| 词组 | unbend, unbending |
| 释义 | unbend, unbending A curiosity of the language that has caught the attention of several commentators is that the verb unbend means "to become less stiff; relax" but the adjective unbending means "stiff; unyielding." The verb in its oldest sense has to do with releasing the tension of a flexed bow by loosening its string. In current English it is most often used to indicate the relaxing of a formal or reticent manner: • ... an office party where everyone unbends —Frederick Laws, London Calling, 22 Dec. 1955 • ... he unbends just enough in his love scenes — Andy Meisler, TV Guide, 25 June 1982 Unbend is also sometimes used to mean "straighten": • I rub my hands together briefly, bend and unbend my fingers —Aristides, American Scholar, Autumn 1981 The adjective is, of course, an unrelated word, akin to the sense of bend meaning "to make concessions; compromise": • ... that fierce, unbending will which later would carry him so far —William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, 1960 • The rules ... were strict and unbending —John F. Henahan, Saturday Rev., 29 July 1967 We have no evidence that these similar but distinct words have ever caused confusion. If you were to write such a sentence as "He was an unbending man who refused to unbend," you might indeed cause a few readers to scratch their heads; but, if you were to write such a sentence, that is probably just what you would be trying to do. |
| 随便看 |
|
英语用法大全包含2888条英语用法指南，基本涵盖了全部常用英文词汇及语法点的翻译及用法，是英语学习的有利工具。