小词详解 | permeate
permeate 英 [ˈpɜːmieɪt] 美 [ˈpɜːrmieɪt]
考研 IELTS TOEFL SAT TEM8 GMAT
外刊例句
Odour from a landfill next door permeates the humid air.
隔壁垃圾填埋场的气味弥漫在潮湿的空气中。
——《经济学人》By now, plastics permeate civilization, from shopping bags to shirts, computers to car bumpers.
到目前为止,塑料已经渗透到文明之中,从购物袋到衬衫,从电脑到汽车保险杠。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[verb] spread throughout (something); pervade
[动词] 遍布(某物);弥漫
深入解读
Permeate 一词源自拉丁语 permeare (穿过),由前缀 per (贯穿)+ 词根 me (走) +后缀 ate (做、造成、使……)构成,17世纪50年代进入英语后开始用来表示气体、液体等“渗透、弥漫、扩散、漫遍、充满”,常意味着通过物质或物体的所有间隙或孔隙进行扩散,并遍布于该物,比如:
在此期间,整座楼都散发着变质啤酒的臭味。
In the interim, a foul smell of stale beer permeated the whole building.崭新的桌子上铺了一层塑料,防止液体渗到下面的木头里去。
The pristine table has a plastic coating which prevents liquids from permeating into the wood beneath.
从这个概念出发, permeate 还进一步用来喻指“传播、扩散、感染、渗透”,即思想、感情、态度、影响等扩散或渗透到一个系统或社会的每一个部分,或者说贯穿于整个系统或社会,比如:
这项深入社会各阶层的学说已经削弱了他的权威。
The doctrine that permeates all levels of society has eroded his authority.管理人员公开的不满情绪很快传染给了全体职工。
Overt dissatisfaction among the managers soon permeated down to members of the workforce.
名著用例
“I love hearing Mum shouting at someone else,” said Fred, with a satisfied smile on his face as he opened the door an inch or so to allow Mrs. Weasley’s voice to permeate the room better. “It makes such a nice change.”
“我真喜欢听妈妈冲别人嚷嚷,”弗雷德脸上带着满足的微笑说道,他把门打开了一两英寸,好让韦斯莱夫人的声音更清楚地传进屋里,“换换口味真不赖。”
出自英国作家J·K·罗琳的奇幻小说《哈利·波特》系列的第五本《哈利·波特与凤凰社》(Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)。
同近义词
suffuse: gradually spread through or over
往期回顾