| 释义 |
▪ I. unˈbending, vbl. n.
[f. unbend v.]
The action of the verb, esp. in senses 3 and 8.
1552Huloet, Vnbendinge, remissio. 1611Cotgr., Destenture, an vnbending, vnstretching, slackening, loossing. 1648Hexham, Ontspanninge, a Loosening, an Vnbending, or an Vnspanning. 1693Dryden Juvenal's Sat. Ded. (1697) p. xxix, Recreation, for the unbending of our Minds. 1709Mrs. Manley Secret Mem. (1720) IV. 105 He found his Understanding return with double Force after such Unbendings. 1756Monitor No. 53 II. 12 The rest of the evening was spent in table talk, and the easy unbendings of these little nocturnal assemblies. 1840Dickens Old. C. Shop xxxvi, With such unbendings did Richard..relieve the tedium of his confinement. 1859G. A. Sala Tw. round Clock 218 He was of a disposition, save in casual moments of unbending, quite surprising for its saturnine taciturnity.
b. attrib. (or ppl. a.).
1701Rowe Amb. Step-Moth. Ded., I hope it may indifferently Entertain your Lordship at an unbending hour. 1740Cibber Apol. I. Ded. (1756) p. viii, Where like the fam'd orator of old, when publick cares permit, you pass so many rational unbending hours.
▪ II. unˈbending, ppl. a.
[un-1 10.]
1. Not giving way or departing from a position or principle; unyielding, inflexible, steady:
a. Of feelings, dispositions, etc.
a1688Cudworth Immut. Mor. (1731) 270 Truth is the most Unbending and Uncompliable..Thing in the World. 1800E. Hervey Mourtray Fam. IV. 115 Recollect, that Mr. Silbourne is rather of an unbending temper. 1848Lytton Harold viii. iv, His unbending hate of all that was Norman. 1861May Const. Hist. (1863) I. i. 82 A kind but most unbending answer was returned to Mr. Pitt.
b. Of persons.
1796Mathias Purs. Lit. (1798) 128 Firm, constant, and unbending, he has the principles of a man, who knows and feels what is demanded of him by his country. 1831Scott Ct. Rob. xxxiii, The veteran and unbending conspirator, Harpax, thus strengthened..the failing spirits of Stephanos. 1871C. Gibbon Lack of Gold viii, Annie knew how doggedly unbending her father was.
2. Not bending or curving; rigid; esp. of persons, remaining erect, not stooping.
1709Pope Ess. Crit. 373 Swift Camilla..Flies o'er th' unbending corn. 1726–45Thomson Winter 1064 Ye noble few! who here unbending stand Beneath life's pressure, yet bear up a while. 1802Paley Nat. Theol. xvi, The short unbending neck of the elephant is compensated by the length and flexibility of his proboscis. 1884F. M. Crawford Rom. Singer I. 25 The tall old foreigner stood erect and unbending.
Hence unˈbendingly adv., unˈbendingness.
1847Webster, *Unbendingly. 1894C. N. Robinson Brit. Fleet 439 The usage of the time was unbendingly severe.
1824Landor Imag. Conv. I. 96 note, *Unbendingness, in the moral as in the vegetable world, is an indication as frequently of unsoundness as of strength. 1855I. Taylor Restor. Belief (1856) 59 The spread of Christianity,..[considering] its unbendingness, and the furious hostility it encountered,..is proof of its reality. 1891Meredith One of our Conq. xxxviii, She met them with the slender unbendingness that was her own. |