- 1貪心又吝嗇的；愛財如命
Grasping, when it describes a person, is not about hands. It means someone is too hungry for money or things, and will not let go — they do not like to give, share, or even spend. It is a cold picture: always reaching, never opening the hand. You meet it in stories and in rather careful, judging talk; in everyday speech people more often say greedy or stingy. Grasping feels a little stronger and more , and it often judges the whole character, not one moment. A grasping landlord, a grasping relative: the word is rarely kind.
Though actually, the same spelling is also just the ordinary -ing form of the verb grasp — “She is grasping the rope.” That is a different job in the sentence. When we say “a grasping man”, we mean the money sense.
From the word’s history
grasp + -ing; grasp is from Middle English graspen 'to grope', the same ultimate source as grab.
grasp「抓住」加 -ing，緊抓不放引申為貪心。
組成The verb grasp plus -ing, used as a describing word. The picture began as “always grabbing”, then settled on money and possessions.
同家族的字
- graspthis is grasp used to describe a person: always trying to take hold of money
原始詞典資料3 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，摘錄並精簡格式，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
graspingadj/ˈɡɹæspɪŋ/
- 1
Greedy, eager for wealth.
- Just how, Agamemnon, great field marshal . . . most grasping man alive, how can the generous Argives give you prizes now? I know of no troves of treasure, piled, lying idle, anywhere.
graspingnoun/ˈɡɹæspɪŋ/
- 1
The act of one who grasps or covets.
- These are my connections, my attachments. Maybe all I really am is the sum of all these connections, these fearful longings and graspings.
這個拼法也被記錄為下列字的變化形：
摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary，已精簡格式；依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用，改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。