| 释义 |
conspicuous, a.|kənˈspɪkjuːəs|
[f. L. conspicu-us visible, striking + -ous.]
1. Clearly visible, easy to be seen, obvious or striking to the eye.
1545T. Raynalde Byrthe Mankynde Hh vij, These vaynes doo appeare more conspicuous and notable to the eyes. 1592R. D. tr. Hypnerotomachia 97 Hils couered ouer with green trees of a conspicuous thicknes. 1667Pepys Diary (1879) IV. 415 These Rogues.. to be hung in some conspicuous place in the town, for an example. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 545 A Rock Of Alablaster, pil'd up to the Clouds, Conspicuous farr. 1808Scott Marm. ii. xi, Conspicuous by her veil and hood. 1840Macaulay Clive 47 Conspicuous in the ranks of the little army.
2. a. Obvious to the mental eye, plainly evident; attracting notice or attention, striking; hence, eminent, remarkable, noteworthy.
1613R. C. Table Alph. (ed. 3), Conspicuous, easie to be seene, excellent. 1651Hobbes Leviath. i. x. 44 To be Conspicuous, that is to say, to be known for Wealth..or any eminent Good, is Honourable. 1845S. Austin Ranke's Hist. Ref. III. 209 Frankfurt—a city so conspicuous for its loyalty to the imperial house. 1876J. H. Newman Hist. Sk. I. i. iii. 131 Sultan Soliman, who plays so conspicuous a part in Tasso's celebrated Poem.
b. Phr. conspicuous by its absence.
1859Ld. J. Russell Addr. Electors of Lond., Among the defects of the Bill, which were numerous, one provision was conspicuous by its presence, and one by its absence. 1859― Sp. at Lond. Tavern 15 Apr., I alluded to it as ‘a provision conspicuous by its absence,’ a turn of phraseology which is not an original expression of mine, but is taken from one of the greatest historians of antiquity. [Tacitus Ann. iii. 76.] 1875Bryce Holy Rom. Emp. xv. (ed. 5) 287 Those monuments which do exist are just sufficient to make the absence of all others more conspicuous. 1878W. A. Wright Note on Shaks. Jul. C. ii. i. 70 Cassius had married Junia, Brutus' sister..At her funeral in a.d. 22 the images of Brutus and Cassius were conspicuous by their absence, or as Tacitus (Ann. iii. 76) puts it, ‘sed praefulgebant..eo ipso quod effigies eorum non visebantur’.
3. Designating expenditure on or consumption of luxuries on a lavish scale in an attempt to enhance one's prestige.
1899T. Veblen Theory of Leisure Class iv. 75 Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure. Ibid. iv. 96 Throughout the entire evolution of conspicuous expenditure, whether of goods or of services or human life, runs the obvious implication that in order to effectually mend the consumer's good fame it must be an expenditure of superfluities. 1926B. Webb My Apprent. i. 53 Competition in conspicuous expenditure on clothes, food, wine and flowers. 1962E. Godfrey Retail Selling xxi. 214 In the past ‘conspicuous’ consumption, of the swimming-pool, cabin cruiser, high-powered sports car variety, was confined to..the idle rich. |