小词详解 | petrify
外刊例句
The remaining trapped civilians are petrified.
其余被困的平民被吓呆了。
——《经济学人》The parents were petrified the oldest of their seven children would be drafted into the Syrian Army.
这两位有七个孩子的父母为长子会被叙利亚军队征兵吓得要死。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[verb] to frighten someone a lot, especially so that they are unable to move or speak
[动词] 让人十分恐惧,特别是以至于动弹不得或者说不出话来
深入解读
petrify借自法语pétrifier,源自拉丁语petra(stone)和facere(to make),即其字面原义为“使变成石头、使石化”,常用于被动语态。现在多用于引申义,指“把人……吓呆,使惊呆”,也可指“导致(如经济、社会等)僵化、发展停滞、丧失活力”。
名人用例
Loyalty to petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul.
对僵化观点的忠诚从来没有打破过枷锁,也从来没有解放过一个人的灵魂。
出自马克·吐温(Mark Twain,1835年11月30日-1910年4月21日),原名塞姆·朗赫恩·克莱门斯(Samuel Langhorne Clemens),是美国的幽默大师、小说家、作家,亦是著名演说家。
同近义词
terrify: to frighten someone very much
horrify: to shock someone very much
scare: to (make a person or animal) feel frightened
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