
yawning
词源
来自古英语'gianian',意为'打哈欠',与古诺尔斯语'gína'(张大嘴)同源,最终源自原始日耳曼语词根*ginōną。
adjective
❶ 形容嘴巴张得很大,通常是因为困倦或无聊而打哈欠的样子。也可以用来形容空间或差距非常大,显得空旷或明显。
“The yawning child couldn't stay awake during the movie.”
(那个不停打哈欠的孩子看电影时根本撑不住。)
“A yawning gap appeared between the two walls after the earthquake.”
(地震后两堵墙之间裂开了一道巨大的缝隙。)
noun
❶ 指打哈欠的动作或行为,是身体在疲倦或缺氧时的自然反应。
“His constant yawning indicated he needed to go to bed.”
(他不停地打哈欠说明他该去睡觉了。)
“Yawning is contagious - when one person does it, others often follow.”
(打哈欠会传染——一个人打了哈欠,其他人往往也会跟着打。)
常见短语
yawning chasm — 形容极其巨大或深邃的裂缝或鸿沟,常用来比喻巨大的差异或分歧。
“The negotiations revealed a yawning chasm between the two sides' positions.”
(谈判暴露出双方立场之间存在巨大鸿沟。)
yawning gap — 指非常明显的差距或空缺,可以指物理空间或抽象概念上的差异。
“There's a yawning gap in our knowledge about this ancient civilization.”
(我们对这个古代文明的认知存在巨大空白。)