40个“自相矛盾”的英语单词

40个“自相矛盾”的英语单词，坚持住，看完不要精神

来源： 中国日报网双语新闻（chinadaily_mobile)

英文学以致用，领略语言之美。有道词典，不只是查单词，还带你看天下。

你大概也注意到了，有些英文单词有点精神……

它们可以有互相矛盾的两个意思，让背单词的小伙伴也感到很。

不过如果联系上下文语境，它们想表达的意思似乎也不那么难理解了呢。

双语君给大家整理出40个这样的英语单词，大家体会体会。

1 sanction [ˈsæŋkʃən]

“制裁”vs“批准”

▷Economic sanctions will only be lifted when the aggressor nation withdraws its troops.

只有侵略国撤回其，经济制裁才会解除。

▷They tried to get official sanction for the scheme.

他们想使计划获得正式批准。

2 overlook

“检查；监视”vs“忽视；忽略”

▷I am overlooking her work.

我正在监督她的工作。

▷I think there is one key fact that you have overlooked.

我认为你忽略了一个重要的事实。

3 finished

“完成的”vs“失败的”

▷Are you finished with that drill?

你的那个练习做完了吗？

▷This financial crisis means that the government's economic policy is finished.

这次金融危机意味着的经济失败了。

4 dust

“擦去……的灰尘”vs“在……上撒粉末”

▷I was dusting the mantelpiece when I noticed a crack.

我在擦壁炉台的时候发现了一道裂纹。

▷Dust the top of the cake with icing sugar.

在蛋糕上撒些糖霜。

5 left

“留下”vs“离开”

▷He left the house by the back door.

他从房子的后门离开了。

▷His shoes left muddy marks on the floor.

他的鞋在地板上留下了泥印。

6 trim

“添加，装饰”vs“修剪，剪枝”

▷The children are trimming up a Christmas tree with ribbons, laces.

孩子们正在往圣诞树上挂彩带和蕾丝。

▷He trimmed dead branches off a tree.

他从树上剪掉枯枝。

7 cleave [kli:v]

“劈开；分开”vs“粘住；紧贴”

▷With one blow of the knight's axe, he clove the rock in twain (= into two pieces).

武士大斧一挥，将石头劈成了两半。

▷The ancient ivy cleaved to the ruined castle walls.

古老的常春藤紧紧攀附在破败的城堡墙上。

注意：表“粘住；紧贴”时，cleave通常与to连用。

8 scan

“细看，审视”vs“粗略地看”

▷She anxiously scanned the faces of the men leaving the train.

她焦急地盯着一张张下火车的人的脸。

▷I scanned through the booklet but couldn't find the address.

我很快地翻阅了一遍小册子，但没有找到那个地址。

9 fast

“快速的”vs“固定的”

▷Computers are getting faster all the time.

计算机一直在提速。

▷She made her end of the rope fast to a tree.

她把绳子的一头牢牢地绑在树上。

10 off

“关掉”vs“响起”

▷She turned off the TV.

她关掉了电视。

▷The alarm went off.

闹铃响了起来。

11 weather

“经受住”vs“受侵蚀”

▷The company weathered the recession.

这家公司挺过了经济衰退。

▷The rock was weathered.

岩石风化了。

12 screen

“放映；播出”vs“遮掩；遮蔽”

▷The programme was not screened on British television.

这个节目没有在英国电视上播出过。

▷She raised her hand to screen her eyes from the bright light.

她抬手遮住耀眼的亮光。

13 help

“帮助”vs“抑制”

▷How can I help you?

我如何才能帮你呢？

▷I couldn't help laughing.

我忍不住大笑起来。

14 clip

“剪下来”vs“别上去”

▷I clipped his picture from the newspaper.

我把他的照片从报纸上剪了下来。

▷He clipped his flashlight to his belt.

他把手电筒别在腰间。

15 fine

“糟糕的；不合时宜的”vs“优秀的；极好的”

▷He picked a fine time to leave us.

在那个时候扔下我们走了，他可真是会挑时间。

▷This building is the finest example of its type.

这幢建筑是同类建筑中最杰出的代表。

16 flog

“鞭笞，棒打”vs“推销，出售”

▷Soldiers used to be flogged for disobedience.

过去士兵们常常因不守军令而遭鞭笞。

▷He tried to flog his old car, but no one would buy it.

他想快点儿卖掉他的旧车，但没人愿意买。

17 ravel

“使纠缠；使错综复杂”vs“弄清；解开”

▷Mark's interference merely ravelled things further.

马克的掺和只是让情况进一步复杂化了。

▷It took Daisy a long time to ravel out all the wool.

黛西花了很长时间才把毛线解开。

18 mean

“吝啬的，小气的”vs“极好的，出色的”

▷He's too mean to buy her a ring.

他太吝啬了，舍不得给她买一枚戒指。

▷She's a mean piano player.

她是个出色的钢琴演奏家。

19 toss out

“丢弃”vs“提出”

▷She tossed out my old chair.

她把我的旧椅子扔了。

▷I decided to toss out the idea.

我决定提出这个想法。

注意：第二个例句在特定情况下也可以指“抛弃”那个想法，要根据上下文而定。

20 buckle ['bʌkl]

“坍塌，垮掉”vs“系牢”

▷My knees buckled with fear.

我因为害怕而膝盖瘫软。

▷Buckle your seat belt.

请系好安全带。

21 compromise

“和解，让步”vs“危害，损害”

▷In the end I agreed to compromise.

最终我同意让步。

▷The virus will compromise our immune system.

这种病毒会损害我们的免疫系统。

22 bolt

“逃跑”vs“锁住”

▷The horse bolted at the sound of the shot.

那匹马听到声后跑走了。

▷You'd better bolt your doors.

你最好锁上门。

23 trip

“旅行”vs“绊倒”

▷The trip from York to Newcastle takes about an hour by train.

乘火车从约克到纽卡斯尔大约要花1个小时。

▷She had a nasty trip on the stairs.

她在楼梯上重重地绊了一跤。

24 apology

“道歉，”vs“辩解，解释”

▷Please accept my apology.

请接受我的道歉。

▷The consequence of those measures will be the best apology for my conduct.

这些措施产生的后果将成为我所作所为的最佳辩解。

25 consult

“寻求咨询”vs“提供咨询”

▷If you have any questions, consult an attorney.

你有任何问题，都可以咨询律师。

▷The retired executive consults for several large companies.

这位退休高管为好几家大公司提供咨询。

26 custom

“惯常，习惯”vs“特殊的，定制的”

▷He left the house at nine exactly, as is his custom.

他照常9点准时离开了家。

▷Justin Bieber looks suave in his custom suit.

穿上了定制西装的贾斯汀·比伯展现了儒雅风范。

27 first-degree

“最低级”vs“最高级”

▷first-degree burn

一度烧伤（处于烧伤级别的低级）

▷first-degree murder

一级谋杀（处于谋杀级别的高级）

28 enjoin [in'dʒɔin]

“嘱咐”vs“禁止”

▷He enjoined caution.

他嘱咐要谨慎行事。

▷The government enjoined the publication of the book.

当局禁止出版这本书。

29 bound

“去往，前往”vs“束缚，绑缚”

▷She was on a plane bound for Moscow.

她在前往莫斯科的飞机上。

▷We found the girl bound.

我们发现女孩被绑起来了。

30 seed

“播撒种子”vs“去掉种子”

▷He is seeding the fields with wheat.

他在地里种小麦。

▷Wash, seed and cut the pepper into small pieces.

将辣椒洗净，去籽，切成小片。

31 dollop ['dɔləp]

“（固态的）一团，一块”vs“（液态的）一点，少许”

▷a dollop of whipped cream

一团生奶油

▷a dollop of whiskey

少量威士忌

32 garnish ['ɡɑ:niʃ]

“增添配菜”vs“扣钱”

▷Garnish the dish with parsley before serving.

这道菜端上桌之前，可以在上面配些欧芹点缀一下。

▷His employer garnished his wages in order to pay his debt.

雇主扣除了他的一部分工资用于支付他所欠的债务。

33 lease

“（房东）出租”vs“（租客）租用”

▷It was agreed they would lease him the flat.

按照约定他们要把公寓租给他。

▷He went to Toronto, where he leased an apartment.

他去了多伦多，在那儿租下一间公寓。

34 out of

“在外”vs“在内”

▷I hardly get out of the house because I work out of my home.

我几乎不出屋，因为我在家里办公。

注意：第一个out of表示“在……之外”，第二个out of表示“在……之内”。

35 model

“榜样的，优于别人的”vs“按原样复制的模型”

▷She really is a model student.

她真是个模范学生。

▷There is a model of a wooden house.

这儿有一个木屋模型。

36 presently

“现在”vs“不久之后”

▷Of 200 boats, only 20 are presently operational.

200条船中，目前只有20条可用。

▷The room was hot and presently her eyes grew heavy and she began to feel sleepy.

屋子里很热，不一会儿她就觉得眼皮发沉，昏昏欲睡。

37 out

“亮了”vs“灭了”

▷It's a good thing the full moon was out when the lights went out.

熄灯之后，满月出来了。很好。

注意：第一个out表示“出来”，第二个out表示“灭掉”。

38 resign

“辞职”vs“重新签署”

▷She resigned as director.

她辞去了董事职务。

▷Athletes who renew their contracts resign with their teams.

想要续签的运动员都与各自的队重新签署了合约。

注意：第二句里的resign也可以写作re-sign [ri'sain]，发音不同于“辞职”的resign。

39 fight with

“与……打架”vs“与……并肩战斗”

▷He fought with his mother-in-law.

他和岳母吵架了。

▷He fought with his mother-in-law.

他和岳母并肩战斗。

注意：还是这句英文，意思也可以理解为“他以岳母为武器进行战斗”。

40 unbending

“倔强的；坚定的”vs“放松，随意”

▷He has earned a reputation as a stern and unbending politician.

作为政治家，他以强硬和不妥协而闻名。

▷After a glass or two of wine she began unbending a little.

一两杯酒下肚后她开始放松了一点儿。