- 1
Unable to decide what to do, and showing it — hesitating, hanging back, changing your mind. To be resolute is to be firm and settled in your decision, so this is the opposite: no firmness. It describes a person, or the way a person stands, speaks, or moves at a moment of choice: he stood irresolute in the doorway. English often uses it of leaders and governments as criticism, meaning weak and slow to act. It is formal and literary; in ordinary talk people say 'he couldn't make up his mind' or 'she was hesitant'. Worth noticing: it is not the same as 'undecided'. 'Undecided' is a plain fact about where you are — an undecided voter is simply still choosing. 'Irresolute' is about your character or your bearing in the moment, and it usually sounds like a fault.
優柔寡斷的、猶豫不決的
組成ir- ('not') + resolute ('firm in a decision'). From French irrésolu, or built in English from ir- + resolute; first seen around 1580.
同家族的字
- resolutethe positive opposite — firm and determined
- resolveto settle a question, or the firmness itself
- resolutiona firm decision you have settled on
原始詞典資料2 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法,原文照列,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。
irresoluteadj/ɪˈrɛz.əˌl(j)uːt/
- 1
Undecided or unsure how to act.
- As the seeress stood irresolute the tall young secretary half rose and whispered something in her ear.
- 2
Indecisive or lacking in resolution.
資料來源:英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary(CC BY-SA 4.0)。 原文照列,未經改寫。