

（尤指体型小或有其他劣势却）好斗的


unbridled

more unbridled (comparative)
most unbridled (superlative)

an unbridled horse

无拘无束的，无羁的，放纵的

unbridled capitalism

She jumped into the project with unbridled enthusiasm.

1749，Henry Fielding，The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling [棄兒湯姆·瓊斯的歷史]，卷 (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:

Unbridled competition between the different means of transport is eliminated by a licensing system, to which all transport concerns, whether by land or water, are subjected for both regular and occasional transport.

1962 March，J. M. Tolson，“The Netherlands Railways today—I: The economic development of the Netherlands Railways”, in Modern Railways，頁 170:

His contempt was totally unbridled, as though my goal was a personal affront to him and all humanity.

2005，Sean Dooley，The Big Twitch，Sydney: Allen and Unwin，頁 131:


faint-hearted

more faint-hearted (comparative)
most faint-hearted (superlative)


upfront

more upfront (comparative)
most upfront (superlative)


foible

1640–50年代，源自早期现代中古法語 foible (“羸弱的”)（现代法語 faible）。feeble 的同源對似詞。

more foible (comparative)
most foible (superlative)

The good Fencing-maſters, in France eſpecially, when they preſent a Foyle or Fleuret to their Scholars, tell him it hath two Parts, one of which he calleth the Fort or ſtrong, and the other the Foyble or weak […]

a. 1648,, Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, The Life of Edward Lord Herbert of Cherbury, page 46:


uncalled-for

more uncalled-for (comparative)
most uncalled-for (superlative)

不恰当的，不合适的，多余的

That nasty remark was uncalled-for.


uncanny

源自un- + canny，即“超乎理解之外的”，“超乎熟知的知识范围外的”。对比中古英語 unkanne (“未知的”)。

uncannier (comparative)
uncanniest (superlative)

He bore an uncanny resemblance to the dead sailor.

他生来长得很像那位死去的水手，很诡异。

An eerie feeling came over me. She seemed uncanny and fateful.

1899 Feb，Joseph Conrad，“The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine，頁 200:


feminist

more feminist (comparative)
most feminist (superlative)


upstairs

further upstairs (comparative)
furthest upstairs (superlative)

They can sleep in the upstairs bedroom.

高的，（通常指）高于好球区的

That fastball was upstairs for a ball.


fallacious

more fallacious (comparative)
most fallacious (superlative)


unkempt

源自早期形式unkembed、unkemmed，源自中古英語 unkempt (“蓬乱的”)，等价于un- + kempt。对比古諾爾斯語 úkembdr。详见kemb。

more unkempt (comparative)
most unkempt (superlative)

Men on cycles, lean-faced, unkempt, scorched along every country lane, shouting of unhoped deliverance, shouting to gaunt, staring figures of despair.

1898，H.G. Wells，The War of the Worlds，London: William Heinemann，頁 289:

unkempt bedroom


flattering

源自中古英語 flatering、flatrung (动名词)，等价于flatter + -ing。

more flattering (comparative)
most flattering (superlative)

The dress really did not look very flattering on her figure.

那件连衣裙不是很合她的身形。

满足自尊心的，表扬的，奉承的


foolhardy

源自中古英語 folehardy、foolhardi、folherdi，源自古法語 fol hardi (“莽撞的”)，源自古法語 fol (“愚蠢的，疯癫的”)（←拉丁語 follis (“风箱；袋子；充气球；肚子”)，最终源自原始印歐語 *bʰelǵʰ- (“涨”)） + 古法語 hardi (“耐用的，强韧的，坚韧的”)（hardir (“使...坚硬”)的过去式，源自不可考的古法蘭克語 *hartjan，源自原始日耳曼語 *harduz (“硬的，勇敢的”)），等价于fool + hardy。对比fool-bold、fool-large等词。

foolhardier (comparative)
more foolhardy (comparative)
foolhardiest (superlative)
most foolhardy (superlative)

蛮勇的，鲁莽的，冲动而不计后果的

In the middle distance several foolhardy souls in wet suits were surfing toward some foamy outbursts on the rocky headland; nearer in, a scattering of paddlers was being continually and, it seemed, happily engulfed by explosive waves.

2000，Bill Bryson，章號 1, in In a Sunburned Country，第1st US版, New York, N.Y.: Broadway Books, →ISBN，頁 14:

It is a reckless, foolhardy leap into the unknown and the prelude, perhaps, to what the existentialist writer Albert Camus described in La chute – a fall from grace, in every conceivable sense.

2017年March26日，“The Observer view on triggering article 50: As Britain hurtles towards the precipice, truth and democracy are in short supply”, in The Observer，London，存檔自the original on 2017-08-30:


ferocious

源自拉丁語 ferōx (“野蛮的，粗鄙的，残暴的”) + -ous。

more ferocious (comparative)
most ferocious (superlative)

Scotland needed a victory by eight points to have a realistic chance of progressing to the knock-out stages, and for long periods of a ferocious contest looked as if they might pull it off.

2011年October1日，Tom Fordyce，“Rugby World Cup 2011: England 16-12 Scotland”, in BBC Sport:

"My memory of him in the office at Peterborough was the ferocious nature of his typing, on a manual machine of course. This was long before the days of desktop publishing, and you could hear him down the corridor absolutely hammering the keyboard."

2023年January25日，Howard Johnston，“Peter Kelly: August 2 1944-December 28 2022”, in RAIL，期 975，頁 47:


fledgling

:fledge（“生長羽毛；羽毛豐滿”） + 指小後綴 -ling。


frisky

friskier (comparative)
friskiest (superlative)

He had his hands full, with three frisky kittens in the house.

三只猫咪在家里跳来跳去他根本应付不过来。


fleeting

源自中古英語 fleten (“浮动”)，源自古英語 flēotan (“浮动”)，源自原始日耳曼語 *fleutaną，源自原始印歐語 *plewd-。

more fleeting (comparative)
most fleeting (superlative)

Architecture, sculpture, painting are static arts. Even in literature "our flying minds," as George Meredith says, cannot contain protracted description. It is so; for from sequences of words they must assemble all the details in one simultaneous impression. But moments of fleeting beauty too transient to be caught by any means less swift than light itself are registered on the screen.

1931，Martha Kinross，“The Screen — From This Side”, in The Fortnightly，卷 130，頁 511:

During the fleeting summer months of his field season, when the outer vestiges of winter melted briefly, there were ponds and pools and lakes of water everywhere.

2003，Gabrielle Walker，Snowball Earth: The Story of a Maverick Scientist and His Theory of the Global Catastrophe That Spawned Life As We Know It，Three Rivers Press, →ISBN，頁s 34–35:

For starters, we see examples all the time of some middle-aged men trying to hang onto their own fleeting youth by sporting younger women on their arms.

2008，Barbara L. Bellman, Susan Goldstein，Flirting After Fifty: Lessons for Grown-Up Women on How to Find Love Again，iUniverse, 出版於 2008, →ISBN，頁 12:

And I am inspired afresh to pursue the stunning beauty of Christ rather than the fleeting beauty of this world.

2010，Leslie Ludy，The Lost Art of True Beauty: The Set-Apart Girl's Guide to Feminine Grace，Harvest House Publishers, 出版於 2010, →ISBN，頁 5:


frivolous

源自拉丁語 frīvolus (“愚蠢的，空洞的，轻浮的，无价值的”)，后缀调整成了-ous。

more frivolous (comparative)
most frivolous (superlative)

轻浮的，轻率的，轻狂的，不认真的

There is no easy definition for the phrase 'frivolous lawsuit,' but I imagine any claim for damages where the injuries are minimal or where the basis for the defendant's liability is hard to believe, might qualify as frivolous.

1996年August31日，Paul F. Waldner, President-Elect, Houston Trial Lawyers Association，“Viewpoints”, in Houston Chronicle:

One of the major cost drivers in the delivery of health care are these junk and frivolous lawsuits.


frolic

源自荷蘭語 vrolijk (“欢喜的”)，源自中古荷蘭語 vrolijc，源自古荷蘭語 frōlīk，源自原始日耳曼語 *frawalīkaz。对比德語 fröhlich (“开心的，快乐的”)。
前一个元素，最终源自原始日耳曼語 *frawaz并与中古英語 frow (“匆忙的”)同源；之后的元素，最终源自*-līkaz并与-ly、-like同源。

more frolic (comparative)
most frolic (superlative)

开心的，欢快的，欢腾的，闹腾的 （自16世纪30年代）

The frolick wind that breathes the Spring,

1645, John Milton, “L’Allegro” in Poems, London: Humphrey Moseley, p. 31,

For women, born to be controul’d,

1682, Edmund Waller, “Of Love” in Poems, &c. written upon several occasions, and to several persons, London: H. Herringman, 5th edition, 1686, p. 73,

You meet him at the tables and conversations of the wise, the impertinent, the grave, the frolic, and the witty; [...]

1766，Joseph Addison，The Spectator - Volume 5 - Page 304:

Beale, under this frolic menace, took nothing back at all; he was indeed apparently on the point of repeating his extravagence, but Miss Overmore instructed her little charge that she was not to listen to his bad jokes [...].


unobtrusive

more unobtrusive (comparative)
most unobtrusive (superlative)

inobtrusive

不显眼的，不张扬的，低调的

sedate

不显眼的，不张扬的，低调的

conspicuous

不显眼的，不张扬的，低调的

indiscreet

不显眼的，不张扬的，低调的

obtrusive

不显眼的，不张扬的，低调的

prominent

不显眼的，不张扬的，低调的

不显眼的，不张扬的，低调的

Behind an unobtrusive iron door in Dalston decorated with an ever-changing graffiti skin, lies a staircase leading down to a concrete bunker dating from the second world war.

2014年March11日，Jen Wong，“Exploring the mind in a bunker”, in The Guardian，London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC，存檔自the original on 2022-11-13:

This unobtrusive device helps millions of Americans sleep and concentrate by hushing the world around them.

2019年June23日，Mack Hagood，“How a Bad Night’s Sleep Birthed the Sound Conditioner”, in The Atlantic，Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC，存檔自the original on 2023-03-14:

The 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to three scientists whose work harnessed the power of molecular interaction and introduced new, unobtrusive ways of studying the natural world.

2022年October5日，Cora Engelbrecht, Euan Ward, Oliver Whang，“Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to 3 scientists for work ‘snapping molecules together’”, in The New York Times，New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC，存檔自the original on 2023-03-17:


far-fetched

more far-fetched (comparative)
most far-fetched (superlative)

it may be, if like industry were used, those far fetched druggs would prosper as well with us, as in those countries, whence now we have them […].

1624，Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton]，The Anatomy of Melancholy: […]，第2nd版, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 4, member 1, subsection ii:

He is full of far-fetched ideas to make money.

他总有不切实际的赚钱设想。


foreboding

源自中古英語 forbodyng、vorboding，等价于fore- + boding。对比德語 Vorbote (“预兆”)。

more foreboding (comparative)
most foreboding (superlative)

不祥的，预示着结果不好的

Blood on the street / Foreboding god complex / She never knew she was next

2018，“Blood on the Street”, 演出者 Soulfly:


firsthand

firsthand knowledge

I recently received a firsthand report from an old friend — John A. Keel — who until last year was as skeptical a newshound as I have known.

1967，Ivan Terence Sanderson，Uninvited Visitors:

Ours is a generation of aromantics, jaded about matters of the heart — often before gaining firsthand experience.

1986，Wanda Urbanska，The Singular Generation，Doubleday & Company, 出版於 1986, →ISBN，頁 86:

Given Mr. Kissinger’s firsthand experience in the anguishing decisions about withdrawal from Vietnam, the disclosure sparked the inevitable Iraq-Vietnam comparisons that Mr. Bush has assiduously sought to avoid.

2007年January2日，Sheryl Gay Stolberg，“Kissinger’s Appearance Revives Memories of Vietnam Era”, in New York Times:

But in his strongest criticism yet of the superdatabase, Sir Ken Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions, who has firsthand experience of working with intelligence and law enforcement agencies, told the Guardian such assurances would prove worthless in the long run...

2008年December31日，Alan Travis, Richard Norton-Taylor，“Private firm may track all email and calls”, in The Guardian:

The same sort of doublethink is evident in the White House’s treatment of firsthand impeachment witnesses.

2019年December2日，Eric Lutz，“Trump Lawyer Cites No Due Process as Reason to Sit Out Due Process”, in Vanity Fair:

a firsthand copy


frumpy

frumpier (comparative)
frumpiest (superlative)

dowdy

邋遢的；老土的，不时髦的

unkempt

邋遢的；老土的，不时髦的

unfashionable

邋遢的；老土的，不时髦的

邋遢的；老土的，不时髦的

She came to the door in a frumpy housedress and bedroom slippers.

她穿着件邋邋遢遢的便服和拖鞋过来应门。

Although still young at heart and head, he looks more and more like his old friend Archimedes, increasingly bearded and increasingly grey, with an otherworldly mien – a look that should earn him a spot in the online quiz featuring portraits of frumpy old men under the rubric “Prof or Hobo?”

July 23 2005，Siobhan Roberts，“John Horton Conway: the world’s most charismatic mathematician”, in The Guardian:


festive

more festive (comparative)
most festive (superlative)


fulgent

源自中古英語 fulgent，源自拉丁語 fulgēns。

more fulgent (comparative)
most fulgent (superlative)

Shirley takes life easily: is not that fact written in her eye? In her good-tempered moments, is it not as full of lazy softness as in her brief fits of anger it is fulgent with quick-flashing fire?

1849，Currer Bell [筆名; Charlotte Brontë]，“Two Lives”, in Shirley. A Tale. […]，卷 II, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC，頁 266:


fitful

源自fit (“抽搐；突然活跃”) + -ful (从名词构成形容词的后缀，“充满...的”，“倾向于...的”，“有...性质的”)。

more fitful (comparative)
most fitful (superlative)

capricious

断断续续的，间歇的，不规则的，一阵一阵的

changeable

断断续续的，间歇的，不规则的，一阵一阵的

changing

断断续续的，间歇的，不规则的，一阵一阵的

erratic

断断续续的，间歇的，不规则的，一阵一阵的

shifting

断断续续的，间歇的，不规则的，一阵一阵的

spasmodic

断断续续的，间歇的，不规则的，一阵一阵的

unfitful

断断续续的，间歇的，不规则的，一阵一阵的

Duncane is in his Graue: / After Lifes fitfull Feuer, he ſleepes well, / Treaſon ha's done his worſt: not Steele, not Poyſon, / Mallice domeſtique, forraine Leuie, nothing, / Can touch him further.

c. 1606 (date written)，William Shakespeare，“The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio)，London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, 出版於 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]，頁 140，列 2:

断断续续的，间歇的，不规则的，一阵一阵的

His breathing was fitful.

Troubled by her unfinished work, she fell into a fitful sleep.

因为受没有完成的工作折磨，她断断续续地睡着了。

So fitful has Britain’s economy been that any good news is understandably snatched at.

2012年October27日，“The economy: Don’t say ‘green shoots’: Britain emerges from its second recession in four years”, in The Economist，London: Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC，存檔自the original on 2012-10-29:


fastidious

源自拉丁語 fastīdiōsus (“觉得恶心的，蔑视的，鄙夷的；让人恶心的，令人厌恶的”)，源自fastīdium (“厌恶，恶心”)，可能因为*fastutidium，源自fastus (“鄙夷，傲慢，觉得反感”) + taedium (“反感”)。对比法語 fastidieux。

more fastidious (comparative)
most fastidious (superlative)

exacting

严格而挑剔的，一丝不苟的；苛刻的

fussy

严格而挑剔的，一丝不苟的；苛刻的

meticulous

严格而挑剔的，一丝不苟的；苛刻的

niggly

严格而挑剔的，一丝不苟的；苛刻的

pernickety

严格而挑剔的，一丝不苟的；苛刻的

严格而挑剔的，一丝不苟的；苛刻的

He had at first tried to clean up as they ate, his fastidious nature kicking in, but Chris had told him to just stop, he was blocking the TV.

As she cleaned the room daily, she knew it was against his fastidious nature to bring or have food in his room.

His fastidious nature had been evident in his careful snipping of a customer's hair and now he guided his pencil with the same adroitness.

"If you are fastidious, clean previously used pots inside and out; if not, merely clean the outside (unless you are battling a pest infestation; then the inside will need scrubbing as well)."

2010，Debra Lee Baldwin，Succulent Container Gardens: Design Eye-Catching Displays with 350 Easy-Care ...:

"It's burn[t], M'sieur," said Marie Louise, politely, but decidedly, to the utter confusion of Mr. Billy, who was as mortified as could be at the failure of his dinner to please his fastidious little visitor.


fulminating

more fulminating (comparative)
most fulminating (superlative)


fatuous

源自拉丁語 fatuus (“愚蠢的”)。

more fatuous (comparative)
most fatuous (superlative)

A fatuous love affair can easily result in a fatuous marriage. A couple who hardly know each other and, indeed, may not even really like each other, make a commitment that has little chance of being honoured.

2004，Frank Tallis，Love Sick: Love as a Mental Illness，頁 46:

While much publicity is given to fatuous 'reversing Beeching' ideas, the reality is that the real investment is focused on expanding the road network - [...].

2020年December2日，Christian Wolmar，“Wales offers us glimpse of an integrated transport policy”, in Rail，頁 56:


forlorn

源自中古英語 forlorn、forloren，源自古英語 forloren（forlēosan (“丢失”)的过去分词），源自原始日耳曼語 *fraluzanaz (“遗失的”)，原始日耳曼語 *fraleusaną (“丢失”)的过去分词，等价于for- + lorn。同源词有西弗里斯蘭語 ferlern (“丢失的”)、薩特弗里斯蘭語 ferlädden (“丢失的”)、荷蘭語 verloren (“丢失的”)、德國低地德語 verloren (“丢失的”)、德語 verloren (“丢失的”)、瑞典語 förlorad (“丢失的”)。还见lese/leese、lorn。

forlorner (comparative)
more forlorn (comparative)
forlornest (superlative)
most forlorn (superlative)

forsaken

可悲的，（尤指因被遗弃而）可怜的

For miſerie doth braueſt mindes abate, / And make them ſeeke for that they wont to ſcorne, / Of fortune and of hope at once forlorne.

1578–1579，Ed[mund] Sp[enser]，“Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale. [...] Dedicated to the Right Honorable the Ladie Compton and Mountegle”, in Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. Whereof the Next Page Maketh Mention，London: Imprinted for VVilliam Ponsonbie, dwelling in Paules Churchyard at the signe of the Bishops head, 出版於 1591, →OCLC:

More join us at Colwall and at the lovely station at Great Malvern, although the place is in need of some TLC nowadays. The ornate canopy supports are overdue a repaint, and the closed cafe gives the place a forlorn air.

2020年December2日，Paul Bigland，“My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail，頁 67:

可悲的，（尤指因被遗弃而）可怜的

This is the Maiden all forlorn, That milked the Cow with the crumpled Horn[.]

The condition of the besieged, in the mean time, was forlorn in the extreme; not so much from want of food, though their supplies were scanty, as from excessive toil and exposure.

1857，William H[ickling] Prescott，“War with France. 1557.”, in History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain，第new版, 卷 I, London: G[eorge] Routledge & Co., Farringdon Street，頁 125:

Sweet are familiar songs, tho' Music dips / Her hollow shell in Thought's forlornest wells: / And sweet, tho' sad, the sound of midnight bells, / When the oped casement with the night-rain drips.

1859，Owen Meredith [pseudonym; en:Robert Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Earl of Lytton]，“The Wanderer”, in Poems by Owen Meredith. The Wanderer and Clytemnestra，Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, prologue, part I, stanza 1，頁 17:

Sophia broke down here. Even at this moment she was subconsciously comparing her rendering of the part of the forlorn bride with Miss Marie Lohr's.

1921，Ben Travers，A Cuckoo in the Nest，London: The Bodley Head, →OCLC; 再版 Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1925, →OCLC，頁 67:

绝望的，无望的，希望渺茫的

To begin therefore with Traditions, which is your forlorn hope that in the first place we are to set upon: this must I needs tell you before we begin, that you much mistake the matter, if you think that traditions of all sorts promiscuously are struck at by our religion.

1625，James Ussher，“Of Traditions”, in An Ansvver to a Challenge Made by a Iesuite in Ireland. Wherein the Iudgment of Antiquity in the Points Questioned, is Truly Delivered, and the Noveltie of the Now Romish Doctrine Plainely Discovered by Iames Vssher bishop of Meath. Whereunto is Added a Sermon Preached before His Majesty at Wansted, by the Same Author，London: Printed [by Humphrey Lownes] for the Society of Stationers, →OCLC; republished in The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, D.D. Lord Archbishop of Armagh, and Primate of All Ireland，卷 III, Dublin: Hodges & Smith; London: Whittaker & Co., [1831], →OCLC，頁 41:

Mrs. Blair had lost her husband, who was a cavalry officer, in Cabool, at the memorable Khyber Pass; but as no precise tidings of his death had every been received, she cherished the forlorn hope that he was still living in captivity among the Affghans, and that some day it would be her happiness yet to be reunited with him, even on earth.

1859，Mowbray Thomson，章號 VII, in The Story of Cawnpore，London: Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street, publisher in ordinary to Her Majesty, →OCLC，頁s 119–120:

Now he rushed to the platform edge carrying a full fire bucket, in a forlorn attempt to douse the flames as the now brightly burning wagon rolled past.

2022年January12日，Benedict le Vay，“The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL，期 948，頁 42:


fawn

源自中古英語 fawne, fowne, foun，源自古法語 faon, foon, feon，源自通俗拉丁語 *fētōnem，源自拉丁語 fētus (“后代”)，源自原始印歐語 *dʰeh₁(y)- (“哺”)。取代了原生词古英語 hindċealf (字面意思是“鹿崽”)。fetus 的同源對似詞。


fickle

源自中古英語 fikil、fikel，源自古英語 ficol (“浮躁的，不忠的，狡诈的”)，等价于fike + -le。详见fike。

fickler (comparative)
more fickle (comparative)
ficklest (superlative)
most fickle (superlative)

不坚持的，浮躁的，无常的；不忠的，不可靠的

As night has such a local ring / And love and rock are fickle things

2010，James Murphy （作曲作詞）, “Home”, in This Is Happening，演出者 LCD Soundsystem:

To the south, the vast geometrical deserts of Arabian nomads, a redoubt of feral movement, of fickle winds, of open space, of saddle leather—home to the wild Bedouin tribes.
（請為本引文添加中文翻譯）

2014, Paul Salopek, Blessed. Cursed. Claimed., National Geographic (December 2014)https://web.archive.org/web/20150212214621/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/pilgrim-roads/salopek-text


foudroyant

more foudroyant (comparative)
most foudroyant (superlative)

[…] As makers go, / compared with Pindar or any / of the great foudroyant masters who don't ever / amend, we are, for all our polish, of little / stature […]

1968，W. H. Auden，“The Horatians”, in Collected Poems，Modern Library, 出版於 2007，頁 773:


fractious

more fractious (comparative)
most fractious (superlative)

That brief moment after the election four years ago, when many Americans thought Mr. Obama’s election would presage a new, less fractious political era, now seems very much a thing of the past.

2012年November7日，Matt Bai，“Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds”, in New York Times:

Flair and invention were very much at a premium, suffocated by the relentless pace and often fractious nature of proceedings. The absence of James Morrison from the centre of Scotland’s midfield, the West Brom man ruled out on the morning of the game by illness, had already diminished the creative capacity of the home side in that department.

2014年November14日，Stephen Halliday，“Scotland 1-0 Republic of Ireland: Maloney the hero”, in The Scotsman:

COP stands for conference of the parties under the UNFCCC, and the annual meetings have swung between fractious and soporific, interspersed with moments of high drama and the occasional triumph (the Paris agreement in 2015) and disaster (Copenhagen in 2009).

2019年December2日，Fiona Harvey，“Climate crisis: what is COP and can it save the world?”, in The Guardian:

With his twin notes, Mr. Musk waded directly into a fractious debate over the right way for corporations to bring workers back to the office during the coronavirus pandemic.

2022年June1日，Ryan Mac，“Elon Musk to Workers: Spend 40 Hours in the Office, or Else”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

After a fractious party conference and dire opinion polls for the Tories, the prime minister attempted to speak directly to the public, saying: “I want what you want.”

2022年October5日，Rowena Mason，“Liz Truss promises ‘growth, growth and growth’ in protest-hit speech”, in The Guardian:


garish

不详，可能源自弃用词中古英語 gawren (“盯着”)，其词源也不详，但可能源自古諾爾斯語 gá (“看”)或gaurr (“粗人”)（原始印歐語 *gʰow-rós，源自*gʰew- (“怒”)）。对比英語 gaw。

more garish (comparative)
most garish (superlative)

花里胡哨的，浮夸的 （自16世纪40年代）

The dress fits her well, but the pattern is rather garish.

她穿这件连衣裙很搭，但是裙子的图案太花哨了。

Leela: He gave me mechanical ears / Effective though just a bit garish.

2003年August10日，Ken Keeler，“The Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings”, in Futurama，季数 5, 集数 16 (television production), Fox Broadcasting Company:

She also said that Thameslink trains were deliberately garish, so as to lure drivers stuck on the M1, which runs alongside the line around Radlett.

2012，Andrew Martin，Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube，Profile Books, ISBN 978-1846684777，頁 57:


garrulous

借自拉丁語 garrulus (“多嘴的”)，源自动词garriō (“唠叨”)。

more garrulous (comparative)
most garrulous (superlative)

/ˈɡæɹ.ʊ.ləs/

/ˈɡɛɹ.ə.ləs/

/ˈɡæɹ.ə.ləs/

She lingered for a few moments, and was garrulous over some detail of the household.

1891，Oscar Wilde，The Picture of Dorian Gray:

Crammed with gossip, anecdotes, and confessions . . ., his garrulous, untidy narratives read like a good novel.

1984, "A Modern Whitman," by James Atlas. The Atlantic, Dec 1984.


gingerly

副词可能派生自盎格魯-諾曼語 gençur和古法語 gençor、gensor (“更美丽的，更礼貌的”) [以及其他形式] + 英語 -ly (副词构成后缀)。gençor是gent (“美丽的，英俊的；贵族的，高贵的；礼貌的，彬彬有礼的；流利的；礼貌地；高雅地”)的比较级，源自晚期拉丁語 *gentus，拉丁語 genitus (“出身（好）的”)的变体，gignō (“结，成为...之父；导致，产生”)的被动完成时分词， 最终源自原始印歐語 *ǵenh₁- (“使...诞生；产生”)。
《牛津英语词典》指出，盎格鲁-诺曼语和古法语的12世纪的文献，以及13世纪以后才可考的现代法语词之间存在一个几个世纪的缺口。因而若现代英语词源自盎格鲁-诺曼语和古法语词，则必须是经由口头或已失传的文献传入的（可能是作为舞蹈界的术语）。
形容词派生自副词，可能是因为-ly亦是一个形容词构成后缀。

more gingerly (comparative)
most gingerly (superlative)

/ˈd͡ʒɪnd͡ʒɚli/

But, ther's somethin' in the very look and voice of Jeems Strebling, even in his gingerly walk, that riles all the black drop in me.

1867，R[ebecca] H[arding] Davis，“The Valley of the Shadow”, in Waiting for the Verdict，New York, N.Y.: Sheldon & Company, 出版於 1868, →OCLC，頁 174:

The down "Atlantic Coast Express", headed by Pacific No. 35020 Bibby Line, passes the scene of operations at a gingerly 10 m.p.h.

1961 March，Trains Illustrated，London: Ian Allan Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, image caption，頁 185:

Several gingerly taps on her console fired clusters of modified probes into the maelstrom of the gas giant’s atmosphere.

2012，David [Alan] Mack，章號 28, in Persistence of Memory (Star Trek: The Next Generation; Cold Equations; book 1)，New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, →ISBN, part 3 (Elegy):

步伐小的，优美的；装腔作势的


girlie

girlier (comparative)
girliest (superlative)

色情的 （面向成年男性的有裸体或半裸女性的）

He said he wasn't paying good money for girlie hair — that's what he called it anytime we wanted to go into town to have a real haircut.

2005, Victoria Pade, Tales From Elk Creek (page 76)


gooey

gooier (comparative)
gooiest (superlative)

gooey liquid


gorgeous

源自中古英語 gorgeouse，借自中古法語 gorgias (“雅致的，时尚的”)，源自古法語 gourgias、gorgias (“华丽的；花哨的，炫耀的；精致的”)，其词源不详，但可能与古法語 gorgias (“护喉”)有关，其源自古法語 gorge (“胸部；喉咙”)。参见gorge。词义发展可能是“因自豪而挺胸”→“得意，招摇”。

more gorgeous (comparative)
most gorgeous (superlative)

(指人、地方或景色) 非常漂亮的，华丽的

All the contest judges agreed that Brigitt was absolutely gorgeous.

所有比赛评委都同意Brigitt确实非常漂亮。

The sunsets in Hawaii are gorgeous.

非常令人愉快的；非常美味的，等

Hummus is absolutely gorgeous.


glancing

more glancing (comparative)
most glancing (superlative)

His fist caught a glancing blow to my jaw.

She looked with a grudging eye on this waste of life and beauty—there was none for him; and the sight of the coffin, with its deep black pall borne slowly along the glancing path, was a contrast of unutterable misery. It was a relief to change the cheerful meadow for the dark umbrage of the forest which they now entered.

1834，L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon]，Francesca Carrara. […]，卷 II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC，頁s 324–325:


glaring

more glaring (comparative)
most glaring (superlative)

显眼的，扎眼的，显而易见的

How could you miss this glaring error? It's right on page one!

那么明显的错误都没看到？就在第一页！


gothic

more gothic (comparative)
most gothic (superlative)

同Gothic（大小写不同）。


grisly

源自中古英語 grisely、grysly、grissliȝ、griselich、grislich，源自古英語 grisliċ (“恐怖的，骇人的”)，源自grīsan (“使...因惧怕而战栗；颤抖，恐惧；使...颤抖，使...害怕”) （不直接可考，但āgrīsan暗示其存在） + -lic (构成形容词的后缀，表示“像...的，与...有关的”)。
其还可能是古英語 ongrislic、agrisenliċ的词首非重音形式，其为agrīsan (“使...因惧怕而战栗”，派生出agrise)的过去分词。
对比丹麥語 grusom、瑞典語 gräslig、中古荷蘭語 grezelijc（现代荷蘭語 griezelig）、中古高地德語 grisenlich（现代德語 grässlich、grausen）。

grislier (comparative)
grisliest (superlative)

The photographs of the killings depict a grisly scene.

杀人现场的相片惨不忍睹。

Then clad in cloake of mistie fogges the darke night vp did come, / And with grim grislie looke did seeme to bid me get me home; […]

1610，Richard Niccols，“The Indvction”, in A Winter Nights Vision; being an Addition of such Princes Especially Famous, who were Exempted in the Former Historie，part IV, London: Felix Kyngston, →OCLC; 再版為 Mirror for Magistrates，卷 II, part II, London: Printed for Lackington, Allen, and Co. Finsbury Square; and Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orms, and Brown, Paternoster Row, 1815, →OCLC，頁 548:

It was sore travelling for horse and man under the blazing sun, with no food nor water save what he pressed from the pith of the palms, and even these were growing scarce. The only life on the plains was the hard and dusty scrub. Every hour brought a more hopeless and grislier desolation.

1878，John Boyle O'Reilly，“On the Trail”, in Moondyne: A Story from the Under-world，London: George Routledge and Sons, 出版於 1879, →OCLC; 再版為 Moondyne: A Story of Convict Life in Australia，London: George Routledge & Sons, Limited, Broadway House, Ludgate Hill, [1880s], →OCLC, book first，頁s 23–24:

We know too well the bestial assault you are making upon the Russian people, to whom our hearts go out in their valiant struggle. We will have no truce or parley with you, or the grisly gang who work your wicked will. You do your worst and we will do our best.

1941，Winston Churchill，The Unrelenting Struggle:

In his [Galway Kinnell's] new book, Body Rags, he has brought this style to a kind of perfection, especially in two poems about the killing of animals, "The Porcupine" and "The Bear." These are the grisliest poems I have ever read.

1968 summer，Hayden Carruth，“Making It New”, in The Hudson Review，卷 XXI, 期 2, New York, N.Y.: Hudson Review, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC; reprinted as “From ‘Making It New’ [Body Rags]”, in On the Poetry of Galway Kinnell: The Wages of Dying (Under Discussion)，Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press, 1987, →ISBN，頁 75:

Perhaps you have to have seen the first film to like this one; to feel, like the young fans of Harry Potter, that without knowing or wanting it, you have grown up with its grisly protagonists.

2017年January19日，Peter Bradshaw，“T2 Trainspotting review – choose a sequel that doesn’t disappoint”, in The Guardian，London，存檔自the original on 2017-01-20:

old squirrels that turn grisly

1631，Francis [Bacon]，“(please specify |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […]，第3rd版, London: […] William Rawley; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:

The animals found in this province are, deer, elk, buffalo, cabrie, the grisly black bear, and wild horses.

1830, Josiah Conder, The Modern Traveller: Mexico (continued), Guatemala (page 84)


groggy

groggier (comparative)
groggiest (superlative)

（因酒醉、疲惫等而）昏昏沉沉的，无力的

The medicine made him groggy and irritable.

药让他昏昏沉沉的，脾气还很差。

（指马）完全用蹄后部走的


gleeful

more gleeful (comparative)
most gleeful (superlative)

During [Tucker] Carlson’s keynote, he wedged sneers at his critics for crying “racist!” in between racist remarks about [Ilhan] Omar, jeremiads against the media (“I know there’s a bunch of reporters here, so . . . screw you”), and an attack on Elizabeth Warren and her donors (“She’s a tragedy, because she’s now obsessed with racism, which is why the finance world supports her”)—all to gleeful applause.

2019年July24日，David Austin Walsh，“Flirting With Fascism”, in Jewish Currents:


gaunt

源自中古英語 gawnt、gawnte (“瘦的”)，源自古法語 [具體何詞?]，可能源自斯堪的纳维亚或北日耳曼語支源头，与古諾爾斯語 gandr (“魔杖，棍”)有关，源自原始日耳曼語 *gandaz (“棍”)，源自原始印歐語 *gʷʰen- (“打，驱使”)。
与冰島語 gandur (“魔杖”)、挪威語 gand (“高而尖的棒子；又高又瘦的人”)、丹麥語 gand、gan、挪威語 gana (“修剪的树枝”)、巴伐利亞語 Gunten (“一种楔或钉”)。亦与古英語 gūþ (“战斗”)、拉丁語 dēfendō (“抵挡，避开，防御”)有关。亦对比瑞典語方言用词gank (“瘦马”)。

gaunter (comparative)
gauntest (superlative)

Hanging from the beam,
 Slowly swaying (such the law),
Gaunt the shadow on your green,
 Shenandoah!

1866，Herman Melville，Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War, The Portent:

A gaunt Wolf was almost dead with hunger when he happened to meet a House-dog who was passing by.

1894，Joseph Jacobs，章號 1, in The Fables of Aesop:

Far away I saw a gaunt cat slink crouchingly along a wall, but traces of men there were none.

1898，H.G. Wells，The War of the Worlds，London: William Heinemann，頁 239:

In the dim light of a foggy November day the sick room was a gloomy spot, but it was that gaunt, wasted face staring at me from the bed which sent a chill to my heart.

1917，Arthur Conan Doyle，章號 5, in His Last Bow:

The present stage of progress in Christian Science presents two opposite aspects, — a full-orbed promise, and a gaunt want.

1896，Mary Baker Eddy，“The Way”, in Miscellaneous Writings 1883-1896，頁 355:

Behind me, rose up, to an extraordinary height, gaunt, black cliffs.

1908，William Hope Hodgson，章號 14, in The House on the Borderland:


groovy

groovier (comparative)
grooviest (superlative)

沟槽的，与沟槽有关的；有沟槽的

The back of the tile was groovy so that it could hold the adhesive compound.

地砖背面有很多沟槽来容纳粘性物质。

习惯根深蒂固的，一成不变的

She'd give anything to be able to believe it, but she's a hard woman, and brooding along certain lines makes one groovy.

1909, Rudyard Kipling, The House Surgeon


groovy

源自短语in the groove，原指代早期留声机唱片的沟槽。

时髦的，炫酷的 （20世纪40年代、60-70年代流行）

When you move me, everything is groovy.

2012，Pat Monahan (Train)，Drive By (song lyrics):

Men In Black 3 lacks the novelty of the first film, and its take on the late ’60s feels an awful lot like a psychedelic dress-up party, all broad caricatures and groovy vibes.

2012年May24日，Nathan Rabin，“Film: Reviews: Men In Black 3”, in The Onion AV Club:

Well, I love it! Move really fast, reverse time, save everyone? That sounds groovy! I’m gonna have to try that some day!

2015年February12日，Tina Alexander and Daniel Baxter，“How X-Men: Days of Future Past Should Have Ended”, in How It Should Have Ended，季数 7, 集数 3, spoken by Superman (Daniel Baxter), How It Should Have Ended, 經由 YouTube:


ghastly

源自古英語 gǣstan (“惊吓，折磨”)的衍生词 + -lic与ghostly（中古英语中亦作“gastlich”）的异文合并。等价于ghast/gast + -ly。16世纪时因异文合并，带“gh”的拼写发展起来。

ghastlier (comparative)
ghastliest (superlative)

苍白的，阴沉的，死气沉沉的

His face was so ghastly that it could scarcely be recognized.

1849–1861，Thomas Babington Macaulay，章號 11, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second，卷 (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC:

恐怖的，骇人的，惨不忍睹的

Mangled with ghastly wounds through plate and mail.

遭到乱刀砍穿铠甲头盔，身负重伤。

1667，John Milton，“Book 6”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books，London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; 再版為 Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […]，London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

The play was simply ghastly.


gluttonous

源自中古英語 glotenose、glotenouse、glotonos、glotonous、glotounius、glotynous，源自中古法語 glotonos，等价于glutton + -ous。

more gluttonous (comparative)
most gluttonous (superlative)

Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.

人又說他是貪食好酒的人，是稅吏和罪人的朋友。

1611，The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version)，London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 11:19:

Look your last on your dearest ones,
Brothers and husbands, fathers, sons:
Swift they go to the ravenous guns, / The gluttonous guns of War.

One day the mail-man found no village there, / Nor were its folk or houses seen again; / People came out from Aylesbury to stare – / Yet they all told the mail-man it was plain / That he was mad for saying he had spied / The great hill's gluttonous eyes, and jaws stretched wide.


gnarly

gnarl (“木结”) + -y。俚语义在20世纪70年代在美国冲浪文化的影响下普及开来。

gnarlier (comparative)
gnarliest (superlative)

该词有两个互相矛盾的义项。它的词义因使用人群和上下文而不同，且可能由用词外的因素决定，比如语调。“很棒的”一意尤其与冲浪文化有联系，甚至到有点老套的程度，比如“gnarly wave, dude!”。

Out of one window I can see the garden, those mysterious deep-shaded arbors, the riotous old-fashioned flowers, and bushes and gnarly trees.

1892 January，Charlotte Perkins Gilman，The Yellow Wall Paper，Boston, Mass.: Small, Maynard & Company, 出版於 1901, →OCLC，頁 13:

极佳的，很棒的，吸引人的

There ain't nothing gnarlier (apparently) than slapping on some brightly coloured sunblock to ward off the blinding spectre of dangerous, snow-reflected sunlight.

a gnarly problem

When the swell struck, the North Shore got gnarly, and the wise ones hit the outer islands where the energy was just as juicy but a bit more organized.

Work that makes you unhappy is what I mean by "a gnarly problem." The trouble is, the market pays for solutions to gnarly problems, not solutions to easy problems. As the Yorkshire lads say, "Where there's muck, there's brass."

2008，[Avram] Joel Spolsky，More Joel on Software: Further Thoughts on Diverse and Occasionally Related Matters that will Prove of Interest to Software Developers, Designers, and Managers, and to Those who, whether by Good Fortune or Ill Luck, Work with Them in Some Capacity，Berkeley, Calif.: Apress, →ISBN，頁 152:

差劲的，讨厌的，难看的 刺耳的，难听的

We're not talking about a lame chick and a gnarly guy. We're talking about a couple of far-out dudes.

1981, Dan Jenkins, Baja Oklahoma, New York, N.Y.: Atheneum Books, ISBN 978-0-689-11173-0; reprinted New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, 1982, ISBN 978-0-671-45163-9, page 269:

Funky Kong: 'Those Snowmads are a gnarly bunch! I hear they're enjoyin' your island. Go get 'em, DK!'

2014 February，Retro Studios，Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze，Nintendo，關卡/區域：Funky's Fly 'n' Buy:

[She] displays the same love of gnarly fuzztones and shout-it-out-loud choruses that began back in her daze^([sic]) with local all-girl rockers the Runaways.


huddle

源自中古英語 *hudelen，变化自（因 hudels、hidels (“藏匿处”)，见hiddle）*huderen、hoderen (“盖住；压在一起；簇拥”)，中古英語 huden、hiden (“藏起”)的重复态，等价于hide + -le和/或hide + -er。对比低地德語 huderken (“育雏；养育；照料；哄孩子睡觉”)。

more huddle (comparative)
most huddle (superlative)

Gowan snored, each respiration chocking to a huddle fall, as though he would never breathe again.

1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Library of America, 1985, p.51:


hulking

A hulking shape burst through the doorway and hurtled down the corridor, leaving a maelstrom of air currents in his wake.


halcyon

繼承自中古英語 Alceoun，源自拉丁語 halcyōn、alcyōn (“翠鸟”)，源自古希臘語 ἀλκυών (alkuṓn)。

more halcyon (comparative)
most halcyon (superlative)

Reflections of this kind may have trifling weight with men who hope to see realized in America the halcyon scenes of the poetic or fabulous age.

1787，Alexander Hamilton，Federalist Papers No. 30:

Deep, halcyon repose.

I had wander’d in rapture beneath them, and bask’d in the Halcyon clime.

The huge square box, parquet-floored and high-ceilinged, had been arranged to display a suite of bedroom furniture designed and made in the halcyon days of the last quarter of the nineteenth century, when modish taste was just due to go clean out of fashion for the best part of the next hundred years.

1963，Margery Allingham，章號 1, in The China Governess:


haughty

源自早期形式hauty、haultic，仿照英語 naughty与英語 high调整了拼写，源自中古英語 hautein、hautain（-ein、-ain经由代表*hauteinnesse的词形hautenesse变为了-y，参见haughtiness），源自中古英語 haute (“高傲的”)，源自古法語 haut、hault (“高耸的”)，源自古法蘭克語 *hauh、*hōh (“高耸的；自傲的”)和拉丁語 altus (“高的，深的”)。详见high、old。

haughtier (comparative)
haughtiest (superlative)

高傲的，不屑的，高高在上的，目中无人的

How meek and shrunken did that haughty Tarmac become as it slunk by the wide circle of asphalt of the yellow sort, that was loosely strewn before the great iron gates of Lady Hall as a forerunner of the consideration that awaited the guests of Rupert, Earl of Kare, […]。

1922，Michael Arlen，“3/1/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:


hidden

more hidden (comparative)
most hidden (superlative)

hidden treasure; hidden talents

隐藏的宝藏；不为人知的天才

It was the Lost Oasis, the Oasis of the vision in the sand. […] Deep-hidden in the hollow, beneath the cliffs, it lay; and round it the happy verdure spread for many a rood.

1892，James Yoxall，The Lonely Pyramid, chapter 7:

One of the hidden glories of Victorian engineering is proper drains. Isolating a city’s effluent and shipping it away in underground sewers has probably saved more lives than any medical procedure except vaccination.

2014年June14日，“It's a gas”, in The Economist，卷 411, 期 8891:


haywire

hay + wire。原指像用软而有弹性的铁丝捆起来一般“容易混乱地缠起来的”或者“容易散开的”。约1905年在新英格兰的伐木场，“haywire outfit”开始用来指粗制的伐木工具。 后to go haywire词义发展成指代“散开”或者“行为失控”，就像拉紧的工厂线轴在抽走一个零件以后因弹性松散开乱成一团。

more haywire (comparative)
most haywire (superlative)

粗制滥造的，粗糙的，简易的

失控的，失常的 （一般带动词go）

It was working fine until it went haywire and wouldn't stop printing blank sheets.

它本来没问题的，然后突然间就坏了，开始不停地打印出来空白的纸。

Those kids go haywire when they don't get what they want.

那些小孩得不到想要的东西就开始耍脾气了。

The engineer who makes of his calling a burden, who sees nothing but the wrong, or imposition as he may term it, who fancies perhaps that the whole world has conspired against him, who commences to damn things as soon as he appears upon the scene of his labors, and continues to damn everything, including his train crew, the engine, the officers, and almost everything, animate and inanimate, while making the round trip, is working out his own destiny, and it is but charitable to say of such a man that he is not well, his digestion has gone " hay wire " as it were.

1905年May10日，J. W. Reading，“Engine Failures”, in Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Monthly Journal，卷 XXXIX, 期 5，頁 423:

Temperatures soared—the seas warmed by as much as eighteen degrees—and the chemistry of the oceans went haywire, as if in an out-of-control aquarium.

2014，Elizabeth Kolbert，The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History，Picador, →ISBN，頁 103:


ham-handed

more ham-handed (comparative)
most ham-handed (superlative)

ham-fisted

笨拙的，笨手笨脚的；不细致的，随便的

heavy-handed

笨拙的，笨手笨脚的；不细致的，随便的

笨拙的，笨手笨脚的；不细致的，随便的

Some of the dishes arrived damaged after their ham-handed moving efforts.

他们搬碟子的时候不懂轻拿轻放，导致运过来的一些碟子都碎了。

The result, disappointingly, is a scattershot work that is, by turns, entertaining and wearisome, energetic and hokey, delightfully evocative and cheaply sensational; dead-on in its conjuring of zeitgeist-y atmospherics, but often slow-footed and ham-handed in its orchestration of social details.

2013年September10日，Michiko Kakutani，“A Calamity Tailor-Made for Internet Conspiracy Theories”, in New York Times:


hand-me-down

And what costume shall the poor girl wear / To all tomorrow's parties? / A hand-me-down dress from who knows where

1967，Lou Reed （作曲作詞）, “All Tomorrow's Parties”, in The Velvet Underground & Nico，演出者 The Velvet Underground:

I don't want America's recovery and security to be sacrificed on an altar of discredited hand-me-down theories. And if you'll help us, they won't be.

1983, 19th of March, Presidential Radio Address by Ronald Reagan

The old Pacers have vanished, replaced by a mix of hand-me-down fleets.

2022年November2日，Paul Bigland，“New trains, old trains, and splendid scenery”, in RAIL，期 969，頁 58:


hand-to-mouth

吃了上顿没下顿的，无隔宿之粮的，刚好勉强能过活的

She has been a widow these six or eight years, and has lived, I imagine, in rather a hand-to-mouth fashion.

The Migrant Fleet has little economic base, operating in a state of perpetual "hand-to-mouth". While quarian ships include light manufacturing and assembly plants, they lack heavy industries such as refining and shipbuilding. The fleet has tankers for water purification and oxygen cracking, but the space-intensive nature of agriculture limits food production. A single disaster could destroy the fragile balance.

2008，BioWare，质量效应，Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC，幕：Quarians: Economy Codex entry:


headstrong

more headstrong (comparative)
most headstrong (superlative)

He was in that headstrong teenage phase when he felt like he knew everything.

他当时处于青春期那种任性的时期，觉得自己啥都知道。


heavenward

源自中古英語 hevenward、heveneward、hefneward，等价于heaven + -ward。


hapless

more hapless (comparative)
most hapless (superlative)

My dear friend, are you to become that hapless kind of outcast, a champion of lost causes?

The hapless squad, which was outscored 517-268 in 2008, became the first in league history to go 0-16.

2008年December31日，Harriet Barovick，“Detroit The Lost Season”, in Time:

可悲的，可怜的，无助的，悲惨的

Gideon Defoe scripted from his own series-launching comedic book The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists, about the adventures of a hapless group of pirates known only by names like The Pirate With The Scarf, The Pirate With Gout, and in the case of their leader, The Pirate Captain.

2012年April26日，Tasha Robinson，“Film: Reviews: The Pirates! Band Of Misfits :”, in The Onion AV Club:

有關使用本詞的更多用例，請參閱Citations:hapless。


happy-go-lucky

happy-go-luckier (comparative)
happy-go-luckiest (superlative)

无忧无虑的，乐天的，逍遥自在的

Hill says the shows began to morph from happy-go-lucky, fun series to production-line star-makers, which subconsciously changed the tone of the series: "Reality talent shows made it easier and quicker for audiences to pay to vote for the winner and loser, and to comment positively and negatively on contestants in social media."

2021年September15日，Laura Martin，“How talent shows became TV's most bizarre programmes”, in BBC:


hit-and-miss

more hit-and-miss (comparative)
most hit-and-miss (superlative)

His choice of jokes is rather hit-and-miss.

他开的玩笑有时好有时坏。


hit-or-miss

质量不稳定的，时好时坏的，拿不准的，有可能成功有可能失败的


heedless

more heedless (comparative)
most heedless (superlative)

Sing we joyous, all together, heedless of the wind and weather.

我们一齐欢快地歌唱，毫不在意狂风暴雨。

"A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day. He is strengthening his forces now against Mr. Benton out there. A strong man—a strong one; and a heedless."

1910，Emerson Hough，“The Gateway, and Some who Passed”, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise，Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC，頁 21:


hoary

hoarier (comparative)
hoariest (superlative)

the old man bowed his hoary head in acquiescence

较短、密、灰白的茸毛；灰白的。

发霉的; 生苔的; 陈旧的。


hobnob

源自hob and nob、hob or nob (干杯时所喊出的一个短语，可能意为give and take，指轮流干杯或轮流买酒，现已古旧)，源自方言词hab nab (“有或没有，指去喝酒的邀请”)，源自古英語 habban (“拥有”)（最终源自原始印歐語 *keh₂p- (“拿，掠”)） + nabban (“没有”)（源自ne（最终源自原始印歐語 *ne (“不，否”)） + habban）。


holler

hollow的另一種寫法。

the holler tree


hell-bent

源自hell (“拼命，不顾一切，非常”) + bent (“固执的，执着的”)。

more hell-bent (comparative)
most hell-bent (superlative)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-hell-bent.wav

dead set

(原為美國，非正式，及物带 on) 执著的，顽固的，不顾一切的，拼命的

(原為美國，非正式，及物带 on) 执著的，顽固的，不顾一切的，拼命的

He was hell-bent on coming first, no matter what.

他无论如何总是执著于冲在最前面


homely

源自中古英語 homly、hoomly、hamely (“家庭的，熟悉的，平常的”)，源自古英語 *hāmlīc (“家的”)，源自原始西日耳曼語 *haimalīk (“家的”)，等价于home + -ly。同源词包括低地蘇格蘭語 hamely (“个人的，私人的”)、西弗里斯蘭語 heimelik、荷蘭語 heimelijk (“秘密的，暗中的”)、德語 heimlich (“秘密的，暗中的”)、丹麥語 hemmelig (“秘密的”)、瑞典語 hemlig (“秘密的，掩盖的”)、法羅語 heimligur (“像家的”)、冰島語 heimlegur (“家里的；平常的”)。

homelier (comparative)
more homely (comparative)
homeliest (superlative)
most homely (superlative)

家的，像家的，合适家的，像家一样舒服的 （自14世纪初叶）

An interesting illustration of this is the way in which the English flower names which were in use till very recently are being ousted by Greek ones, snapdragon becoming antirrhinum, forget-me-not becoming myosotis, etc. It is hard to see any practical reason for this change of fashion: it is probably due to an instinctive turning-away from the more homely word and a vague feeling that the Greek word is scientific.

1946，George Orwell，Politics and the English Language:

Mowgli: "Oh, don't worry Chota, it may not be homely, but I can warm it up."

2014年January5日，“Mowgli's Cub”, in The Jungle Book:

"I can't send a young, pretty girl, or for that matter even a homely one if you'd have her, on a job like this without telling her what to expect."

1932，Delos W. Lovelace，King Kong，出版於 1965，頁 6:

You see, she sees herself as a starlet; I see her as a sturdy, healthy but decidedly homely kid.

With all these men I was right homely, and communed with them long and oft.

1563，John Foxe，Foxe's Book of Martyrs, Chapter on William Thorpe:

友好的，友善的，平易近人的

I am seeking a beautiful homely girl for marriage.

我想找一个注重家庭的女子结婚。

简易的，平常的，朴实无华的 （自14世纪末叶）

a homely garment

homely fare

homely manners

Now Strephon daily entertains
 His Chloe in the homeliest strains.

1731，Alexander Pope，Strephon and Chloe, Lines 211-212:

There is no simple way to define precisely a complex arrangement of parts, however homely the object may appear to be.

2001，Sydney I. Landau，Dictionaries: The Art and Craft of Lexicography，Cambridge University Press, →ISBN，頁 167:


irascible

源自中古英語，源自古法語 irascible，源自晚期拉丁語 īrāscibilis，源自拉丁語 īrāscī (“生气，发怒”) + -bilis。

more irascible (comparative)
most irascible (superlative)


irresponsible

more irresponsible (comparative)
most irresponsible (superlative)

They left the crown what, in the eye and estimation of law, it had ever been, perfectly irresponsible.

1790，Edmund Burke，Reflections on the Revolution in France，Oxford, 出版於 2009，頁 28:


immutable

源自中古英語 immutable，源自拉丁語 immūtābilis (“无法改变的”)。im- + mutable。

The government has enacted an immutable law.

Mutable as is our nature, it delights in the immutable: and we expect as much constancy as if all time, to say nothing of our own changeableness, had not shewn that ever "the fashion of this world passeth away."

1834，L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon]，章號 XIV, in Francesca Carrara. […]，卷 II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC，頁 171:

In the trustless cryptocurrency world, you can still trust the cryptocurrency community and its mechanisms to ensure that the blockchain contains an accurate and immutable—unchangeable—record of cryptocurrency transactions.

2019，Peter Kent, Tyler Bain，Cryptocurrency Mining For Dummies，John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN，頁 30:

Constants are immutable.


incongruous

源自拉丁語 incongruus，源自in- (“不”) + congruus (“一致的”)。

more incongruous (comparative)
most incongruous (superlative)

/ɪŋˈkɑŋ.ɡɹu.əs/

不相称的，不协调的，不合适的，不配的，不搭的

Ona was blue-eyed and fair, while Jurgis had great black eyes with beetling brows, and thick black hair that curled in waves about his ears—in short, they were one of those incongruous and impossible married couples with which Mother Nature so often wills to confound all prophets.

1905，Upton Sinclair，章號 I, in The Jungle，紐約，N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, 出版於 1906年2月26日, →OCLC:

Ardent suns had likewise tanned his face till it was swarthy as a Spaniard's. The yellow mustache appeared incongruous in the midst of such swarthiness.

1912，Jack London，章號 1, in A Son Of The Sun:

For a few moments England toyed with the idea of making it a more difficult night than necessary. Scotland had scored a goal that seemed incongruous to the rest of their performance and, briefly, a fiercely partisan crowd sensed an improbable comeback.

2014年November18日，Daniel Taylor，“England and Wayne Rooney see off Scotland in their own back yard”, in The Guardian:

20 and 25 are incongruous with respect to 4.

20和25关于模4不同余。（即20和25分别除以4时所得余数不同）


infallible

源自中世紀拉丁語 infallibilis，源自拉丁語 in- + fallibilis。对比法語 infaillible。By surface analysis, in- + fallible。

more infallible (comparative)
most infallible (superlative)

没有任何错误或缺点的，无懈可击的

He knows about many things, but even he is not infallible.

他懂的东西很多，但是就算是他也不是完美的。

That there may be Certainty upon an infallible Evidence in Matters of Science, I readily grant you. But since there once were Scepticks in Philosophy as well as Religion, such as doubted of every thing, I very much question, whether the whole World be agreed in this Point; unless you could assure me, that Race of Seekers is now extinct.

1720，Samuel Fancourt，“The Remarker's second Objection produced and examined”, in An Essay Concerning Certainty and Infallibility: Or, Some Reflections Upon a Pamphlet Stiled, “The Nature and Consequences of Enthusiasm Considered, in Some Short Remarks on the Doctrine of the Blessed Trinity Stated and Defended.” In a Letter to the Author of Those Remarks，London: R. Cruttenden，頁 35:

Try this infallible cure for hiccups.

[L]isten patiently [...] and you will easily perceive why I am reserved upon that subject. I will not lead you on, unguarded and ardent as I then was, to your destruction and infallible misery.

1818，Mary Shelley，章號 4, in Frankenstein，存檔自the original on 2011-10-30:

In precisely the same way does a quack doctor prescribe his infallible nostrum to every patient, without taking into account differences of constitution, or [...]

1833，James Rennie，“The Word Gardening”, in Alphabet of Scientific Gardening for the Use of Beginners，London: William Orr，頁 2:


impending

I have no time right now because of an impending paper submission deadline.

我现在没时间，论文要截稿了。

Randall and Kate aren’t satirical characters. They’re rational thinkers who unwittingly stumble into a Dr. Strangelove type of situation when they discover mankind’s impending doom, and team up with Dr. Teddy Oglethorpe (Rob Morgan) to report their findings to President Orlean (Meryl Streep).

2021年December7日，Jesse Hassenger，“Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence cope with disaster in the despairing satire Don’t Look Up”, in AV Club:


infinitesimal

源自拉丁語 infinitesimus，源自infinitus (“无穷的”) + -esimus，类似于centesimus (“百分之一”)。

more infinitesimal (comparative)
most infinitesimal (superlative)

严格来说，这个形容词不可比，类似infinite，因此官方不推荐使用more infinitesimal和most infinitesimal，尤其是使用其数学义项的时候。但是在非正式用法（尤其是“非常小但可以测量”）中确实有使用比较级。

Do you ever get the feeling that you are but an infinitesimal speck, swallowed by the vastness of the universe and beyond?

你有没有想到过，自己就是一个小得不能再小的小点，被淹没于广阔无垠的宇宙和宇宙之外的空间中？

Then you could say that the doorway exploded. But the particular verb doesn't do the action justice. Rather, it shattered into infinitesimal pieces.


incredulous

借自拉丁語 incrēdulus (“不相信的”)。

more incredulous (comparative)
most incredulous (superlative)

心有疑虑的，表示怀疑的，无法相信的 （自16世纪）

In safe flats and dark restaurants, never the same one twice, we ate quiet meals, exchanged our goods and gazed upon each other with the incredulous contentment that passes between mountaineers when they are standing on the peak.

Reactions at Sun's campus, an hour's drive from San Francisco, ranged from the fearful to the incredulous.

2009年March18日，Reuters，“Sun Micro Troops Fearful, Incredulous About IBM”, in Wired.com，存檔自the original on 2013-06-30:

难以置信的 （自17世纪）

Why euery thing adheres togither, that no dramme of a scruple, no scruple of a scruple, no obstacle, no incredulous or vnsafe circumstance […]。

c. 1601–1602 （写稿日期），威廉·莎士比亚，“Twelfe Night, or What You Will [第十二夜]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio（第一对开本）)，伦敦: […] Isaac Iaggard和Ed[ward] Blount, 出版於 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv]:

Faced with these facts, we find it incredulous that [the] defendant had any intent other than the armed robbery of the service station.

1984, Supreme Court of Illinois, opinion in People v Terrell, 459 N.E.2d 1337, quoted in David C. Brody, James R. Acker, and Wayne A. Logan, Criminal Law, Jones & Bartlett Publishers (2001), ISBN 0-8342-1083-5, page 564,


impish

more impish (comparative)
most impish (superlative)

Wild-eyed youngsters they were, with matted hair and little broad-nosed impish faces, covered (as some children are covered even nowadays) with a delicate down of hair.

1897，H. G. Wells，章號 1, in A Story of the Stone Age，存檔自the original on 2012-03-09:

But the antics of Mr. Moore, though impish and impudent, are, after all, so amusing and so graceful that the governess, it is said, sometimes hides behind a tree to watch.

1942，Virginia Woolf，章號 20, in The Death of the Moth, and other essays，存檔自the original on 2011-02-24:


implausible

more implausible (comparative)
most implausible (superlative)


indefatigable

源自中古法語，源自拉丁語 indēfatīgābilis (“坚持不懈的”)，源自in- (“不”) + dēfatīgō (“使...疲劳”)。

more indefatigable (comparative)
most indefatigable (superlative)

（美国北加利福尼亚）音频

[...] But he was at the ſame Time an excellent Scholar, and moſt indefatigable in teaching the two Lads.

1749，Henry Fielding，“Containing Two Letters in Very Different Stiles”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling [棄兒湯姆·瓊斯的歷史]，卷 VI, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book XVIII，頁 196:

"Oh, Roko! You're so indefatigable! Nothing gets you down!"

2020，Jeph Jacques，Questionable Content (webcomic), 4302: Bowed But Unbroken:


indefectible

more indefectible (comparative)
most indefectible (superlative)


idyllic

more idyllic (comparative)
most idyllic (superlative)

快乐的，幸福的，祥和的，美好的

My fellow-creatures, from whom I was thus separated, began to assume idyllic virtue and beauty in my memory.

1896，H. G. Wells，“chapter 17”, in The Island of Dr. Moreau:

The rest of the road was as idyllic as the start.

1922，John Buchan，“chapter II”, in Huntingtower:


intent

自中古英語 entente起即出现，源自古法語 entent或entente，最终源自拉丁語 intentus。后拼写被调整来向拉丁语词形靠拢。对比intention。

more intent (comparative)
most intent (superlative)

a mind intent on self-improvement

Uruguay were quick to the ball, strong in the tackle and seemed intent on showing they were a better team than had been apparent in their defeat to Costa Rica.

2014, Daniel Taylor, "World Cup 2014: Uruguay sink England as Suárez makes his mark," guardian.co.uk, 20 June:


imposing

more imposing (comparative)
most imposing (superlative)


ingrain

繼承自中古英語 engreynen，源自法語短语en grain，并得到了短语(dyed) in grain的增补。见grain。


ingrate

源自拉丁語 ingrātus (“令人不快的”)，in- (“不”) + grātus (“让人愉快的”)。

more ingrate (comparative)
most ingrate (superlative)

unpleasant

讨厌的，令人不快的；不友好的 （18世纪）

unfriendly

讨厌的，令人不快的；不友好的 （18世纪）

The causes of that which is pleasing , or ingrate to the hearing , may receive light by that which is pleasing or ingrate to the sight

1631，Francis [Bacon]，“(please specify |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […]，第3rd版, London: […] William Rawley; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:

Who, for ſo many benefits receiv'd, / Turn'd recreant to God, ingrate and falſe, / And ſo of all true good himſelf deſpoil'd, […]

1671，John Milton，“The Third Book”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes，倫敦: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC，頁 61:

讨厌的，令人不快的；不友好的 （18世纪）


indigent

约1400年，源自中古法語，源自拉丁語 indigentem，源自indigēre (“需要”)，源自indu (“在...里”) + egēre (“需要，想要”)。

more indigent (comparative)
most indigent (superlative)

Many of the indigent children are so badly provided for by their parents, with both food and raiment, that they cannot attend school regularly; […]

1830，Thomas Ritchie，Journal of the House of Delegates of the Commonwealth of Virginia，頁 422:

And were I not a thing for you and me
To execrate in angish, you would be
As indigent a stranger to surprise,
I fear, as I was once, and as unwise.

1932，Edwin Arlington Robinson，“Prodigal Son”, in Nicodemus:

I had since my introduction to the prince been sensitive to the fact that he must think an obviously indigent soldier of fortune will sooner or later open the subject of a subscription to the Greek Cause.

Because of this, when my second major health fiasco happened, I had no insurance, so I went to a teaching hospital where they took indigent patients.

2011，Carla Ulbrich，How Can You Not Laugh at a Time Like This?: Reclaim Your Health With Humor, Creativity, and Grit，Tell Me Press, →ISBN，頁 65:

In numerous Supreme Court decisions since Gideon v. Wainwright, the states have been required to provide counsel for indigent defendants at virtually all other stages of the criminal process, beginning with arrest and concluding with the defendant's release from the system.

2013，Larry J. Siegel & John L. Worral，Essentials of Criminal Justice，Wadsworth, →ISBN，頁 162:

Again some Bodies dissolve both in Fire and Water, as Gums; &c. And these are such, as have both Plenty of Spirit; and their tangible Parts indigent of Moisture: the former promotes the Dilatation of the Spirits by the Fire and the latter stimulates the Parts to receive the Liquor.
（請為本引文添加中文翻譯）

1620, Francis Bacon, Instauratio Magnus, Part III, Section ii, subsection "Liquifaction":

Will Providence guard us? How do I ſee that our Sex is naturally Indigent of Protection?—I hope it is in Fate to crown our Loves; for 'tis only in the Protection of Men of Honour, that we are naturally truly Safe […]

1701，Richard Steele，The Funeral: or, Grief A-la-mode, act II, scene 1:


impromptu

The party began with an impromptu rendition of 'Happy Birthday'.

派对开始时大家不约而同地演唱了《生日快乐》。

an impromptu speech


indiscreet

indiscreeter (comparative)
indiscreetest (superlative)

在现代标准拼写中，indiscrete (“不分离的”)不能与indiscreet相混淆。

Haz sits in the trailer for 10 hours straight, eyes trained on the patrons. If he sees the makings of a drug deal or a fight, he notifies the club’s in-house security by walkie-talkie. It amazes him how indiscreet drug dealers can be—with the bulges in their socks and their melodramatic handovers—despite the presence of security guards.

2018 February，Robert Draper，“They are Watching You—and Everything Else on the Planet: Technology and Our Increasing Demand for Security have Put Us All under Surveillance. Is Privacy Becoming just a Memory?”, in National Geographic，Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, →ISSN, →OCLC，存檔自the original on 2018-06-14:


impulsive

more impulsive (comparative)
most impulsive (superlative)

动人的，鼓动性的，推动的


illustrious

源自拉丁語 illūstris (“明亮的，闪亮的；显赫的，突出的”) + -ous (从名词构成形容词的后缀，表示拥有或显示出某种特质，程度任意)。illūstris派生自illūstrō (“照亮；使...出名，使...名声显赫”)，源自in- (表示里面的前缀) + lustrō (“通过献祭来净化；照亮”)（lustrō (“（净化为目的的）献祭”)，可能最终源自原始印歐語 *lewk- (“亮；照”)或*lewh₃- (“洗”)）。

more illustrious (comparative)
most illustrious (superlative)

名声显赫的，著名的，大名鼎鼎的 （自16世纪中叶）

The ant has made himself illustrious / Through constant industry industrious. / So what? / Would you be calm and placid / If you were full of formic acid?

1941，Ogden Nash，“The Ant”, in The Face is Familiar: The Selected Verse of Ogden Nash，第reprint版, Garden City, N.Y.: Garden City Publishing Company, →OCLC，頁 224:

[Marcus] Rashford showed the fearless streak [Gareth] Southgate so admires with his constant willingness to run at Brazil's defence with pace, even demonstrating on occasion footwork that would not have been out of place from members of England's illustrious opposition.

2017年November14日，Phil McNulty，“England 0 – 0 Brazil”, in BBC Sport，存檔自the original on 2018-03-28:


in-house

more in-house (comparative)
most in-house (superlative)


immaculate

源自中古英語 immaculat，源自拉丁語 immaculātus。前缀im- (“不”) + maculātus，maculō (“玷污，弄脏”)的完成时被动分词，源自macula (“污渍，污点”)。参见mail。
取代了本土词unwemmed (“纯净的，未被污染的”)。

more immaculate (comparative)
most immaculate (superlative)

irreproachable

纯洁的，清白的，无罪孽的

Thou sheer, immaculate and silver fountain

1595 December 9 (first known performance)，William Shakespeare，“The life and death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio)，London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, 出版於 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:

纯洁的，清白的，无罪孽的


inept

借自中古法語 inepte，源自拉丁語 ineptus，源自in- + aptus（派生出英語 apt）。

more inept (comparative)
most inept (superlative)

无能的，生疏的，笨拙的，不能做某事的


inscrutable

从晚期拉丁語 īnscrūtābilis借入中古英語，源自in- (“不”) + scrūtō (“观察”)，对应于in- + scrutable。

more inscrutable (comparative)
most inscrutable (superlative)

His inscrutable theories would years later become the foundation of a whole new science.

他晦涩难懂的理论在多年后会变成一个新学科的基础。

She called my vanity license plate inscrutable! 'ICU81MI'? Hilarious!

2007年October11日，Robert Carlock，“Jack Gets in the Game”, in 30 Rock，季数 2, 集数 2, spoken by Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan):


insipid

源自法語 insipide，源自拉丁語 īnsipidus (“没有味道的”)，源自in- (“不，无”) + sapidus (“好吃的”)。一些词义可能受到了insipient (“愚笨的”)的影响。

more insipid (comparative)
most insipid (superlative)

boring

平平无奇的，乏味的，平庸的

vacuous

平平无奇的，乏味的，平庸的

dull

平平无奇的，乏味的，平庸的

bland

平平无奇的，乏味的，平庸的

characterless

平平无奇的，乏味的，平庸的

colourless

平平无奇的，乏味的，平庸的

The diners were disappointed with the plain, insipid soup they were served.

用晚餐的人喝到他们上的寡淡无味的汤以后非常失望。

平平无奇的，乏味的，平庸的

The textbook had a most insipid presentation of the controversy.

教科书对那个争议的介绍非常乏味无趣。


insolent

原始印歐語詞
 *swé
源自中古英語，源自古法語，源自拉丁語 īnsolēns (“不寻常的，讨厌的，无节制的，过量的，过分的，自大的，无礼的”)，源自in- (否定前缀) + solēns，solere (“为人所习惯”)的过去分词。

more insolent (comparative)
most insolent (superlative)

insolent behaviour

insolent child

insolent remark


insouciant

源自法語 insouciant，源自in- (“不”，前缀) + souciant (“担忧的”)，1828年。

more insouciant (comparative)
most insouciant (superlative)

an insouciant gesture

"I am quite serious in saying that your loss must and would be felt; but I verily believe," added she, after a moment's hesitation, "that you are so insouciant yourself, that you cannot believe that every body else is not equally indifferent."

1834，[Theresa Lewis]，章號 XII, in Dacre: A Novel. … In Three Volumes，卷 II, London: Printed for Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green, & Longman, […], →OCLC，頁 220:

It was there [Cadiz, Spain] that on Sunday I had seen the populace disport itself, and it was full of life then, gay and insouciant.

1905，William Somerset Maugham，章號 XXXVIII, in The Land of the Blessed Virgin: Sketches and Impressions in Andalusia，London: William Heinemann, →OCLC，頁 215:

When we left the Marr house, he [Peter] had boldly said to Felicity, "May I see you home?" And Felicity, much to our amazement, had taken his arm and marched off with him. […] As for me, I was consumed by a secret and burning desire to ask the Story Girl if I might see her home; but I could not screw my courage to the sticking point. How I envied Peter his easy, insouciant manner!

1913 August，L[ucy] M[aud] Montgomery，“The Christmas Harp”, in The Golden Road，Boston, Mass.: The Page Company, 出版於 April 1926, →OCLC，頁s 31–32:

[…] [Jack] Nicholson turned to an assistant, bummed a cigarette, flashed one of his wolfish, insouciant grins and said, "We all have our little secrets, Seany."

2004年April26日，Richard Schickel，“Sean Penn: Necessary Actor”, in Time，存檔自the original on 2008-03-06:


intransigent

借自法語 intransigeant，源自西班牙語 intransigente，源自拉丁語 in- (“不”) + trānsigēns，trānsigō (“达成共识”)的过去分词，源自trāns (“穿越，跨越”) + agō (“做”)。

more intransigent (comparative)
most intransigent (superlative)

transigent

不妥协的，不让步的，顽固的

不妥协的，不让步的，顽固的

Don't waste your time trying to change his mind: he's completely intransigent.

别浪费时间去说动他了，他不会让步的。

Since I have been asked to do this in very brief compass, the harsh tone and terse style of my presentation will make my contentions appear more dogmatic and intransigent than I should wish them to be.

1966，H. Feigl，“Is Science Relevant to Theology?”, in Inquiries and Provocations: Selected Writings，出版於 2012, →ISBN:

Much of the new integration will come in the school districts that have been the most intransigent since the Supreme Court outlawed school segregation in its landmark 1954 decision.

1970年August31日，John Berbers，“Nixon Aides Voice Integration Hope”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

On the Spanish side, the war increased the anti-Cuban animosity and distrust felt by the most intransigent peninsulares.

1993，Leslie Bethell，Cuba: A Short History，Cambridge University Press, →ISBN，頁 27:


intricate

more intricate (comparative)
most intricate (superlative)

细致的，精细的；错综复杂的

The architecture of this clock is very intricate.


inane

源自中古法語 inane，源自拉丁語 inānis (“空的，没用的”)，其词源不详。

inaner (comparative)
more inane (comparative)
inanest (superlative)
most inane (superlative)

Francesca followed, reluctant enough in her secret; for though she would not have admitted it even to herself, she did shrink from the infliction of the inane solemnities with which her father garnished his discourse—to say nothing of the ungracious reflections which so often glanced at herself.

1834，L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon]，章號 XXIX, in Francesca Carrara. […]，卷 III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC，頁 237:

God, if she had to listen to another conversation about some kid she didnʼt know—how Tina J. stole the stage at the talent show or Bobby R. won the tee ball game or any other number of inane accomplishments.

2020，Brit Bennett，The Vanishing Half，Dialogue Books，頁 156:

This supremely gifted kid told me that in the early elementary grades, the songs sung in music class were so inane that he wanted to skip grades already! Eventually he did, so better late than never.


inaugural

源自法語 inaugural，源自inaugurer，源自拉丁語 augurare (“起誓”)。

The University of Cape Town hosts an inaugural lecture by Professor Ian Scott […] on Wednesday at 8pm.

In 1928 [Martin] Heidegger succeeded [Edmund] Husserl to take a chair at Freiburg and in his inaugural lecture made a pronouncement that earned him a reputation as an archetypal metaphysician with his claim that our awareness of people as a whole depends on our experience of dread in the face of nothingness.

2014年April12日，Michael Inwood，“Martin Heidegger: the philosopher who fell for Hitler [print version: Hitler's philosopher]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review)，London，頁 R11:

起始的，落成的，标志开始的

2009 was the inaugural season for New York Yankees' new stadium.


incarcerate

源自中世紀拉丁語 incarcerātus，incarcerō (“囚禁”)的过去分词，源自拉丁語 in- (“里，内”) + carcer (“牢房”)，即“放入牢房”。与cancel (“用线划掉”)和chancel (“格栅，栅栏后的地方”)有关。
还见carcerate和cancer。

/ɪnˈkɑː.səˌɹeɪt/

/ɪnˈkɑɹ.səˌɹeɪt/

[…] Mr. Vanſe, Keeper of the Tolbooth, did give in a Bill, repreſenting, That there being ſo great a number of Priſoners, upon account of Conventicles, and for Criminal Cauſes, and the ſaid Captain being incarcerate, not for a Crime, but for not finding Caution, he was in bona fide not to look upon him as a Perſon that would eſcape: […]

1698，John Nisbet of Dirleton，Some Doubts & Questions, in the Law; Especially of Scotland. As Also, Some Decisions of the Lords of Council and Session: […]，Edinburgh: […] George Mosman, […]，頁 146:

Being Incarcerat he put forth a Blaſphemous Paper, not only condemning all the work of Reformation, but alſo the Engliſh Bible in the form as it is now extant; […]

1707，[James Renwick]，An Informatory Vindication of a Poor, Wasted, Misrepresented, Remnant of the Suffering, Anti-Popish, Anti-Prelatick, Anti-Erastian, Anti-Sectarian, True Presbyterian Church of Christ in Scotland: […]，頁 14:

THat where I being incarcerate within the ſaid Tolbooth, by Warrand of the Lord Juſtice Clerk, for the Crime of Murder alledged committed by me, […] humbly ſhewing, That where, he being incarcerate within the Tolbooth of Edinburgh, by Warrant of the Lord Juſtice Clerk, for the Crime of Muther committed by him, […]

1732，John Louthian，The Form of Process before the Court of Justiciary in Scotland; Containing the Constitution of the Sovereign Criminal Court, and the Way and Manner of Their Procedure: […]，Edinburgh: […] Robert Fleming and Company, for William Hamilton, […]，頁s 71 and 73:

While incarcerate below, / Prayer with every breath shall flow; / Praise, expiring on my tongue, / Live anew in holier song, / Where my soul, its trial past, / Perfect joy shall reap at last!

1833，Joseph P. Bartrum，The Psalms, Newly Paraphrased for the Service of the Sanctuary. […]，Boston, Mass.: Russell, Odiorne, and Company，頁 76:


jaded

源自jade (“老马”)，可能源自古諾爾斯語 jalda (“母驴”)。其中的jade是一个自1560年起用来骂女性的话。

more jaded (comparative)
most jaded (superlative)

exhausted

（因太老或经历过太多次而）无精打采的，精疲力竭的

fatigued

（因太老或经历过太多次而）无精打采的，精疲力竭的

wearied

（因太老或经历过太多次而）无精打采的，精疲力竭的

blasé

（因经历过太多次而）麻木的，冷漠的，无情的

But now I am jaded / You're out of luck / I'm rolling down the stairs / Too drunk to fuck

1981，“Too Drunk to Fuck”, 演出者 Dead Kennedys:

（因太老或经历过太多次而）无精打采的，精疲力竭的

（因经历过太多次而）麻木的，冷漠的，无情的


jetty

jettier (comparative)
jettiest (superlative)

those large black eyes were so blackly fringed, / The glossy rebels mocked the jetty stain [...].

But there was only Glorvina of the jetty ringlets with whom his intercourse was familiar, and this dashing young woman was not bent upon loving the Major, but rather on making the Major admire her […]

1847 January – 1848 July，William Makepeace Thackeray，Vanity Fair. A Novel without a Hero，London: Bradbury and Evans, […], 出版於 1848, →OCLC:

She raised her face veil […] showing two black eyes fringed with jetty lashes, whose glances were soft and languishing and whose perfect beauty was ever blandishing […]

1885，Sir Richard Burton，The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night，卷 1:


hypocritic

源自古希臘語 ὑποκριτικός (hupokritikós)。

more hypocritic (comparative)
most hypocritic (superlative)

Let others screw their hypocritic face

a. 1745, Jonathan Swift, On a Lady who p---t at the tragedy of Cato […]


hypocritical

源自hypocritic + -al，源自古希臘語 ὑποκριτικός (hupokritikós)，源自ὑποκριτής (hupokritḗs，“演员，伪善者”)，源自ὑποκρίνομαι (hupokrínomai，“舞台上出演角色”)，源自ὑπό (hupó，“在下方”) + κρίνω (krínō，“选择”)。

more hypocritical (comparative)
most hypocritical (superlative)

虚伪的，伪善的 （自16世纪中叶）

[Stephen] Miller’s uncle, a neuroscientist, has been welcomed onto the public stage for his denunciations of his nephew’s immigration policies, which the elder Miller has characterized as hypocritical: the Millers’ not-so-distant Jewish ancestors were, of course, immigrants themselves.

2019年July15日，Greg Afinogenov，“The Jewish Case for Open Borders”, in Jewish Currents，期 Summer 2019:


kempt

原为kemb的过去分词，源自中古英語 kemben，源自古英語 cemban (“梳理”)。现代用法逆构自表否定的unkempt。详见kemb、comb。

For a moment Boshy thought his senses were playing up with him, for there in the door entrance stood the identical girl - the same turkey-egg complexion, stubby nose, and her red hair only changed from unkempt to kempt.

1907，Barbara Baynton，Human Toll (Portable Australian Authors: Barbara Baynton)，St Lucia: University of Queensland Press, 出版於 1980，頁 189:

He could see her now: middle-aged, gray hair, well kempt, European-looking.

1982，Michael Blodgett，Captain Blood，頁 iii. 342:


lavender

源自中古英語 lavendre，源自盎格魯-諾曼語 lavendre（法語 lavande），源自中世紀拉丁語 lavendula，可能源自拉丁語 lividus (“浅蓝的”)，但因薰衣草常用于洗衣，而受到了lavō (“洗”)的影响。

more lavender (comparative)
most lavender (superlative)


laconic

源自拉丁語 Lacōnicus (“斯巴达的”)，源自古希臘語 Λακωνικός (Lakōnikós，“拉哥尼亚的”)。拉哥尼亚是斯巴达居住和统治的地方，而斯巴达人特点之一就是讲话简短凝练。

more laconic (comparative)
most laconic (superlative)

I grow laconick even beyond laconicism; for sometimes I return only yes, or no, to questionary or petitionary epistles of half a yard long.

August 17, 1736，亞歷山大·波普，letter to Jonathan Swift:

His sense was strong and his style laconic.

1738，Zachary Grey，An Attempt towards the Character of the Royal Martyr King Charles I:


lopsided

more lopsided (comparative)
most lopsided (superlative)

Carrying a heavy suitcase, he walked with a lopsided gait.

他提着很重的箱子，走路时歪到一边。


lousy

lousier (comparative)
lousiest (superlative)

riddled

充满...的，挤满...的 （带贬义）

-ridden

充满...的，挤满...的 （带贬义）

inundated

充满...的，挤满...的 （带贬义）

jam-packed

充满...的，挤满...的 （带贬义）

teeming

充满...的，挤满...的 （带贬义）

第二次世界大战前被认为是冒犯性的脏话。现在语气较轻，已经有些过时。

No offense, but his cooking is lousy.

无意冒犯，但他做的菜真的难吃。

I cleaned the lousy garage.

我打扫了又脏又乱的车库。

I caught a cold and I've been feeling lousy all week.

我感冒了，我一个星期都特别难受。

I've had enough of lousy backstabbing at this place.

我已经在这个地方上过够多的当了。

充满...的，挤满...的 （带贬义）

The place was lousy with students.

The benignant influence crept like gas through the Row. […] And triangulation might possibly have located it in the Palace Flophouse and Grill. Certainly the Palace was lousy with it. Mack and the boys were charged. Jones was seen to leap from his chair only to do a quick tap dance and sit down again.

[I talked to] Annabeth about the Greek gods who hung out in New York and made her life difficult. Apparently North America was lousy with ancient gods. We had a full-blown infestation.

2016，Rick Riordan，The Hammer of Thor，頁 6:


lovelorn

more lovelorn (comparative)
most lovelorn (superlative)

失恋的；恋情屡受挫折的；渴求爱的

Ye lovesick bards! repay her scorn for scorn; / Ye artists lovelorn! madmen that ye are, / Make your best bow to her and bid adieu / Then, if she likes it, she will follow you.

A soft-breasted bird from the sea / Fell in love with the light-house flame; / And it wheeled round the tower on its airiest wing, / And floated and cried like a lovelorn thing;

1890，John Boyle O'Reilly，“A Tragedy”, in In Bohemia:


limp

源自中古英語 *limp、*lemp，源自古英語 *lemp（仅可考于复合词lemphealt (“一瘸一拐”)内），源自原始日耳曼語 *limpaną (“挂着”)，源自原始印歐語 *(s)lemb-、*(s)lembʰ- (“松垮地垂”)。与德語 lampecht (“松弛的”)、冰島語 lempinn、lempiligur (“柔韧的”)同源。见前文。

limper (comparative)
limpest (superlative)

a limp rope

Another line-out was stolen, and when the ball was sent left Clerc stepped and spun through limp challenges from Wilkinson, Chris Ashton and Foden to dive over and make it 11-0.

2011, Tom Fordyce, Rugby World Cup 2011: England 12-19 France http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/15210221.stm


leer

源自中古英語 lere，源自古英語 ġelǣr、*lǣre (“空，无，空手的”)，源自原始日耳曼語 *lēziz、*lēzijaz (“空的”)，源自原始印歐語 *les- (“拣”)。与荷蘭語 laar (“林中空地”)德語 leer (“空的”)同源。与古英語 lesan (“收集”)有关。

more leer (comparative)
most leer (superlative)

（古旧）空的，未被占用的

(我們能否查找並添加Gifford引用過本詞的語句？)

（古旧）饥饿的，（因饥饿而）面色苍白的

（英国方言，古旧）瘦弱的，憔悴的

（古旧）未载着货物的，空闲的，还没人骑着的

（古旧）轻浮的，玩闹的，无品位的


leery

在1718年，“不信任的，怀疑的”，源自leer + -y或lear (“学识”) + -y。

leerier (comparative)
leeriest (superlative)

小心的，多疑的，有疑虑的

他被狗咬了以后就在动物面前小心翼翼的。

Since he was bitten by a dog when he was young, he has always been leery of animals.


ludicrous

首次出现于1619年。源自拉丁語 lūdicrus，源自lūdō (“玩耍”)。

more ludicrous (comparative)
most ludicrous (superlative)

He made a ludicrous attempt to run for office.

他做出了去竞选这种荒唐的事。


kinky

kinkier (comparative)
kinkiest (superlative)

kinky hair

色情的；性反常的，性变态的

Their male customers are often identified as lonely, sleazy, and into kinky sex […]

1994, Roberta Perkins, Sex Work and Sex Workers in Australia, p. ii:

Scars on my back were revealed from when I was whipped by a sadomasochistic ex-lover. I wondered if it bothered anyone, but it only seemed to make everyone harder than they already were. I was a kinky girl.


luminescent

more luminescent (comparative)
most luminescent (superlative)

But this does not have the slightly yellow glow of things made with luminescent dye.

2020，N. K. Jemisin，The City We Became，Orbit，頁 218:


lunatic

源自中古英語 lunatik，源自古法語 lunatique，源自晚期拉丁語 lunaticus (“精神错乱的”)，派生自拉丁語 luna (“月亮”)，源自“月亮”一词是因为人们相信月亮样子的改变会引人间歇性疯狂。

more lunatic (comparative)
most lunatic (superlative)


landlocked

被陆地包围的，内陆的，不临海的

Switzerland is landlocked and obviously will never be a great sea power and must always trade overland.

瑞士是内陆国家，因此不会有很强的海军实力，只能进行陆地贸易。

Located in Kowloon, with an area of 9.36 km², Wong Tai Sin is the only district in Hong Kong that is totally landlocked. It has a population of 420,183 (2011) and a high density of 44.891/km².

2020，Eunice Mei Feng Seng，Resistant City: Histories, Maps and the Architecture of Development, →DOI, →ISBN, →OCLC，頁 https://books.google.com/books?id=4mLcDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT228，列s 1, 2:

淡水的，内陆水域的 （形容生活在淡水中的动物）

An easement of necessity, said the court, may be provided when property is landlocked and the owner needs access to that property from a public highway.

2005，Washington Legislative Reference Bureau，State of Wisconsin Blue Book, 2005-2006，頁 610:

In some states, the law allows for easements by necessity, especially in circumstances where a property is landlocked.

2005，Thomas J. McEvoy，Owning and Managing Forests: A Guide to Legal, Financial, and Practical Matters，頁 49:

For example, if a property is landlocked (entirely surrounded by other privately owned land) and has no access to a public street...

2006，Real Estate Principles，Rockwell publishing，頁 114:


lanky

lankier (comparative)
lankiest (superlative)


listless

源自中古英語 lystles，等价于list (“欲望”) + -less。对比德語 lustlos和荷蘭語 lusteloos (“无精打采的”)。lustless 的同源對似詞。

more listless (comparative)
most listless (superlative)

What an entirely different set of beings were those Stokesley children in lesson-time. . . . Poor, listless, stolid, deplorable logs, with bowed backs and crossed ankles, pipy voices and heavy eyes!

1861，Charlotte M. Yonge，章號 6, in The Stokesley Secret:

The scene with Mrs. Wallace had broken his spirit, and he was listless now, indifferent to what happened.

1901，William Somerset Maugham，章號 21, in The Hero:

“Listless, inattentive, distracted,” he recited. “A daydreamer. Tries his best, but is too slow.”

2005年November29日，Aryn Baker，“John Hardy: Bali Guy”, in Time:


lethargic

源自古希臘語 ληθαργικός (lēthargikós)，源自λήθαργος (lḗthargos，“健忘的，拖拖拉拉的”)，源自λήθη (lḗthē，“忘记，忘却”)（派生出Lethe (“遗忘河，希腊神话中冥界的一条河”)） + ἀργός (argós，“无法正常工作的”)。

more lethargic (comparative)
most lethargic (superlative)

/ləˈθɑɹd͡ʒɪk/

/ləˈθɑːd͡ʒək/

/ləˈθɑː.d͡ʒɪk/

没精打采的，缓慢的，拖拖拉拉的

[That cat] hasn't caught a mouse since he was a slip of a kitten. Except when eating, he does nothing but sleep. Lethargic is the word that springs to the lips. If you cast an eye on him, you will see that he's asleep now.

1960，P. G. Wodehouse，Jeeves in the Offing, chapter VII:


lithe

源自中古英語 lithe，源自古英語 līþe (“轻柔的”)，源自原始西日耳曼語 *linþ(ī)，源自原始日耳曼語 *linþaz，源自原始印歐語 *lentos。与薩特弗里斯蘭語 lied (“瘦的，憔悴的”)，丹麦语和古德语lind (“温和的”)有关。在哥特语中不可考。一些文献指出拉丁語 lenis (“软的”)和/或拉丁語 lentus (“柔软灵活的”)亦为其同源词。

lither (comparative)
lithest (superlative)

lithe weather

lithe body

The coaches are grim, tan, lithe-looking women, clearly twirlers once, on the far side of their glory now and very serious-looking, each with a clipboard and whistle.

1997，David Foster Wallace，“Getting Away From Already Pretty Much Being Away From It All”, in A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again，第Kindle版, Little, Brown Book Group:

the elephant’s lithe proboscis

… she danced with a kind of passionate fierceness, her lithe body undulating with flexuous grace …

1861, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., Elsie Venner, page 125

Yet the 2016 Éxilé rosé from Lise et Bertrand Jousset in the Loire Valley, made mostly of gamay, was yeasty let light and lithe, while the 2016 Indigeno from Ancarani in Emilia-Romagna, made of trebbiano, was taut and earthy.

2018年March8日，Eric Asimov，“Bubbles, With Joy: Pétillant Naturel’s Triumphant Return”, in The New York Times:


lascivious

more lascivious (comparative)
most lascivious (superlative)

Sir, I will answer anything. But I beseech you, if't be your pleasure and most wise consent, as partly I find it is, that your fair daughter, at this odd-even and dull watch o'the night, transported with no worse nor better guard but with a knave of common hire, a gondolier, to the gross clasps of a lascivious Moor – if this be known to you, and your allowance, we then have done you bold and saucy wrongs; but if you know not this, my manners tell me we have your wrong rebuke.

约1603–1604年，威廉·莎士比亚，“The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice [奥赛罗]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (第一对开本)，伦敦: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, 出版於 1623, →OCLC, [Act 1, scene 1]:

Increasing numbers of English-speaking tourists have made a point of stopping in to snap pictures of themselves by the signpost at the entrance to the village, sometimes striking lascivious poses for social media.

2020年November26日，Philip Oltermann in Berlin，“Fugging hell: tired of mockery, Austrian village changes name”, in The Guardian:


leviathan

源自中古英語 levyethan、levyathan等，源自晚期拉丁語 leviathan，希伯來語 לִוְיָתָן (liv'yatán)的圣经转写。


morose

源自法語 morose，源自拉丁語 mōrōsus (“不愉快的，烦恼的；细心的，仔细的；顽固的，固执的；难伺候的”)，源自mōs (“意志，意愿；方式”)。参见moral。

more morose (comparative)
moroser (comparative)
most morose (superlative)
morosest (superlative)

melancholy

阴郁的，闷闷不乐的，愁眉苦脸的

sulky

阴郁的，闷闷不乐的，愁眉苦脸的

crabby

阴郁的，闷闷不乐的，愁眉苦脸的

glum

阴郁的，闷闷不乐的，愁眉苦脸的

grouchy

阴郁的，闷闷不乐的，愁眉苦脸的

gruff

阴郁的，闷闷不乐的，愁眉苦脸的

moody

阴郁的，闷闷不乐的，愁眉苦脸的

阴郁的，闷闷不乐的，愁眉苦脸的

If there is any boy or man who loves to be melancholy and morose, and who cannot enter with kindly sympathy into the regions of fun, let me seriously advise him to shut my book and put it away. It is not meant for him.


missive

15世纪，源自中世紀拉丁語 missīvus，源自mittō (“发送”)。

a letter missive


nauseated

more nauseated (comparative)
most nauseated (superlative)


mortifying

more mortifying (comparative)
most mortifying (superlative)


noncommittal

more noncommittal (comparative)
most noncommittal (superlative)

不明确的，不果敢的；不置可否的，含糊的；不情愿的

The Major's face was noncommittal.

市长一副不置可否的表情。

The noncommittal Indians would give no counsel as to fording.

[He] is candid, open-hearted, and hardly non-commmittal enough for his own interest at times.

1818，S.R. Wells，The American Phrenonological Journal, and other miscellany，卷 10，頁 234:

A United Nations spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, has previously said the organization would not divulge its sources of information, but welcomed any additional information from the coalition. The United Nations has been noncommittal on the Saudi proposal to send its experts to Riyadh.

2016年June22日，Somini Sengupta，“Saudis Question U.N. Leader Over Report on Rights Violators”, in The New York Times:


nondescript

more nondescript (comparative)
most nondescript (superlative)

undescribed

（学术文献中）无记载的，无描述的

unidentified

（学术文献中）无记载的，无描述的

（学术文献中）无记载的，无描述的

He drove a nondescript silver sedan.

他开一辆普通的银色轿车。

There was, besides, a Scots mason, known from his favourite dish as "Irish Stew," three or four nondescript Scots, a fine young Irishman, O'Reilly, and a pair of young men who deserve a special word of condemnation.

1895，Robert Louis Stevenson，“The Second Cabin”, in The Amateur Emigrant:

In 1919, demobilisation specials from Purfleet, Essex, to the North, usually made up of nondescript, almost paintless or grey stock which had seen long wartime service, chalked with slogans, were worked through by way of Bromley and the North London line […]。

1950 April，R. A. H. Weight，“They Passed by My Window”, in Railway Magazine，頁s 258-259:

We open in a grimy, fluorescent-lit military base somewhere in rural England, where the girl from the poster, Melanie (Sennia Nanua), is the star student in a class full of children who are wheeled into school—or at least, the nondescript concrete room that serves as a school—with their arms, legs, and foreheads bound to their wheelchairs by leather straps.

2017年February23日，Katie Rife，“The Girl With All The Gifts tries to put a fresh spin on overripe zombie clichés”, in The Onion AV Club:

The plaque, of light-blue hue (a tone favoured by the Wiltshire market town's civic society), can be found on a nondescript structure just outside the station.

2021年December29日，Stephen Roberts，“Stories and facts behind railway plaques: Chippenham (1841)”, in RAIL，期 947，頁 57:


nimble

源自中古英語 nymyl、nemel、nemyll、nymell (“敏捷的，迅捷的；准备就绪的；有能的”)，古英語 nǣmel (“善于学习的”)和古英語 numol (“能够拿稳的”)的合并形式，两者均源自niman (“拿，取”) + -el、-ol (联想后缀)，等价于nim + -le。对比德語 nehmen、哥特語 𐌽𐌹𐌼𐌰𐌽 (niman)、古諾爾斯語 nema (“拿”)。详见nim。

nimbler (comparative)
nimblest (superlative)

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/LL-Q1860 (eng)-I learned some phrases-nimble.wav

nimble fingers

He was too nimble for the assailant and easily escaped his grasp.

袭击者不敌他灵活的动作，他轻松挣脱了袭击者的手。

Attempts to introduce versions of "market communism" — in China, Hungary or Yugoslavia — have shown how hard it is to make mainly state-owned economies as nimble as mainly private ones.

1988, The Economist (volume 306, issues 7532-7539, page 13)

She has a nimble mind and can improvise in any situation.

她非常机敏，在任何场合都能随机应变。

"It requires you to be flexible and nimble in your thinking and Huw has already demonstrated that," said Greenwood, [...]

2020年May20日，“Merriman praised over handling of TSC's 'virtual' transition”, in Rail，頁 12:


muddled

more muddled (comparative)
most muddled (superlative)

The selection of James Milner ahead of Young was the product of muddled thinking and the absence of Peter Crouch - with 22 goals in 42 England appearances - from even the substitutes' bench was also a surprise.

2011年June4日，Phil McNulty，“England 2 - 2 Switzerland”, in BBC:


nippy

nippier (comparative)
nippiest (superlative)

A Rolls Royce will not do if you need an economical, nippy car that is easy to park.

c. 2000, Melanie Allen, Customer Relations Management (page 6)

Gosh, it's a bit nippy today: I'd better wear my gloves.

哇，今天有点冷啊，我得戴手套了。

Spoiling may create a pushy, nippy dog that lacks confidence.

1995, Nancy Baer, Choosing a Dog: A Guide to Picking the Perfect Breed (page 161)


nitrous

含三价氮的，和亚硝酸有关的