【英语学习】【WOTD】inexorable 释义/词源/示例

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inexorable adj. [i-NEK-suh-ruh-bul]

无情的，不可阻挡的，坚决不变的

Definition

: not to be persuaded, moved, or stopped: relentless
：不会被说服，被感动，被阻止：冷酷无情的

注：relent：v. 变温和，动怜悯之心，坏天气变好；relentless：冷酷无情的，不间断的

Did You Know?

The Latin antecedent of inexorable is inexorabilis, which is itself a combination of the prefix in-, meaning “not,” plus exorabilis, meaning “pliant” or “capable of being moved by entreaty.” It’s a fitting etymology for inexorable. You can beseech and implore until you’re blue in the face, but that won’t have any effect on something that’s inexorable. Inexorable has been a part of the English language since the 1500s. Originally, it was often applied to people or sometimes to personified things, as in “deaf and inexorable laws.” These days, it is usually applied to things, as in “inexorable monotony” or “an inexorable trend.” In such cases, it essentially means “unyielding” or “inflexible.”

词源词根演化：in- (“not”) + exorabilis (“pliant”) —> inexorabilis —> inexorable

inexorable的拉丁前身是inexorabilis，这个拉丁词本身是由前缀in-（“不”）与exorablilis（“易弯曲的”或者“会被恳求打动的”）组合而成。对于inexorable，这是个很合适的词源。你可以一直摇尾乞怜，甚至恼羞成怒，但是这对于inexorable的人而言毫无作用。inexorable这个词自从1500年代就在英语中了。最初，它用于人或者拟人化的东西，例如“deaf and inexorable laws，聋且僵化的法律”。现在，这个词经常用于事物，例如“inexorable monotony，一如既往的乏味”，或者“an inexorable trend，勇往直前的趋势”。在这些例子中，这个词基本上是指“不屈的”或者“僵化的”。

注：pliant：易受影响的，易弯曲的；entreaty：n. 哀求，恳求；beseech：v. 恳求，祈求；implore：v. 恳求，哀求；blue in the face：脸上发紫（恼怒）；monotony：n. 单调，枯燥；

Examples

• “The question is, what is Nashville anymore, if not gritty joints that nurtured musicians and songwriters? Yes, change is the inexorable constant, but at such an accelerated pace, we are seeing the fabric of Nashville culture being ripped away and replaced with the glitz not of rhinestones, but of klieg lights and slick outsiders spoiling for a deal.”
  — Jim Myers, The Nashville Ledger, 1 Mar. 2019

  问题是，如果不再是那个果敢的滋养音乐家与作词家的联合体，Nashville还是什么？是的，一成不变的就是变化，但是在这样的一个加速步伐下，我们正看到Nashville的文化结构正在被剥离，取而代之的不是莱茵石的炫彩，而是强光与狡猾的生意贩子。

  注：gritty：勇敢的，有砂砾的；fabric：结构，构造；rip away：拨开，剥离；glitz：炫目，浮华；rhinestone：莱茵石（一种透明无色的钻石仿制品）；klieg：强光；slick：（指人）圆滑的

• “As the cost of public school leadership continues its inexorable rise, so do the taxpayer-funded pensions received by educators when they retire.”
  — David McKay Wilson, Iohud.com, 7 Mar. 2019

  随着公共学校领导的成本持续的不可逆转的上扬，当教育者退休时，由纳税人缴纳的但是支付给教育者的退休金也随之上扬。