英英释义:if something defies description, belief, or understanding, it is strange and almost impossible to describe, believe, or understand
“defy”是动词,它常见的意思是“挑战”“反抗”,不过我们对它的一些常见搭配用法并不熟悉。根据上面的英英释义,我们可以了解它后面经常可以接description 等词,这时 defy 的意思可以引申理解为“难以”“无法”。
这种用法在外刊中很常见,当我们想表示 be hard to,be impossible to,beyond 时,很多时候都可以用 defy 替换。
sentence
1. 某事逻辑上难以说得通
It’s a stupid decision that completely defies logic.
2. 难以想象他是如何做到的
How he managed to pull it off defies imagination.
3. 某人的做法非常奇怪,或者某事过于宏大、离奇、复杂超出了常人的认知,一般人根本无法理解这种做法和现象,这时就可以用到 xx defies comprehension/understanding.
The plot is so convoluted that it defies comprehension.
4. Like many populists, they defy conventional categories of Left and Right.(这里是说民粹主义者难以按传统“左派”“右派”的方式分类)
5. According to Catholic doctrine, a miracle is a sign of God's grace, manifested as a sudden event that defies rational or scientific explanation.(defy rational or scientific explanation,即难以以理性或科学解释)
practice
这个单词难以翻译。
This word defies translation.
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