智能写作-25个最容易误解的英语单词
编辑：pitaya02 日期：2020-10-07
西方思维的差异以及查阅英汉词典的习惯，使我们不能准确掌握一些英语单词和短语的意思。例如单词“can”。每个人都倾向于把它翻译成“可行的”，而事实上，它的确意味着“可行的”。尽管大体意思差不多，但仔细追查起来还是有一些细微差别。这类例子经常有很多，本文为大家整理出25个最容易误解的词语，有南星教育小编为大家解读。火龙果智能写作
1. Irony
what you think it means: Something that is funny.你认为这个词的意思：有趣的事情。
What it really means: Contrary to what you are expecting.火龙果智能写作
单词的真正含义是：事与愿违的。 This is a famous one because so many people get this wrong so often. It’s also kind of hard to explain, so we’ll use an example. The Titanic was boasted about as being 100% unsinkable and then in 1912 it was sunk anyway. That is what is called cosmic irony. When a starving vegetarian eats a pepperoni pizza, that is what is called situational irony.火龙果智能写作
这个词很典型，因为经常有人用错。这一点很难解释，所以我们还是举个例子。声称100%不会沉没的泰坦尼克号，在1912年却意外沉没，这被称为“宇宙讽刺”。如果有素食主义者因为饥饿而无法控制自己吃下香肠比萨饼，这被称为“情景讽刺”。such as dramatic irony and Socratic irony. Believe it or not, sarcasm is actually irony. When you say something sarcastically, your tone and your words mean two opposite things. That is ironic. Irony can be funny but not everything funny is irony.火龙果智能写作
也有其他的分类，如“喜剧反讽”和“苏格拉底反讽”。信不信由你，实际上 irony和 sarcasm (讽刺)是一个意思。如果你的语调和用词都是用来表达反义词，那么这句话就是反义词。它叫 ironic (讽刺)。讽刺可以是搞笑的，但并非所有搞笑的事情都可以称为“讽刺”。
2. Travesty火龙果智能写作
what you think it means: tragedy or something unfortunate.你认为这个词的意思是：悲剧或者不幸。
What it really means: A mockery or parody. 单词的真正含义是：拙劣的模仿或恶搞。 This is another one that people have wrong fairly frequently. You’ve heard people call 9/11 a travesty. Truth be told 9/11 was a tragedy. A travesty is actually a mockery or a parody. One might say that a Weird Al Yankovic album is a travesty. With how often this word is associated with tragedy, we wouldn’t be shocked if that definition were eventually added as an acceptable meaning. Until then, it doesn’t mean anything bad happened.
这个词也常被用错。有些人说9.11是 travesty，其实他是在说 tragedy (悲剧)。特雷维斯蒂指的是拙劣的模仿或者恶搞。您可能会说 ElJankovich的专辑是 travesty (很糟糕)。考虑到 travesty这个词总是与 tragedy (悲剧)混淆在一起，也许在将来 travesty中可以加入“悲剧”的意思。但是，直到现在，这个词还和“坏东西”根本没有什么关系。
3. Ultimate火龙果智能写作
你认为这个词的意思是：某一个词，唯一的，最好的，最好的，在 What you think it means: The one, the only. The best。
What it really means: The last item of a list. 单词的真正含义是：列表中的最后一项。 Some people do actually use this one properly. You may see someone list off a bunch of things and hear them say, “Okay, at the store we need eggs, milk, juice, and ultimately, butter.” That is actually the proper use of ultimate. There is no other context or added context. It simply means the last one.
有些人的确能正确使用这个词。也许有人写了一系列的清单，然后听到他们说：“嗯…我们要去商店买些鸡蛋，牛奶，果汁，还有黄油。”这就是 ultimate的正确用法。在这里没有其他的东西或者补充， ultimate代表“最后一个”。火龙果智能写作
4. Conversate
你认为这个词的意思是：“说话”，“说话的人”“说话的人”“说话的人”“说话的人”。
What it really means: Nothing. 单词的真正含义是：压根没有这个词。 Conversate actually doesn’t exist and I’ll prove it to you. Go into a program that underlines words with red if they’re spelled wrong. Now type out conversate. Did you see the red line? Conversate was meant to be a mixture of conversation and converse and be used as a verb. However, converse is a verb and there really isn’t a need for a second verb to describe the same action.
我可以证明“Conversate”一词实际上不存在。找到一个能标红错误的拼写程序，然后输入 conversate这个词，你就会发现这个词的下划线是红色的？conversate应该是对话(conversation)和对话(converse)的混合物，词性是动词。然而， converse (交谈)本身就是一个动词，完全没有必要重新创造一个动词来描述相同的行为。
5. Peruse
what you think it means: toskim or browse.你认为这个词的意思是：略读或者浏览。
What it really means: To observe in depth. 单词的真正含义是：深入观察。 When you peruse something, you are actually taking a very close look at it. When you’re at a record store and you’re just running through a stack of records, you are just browsing. If you pick up a record and look at the artist, track list, and additional information on the back, then your are perusing.
如果您使用 peruse (深入观察)，则表明您看得非常仔细。假如你在唱片店里穿过成行的唱片架，那就是“浏览”。假如你拿起一张唱片来查看艺术家、目录以及背后的其他信息，这就是 peruse (deep)。火龙果智能写作
6. Bemused
你把这个词的意思理解为：让人愉快的“快乐”，“快乐”就是“快乐”。
What it really means: Confused. 单词的真正含义是：困惑的。 This is one of the many words on this list that will make you strongly dislike the English language. Despite looking all but identical to the word amused, bemused doesn’t even come close to meaning the same thing. If you are bemused then you are actually confused.
这句话也许会在这个列表上“荣膺”你讨厌英语的原因之一。虽然 bemused (混乱的)和 amused (愉快的)在拼写上非常相似，但是这两个词的意思却是不同的。假如你是 bemused，说明你实际上很困惑。火龙果智能写作
7. Compelled
what you think it means: to do something voluntarily by choice.你认为这个词的意思是：自愿地选择去做某件事。
What it really means: To be forced or obligated to doing something. 单词的真正含义是：被迫或有义务做某事。 This is one that people get wrong and it’s rather understandable. The real definition is very close to the definition people generally use. The difference is the motivation. When people say compelled, they think the person wants to perform the action. In fact, they are forced to do it regardless of their personal feelings. Here’s an example. When you’re in court, you are compelled to give honest testimony. You may not want to, but it doesn’t matter because you have to.
这句话被人弄错了其实也是情有可原。其真正定义与人们通常误用的含义相近，但区别在于动机如何。在 compelled (强迫)这个词中，人们认为说话者想要做某事，但事实上，说话者是在违背自己的情感强迫自己做某事。举例来说，在法庭上，你被强迫在 compelled (强迫)真实作证，你可能会心痛，但无论如何，你只能这样做。火龙果智能写作
8. Nauseous
what you think it means: tofeelill：你认为这个词的意思是：感觉不好。
What it really means: To cause feelings of illness. 单词的真正含义是：令人不舒服的。 This is another understandable mishap that a lot of people make. If you actually feel sick then you are nauseated. The object that made you feel ill is nauseous. Here’s how this works. If you’re at an amusement park and you’re sitting next to a full trash can, the fumes from the trash may make you feel ill. That means the fumes from the trash can are nauseous because they are making you feel nauseated.火龙果智能写作
很多人也对这个词产生了误解。假如你真的觉得不舒服，那么你就会被 nauseated (恶心)，那些让你感觉不舒服的就是 nauseous (恶心)。看看下面的例子。假如你坐在游乐场一个满满一箱的垃圾桶旁边，里面冒出的烟让你感觉不舒服。也就是说，从垃圾箱里冒出来的烟是 nauseous (恶心)，因为它让你觉得 nauseated (恶心)。火龙果智能写作9. Redundant
Repetitive：你认为这个词的意思是：重复的意思，这就是“What you think it means”。
What it really means: Unnecessarily excessive. 单词的真正含义是：过剩的。 This one is tough because you can use it wrong but unintentionally use it right. When you repeat something a bunch of times, it can become redundant, but redundant expands far beyond just repeating things over and over. A popular thing companies are doing now is firing people but instead of calling it “getting fired,” they call it “eliminating redundancies.” The premise being that the employee they’re firing is unnecessary and excessive and they are thus eliminating them. In pretty much any scenario where there is simply too much of something, it is redundant.
这词有点复杂，因为你可能总是用错了，但也不一定什么时候用对了。在多次不断地重复某件事之后，事情可能会变成 redundant (多余的)，但 redundant这个词所包含的意义远远不止是“持续重复”。现在企业里很流行解雇员工，但是他们不会说“炒你鱿鱼”，而是说“裁员”；但前提是，裁减的员工是可有可无的，多余的，这样就可以裁减。许多情况下，如果某物太多太剩下，那么它就是 redundant。
10. Enormity
what you think it means: Huge, enormous.你认为这个词的意思：很大，很大。
What it really means: Profoundly immoral or evil. 单词的真正含义是：极其不道德的或邪恶的。 Don’t beat yourself up over this one because no one knows this one off the top of their head. Enormity sounds like enormous and as with many of our other examples, here we expect words that sound alike to have similar meanings. Enormity simply means really evil. An example of how to use it is the following: “The enormity of the crimes committed by the Nazis in World War II.” It doesn’t mean the enormous crimes, it means the heinous crimes.
别为自己用错了词而自责，因为没有多少人能够不加思考的知道这个词。enormity (穷凶极恶的人)和 enormous (穷凶极恶的人)的发音非常接近，而且，就像前面提到的许多例子一样，人们很容易就会认为发音相似的词有同样的意思。恩恩怨怨指的是“极端邪恶”。给我一个例子，告诉我怎样用这个词。「纳粹在第二次世界大战中所犯的罪行都是穷凶极恶的穷鬼」。这并非指 enormous (大罪)，而是指十恶不赦的罪行。火龙果智能写作
11. Terrific
what you think it means: fantastic, good.你认为这个词的意思：很棒，很棒。
What it really means: Horrific, to inspire fear. 单词的真正含义是：可怖的，令人害怕的。 This is another one that we expect will be changed in the dictionary eventually because barely anyone uses the real meaning anymore. When people say they feel terrific, they mean to say they feel fantastic. An example of something terrific is King Kong. You see a giant monster and it inspires fear. We’re going to loop awesome in with this one too. Awesome simply means to inspire awe and people often use it to describe something really good.
我想这个词的意思后来在词典中会被重新修改，因为很少有人会用到它真正的意思。如果有人说感觉 terrific (恐怖)，那就意味着感觉 fantastic (很棒)。经典的例子是 terrific (可怖)，因为它是一个巨大的怪兽，令人恐惧。这里顺便提一下 awesome这个词。阿维索姆的意思是“令人惊恐”，但是现在人们使用这个词时，主要是指“某件事非常好”。火龙果智能写作12. Effect
what you may think it means: to cause something to change.你认为这个词的意思是：导致某事物改变。
What it really means: An event that causes a change. 单词的真正含义是：引起变化事件。 A lot of people staunchly defend the wrong definition of this and it’s understandable. When action A causes a change in object B, action A affected object B and object B has been affected. Effect is an event that causes a change. In our prior example, action A is, in and of itself, an effect because it affects things. It’s admittedly confusing to explain but easy to remember. If it’s a noun, it’s an effect. If it’s a verb, it’s an affect.
不难理解，许多人都喜欢用错误的用法。行为 A使事物 B发生变化，行为 A影响事物 B，因此，事物 B也受其影响。“Effect”实际上指导致变化的事件。前一个例子中，行为 A本身就是一个 effect (事件)，因为它会对事情产生影响。必须指出的是，这样解释很容易使人迷惑，但要记住却并不困难。若为名词，则表示事件(事件)；若为动词，则表示事件(影响)。
13. Disinterested
你以为这个词的意思是：“无趣”，但事实上，这个词的意思是：无聊。
What it really means: Neutral. 单词的真正含义是：中立的。 A good way to remember this one is that there is a word that means bored and it’s uninterested. If you’re uninterested, you’re bored. Being disinterested is the long-form equivalent of stating that you don’t care about something.
记忆这个单词的方法是，不要忘记已经有一个单词表示“无聊”——这个单词叫做 uninterested。假如你是 uninterested (不感兴趣)，那当然是“无趣”。“Disinterested”这个词表示“不在意”。
14. Irregardless
what you think it means: without regard.你认为这个词意味着什么：无论如何。
What it really means: Nothing. 单词的真正含义是：它也是不存在的。 Like conversate above, irregardless isn’t actually a word. When people say irregardless, they actually mean to say regardless. Regardless means without regard. Irregardless has been used so often that it actually is in the dictionary now and that’s kind of sad. Even though it is technically there, there are a large number of people who don’t consider it a word. You can save yourself a couple of keystrokes and a tongue lashing by just using regardless.
与 conversate一样， irregardless一词实际上并不存在。如果有人说 irregardless，那实际上是指 regardless。雷格德尔斯的意思是“无论如何”。一直以来， Irregardless都是经常被使用的，所以现在确实也被纳入字典，这是多么的无奈！虽然它在词典中占据着一席之地，但是很多人却不认为它是一个词。只要使用 regardless就可以了，为什么要花更多的时间去敲打键盘，发出更多的音符呢？火龙果智能写作
15. Chronic
你以为这个词的意思就是： hat you think it means: severe。
What it really means: Over the course of a long time. 单词的真正含义是：历时长久的。 This is definitely one that people ought to know better. When you have severe pain, it is just severe pain. If you have chronic pain, you have been in pain for a long, long time. Chronic conditions and diseases are called chronic because they won’t go away and not because they’re overly severe.
每个人都必须明白这个词的意思。假如你感到剧烈的疼痛，那只是一种剧烈的疼痛。假如您有慢性的 chronic痛，那么您可以长时间忍受这种痛。长期状态和疾病之所以是 chronic (长期)，是因为它们不会消失，而不是因为它们太严重了。火龙果智能写作16. i. e.
what you think it means: for example.你认为这个词的意思是：比如。
What it really means: In other words. 单词的真正含义是：换句话说。 This is one among a number of shortened words that confuse people. Here’s a quick guide on how to use them. Et cetera is etc., example is ex. or e.g., and in other words is i.e. When you use i.e. you’re essentially putting it there to let people know that you’re going to be stating the same information in different words. Here’s how it really works. It’s June and I moved into my new apartment in April, i.e., two months ago.
这个缩写很容易让人混淆，下面就简明扼要地告诉你怎么用。" Et cetera"(等等)的缩略词是 etc.," example"(例如)的缩略词是 ex.或 e. g.," in other words"的缩略词是 i. e.。当你使用 i. e.时，表示你正在换用不同的单词表达相同的信息。这里有一些特别的用法：现在是六月，我在四月搬到我的新公寓 i. e.(换句话说)，两个月前。
17. Decimate
你以为这个词的意思是：摧毁或者击溃。 What you think it means: to destroy or annihilate
What it really means: To destroy ten percent. 单词的真正含义是：10%毁坏。 This one is really goofy and one day this won’t be true. For the time being, decimate actually means removing only ten percent of something. If you know a little bit about words it’s not difficult to figure out. The prefix “dec” means ten. However, the traditional definition of this word is antiquated and it’ll probably be changed eventually. Until then, it’s technically correct to use a word like exterminate or annihilate instead.
这词有点难听，也许以后就没人用了。但是现在， decimate的意思是“只抽取了10%的东西”。只要你懂一点英语构词法，你就能很容易理解它。前缀" dec"表示表示"十"。尽管如此，这个词的传统定义还是很古老的，估计以后会有变化。但是在这之前，最好用 exterminate (清除)或者 annihilate (消灭)来代替。
18. Panacea
what you think it means: A cure.你认为这个词的意思是：治疗。
What it really means: A cure for a lot of things. 单词的真正含义是：万灵药。 This one is easy to confuse because the explanation is virtually the same even if the definitions are vastly different. A panacea is something that cures a lot of things all at once. For instance, penicillin is a panacea. It cures a bunch of diseases. The flu vaccine is not a panacea because it only protects against the flu.
这词很容易混淆，因为即使有不同的定义，其实质却是相同的。帕纳切亚(灵丹妙药)可以立即治疗多种疾病。比如，盘尼西林是 panacea (万灵药)，它可以治疗许多疾病；而流感疫苗则不是 panacea (万灵药)，因为它只能预防流感。火龙果智能写作
19. Fortuitous
Lucky：你以为这个词的意思是：“走运”，其实就是“走运”。
What it really means: By chance. 单词的真正含义是：偶然碰巧。 There is a difference between luck and chance. Unfortunately, people use the two interchangeably, so much so that it’s difficult to explain the differences anymore. Lucky is an event that happens by chance that can be described as fortunate. Winning the lottery is lucky. Fortuitous means simply by chance. For instance if you drop your basketball and it bounces into the road and gets hit by a car, that’s a fortuitous instance. It’s neutral, so it can be good or bad things that happen by chance.
幸运与机遇是不同的。但是人们总是对它们进行交互使用，因此很难再解释其中的差别。幸运是一种偶然性的事件，可视为“幸运”。中奖很幸运。fortuitous的意思是“纯粹的偶然”。例如，假设你没有拿住篮球，结果篮球弹到路上打中了一辆汽车，这就是 fortuitous (纯属偶然)。此词为中性词，既可指偶然发生的好事，也可指偶然发生的坏事。火龙果智能写作20. Plethora
what you think it means: lot of something.你认为这个词意味着：许多东西。
What it really means: More than is needed. 单词的真正含义是：多余。 This is one I use incorrectly all the time. In fact, I almost used it a couple of times in this very article. Plethora simply means that there is more of something than is needed. For instance, you may think that 5,000 people is a plethora of people. However, when you put them into a hockey arena that seats 13,000 people, it’s actually less than half capacity and therefore not a plethora. If you had 13,500 people in that same arena, that would be a plethora of people.
我总是用错这个词。事实上，这篇文章中可能也会出现一些相关的错误。普莱索拉意味着“不再需要任何东西”。例如，你可能觉得5000个人很多，但如果你把5000个人放在一个能够容纳13000人的冰球场上，那么这个数量还不到容量的一半，所以不能算 plethora (多余)；如果你把13500人放在冰球场上，那么这个数量就是 plethora (多余)。
21. Total
Total means exactly what you think it means, but total is used unnecessarily on a frequent basis. When there is a total of 50 people who do something, the total is 50 whether or not you use the word “total.” Or you might hear someone say that they were totally surprised. Surprise is not a conditional emotion. You were either surprised or not. The use of total didn’t add anything of value to the sentence. In most cases, the definition is correct but using the word is repetitive when put in context with the rest of the sentence.
total的意义与你所想的一模一样，但是 total总是被不必要的使用。假定有50个人在工作，那么无论你用 total还是不用 total, total (总数)都是50。也许你听到有人说，他们 totally (完全)很害怕。"惊恐"不是一种有条件的情绪，你可能会被惊恐，也可能不会。在这个句子里增加一个 total就完全没有意义了。大多数情况下，这个词的定义是正确的；然而，如果把这个词放进字里行间就会显得重复。
22. Literally
你以为这个词的意思就是：“象征性征用”，“象征性征用”这个词就是“象征性征用”。
What it really means: Actually. 单词的真正含义是：确切地。 This is something that has come about relatively recently and my generation may have helped propagate this one. Literally means actually. When something is literally true, it is actually true. If I haven’t seen my friend in literally five years then I actually haven’t seen them in five years. People use literally along with hyperbole to show an emotion: “I haven’t had Chinese food in literally a million years.” This is meant to denote that the person hasn’t had Chinese food in a while. The word those people actually want is figuratively. They figuratively haven’t had Chinese food in a million years. They probably literally hadn’t had it in a few days or weeks.
这句话是近几年才流行起来的，我这一代可能也做了些贡献。利特拉利的意思是“准确地”。假如某事物 literally (确切地说)是真实的，那么它是真实的。假如我 literally (确切地说)已经5年没有见到朋友，那意味着我确实5年没有见到朋友。人们会夸张地用这个词来表达他们的感情：“我 literally (确切地说)已经一百万年没吃过中国菜了！”意思是说他已经很久没有吃过中国菜了。他们实际上是想用 figuratively (象征性地)这个词来表示他们的 figuratively (好像)已经很久没有吃过中国菜了。也许，他们 literally (确切地说)只是在几天或几周内没有吃过中国食物。火龙果智能写作
23. Can
what you think it means: What is permissible.在你看来，这个词的意思：可行。
What it really means: What is possible. 单词的真正含义是：可能的。 This is one you have to nip in the bud in childhood because it’s much harder to correct in adulthood. When you can do something, you have capacity within you to perform that action regardless of whether or not you actually do it. I can bang my head into my desk but I absolutely will not do it. When people use can incorrectly it is because they mean to use the word “may.” When you ask someone if they can open the door, you did not ask them to open the door. You asked them if they were capable of opening the door. If you wish for them to perform the task, you should ask if they will open the door. When you ask if you can have something, you’re not asking someone to give it to you. You’re asking if you have the capacity to own it. If you need something, ask if you may have it.
在儿童时期就应该注意使用这个词，一旦使用错误，成年后就很难改正。在 can (能)做某事的时候，也就是说，无论实际是否行动，你自己都有能力采取行动。我 can (可以)把头撞在桌子上，但我绝不会这样做。有时候人们使用 can这个词是错误的，因为他们想表达(可能的) may。如果你问别人是否 can (可能的)开门，实际上你并没有要求对方必须开门，而只是问他能否开门；如果你想让对方开门，你会直接问“是否开门”。如果你问对方是否 can (可能)有什么东西，实际上你并没有要求对方给你，你只是问对方是否有可能拥有那东西。当你需要什么东西的时候，你会直接问“是否可以有。”
24. Defective
what you think it means: That something is broken or missing pieces.你可能认为这个词的意思是：某个东西已经破碎或者缺失的部分。
What it really means: Simply that it’s broken. 单词的真正含义是：某物坏了。 You’ll see this one a lot in Amazon reviews. People will say that their unit came defective because it was missing a screw or pieces in the box. That’s actually incorrect. What they mean to say is that their product is deficient. It’s missing pieces, it is not actually broken. The machine may work perfectly fine once the missing pieces have been re-added, which means that it actually isn’t defective at all.
在亚马逊网站上你会看到很多人使用这个词。有人会说网上购买的产品是 defective (坏的)，因为盒子里没有螺丝或者零件。事实上，这种用法是错误的。有人可能会说产品是 deficient (有缺陷)，产品只是缺少零件，而不是坏的，如果缺少零件，也许机器就能正常工作，因此，产品根本不是 defective (有缺陷)。
25. Obsolete
what you think it means: Old, out of date.你认为这个词的意思是：过时的，过时的。
What it really means: Not produced, used, or needed. 单词的真正含义是：未生产的，未使用的，不需要的。 You’ll see this one in the tech industry a lot. People in tech article comments will comment that a phone is obsolete when they really mean that it’s out of date. The literal definition of obsolete is an item that it isn’t produced, needed, or used anymore. An example of this is is the steam engine. It’s largely inefficient compared to today’s combustion engine and even more inefficient than the emerging electric engines. Thus, steam engines are not used, produced, or needed anymore. Yes, they are also old and out of date, but obsolete is kind of the next step after old and out of date.
这是科技产业中常见的词。从技术文章评论来看，人们会说某台电话机 obsolete (不用)，实际上他们是想说该电话已经过时了。“Obsolete”字面上的定义是：没有生产、不需要或不再使用的东西。蒸汽机就是一个例子。与当今的内燃机相比，蒸汽机的功率很小，甚至不能与新出现的电力发动机相匹敌；因此，蒸汽机不能再用，不能生产，也不能再用。是的，蒸汽机也是陈旧过时的，但是， obsolete的“陈旧”阶段比“陈旧”更为重要。火龙果智能写作
拼接总结法
The English language is a finicky one but it’s also ever changing. Words are updated and definitions change. New words are added every year and some are retired. Very few people will ever master the entire language and the rest of us will just have to do the best we can!
英语是一门讲究并且不断发展的语言。字词更新，定义修改。旧词每年都被新词取代。只有极少数的人能把整个英语语言都吃透了，那我们这些芸芸大众只要努力掌握就可以了！还想知道更多留学英语词汇，请关注南星教育公众号： southstareducation
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