| 单词 | indefinite |
| 释义 | indefinite (once / 517 pages) adj The adjective indefinite describes something that is vague or not clearly defined: “After injuring her knee in a riding accident, Gloria postponed her vacation for an indefinite period of time.” You’ve probably noticed that a big chunk of the word indefinite is made up of a familiar word, definite — which means “specific” or “clearly defined.” The two words have common origins in the Latin word definitus (“definite”), but indefinite’s in- prefix gives the word the opposite meaning — "not clearly defined". Indefinite, wonderfully vague and undefined, is your friend for those times when your plans are up in the air (“indefinite plans”) or you don’t want to be pinned down to any particular timeframe (“on indefinite hiatus”). WORD FAMILYindefinite: indefinitely, indefiniteness, indefinity+/definite: definitely, definiteness, definitive, indefinite/definitive: definitively USAGE EXAMPLESUnlike the United States, where the ban is indefinite, Canada said it will review its restrictions every five years. Reuters(Dec 21, 2016) Porczynski, 24, will serve an indefinite spell at a psychiatric unit. BBC(Dec 19, 2016) That’s because a chemical reaction inside an inappropriately packed container resulted in a radiation release and forced the facility’s indefinite closure. Seattle Times(Dec 15, 2016) 1adj vague or not clearly defined or stated must you be so indefinite? amorphous blots of color having vague and indefinite edges he would not answer so indefinite a proposal Syn|Ant unclear not clear to the mind undefined, vaguenot precisely limited, determined, or distinguished coyshowing marked and often playful or irritating evasiveness or reluctance to make a definite or committing statement indecisivenot clearly defined nebulous, unfixedlacking definition or definite content noncommittalrefusing to bind oneself to a particular course of action or view or the like oneindefinite in time or position indistinctnot clearly defined or easy to perceive or understand definite precise; explicit and clearly defined clearreadily apparent to the mind definedclearly characterized or delimited certaindefinite but not specified or identified decisiveunmistakable decided, distinctrecognizable; marked distincteasy to perceive; especially clearly outlined explicit, expressedprecisely and clearly expressed or readily observable; leaving nothing to implication 2adj not decided or not known were indefinite about their plans plans are indefinite Syn uncertain not established beyond doubt; still undecided or unknown |
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英语词典包含147318条英英释义在线翻译词条，基本涵盖了全部常用单词的英英翻译及用法，是英语学习的有利工具。