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小词详解 | lament

田间小站 田间小站 2023-10-12

lament 英 [ləˈment] 美 [ləˈment]

TOEFL SAT TEM8 GRE


外刊例句


  • Smallpox was officially eradicated in 1980, and no one laments the fate of the virus that caused it; campaigns to save the virus that causes polio are thin on the ground.
    天花在1980年被正式消灭,没有人为天花病毒的命运哀叹;也没见人发起过什么运动拯救导致小儿麻痹症的病毒。
    ——《经济学人》

  • The impetus for the bill, which would give six-year visas to as many as 300,000 foreign high-tech workers a year, is the longstanding lament by business leaders that they cannot find the talent they need in the American labor market.
    该法案将每年向多达30万名外国高技术工人发放为期六年的签证,其推动力来自商业领袖们长期以来对他们无法在美国劳动市场中找到所需人才的抱怨。
    ——《纽约时报》


基本释义


[noun] mourn (a person's loss or death)
[名词] 哀悼(某人的逝世或死亡)


深入解读


Lament 是一个与许多常见单词诸如 filament (灯丝;细丝)、ornament (装饰;饰物)、 ligament (韧带)等有着相同结尾的单词,可以一并联想记忆。


该词于15世纪中期经古法语 lamenter (呻吟、悲悼)或者直接由拉丁语 lamentari (哀号、呻吟、哭泣、悲痛)进入英语,也是用来表示“哀悼、痛惜、为……悲痛”,常作正式用语使用,主要指大声、强烈或深切哀悼某人或某物的逝世或死亡,通常带有充满激情或过度夸张的言语,比如:


  • 肯开始对其独子的死悲痛不已。
    Ken began to lament the death of his
    sole son.


从这个概念出发, lament 常引申指“抱怨、悲叹、哀叹”,主要指对认为不满意、不合理或不公平的事情表示惋惜或失望,比如:


  • 我体弱多病的祖母一如既往地哀叹当今社会世风日下。
    My
    invalid grandmother, as usual, lamented the decline in moral standards in today's society.


用作名词时, lament 除了相应表示“悲痛之情、哀叹、痛惜”外,还可以指“挽歌、哀诗、悼词”,也是常作正式用语使用,即为某人的死或某事物的结束而哀悼的歌曲、诗歌、音乐等,比如:


  • 激动人心的末乐章可以看作是一首青春的挽歌。
    The rousing
    finale can be interpreted as a lament for lost youth.


名著用例

After breakfast, the girls walked to Meryton to inquire if Mr. Wickham were returned, and to lament over his absence from the Netherfield ball.
吃过早饭,小姐们上麦里屯去打听韦翰先生回来了没有,同时为了他没有参加尼日斐花园的舞会而去向他表示惋惜。

出自19世纪英国小说家简·奥斯丁(Jane Austen)的代表作《傲慢与偏见》(Pride and Prejudice)。


同近义词


  • mourn: feel or show deep sorrow or regret for (someone or their death), typically by following conventions such as the wearing of black clothes

  • bemoan: express discontent or sorrow over (something)

  • bewail: express great regret, disappointment, or bitterness over (something)


往期回顾

小词详解 | admonish

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小词详解 | exult

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