| 释义 |
awesome, a.|ˈɔːsəm|
Also 6–9 awsome.
[f. awe n. + -some.]
1. Full of awe, profoundly reverential.
1598R. Bernard Terence' Adelphi v. iii, Wise and wittie, in due place awsome, louing one the other. 1815Scott Guy M. xi, ‘He did gie an awesome glance up at the auld castle.’ 1880Daily Tel. 2 Dec., That ‘Berserker rage’..of which the Scandinavian chroniclers tell us in terms of awesome admiration.
2. Inspiring awe; appalling, dreadful, weird.
1671Rutherford Lett. i. cciii. (Jam.) A sight of his cross is more awsome than the weight of it. 1816Scott Antiq. xxvi, ‘It's awsome to hear your gudemither break out in that gait.’ 1870Morris Earthly Par. I. i. 256 Together did the awesome sisters cry.
3. a. In weakened sense: overwhelming, staggering; remarkable, prodigious. colloq. (orig. and chiefly U.S.).
1961McCall's Aug. 173/1 He looked up to see Mrs. Kirby, awesome in a black-and-yellow polka-dotted slicker, bearing down on him. 1973E. F. Schumacher Small is Beautiful iii. iii. 180 None of these awesome problems figure noticeably in the cosy theories of most of our development economists. 1975Dun's Rev. Jan. 27 It upped the original offer of a three-year package with a 50% hike in pay and fringes to an awesome 64%. 1975Business Week 24 Feb. 58/2 It was awesome when they announced a staff for their Midwest office that was larger than the number of officers we have in our corporate banking department. 1975Economist 9 Aug. 84/3 A garrulous old African with an awesome memory. 1983Observer 6 Feb. 18/6 The profit record is not awesome... Profits in 1982 were struck at just {pstlg}8.8 million against more than {pstlg}25 million in the late Seventies. 1986New Yorker 13 Oct. 117/2 To begin with, there is her awesome record... Over the last thirteen years, she has won at least one major title each year—a feat no other tennis player..has accomplished.
b. In trivial use, as an enthusiastic term of commendation: ‘marvellous’, ‘great’; stunning, mind-boggling. slang.
1980L. Birnbach et al. Official Preppy Handbk. 218/1 Awesome, terrific, great. 1982Guardian 26 Oct. 8/4 It's so awesome, I mean, fer shurr, toadly, toe-dully! 1983New Yorker 19 Dec. 55 (caption) Third grade? Third grade is awesome. 1986Making Music Apr. 15/3, I just know it'd be an awesome band. |