Pitiful
“Pitiful”是形容词,有多重含义:一是令人怜悯、可悲的(a pitiful sight);二是差劲到令人失望的(a pitiful effort);三是数量极少、微不足道的(a pitiful sum)。根据语境可表同情或轻蔑。
- “Scotland has a pitiful climate.” (苏格兰的气候令人堪忧。)
- “A pitiful number of students bothered to turn up.” (到场的学生少得可怜。)
- “He made a pitiful excuse for being late again.” (他为再次迟到找了个差劲的借口。)
“Pitiful”源自”pity”(怜悯)加后缀”-ful”,原义为”充满怜悯的”,后引申为”令人怜悯的”及”差劲的”。
“Pitiful”由词根”piti-”(怜悯)与后缀”-ful”(充满……的)构成。
“Pitiful”在口语中常用于表达不满或失望,如”a pitiful performance”(糟糕的表现)。与”pitiable”相比,“pitiful”更常带贬义,暗示不仅可怜而且不足取。在英式英语中形容天气时,表示”糟糕、令人沮丧”。
- 固定搭配: “pitiful sight” (可怜的景象), “pitiful excuse” (差劲的借口), “pitiful amount” (微不足道的数量)
“Pity”(怜悯)+ “-ful”(充满)→ 原指”充满怜悯的”,现多指”令人怜悯的”或”差到可怜的”。
“The team’s pitiful performance drew pitiful applause from the handful of fans who had bothered to attend.” (球队糟糕的表现只换来少数到场球迷稀稀落落的掌声。)