| 释义 |
unˈfailing, ppl. a. (and adv.)
[un-1 10.]
1. Not failing or giving way.
a1400Sir Perc. 1474 Thair scheldis were un-failande. 1648Bp. Hall Serm. Wks. 1808 V. 545 Hereby..are we freed from the sense of the second death and the sting of the first, to the unfailing comfort of our souls. 1653W. Blithe Eng. Improver Impr. 129 An unfailing Prevention of Crows, Rooks, or Daws from Corn. 1718Pope Iliad xv. 551 Some god..Has, from my arm unfailing, struck the bow. 1798S. & Ht. Lee Canterb. T. II. 554 May you deserve that love, is the prayer of your unfailing friend. 1827Pollok Course T. x. 2 My God! my Father! my unfailing hope!
2. Never giving out or coming to an end; unceasing, constant, continual.
1382Wyclif Ecclus. xxiv. 6, I made in heuenus, that vnfailende liȝt shulde springe. 1435Misyn Fire of Love 38 Þi swetnes.., þat end art of syghing, of desire begyninge, þe ȝate of ȝernynge vnfaylinge. c1450Myrr. our Ladye 180 But thow in thyne vnfaylynge fayrenesse..shuldest abyde vndepartably in his moste loued loue. 1784Cowper Tiroc. 316 This fond attachment..Maintains its hold with such unfailing sway, We feel it ev'n in age. 1832Lytton Eugene A. i. i, He found a pure and unfailing delight in watching the growth of their young minds. 1855[J. R. Leifchild] Cornwall 127 An unfailing bank of bituminous bullion. 1876Bancroft Hist. U.S. I. x. 29 A country..watered by unfailing rivers.
3. Infallible, positive, certain. † Also as adv.
c1400Sc. Trojan War ii. 273 Quharfor wnfalȝeand ar we Mayd rytht certeyn þat it shall be. 1553Wood tr. Gardner's True Obed. To Rdr. A ij b, The vndoubted truth of gods vnfailing word. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vii. II. 164 The event of battles, indeed, is not an unfailing test of the abilities of a commander. 1853Kane Grinnell Exp. xxix. (1856) 240 This frost-smoke is an unfailing indication of open water. 1862A. Meadows Man. Midwifery 76 One almost unfailing test may be here mentioned, namely, chloroform.
†4. As adv. Without fail, unfailingly. Obs.
c1425Wyntoun Cron. ix. xxi. 2146 (Cott. MS.), Off Marche þe xxv. day, Wnfaillande þat [sc. the Annunciation] sal be ay.
Hence unˈfailingness.
c1630Sanderson Serm. II. 307 The stability, unchangeableness, and unfailingness of Gods counsels. a1656Bp. Hall Serm. Wks. 1837 V. 576 We may be so much the more infallibly assured..by how much we do more know his unfailingness, his unchangeableness. |