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Winsome describes a person, a face, or a smile that is sweet and charming in a light, innocent way — the kind of charm that makes you smile back without deciding to. A winsome smile is open and slightly shy; a winsome child is the one everybody in the room warms to.
"Winsome"Winsome"describes a person, a face, or a smile that is sweet and charming in a light, innocent way"形容一個人、一張臉,或一個笑容,帶著輕盈、天真的甜美和迷人——"the kind of charm that makes you smile back without deciding to"那種會讓你不自覺跟著微笑的迷人。"A winsome smile is open and slightly shy"winsome smile討喜的笑容是坦然又帶點害羞的;"a winsome child is the one everybody in the room warms to"winsome child討人喜歡的孩子,是那種在場所有人都會不由自主喜歡上的孩子。
It is close to charming, but softer and less clever: a charming man may be working at it, while a winsome one seems not to be trying at all. It is also close to attractive, but it is not about being beautiful — a plain face can be winsome, and a very beautiful face may not be.
"It is close to charming, but softer and less clever"它跟charming迷人很接近,但更柔和、也沒那麼機靈:"a charming man may be working at it"一個charming迷人的男人可能是在刻意經營,"while a winsome one seems not to be trying at all"而一個winsome討喜的人看起來完全沒在努力。"It is also close to attractive, but it is not about being beautiful"它也跟attractive有吸引力接近,但重點不在漂不漂亮——"a plain face can be winsome, and a very beautiful face may not be"一張普通的臉可以是winsome討喜的,而一張非常漂亮的臉卻不一定是。
This is a literary word. You meet it in novels, in reviews of films and plays ("a winsome performance"), and in older writing; you almost never hear it in ordinary conversation, and a person who used it at lunch would sound like they were quoting a book.
"This is a literary word"這是一個偏書面、文學性的字。"You meet it in novels, in reviews of films and plays"你會在小說、電影和戲劇的評論裡遇到它"(\"a winsome performance\")"(像「a winsome performance」討喜的演出),"and in older writing"還有比較老派的文章裡;"you almost never hear it in ordinary conversation"在日常對話裡幾乎不會聽到,"and a person who used it at lunch would sound like they were quoting a book"吃午餐時如果有人用這個字,聽起來就像在引用書裡的話。
One more thing to know: because the word has been used so often about children and about young women in films, it can carry a faint hint of "sweet in a way that is meant to win people over" — some critics use it half-unkindly, to mean cute and a little too pleasing.
"One more thing to know"還有一件事要知道:"because the word has been used so often about children and about young women in films"因為這個字太常被用來形容電影裡的小孩和年輕女性,"it can carry a faint hint of \"sweet in a way that is meant to win people over\""它可能帶著一絲「刻意討好式的甜美」的味道——"some critics use it half-unkindly, to mean cute and a little too pleasing"有些評論家會帶點挖苦地用它,意思是可愛、但有點過於討好。
組成Old English wynsum, from wynn meaning joy or delight, plus the ending -some meaning full of, tending to. So the original sense is joy-giving — full of the thing that gives pleasure.
同家族的字
- handsomesame -some ending meaning 'tending to be'
- troublesomesame -some ending: full of, giving rise to
- tiresomesame -some ending, built on a base word the way winsome was built on wynn 'joy'
原始詞典資料1 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。
winsomeadj/ˈwɪn.səm/
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Charming, engaging, winning; inspiring approval and trust, especially if in an innocent manner.
- […] lifting her winsome eyes to my face with that sort of look which turns off bad temper, even when one has all the right in the world to indulge it.
- Will ye keep your troth to me, / Winsome Annie Ramsay? / Will ye keep your troth to me, / Winsome Annie Ramsay? / Will ye keep your troth to me? / My ain true luve will ye be? / Then meet me at the trysting tree, / Winsome Annie Ramsay.
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。