| 释义 |
unˈnecessary, a. and n.
[un-1 7, 12.]
1. Not necessary or requisite; needless.
1548Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. John xxi. 117 b, This vnnecessarie care that Peter had of another mans death [etc.]. 1596Edward III, iii. i. 7 To lay aside vnnecessary soothing. 1623Bingham Xenophon 49 To leaue behind vs our vnnecessarie stuffe, and to take with vs only such as..we stand in need of. 1655Earl of Orrery Parthen. i. i. 81 If any thing could make me offended with Artabanes, 'twould be this unnecessary interceding. 1726Swift Gulliver ii. vii, That a prince..should, from a nice, unnecessary scruple,..let slip an opportunity..that [etc.]. 1791Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest i, This was a very unnecessary caution to La Motte. 1823Scott Quentin D. Introd., Ringing the dinner-bell—a most unnecessary ceremony for assembling three persons. 1898‘Merriman’ Roden's Corner iii, A generation..much addicted to unnecessary haste.
b. With indefinite subject (it, etc.), and usually const. to with inf.
1597Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxviii. §2 The greatest part of the common multitude..who thinke it either vnmeet or vnnecessary to put them euen man by man. 1612Jas. I in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. i. III. 104 To bidde a running man goe faster, quhiche is both unnecessarie and injuriouse. 1757W. Pitt in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. I. 214 His Majesty judges it unnecessary to send you particular Orders. 1771Junius Lett. liv. (1788) 300 It is unnecessary to pursue the argument any farther. 1845McCulloch Taxation ii. v. 201 This would be inconsistent alike with the objects and limits of this work, and it would, besides, be wholly unnecessary. 1869Tanner Clin. Med. (ed. 2) 10 It is almost unnecessary to say that mediate percussion must be employed.
c. n. pl. Unnecessary things.
1559J. Aylmer Harborowe P j, Vnfitting superfluitie in apparel, dyet, and other vnnecessaries. 1618Fletcher Loyal Subject ii. v, It contains nothing But rubbish from the other rooms and unnecessaries. 1691Norris Pract. Disc. 113 Not to burthen my Discourse or your Patience with Unnecessaries. 1748Richardson Clarissa (1811) IV. 184 Wanting nothing but unnecessaries. 1839Marryat Diary Amer. Ser. i. II. 161 Very pretty did its little tiny black feet look, relieved by these expensive unnecessaries. 1881Q. Rev. Jan. 51 Nowhere are the unnecessaries of life..sold at such extravagant prices as in San Francisco.
†2. Not requiring much. Obs.—1
1605Shakes. Lear ii. iv. 157 Age is unnecessary: on my knees I begge, That you'l vouchsafe me Rayment, Bed, and Food.
Add:3. In colloq. phr. to come over (or go) all unnecessary: to be suddenly overcome with excitement.
1961Partridge Dict. Slang Suppl. 1177/2 She made him go all unnecessary, the hussy. 1988Observer 24 Apr. 15/1 A mere glimpse of a bike in a hallway makes me come over all unnecessary every time. 1989Smash Hits 15 Nov. 69/5 This is one of Erasure's slower, more melancholy efforts which makes you go all unnecessary and wobbly. |