| 单词 | metaphysical |
| 释义 | metaphysical (once / 1439 pages) adj Add the Greek prefix "meta-" (beyond) to the base "physical" (nature), and you get metaphysical — a near synonym to the Latin-based word "supernatural." Both concern phenomena that are outside everyday experience or knowledge. The adjective metaphysical entered the English language through Aristotle, whose "Metaphysics" is a collection of treatises that follows his work, "Physics." "Physics" concerned natural philosophy, what we call science today, while "Metaphysics" dealt with more abstract questions about the reality beyond what we perceive with our senses. Look at a physical object, say an apple. At what exact point did that apple come into existence? If you eat it, does it cease to exist, or does it still exist but in a changed way? These are metaphysical questions. WORD FAMILYmetaphysical: metaphysically+/metaphysics: metaphysical USAGE EXAMPLESThey condemned mainstream genetics as metaphysical, reactionary and idealist. Salon(Dec 28, 2016) A West imbued with similar metaphysical confidence today needn’t “fear other people and other religions.” Wall Street Journal(Dec 23, 2016) He imbued clusters of vases and bottles with metaphysical heft. New York Times(Dec 01, 2016) 1adj pertaining to or of the nature of metaphysics metaphysical philosophy 2adj highly abstract and overly theoretical metaphysical reasoning Syn theoretic, theoretical concerned primarily with theories or hypotheses rather than practical considerations 3adj without material form or substance metaphysical forces Syn supernatural not existing in nature or subject to explanation according to natural laws; not physical or material |
| 随便看 |
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。