| 词组 | oblivious |
| 释义 | oblivious Usage writers and other concerned language watchers in the early 20th century insisted that the correct meaning of oblivious was "forgetful; no longer mindful" and that it should only be followed by the preposition of. The basis of that opinion was etymological and historical. Oblivious is derived ultimately from the Latin verb oblivisci, "to forget," and its oldest senses in English, dating back to the 15th century, all have to do with forgetfulness. The sense of oblivious to which the critics objected was "not conscious or aware," which was first recorded in the middle 1800s. The OED labeled this sense erroneous in 1902, and it was censured by such critics as Ball 1923, Fowler 1926, and Krapp 1927. Much criticism was directed specifically at the phrase oblivious to, meaning "unaware of." The "unaware" sense of oblivious has continued in extremely common use, however, and criticism of it is now largely a thing of the past. Our evidence shows that in current English it is far and away the most common meaning of the word. It typically describes a lack of awareness that is remarkable, especially because of its completeness, or that is in some way blameworthy; and in this sense the word is usually followed by the preposition to: • ... writers are often oblivious to their readers — Mary C. Bromage, Michigan Business Rev., July 1968 • Sigmund emerged oblivious to the shell-pink dusk —Irving Stone, McCall's, March 1971 • ... completely oblivious to the traffic of the street — Herb Goro, New York, 10 Jan. 1972 • ... oblivious to matters that don't have an immediate impact on his personal situation —Everett Groseclose, Wall Street Jour., 16 Oct. 1972 • Father was oblivious to the man's speculative notice of his wife —E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime, 1974 • ... go-go girls oblivious to the rout outside —William Styron, This Quiet Dust and Other Writings, 1982 The "forgetful" sense of oblivious is still used, but it is now rare. It always takes the preposition of: • Oblivious of any previous decisions not to stand together..., the three stood in a tight group —Doris Lessing, The Good Terrorist, 1985 Some writers and editors prefer of to follow oblivious in its "unaware" sense as well. Such usage is not uncommon in current writing: • ... play chess all afternoon oblivious of the business that might be transpiring in the courts and government buildings —Herbert Lottman, Columbia Forum, Summer 1970 • Johnson was not entirely oblivious of these beauties —John Butt, English Literature in the Mid-Eighteenth Century, edited & completed by Geoffrey Car-nall, 1979 |
| 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。