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TOEFL SAT GRE
外刊例句
- In many firms a professional manager might chafe against the presence of a revered founder, but there are no such reports at Inditex.
在许多公司,职业经理人也许会因一位倍受尊敬的创始人的存在而烦躁不已,但在印地纺并没有这样的传闻。
——《经济学人》 - So to those of you who chafe at “women’s rights” as political correctness run amok, think again.
所以,那些对“女权”不满、视其为“政治正确”做过头的人应该反思一下。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[verb] (with reference to a part of the body) make or become sore by rubbing against something
[动词] (指身体的一部分)因摩擦某物而疼痛
深入解读
Chafe 一词源自拉丁语 calefacere (使变热、使变暖),经古法语 chaufer (烧热、加热,对应现代法语 chauffer)进入英语,原指“摩擦生热、摩擦取暖”,这一含义发展到今天则是指“(尤指用手)擦热”或“摩擦……使恢复感觉”,比如:
- 母亲凝视着她女儿乌黑油亮的头发,并搓热她儿子冰冷的双手。
The mother pored on her daughter's sleek black hair and chafed her son's cold hands.
不过现在更多的是用来表示“(使)擦伤、(使)擦破、(使)擦痛”,强调指一种轻微但持续的、痛苦的或有害的摩擦,比如:
- 衣领特别紧,把她的歪脖子磨痛了。
The collar was far too tight and chafed her wry neck.
说起皮肤擦痛,对于很多女生而言,衣服把脖子磨痛都是小事,最讨厌的就是夏天穿裙子时大腿内侧擦痛擦伤,这在英语里就叫 inner thigh chafing 。
虽然这种擦伤并不是什么大的外伤,但犹如牙疼不是病疼起来要人命,一旦产生也是坐立难安,十分焦躁。从这个概念引申出发, chafe 还可以作为一个正式用语表示“恼火、生气、烦躁”,常用搭配为 chafe at/under sth ,多指因为受到某种限制或约束而感到恼怒和失去耐心,比如:
- 他很快便因为处处受到限制而感到恼火,这最终以他辞职告终。
He soon chafed at the restrictions of his situation, which finally culminated in his resignation. - 我们为繁文缛节而恼火已经很久了。
We have been chafing under trivial formalities for too long.
衣服磨人是擦伤擦痛,那么反过来人磨衣服则是“磨损、磨坏”,这也可以用 chafe 表示,另外还可以用 chafe on/against sth 表示“摩擦”某物,比如:
- 他在岩石上磨坏了鞋子,然后脚趾从鞋上的破洞里露出来。
He chafed his shoes on the rocks and then his toes peeked through the hole on his shoes. - 一匹黑马在厩栏上擦着身子。
A dark horse chafed against his stall.
名著用例
Troubles and other realities took on themselves a metaphysical impalpability, sinking to mere mental phenomena for serene contemplation, and no longer stood as pressing concretions which chafed body and soul.
一切烦恼和现实中的事情都化作了抽象的虚无缥缈的东西,变成了仅仅供人沉思默想的精神现象,再也不是折磨肉体和灵魂的紧迫的具体的东西。
出自英国小说家托马斯·哈代的长篇小说《德伯家的苔丝》(Tess of the d'Urbervilles)。小说最初在杂志上连载,1891年开始以书籍发行,主要讲述英格兰有个贫家少女名叫苔丝,她美丽、单纯且富有责任感,却遭到命运的捉弄。
同近义词
- abrade: scrape or wear away by friction or erosion
- graze: scrape and break the surface of the skin of (a part of the body)
- gall: make sore by rubbing