| 释义 |
non-coˈmmittal, n. (a.)
[non- 1.]
a. Refusal to commit oneself to a particular view or course of action. (orig. U.S.)
1836–40Haliburton Clockm. (1862) 449 Not lettin' on as if I know'd that he was there, for there is nothin' like a non-committal. 1876Sarah Ingham White Cross lii, The youth was reticent, and the maiden remarkable for non-committal. 1885Daily News 23 Jan. 5/1 Caution,..hesitancy, non-committal—these are..the virtues of the hour.
b. attrib. or adj. Characterized by refusal to commit oneself to a particular view or course of action; (esp. of words and actions) implying neither consent nor dissent.
1829H. Orne Lett. of Columbus 18 The non-committal system prevailed. 1851Fraser's Mag. Sept. 287/2 A successful politician here [New York] is..either a blind partisan, who knows nothing outside of ‘the regular ticket’, or a ‘non-committal’ man, who says everything to everybody. 1879J. Hawthorne Laughing Mill, etc. 112 It was written in an ordinary business hand, quite characterless and non-committal. 1890‘R. Boldrewood’ Col.-Reformer (1891) 174 The two sailors had the ordinary non-committal expression always observable in trained seamen. 1973Archivum Linguisticum IV. 18 The same applies in..(5), which may be interpreted as a ‘non-committal’ statement.
Hence non-coˈmmittally adv., in a non-committal manner; without committing oneself.
1885Howells Rise Silas Lapham I. 187 ‘She's a pretty girl’, said Corey non-committally. 1890Harper's Mag. Mar. 515/2 ‘Oh, yes,’ she said, non-committally. |