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外刊例句
- The second is the way PDD has shattered the myth of an impregnable fortress surrounding the titans of online shopping.
其二是拼多多如何粉碎了网购巨头的堡垒坚不可摧的错误认知。
——《经济学人》 - What it did shatter was the myth that a triumphant United States could bend the world to its will.
如果说它粉碎了什么,那就是一个耀武扬威的美国可以令世界屈从的神话。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[verb] break or cause to break suddenly and violently into pieces
[动词] (使)突然猛烈地打碎
深入解读
Shatter 是一个与常见单词 scatter (撒、分散、散开、四散)既形似又含义有所关联的单词,两者都可能源自于最初可能是拟声而来的中古英语 schateren 。其中, shatter 主要用来表示“(使)破碎、碎裂”,常用搭配 shatter sth into sth ,主要指(使)物体突然猛烈地分裂成许多小碎片并四处散布,强调最终结果是造成物体的彻底破坏,比如:
- 那个脾气暴躁的老妇人拿着一个大花瓶向我挥来,于是我就跑出了房间。然后她失手把花瓶掉到地板上摔碎了。
The grumpy old woman brandished a large vase at me so I ran out of the room. Then she dropped the vase and it shattered into pieces on the floor.
除了使实物破碎以外, shatter 也可以用来引申指使感情、希望、信念、计划、名誉等抽象事物“粉碎、破灭、破坏、损害”,也是常用搭配 shatter sth into sth ,同样强调造成事物的彻底破坏,比如:
- 一次失败会使很多人希望破灭。但她的信心从未减弱。
A failure would shatter the hopes of many people. But her confidence has never flagged.
从这个概念出发, shatter 再可以进一步用来表示“使非常惊愕难过、给予极大打击”,比如:
- 选民普遍的态度冷淡给他们带来沉重的打击。
The widespread apathy among the electorate shattered them.
若是出现在口语中时, shatter 则可以指“使极度疲劳、使非常虚弱”,好比中文里说人累散架了那般,比如:
- 那个犟孩子筋疲力尽,累得都无法集中注意力做作业。
The restive child was shattered and too tired to concentrate on schoolwork.
此外, shatter 还可以用来表示“啪嗒啪嗒地响”以及叶、花瓣、果实“脱落”,比如:
- 雨啪嗒啪嗒地打在崭新的窗玻璃上。
The rain shattered at the pristine windowpane. - 田里黑麦落粒了。
The rye shattered in the fields.
而用作名词时, shatter 除了表示“破碎、碎裂”这个动作以及过早“落花、落叶、落粒”外,常作复数 shatters 表示“碎片、裂片”,比如:
- 一个大浪把一艘装备还算完善的船冲到礁石上撞得粉碎。
A sea dashed a tolerably snug ship into shatters against the rock.
名著用例
Harry remained quite still for a moment, then hurled the mirror back into the trunk where it shattered.
哈利愣了一会儿,接着猛地把镜子扔进了箱子,镜子碎了。
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
- fracture: break or cause to break
- smash: violently break (something) into pieces
- burst: (of a container) break suddenly and violently apart, spilling