| 释义 |
susceptible, a. and n.|səˈsɛptɪb(ə)l|
[ad. med.L. susceptibilis (Boethius, Thomas Aquinas), f. suscept-: see susception and -ible. Cf. F. susceptible.]
A. adj.
1. Const. of or to: Capable of taking, receiving, being affected by, or undergoing something.
a. with of: Capable of undergoing, admitting of (some action or process).
The following noun of action may usually be paraphrased by a passive gerund, as susceptible of proof = capable of being proved. A passive gerund sometimes occurs, as susceptible (= capable) of being exercised.
1605Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. x. §1 This subject of man's body is of all other things in nature most susceptible of remedy. 1657Purchas Pol. Flying-Ins. i. iii. 5 Their [sc. bees'] leggs are not susceptible of a sting. 1663J. H. tr. Selden's Mare Cl. (title-p.), The Sea is proved by the Law Of Nature and Nations, not to be Common to all men, but to be Susceptible of Private Dominion and Propriety. 1665Evelyn Let. to C. Wren 4 Apr., My little boy..is now susceptible of instruction. 1796Morse Amer. Geog. II. 47 The provinces most susceptible of those improvements..which are essential to the subsistance of man. 1817Jas. Mill Brit. India v. ix. II. 710 The following propositions are susceptible of strict and invincible proof. 1821Shelley Hellas 815 note, A sort of natural magic, susceptible of being exercised..by any one who [etc.]. 1824L. Murray Engl. Gram. (ed. 5) I. iii. xix. 314 The word..was often susceptible of both uses. 1867F. Harrison Quest. Ref. Parlt. 236 Scarcely susceptible of any criticism but contempt. 1871B. Stewart Heat (ed. 2) §86 The diamond..is not susceptible of fusion even at a very high temperature.
b. with of: Capable of taking or admitting (a form or other attribute).
a1639Wotton Parallel Essex & Buckhm. (1641) 2 He..moulded him..to his owne Idea, delighting..in the choyse of the Materialls; because he found him susceptible of good forme. 1725Pope Pref. to Shaks. ⁋8 It is hard to imagine that..so enlightened a mind could ever have been susceptible of them [sc. defects]. 1760–2Goldsm. Cit. W. xci, Perhaps no qualities in the world are more susceptible of a finer polish than these. 1796Kirwan Elem Min. (ed. 2) I. 20 This operation is susceptible of various stages and degrees of perfection. 1879Cassell's Techn. Educ. I. 169/2 Nor does it admit of that beauty of decoration of which they are susceptible.
c. with of, now more commonly to: Capable of receiving and being affected by (external impressions, influences, etc., esp. something injurious); sensitive to; liable or open to (attack, injury, etc.).
1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. ii. §52 All which..made him susceptible of some Impressions..which otherwise would not have found such easy admission. a1734North Exam. i. ii. §45. (1740) 52 Being very susceptible of Offence. 1791Mrs Radcliffe Rom. Forest (1820) III. 132 He was peculiarly susceptible of the beautiful and sublime in nature. 1814D'Israeli Quarrels Auth. I. 172 Hill..was infinitely too susceptible of criticism. 1830― Chas. I, III. x. 223 Men of their ardent temper were susceptible of the contagion of his genius. a1867J. Bryce in Brodrick Ess. Reform (1867) 245 Susceptible from their very excess of acuteness to every transient impression. 1869F. W. Newman Misc. 128 Early poets are not susceptible to the ridiculous as we are. 1876Q. Rev. CXLI. 78 Swift, like Goethe, was exceedingly susceptible of female influences. 1883Manch. Guard. 12 Oct. 4/5 In a period of uncertainty stocks which are quoted far above their face value are more susceptible to attack. 1915Eng. Hist. Rev. Jan. 168 It is curious to find him susceptible to the beginning of the Gothic Revival.
d. with of (rarely to): Capable of receiving into the mind, conceiving, or being inwardly affected by (a thought, feeling or emotion); capable of; disposed to; † disposed to take up or adopt; † able to take in or comprehend.
1646J. Hall Horæ Vac. 10 The multitude is susceptible of any opinions. 1699Locke Educ. (ed. 4) §167 Childrens Minds are narrow, and weak, and usually susceptible but of one Thought at once. 1744Harris Three Treat. Wks. (1841) 99 As the rational only are susceptible of a happiness truly excellent. 1760–72H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) II. 33 That capital secret, of which you are not yet susceptible. 1776Gibbon Decl. & F. xvi. (1782) I. 676 His temper was not very susceptible of zeal or enthusiasm. 1784Cowper Task iii. 323 A heart Susceptible of pity. 1838Lytton Alice i. iv, Her young heart was susceptible only of pleasure and curiosity. 1871R. W. Dale Commandm. x. 257 It was God who made us susceptible to hope and to fear.
e. with of or to: Capable of being physically affected by; esp. liable to take, subject to (a disease or other affection).
1793Beddoes Catarrh 155 Children are so susceptible of inflammations. 1802― Hygëia vii. 50 The young of the dog kind are less susceptible of this particular..disease. 1816[see susceptibility 2 c]. 1887Encycl. Brit. XXII. 162/2 An increasing number of individuals who have become susceptible to smallpox.
† f. with of (rarely to) and gerund or noun of action: Capable of, or in fit condition for (doing something). Obs.
1829Chapters Phys. Sci. 350 Transparent carbonate of lime susceptible of doubling the images of objects. 1838Buckstone Shocking Events (French's ed.) 9 Spo. (To Dorothy). Are you susceptible of a promenade? Dor. I shall be delighted. c1850Thackeray in W. Brown's Catal. No. 159, Aug. (1905) 71, I am getting better and am susceptible to seeing ladies.
2. Without const.a. Capable of being affected by, or easily moved to, feeling; subject to emotional (or mental) impression; impressionable.
1709Prior Henry & Emma 519 With Him, who next should tempt her easie Fame; And blow with empty Words the susceptible Flame. a1821V. Knox Lib. Educ. xlvi. Wks. 1824 IV. 179 In the most susceptible periods of their lives. 1838T. Mitchell Clouds of Aristoph. 188 The moral influences which particular..modes of music were apt to exert over the minds of their susceptible countrymen. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. ix. II. 455 The tidings were eagerly welcomed by the sanguine and susceptible people of France. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 70 We must remember also the susceptible nature of the Greek.
b. Subject to some physical affection, as infection, etc.
1875H. C. Wood Therap. (1879) 149 Tartar emetic is an irritant, acting upon some..susceptible skins in a very short time. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 549 By cultures and by inoculations into susceptible animals.
†3. Capable of being taken in by the mind; comprehensible, intelligible. Const. to. Obs. rare—1.
1694Salmon Bate's Dispens. (1713) 439/1 To make it susceptible to every mean Understanding, we will give you it..in the following Words.
B. n. Med. An individual capable of getting a disease because not immune.
1923Jrnl. Exper. Med. XXXVII. 255 The massive lethal dose of a 1:200 dilution or less selects a relatively constant number of susceptibles. 1944L. E. H. Whitby Med. Bacteriol. (ed. 4) iii. 30 When the proportion of susceptibles is high the disease becomes epidemic until the endemic level of susceptibles is again reached. 1980Sci. Amer. July 26/3 A graph shows the cases reported from 1950 on; there are peaks every four to seven years, time to accumulate a pool of new susceptibles ‘following the high birth rate’ in densely populated areas.
Hence suˈsceptibleness = susceptibility; suˈsceptibly adv., in a susceptible manner.
a1631Donne Serm., Ps. xxxii. 8 (1640) 611 Grace finds out mans naturall faculties, and exalts them to..a susceptiblenesse of the working thereof. 1785G. A. Bellamy Apol. II. 111, I heard a voice uttering somewhat aloud; but what it was I could not distinguish, from being so susceptibly interested in my part. |