13. Disinterested
What you think it means: Bored。你以为单词的含义是:无趣的。
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。要记住这个单词,有个办法就是别忘了已经有一个单词表示“无趣的”——这个单词就是uninterested。如果你uninterested(不感兴趣),那自然就“无趣”了。Disinterested是表示“对某事不关心”的一个单词。
14. Irregardless
What you think it means: Without regard。你以为单词的含义是:不管怎样。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。跟前面的conversate一样,irregardless这个单词其实也不存在。当人们说irregardless时,其实是想说regardless。Regardless是指“不管怎样”。Irregardless一直被频繁使用,所以现在确实也纳入了词典,这可真无奈啊!不过,尽管它在字典里占有一席,但很多人并不觉得它是个单词。既然用regardless就行了,何必还要多敲几下键盘、多发一个音符来费事呢?
15. Chronic
What you think it means: Severe。你以为单词的含义是:剧烈的。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。人们绝对需要好好了解这个单词的含义。假设你受到剧烈疼痛,那它只是剧烈疼痛而已。如果你有chronic(慢性的)疼痛,那你可得很久很久地承受这疼痛了。慢性状况和疾病之所以是chronic(慢性的),是因为它们不会消退,而不是说它们极其严重。
16. i.e。
What you think it means: For example。你以为单词的含义是: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。这是一个容易给人造成困惑的缩略词,下面就简洁地告诉大家如何使用它。Et cetera(以此类推)的缩略词是etc.,example(比如)的缩略词是ex。或e.g.,而in other words(换句话说)的缩略词是i.e.。如果你使用i.e.,就表示你在换用不同的词来表述同一个信息。下面就是具体用法:现在是六月,我是四月份搬进新公寓的,i.e。(换句话说),两个月前。
17. Decimate
What you think it means: To destroy or annihilate你以为单词的含义是:毁坏或击败。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。这个单词有点别扭,或许以后就没人用了。不过现在而言,decimate是指“只抽取某事物的10%”。如果你稍微了解一点英语构词法的话,这就不难理解了。它的前缀“dec”就是“十”的意思。不过,这个单词的传统定义比较古旧,估计以后会有所改变。但在那之前,最好还是使用exterminate(铲除)或annihilate(歼灭)替代吧。