- 1應得的、辛苦換來的
Deserved, because you worked hard for it. You put it in front of the good thing that comes after the work — a well-earned rest, a well-earned holiday, a well-earned drink, a well-earned promotion. The word carries a warm feeling: the speaker is on your side, saying 'you did the work, now enjoy this, nobody can say you didn't deserve it.' That warmth is why it is so often used about rest and food and drink after a long effort. There is a small pattern worth noticing: what follows well-earned is usually a reward, not a punishment. You can say a well-earned reputation, and that is fine, but people rarely say a well-earned failure — the word leans towards good things. It also does not have to be about money, even though earn usually means earning money. Here earn has stretched to mean 'get by deserving', which is why a rest can be earned. In front of a noun it takes the ; you can also say 'she has earned it' or 'well earned' on its own as a short reply.
「well-earned」形容一件東西是應得的，因為是靠努力換來的。它常放在好事情前面，例如「a well-earned rest」（應得的休息）、「a well-earned holiday」（應得的假期）、「a well-earned promotion」（應得的升遷）。這個字帶著溫暖的語氣，像在說「你辛苦了，好好享受吧」，所以常用來形容辛苦之後的休息、吃喝。
後面接的通常是獎賞，不是懲罰，所以很少說「a well-earned failure」。不過「a well-earned reputation」（靠實力累積來的名聲）是可以的。它不一定和錢有關，earn 在這裡延伸為「靠應得而得到」，所以休息也可以是 earned。放在名詞前要加連字號，單獨當簡短回答時可以說「well earned」，或用「she has earned it」這樣的句子。
組成well (好好地、充分地) + earned (賺得的、掙來的，來自動詞 earn)。earn 原本是「工作換取」的意思，這裡把「換取」擴大成「值得」。
原始詞典資料1 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。
well-earnedadj
- 1
deserved
- "The Pacers have kept millions of northerners on the move. But while they have served us well and provided some communities with rail services they may have otherwise lost, it is time to give them a well-earned rest," said Northern Regional Director Chris Jackson.
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。