| 释义 |
adjective fʌɪnfaɪn 1Of very high quality; very good of its kind. this was a fine piece of film-making Example sentencesExamples - It had a selection of top-notch artisan products and fine wines, in addition to its bigger industries.
- It represents the vampire genre well and delivers a quality story with fine performances.
- He was a man of very fine qualities and his great love of horses was no secret.
- The wedding guests at Cana celebrated with wine that had aged, and rejoiced in its fine quality.
- Plentiful olive trees yield oil considered so fine and healthy Cypriots guard the output for themselves.
- The restaurant serves gourmet meals three times daily and we are promised they can choose from a fine selection of wines.
- Gunner Palace is a fine piece of filmmaking and a fine piece of journalism, and I highly recommend it.
- This is probably the best place in the world to buy fine silk as quality is high and prices are surprisingly reasonable.
- This pottery is distinctive because of its high quality, fine decoration, and beautifully curved shapes.
- Dye is a fine hitter when healthy, but he hasn't made it through any of the past three seasons unscathed.
- Tipping is discouraged and all alcoholic drinks are part of the deal, including a fine selection of wines for lunch and dinner.
- A fine quality shirt should have solid yet discreet stitching around the seams and buttons.
- Moksh have a fine selection of wine and trained staff guide guests to appropriate selection of the right wine for the right food.
- She was a very popular lady who possessed many fine qualities and was held in high esteem by all who had the pleasure of her acquaintance.
- I am more likely to be carrying Ranjith Chandrasiri's wine column guide to selecting fine wines!
- Of exceptionally fine quality, it is pyramid-shaped and inset with beaded gold wiring in the shape of a serpent.
Synonyms excellent, first-class, first-rate, great, exceptional, outstanding, admirable, quality, superior, splendid, magnificent, beautiful, exquisite, choice, select, prime, supreme, superb, wonderful, sublime, superlative, very good, of high quality, of a high standard, second to none, top, rare informal A1, top-notch, splendiferous, stellar North American informal dandy British informal, dated top-hole - 1.1 Worthy of or eliciting admiration.
what a fine human being he is Example sentencesExamples - If the city can't do this, perhaps your newspaper could find a way to honour this fine gentleman.
- A retired bachelor farmer, he was a very fine gentleman who gained the popularity and respect of everybody.
- He was a delight, a fine gentleman who made us all a little richer for his being here.
- The Minister complimented the Health Committee on its fine, very thorough work on the bill.
- A fine musician, Eddie had been unable to hit the right notes with his golf until Sunday, when his dedication to the game paid off.
- One of the men stripped off her filthy clothes, and the men about her grunted in admiration of her fine figure.
- The two lads are extremely fine musicians and go down really well at various pub and cabaret venues around the city and county.
- Mezzo Janet Campbell doesn't have a large voice, but she is one fine singer and musician.
- Martin is a fine musician and a main figure in the organisation of the most adventurous jazz gigs in Melbourne.
- A fine noble gentleman, honest and upright, he gained the respect of everybody.
- One of them went to high school with my oldest son, and the other fine young man was a coach to one of my sons in track.
- The miners had done all that digging to get this new cavern open in a matter of days, and here was Akuma ignoring their fine workmanship.
- Now here is a fine young athlete that already has dipped into a little bit of professional competition.
- She is pretty, and a fine actress, but as a femme-fatale figure, she seems too sweet, and the film's themes are too thin.
- A fine singer and musician, he also writes very good songs and is a record producer of considerable note.
- He was a fine musician, playing the lyre, and he used music as a means to help those who were ill.
Synonyms worthy, admirable, praiseworthy, laudable, estimable, upright, upstanding, respectable, seemly, ladylike, gentlemanly attractive, good-looking, handsome, lovely, pretty, striking, stunning, delightful, well favoured Scottish & Northern English bonny archaic comely, fair - 1.2 Good; satisfactory.
relations in the group were fine Example sentencesExamples - He goes all right, fine, I endorse him, get the hell out of here.
- Excluding women seems to be unacceptable, but excluding men appears to be fine.
- Four days out of five it's fine, but on average, one day out of five, I can't get to it.
- I recently bought a T68i phone in the Dubai Airport Duty Free shop and it appeared to work fine.
- However, more is fine if you tolerate the higher carbohydrate amount and feel good consuming it.
- The DVD quality is fine, with enough extra content to add even more impetus for purchase.
- It may be fine to say average rates have been lowered with the various rebates.
- Brand quality is fine, but sales are poor and the owner is disillusioned with the plant at Tröllhattan.
- In fact, just pressing my nose against the window and giving him a double thumbs up satisfies me fine.
- In this day and age, I think any and all of these are fine reasons to practice aikido.
- One of his mentors wanted to reschedule to another day, it was fine so Kenny accepted.
- If you haven't yet reached a place where you feel worthy of peace, health and happiness, fine.
- These are, nevertheless, still reasonably fine fabrics and much finer than some of the cloth some of the public expect us to be wearing.
- If you edit entries by hand, it is fine to use filenames suitable for humans such as the name of the item.
- I just know that one beer bash was fine, two was tolerable, and the third was just a way to eat up time on Memorial Day.
Synonyms all right, acceptable, suitable, good, good enough, agreeable, fair, passable, satisfactory, adequate, reasonable, up to scratch, up to the mark, up to standard, up to par, average, tolerable informal OK, tickety-boo - 1.3 Used to express one's agreement with or acquiescence to something.
anything you want is fine by me, Linda he said such a solution would be fine Example sentencesExamples - Frankly, if there are people on the left or the right that are not sure how he's going to rule on a case, that's fine by me.
- Any outcome from here on in is fine by me, and I mean that honestly.
- So he has an opinion and he's willing to express it which is fine by me - it's certainly not a freedom of speech issue.
- Whatever it takes to be at peace with saying goodbye is fine by me.
- If you don't get HBO, you're missing a large part of that greatness, which is fine by me.
- 1.4 In good health and feeling well.
‘I'm fine, just fine. And you?’ Example sentencesExamples - Sion knew that this was supposed to be good news; everyone in Dawe City was in fine health.
- Assuring her that she was in fine health, the doctor sent Shelley on her way.
- I presume he's fine, in good health and that, but it's very unlike him to pop off.
- Upon awaking four days later Hughes contrarily declared himself to be in fine health.
- Frances is on virtually no medication and in fine health.
- Nathaniel appeared fine for the most part, besides his shaky hands and increasingly white face.
- Her husband, who had been in fine health, came home one day from the office feeling ill.
- After a couple of hours the med team announced to the commander that they were all in fine health.
- Similar tests were done in 1997 and at that time the Char stock was fine and healthy.
- The babe, clearly in fine health, scrunched its pink face and began to cry heartily.
- The six individuals, who looked fine, healthy and happy in real life were cruelly presented in muted monochromatic colors.
- He appears to be fine though because I didn't find anything that had triggered the headache of his.
- There is no update, he says, other than adding that his health is fine.
- She had been fine one day and silent and brooding the next.
Synonyms in good health, well, healthy, all right, fit, fighting fit, as fit as a fiddle, as fit as a flea, robust, strong, vigorous, blooming, thriving, in good shape, in good condition, in fine fettle informal OK, in the pink, up to snuff - 1.5 (of the weather) bright and clear.
it was another fine winter day Example sentencesExamples - The fine weather has brought some plants into bloom unexpectedly early, including some stunning magnolias.
- The weather was fairly fine and we managed to get in a game or two on most days.
- The fine weather added to the enjoyment of the trip and well done to the organisers who ensured that everyone had a great time.
- Luckily, the weather was fine and some sunshine managed to peek through.
- However, in all this fine weather, something else has come out - insects.
- The river is still coloured but this is expected to clear over the coming week, if the fine weather forecasted arrives.
- Mr Clarke said he walks to work when the weather is fine but in the winter he appreciates being able to call on a lift.
Synonyms fair, dry, bright, clear, sunny, sunshiny, cloudless, unclouded, without a cloud in the sky, warm, balmy, summery, clement, agreeable, pleasant, nice, benign - 1.6 Imposing or impressive in appearance.
Donleavy was a fine figure of a man Example sentencesExamples - Hence it helps if the actor is a fine figure of a man, of noble countenance and with a beautiful speaking voice.
- A fine figure of a man, he radiates masculine self-assurance, a quality that interested her greatly.
- It is also set among some fine church towers and mill chimneys.
- He was a fine figure of a man, she thought and some woman must be missing him.
- Wherever he was, with his family, in a fine mansion, or in a dingy prison cell, he made the very best of his circumstances.
- You enter the property via a fine hallway with an imposing stained glass window and original spindled staircase sweeping to the first floor.
- Holy Cross abbey, near the English bridge, has a fine early Norman nave.
Synonyms impressive, imposing, dignified, striking, splendid, grand, majestic, magnificent, august, lofty, stately - 1.7 (of speech or writing) sounding impressive and grand but ultimately insincere.
fine words seemed to produce few practical benefits Example sentencesExamples - It will be very gratifying indeed to see such a fine speech as that followed up by a vote that is in line with her own rhetoric.
- I hesitate to interrupt my colleague, because he is giving a very fine speech.
- Greetings to members of the House and to all the other New Zealanders listening to this fine speech.
- It is full of grand statements and fine sounding but vague promises to assist working people and the poor.
- He will make a fine speech on the title in the next couple of minutes.
- 1.8 Denoting or displaying a state of good, though not excellent, preservation in stamps, books, coins, etc.
Example sentencesExamples - Despite the specimen's fine preservation, we are not sure to what species it belongs.
- 1.9 (of gold or silver) containing a specified high proportion of pure metal.
the coin is struck in .986 fine gold Example sentencesExamples - They have one of their fine Gold Dots of the same weight and also a 325 gr.
2Very thin or narrow. Example sentencesExamples - Abruptly, the strands lost their color, looking for all the world like fine threads of crystal.
- Myst can make out the attempts at a mustache on his upper lip, but his hair is too fine and matches his pink skin too well to show.
- Nick's Cajun chicken pasta consisted of a bed of fine ribbons of fresh pasta tossed in a light tomato sauce with pieces of spiced Cajun chicken on top.
- Tiny, tiny fine hairs on her cheek and upper lip caught the red sun; her whole face shimmered.
- There were no visible pores in the skin and the fine hairs of the lower legs were bleached white.
- The fine hair that covers our bodies provides warmth and protects our skin.
- It was a day when the fine hairs on your skin seem to crinkle up in the sun.
- Iraq is also famous for its carpets, woven from fine threads in brilliant colors.
- This is the soft, flexible white tape that can be stretched out into a fine thread.
- Marared was sitting across from him with her long fine hair braided and a robe covering her slender figure.
- The obvious answer to counter this infiltration was a fine wire which lit a signal lamp when broken.
- Strong arms, lightly covered in fine hair, came around her to grasp the reins.
- Your surgeon then uses a fine thread to stitch the new cornea into place.
- Acupuncture points lie on meridians and are stimulated by the insertion of thin, fine needles at various points.
- At the mention of its name a thin dog with short fine hair came at attention beside Jen.
- The process of converting the wild grass into fine thread involves stages of processing and dyeing.
- People with anorexia have dry skin and might have fine hair growing on their body.
- People with fine hair tend to have more glands on their scalps and thus have greater chances of having oily hair.
- While fine hair is genetic, Kingsley says, there are plenty of ways to increase its volume.
- Dom ran a hand over his arm, wrapping his fingers around his wrists and stroking the fine hairs along his skin.
- If the hair is fairly fine and downy, either on the upper lip or the cheeks, then bleaching is by far the best solution.
- In places the fine filaments run on top of the thicker filaments, and are thus closer to the plasma membrane.
- Once this is dry, fine threads of beeswax are tightly wound around it.
Synonyms thin, light, delicate, wispy, floaty, flyaway, feathery sheer, light, lightweight, thin, flimsy, ultra-fine, insubstantial diaphanous, filmy, chiffony, gossamer, gossamery, wispy, silky, gauzelike, gauzy, cobwebby, shimmering, transparent, translucent, see-through, airy, ethereal - 2.1 (of a point) sharp.
I sharpened the leads to a fine point Example sentencesExamples - By the time I finished grade school, my sense of dark, black humor had been honed to a fine point.
- On the outer edges of the sword was shining steel, sharpened to a fine point.
Synonyms sharp, keen, acute, sharpened, honed, razor-sharp, razor-like, whetted narrow, slender, slim, thin - 2.2 Made or consisting of small particles.
the soils were all fine silt Example sentencesExamples - Sometimes they are split open, the pips removed, and the rest ground up into a fine powder to be sprinkled into stews and soups.
- I later applied a paint for cement floors, but it came off in fine particles.
- A puff of fine silt draws my attention to a squat lobster darting back into a crack in the rocks.
- He could not resist the urge to look up, and when he did, his eyes became full of very fine, golden particles.
- Conway said there is good evidence that fine particulate matter from Asia is landing in British Columbia.
- Dust and fine sand particles tend to cling to the surface of the skin, especially in the folds and in between the toes and fingers.
- Just above the fine silt on the base of the ditch were four partial cattle skulls and a cranial fragment, probably also cattle.
- The grey paintwork and windows were already covered in a fine layer of silt.
- In deserts, and on Mars, fine sand and silt are funnelled down valleys by wind and may even carve new systems of ridges and depressions in solid rock.
- At the back is a bank of fine silt that is invariably stirred up by the first few divers who venture inside, so try to be first there if you can!
- I descend through the green globs of the algal bloom, then into bottom visibility clouded by fine silt lifted by the tide.
- Enamel is essentially just coloured glass ground up into a fine powder.
- The sample was dried in an oven and ground into fine powder.
- There was no damage to the property but a lot of fine silt mud was left.
- This groundbait with its very fine particles was designed to catch the tiny little canal roach.
- The material can range from fine particles to large lumps.
Synonyms fine-grained, powdery, dusty, chalky, floury, powdered, ground, granulated, crushed, pulverized technical comminuted, triturated archaic pulverulent, levigated - 2.3 Of delicate or intricate workmanship or structure.
Example sentencesExamples - So we make these really fine structures that mechanically have hinges that allow them to move and bend.
- She fingered fine muslins and intricate laces, heavy crimson silks and tulle.
- It looks like it is made up of an intricate fine lace expertly spun in glass fibers no thicker than human hair.
- Color a few fine pieces for subtle highlights, or create chunkier pieces for a more dramatic look.
- Those of a higher class have theirs hand made by a tailor with intricate needlework and fine fabric.
- Beneath it lay more men's clothes, including linen tunics of fine weave and workmanship.
- I unscrew the tiny joints that holds the cover onto me with fine tools made for delicate jobs.
- In all his life, Peter had never seen any fabric so fine or so intricately woven.
- He drinks in her delicate features, the fine curve of her jaw, the long lashes veiling her stark blue eyes.
- The winning hybrids yielded breads with a fine crumb structure and a high overall number of cells.
Synonyms delicate, fragile, frail, breakable, dainty, insubstantial formal frangible intricate, delicate, detailed, minute, elaborate, ornate, dainty, meticulous, painstaking - 2.4 (of something abstract) subtle and therefore perceived only with difficulty and care.
there is a fine distinction between misrepresenting the truth and lying Example sentencesExamples - The difference between prices and costs is not just a fine distinction made by economists.
- If we couldn't make fine distinctions in the natural world, we'd be done for.
- When the opportunity came I would be fine, I'd be okay because I like to think that I take care of the fine detail in football.
- Maybe the fine distinctions between ethics and morality should be simplified.
- It's a fine distinction to be drawn, clearly - but we know that governments have more information than the general public.
- It's a fine distinction, but I can think of no other way of making it than by testing the evidence in open court.
- There's a fine distinction between a burial ground and a graveyard, the former needing a few years to grow into the other.
- Other hypotheses he puts forward also invoke this very fine, subtle matter.
Synonyms subtle, fine-drawn, ultra-fine, precise, minute, nice, narrow, tenuous hair-splitting, elusive, abstruse, overnice - 2.5 (of a physical faculty) sensitive and discriminating.
he has a fine eye for the detail and texture of social scenery Example sentencesExamples - I think Dr Lynda Scott has struck that very, very sensitive, fine balance.
- She begins to shrink from his lack of fine feeling and drunkenness; embittered, she turns their marriage into a battle.
- It was a good lesson that the truth is more important than fine feelings.
- You are able to maintain a fine balance in sensitive personal relationships and business partnerships.
- The reader will be curious to know where those fine feelings of moral repugnance were when you took the job.
- Srivatsa reveals a fine feeling for the telling detail, and a great sense of humour.
- A heartless person incapable of fine emotions is unable to attain to high ideals.
- While at work you must ruthlessly suppress all three of these fine emotions.
- That fine sensitivity also helps to interpret a minor insult or affront as a threat or rejection.
- Rafael Benitez is clearly an intelligent coach who has a fine understanding of the game.
3Cricket
Directed or stationed behind the wicket and close to the line of flight of the ball when it is bowled. Example sentencesExamples - He moved me back and the ball went straight through fine gully, again exactly where I had been standing.
noun fʌɪnfaɪn finesVery small particles found in mining, milling, etc. Example sentencesExamples - Dry maintenance comprises the use of a grader only, to smooth the road by respreading the mixed fines and gravel material across the surface.
- For flowability, the mixes contained additional fines, including limestone powder and silica fume.
- Eighteen stalls were randomly bedded with sand or granite fines.
- The product dries in 20 to 30 minutes to form a hard, durable surface that binds fines to the larger aggregate particles in the road surface.
- The clay minerals and copious fines reported suggest that blockfields were produced by chemical weathering in a Mediterranean-type climate.
- Screening followed, separating waste matter from the fines, or powdered borates.
- Transportation costs, on a per-kilometer basis, should be similar for both the sand and granite fines.
- It raises dust, separating fines from aggregate.
- Odds ratios showed cows preferred the stalls bedded with sand 2.8 times more than the stalls bedded with granite fines.
- There are limitations and certain conditions for the success of this method such as uniformity of sand and fines content in addition to the time factor.
adverb fʌɪnfaɪn 1informal In a satisfactory or pleasing manner; very well. ‘And how's the job-hunting going?’ ‘Oh, fine.’ mother and baby are both doing fine Example sentencesExamples - He was well liked and fine mannered young man who later secured work in the Bacon Factory where he spent some years.
- He had had trouble with TelePrompter in the past, he did just fine last night.
2Cricket
Behind the wicket and close to the line of flight of the ball when it is bowled.
verb fʌɪnfaɪn 1with object Clarify (beer or wine) by causing the precipitation of sediment during production. Example sentencesExamples - To ensure clarity and stability, wine often needs to be fined (wine-speak for clarified) and filtered.
- Fish extract is used to fine the wine - to take all the cloudy particles out of it.
- The aging in large Slovenian oak barrels remains the same and they are still not fining or filtering their wines.
- We fine the wine with egg extracts, so are we to put that on the label?
- If, after egg-white fining, the wine remains hazy, it always will be hazy.
Synonyms clarify, clear, become clear, make clear, purify, refine, filter - 1.1no object (of liquid) become clear.
Example sentencesExamples - The heavy rains earlier in the week have added a much needed drop of extra water to our local rivers which should be fining down nicely by the weekend.
- Wood-matured ports, often called simply wood ports, are aged either in wooden casks or, sometimes, cement tanks, and are ready to drink straight after fining, filtration, and bottling.
2Make or become thinner. no object she'd certainly fined down—her face was thinner Example sentencesExamples - His face was fined down and lost most of its boyishness but his skin was still a dusky gold.
- In a set of photographs at the end of the book, we see the twins fined down to skin and bone shortly after their release from Kolyma in 1942.
- He preserved a courtly oblivion towards the event, though it seems beyond reason that he could have not noticed his wife's girth had suddenly fined down.
Synonyms thin, become thin, make thin, become thinner, make thinner, narrow, taper, attenuate, constrict 3fine upAustralian Northern English NZ informal no object (of the weather) become bright and clear. Example sentencesExamples - About 10: 30 P.M.that night it suddenly hit us all simultaneously that the wind had calmed down and the weather had fined up.
- ‘That is a hypothetical situation and we just hope the weather fines up before we even have to think about anything like that,’ he added.
- It was an easy day, but frustrating in having to just wait around until the weather fined up.
- The weather will fine up on Tuesday before a change on Thursday night bringing some thundery rain on Friday followed by showers on Saturday and Sunday.
Phrases Allow a very small margin of something, especially time. boys who have cut it rather fine are scuttling into chapel Example sentencesExamples - If you have your exam timetable to hand you are already cutting it fine.
- At evening signings I'll always stay and make sure everyone goes away happy, but on this tour there will be several places where I'll need to go from a signing to another signing, so don't cut it fine.
- We had the turf remover for three hours which was cutting it fine - especially since the thing kept stalling if you didn't have the choke out, but wouldn't cut turf if you did.
- They're cutting things fine in Athens as the jackhammers around the main stadium mix with the sounds of rehearsals for the Opening Ceremony.
- Started out trying to get the holiday sorted out first, though - we go a week today, so we're cutting it fine already.
- Another US Olympic legend Jenny Thompson also cut it fine coming in second behind Rachel Komisarz in the 100m fly, but should still make the journey to Greece for her fourth Olympics.
- Thankfully, my instincts for not cutting it fine where travel plans are concerned kicked in, and I made it ok.
- If you still haven't got around to filling in your tax return, then you're cutting it fine.
- ‘You're cutting it fine,’ said a thin man with dry lips.
- The airport bus wasn't due to leave for 20 minutes, and it was already 6: 10, which was going to be cutting it fine for a 7pm flight.
Suit or be enough for someone. Example sentencesExamples - If we finish one place behind the European qualification places it would do me fine.
- For that reason I invite members to support the amendment from my colleague that simply changes the date to 5 years hence, which will do us fine.
- And yes, I know that the labels don't fit too well but I'm not happy to play games with them; most people know what you mean by pop and classical and that'll do me fine.
- I'd rather be sitting on a sun lounger in Cyprus wondering which restaurant to go to for a long boozy lunch, but for now, Monday morning at home will do me fine.
- Ken pulled up in front of what looked like a dingy old hotel, but by this time even though I'd been sleeping in the car I knew that any bed would do me fine.
- Quite frankly, any type of legitimacy in this country would do me fine.
- So it looks like my theory that an 800 seater would do us fine with plenty of room for people who showed up on the day might have been a little over-optimistic.
- I think you can just bring us a couple glasses of ice water, that'll do us fine.
- I still ‘sleep fast ‘- 5-6 hours, but it seems to do me fine.’
- Graham seems to think that a cheap laptop plugged into the holiday camp network will do me fine.
fine feathers make fine birds proverb Beautiful or expensive clothes may make the wearer seem more impressive than is really the case.
A subtle distinction between two concepts or situations. there's a fine line between humour and inappropriateness he was treading a fine line and it wouldn't be too long before he finally overstepped the mark Example sentencesExamples - In promoting free trade, Mr Bush walks a fine line.
- Critics say the airport must walk a fine line in its quest for revenue.
- Educators at public schools near polygamous communities walk a fine line to encourage children from plural marriages to attend school.
- Ward is careful to walk a fine line in describing the weekend.
- They are treading a fine line, risking bookings over mundane issues like throw-ins.
- The police walk a fine line on the gang issue.
- Each of them knows he walks a fine line.
- In the Social Security debate, Democrats are walking a fine line.
- In Riyadh, the absolute monarchy of Saudi Arabia walks a fine line to maintain power.
- He told Olson he had to tread a fine line of neutrality.
The more complex or detailed aspects of. he went on to discuss the finer points of his work Example sentencesExamples - He had to know the finer points of how to get a web site noticed.
- I doubt that he knows the finer points of what's proper or not proper.
- Now their only problem might come from itinerant lawyers wanting to discuss the finer points of local corporate law.
- When he asks why she is in therapy, she blithely professes ignorance and discusses the finer points of gourmet cooking.
- After all, the finer points of fiscal autonomy are not generally discussed down the local bar.
- More than 20 people learned the finer points of photography on a Greenough river cruise yesterday.
- They hope to bring out a magazine, which will update women about the finer points of combining the microwave and gas-stove cookery.
- I was discussing the finer points of impeachment, and votes of no confidence.
- We also had the opportunity to discuss the finer points of display and presentation.
- On Talkback Gardening, local rose expert, Dean Stringer, explained the finer points of pruning a bush rose and a standard.
informal The police of a particular city. Example sentencesExamples - The inimitable Fish makes several pungent observations on the transgressions of our city 's finest this past holiday.
- Some of the city's finest were recognized Feb. 7 for their cool heads in the line of duty.
- I opened the door to one of our city's finest… the Vancouver Police Department.
- On another note, one of our county's finest who routinely patrols the multiplex actually stood in a side aisle through the entire film, even going so far as to participate in the various audience-related activities.
One's feelings of honour, loyalty, or duty; one's conscience or sense of morality. Example sentencesExamples - It was a period when middle-class fathers often withdrew behind taciturnity and rituals of manliness, when mothers stifled their finer feelings and aspirations behind domestic routines.
- More specifically addressing Freeman Dyson's essay, Freeman writes ‘If we are partly analog, the downloading of a human consciousness into a digital computer may involve a certain loss of our finer feelings and qualities.’
- You're trying to appeal to his finer feelings, and people who write for that slimy rag don't have any.
- It addresses our finer feelings, and gives exercise to every mild and generous propensity ’.
The time of one's greatest success. Example sentencesExamples - And let us not forget their finest hour: the night of treachery 14 years ago that began this whole unhappy saga
- They are nostalgic for their finest hour.
- I can't say more for fear of broken fingers and retribution, but tonight wasn't our finest hour.
- The 11-year-old achieved his finest hour when winning the 2003 Champion Hurdle, having taken this corresponding race the previous November.
- Others (the late, great Luis Bunuel for example), however, seem to enjoy their finest hour.
- And the ten year old will be back at the scene of his finest hour and possibly favourite to become the first horse to achieve back to back victories in the race since the legendary Red Rum last did it all those long years ago.
- It is something less than our finest hour, but highly revelatory of our national obsessions.
- Which reminds me of possibly my finest hour in such matters.
- Many cite The Third Man as his finest hour, but Odd Man Out is not far behind.
- It can hardly be said that this was their finest hour.
fine words butter no parsnips proverb Nothing is achieved by empty promises or flattery.
not to put too fine a point on it not to put too fine a point on it, your Emily is a liar Example sentencesExamples - We are dealing here with people who are, not to put too fine a point on it, nuts.
- For we, not to put too fine a point on it, were robbed.
- For short stories are wonderful in this respect: they are, as the name of the genre strongly suggests, short, unlike novels, which, in comparison with most typical short stories, are, not to put too fine a point on it, long.
- He lacks, not to put too fine a point on it, the breeding.
- This is, not to put too fine a point on it, insane.
- If you believe they are, you are, not to put too fine a point on it, a fool.
- There is much more I could say here, but it would be, not to put too fine a point on it, frankly un-Christian, and I do try to avoid that.
- Then we went through several years of a very boring market, not to put too fine a point on it, and the ratings kept climbing.
- But the lyrics are, not to put too fine a point on it, controversial.
- His office, not to put too fine a point on it, is a tip.
At some unspecified or unknown time. one fine day he decided to take an apartment in Rome Example sentencesExamples - Normal service resumes… oh, I don't know… one fine day.
- I have always made a habit of retaining the last few frames of film for the unexpected - it has never come to much all these years, but one fine day, I hit pay dirt.
- Having taken refuge in many other women after their break up he had finally, one fine day, woken up in some strange woman's bed and began to cry.
- And once we get down to improving our infrastructure, which includes good roads, uninterrupted power supply, a good international airport, which is going to happen one fine day, then we can say we are nearly there.
- Once again the boredom of prison life seeps into Horatio's life, until one fine day when the commandant brings the unexpected news that Horatio and his men are being freed in recognition of their efforts to rescue the wrecked Spanish crew.
- Arriving at school one fine day, this odd couple is smitten by a new student, Leigh Cabot, who is as smart as she is attractive.
- Then one fine day, a boy called Rocky almost proved me wrong.
- And then, one fine day, your child turns to you and tells you that smoking is dangerous.
- I considered myself lucky most of the time, until one fine day…
- So one fine day, the moody tusker decides that he wants to take over the rat holes near his lair and starts killing the rats one by one.
Derivatives noun ˈfʌɪnnəs He received the wool in huge bales and then graded it according to length and fineness, before despatching it to the cloth-maker or dealer. Example sentencesExamples - The fineness of the mesh makes them completely watertight.
- Rock salt is what the salt mined from underground is called, whether it is literally mined in solid form (a practice now rare) or pumped up to the surface and then evaporated, to be crystallized to the desired degree of fineness.
- When she reached back to feel it, however, it felt thicker than she remembered, for she had always lamented the fineness of her hair. ‘Uh huh.’
- Broadly speaking, the modular design is perhaps the most flexible, but it may sacrifice fineness of control for generality of purpose.
Origin Middle English: from Old French fin, based on Latin finire 'to finish' (see finish). Rhymes align, assign, benign, brine, chine, cline, combine, condign, confine, consign, dine, divine, dyne, enshrine, entwine, frontline, hardline, interline, intertwine, kine, Klein, line, Main, malign, mine, moline, nine, on-line, opine, outshine, pine, Rhein, Rhine, shine, shrine, sign, sine, spine, spline, stein, Strine, swine, syne, thine, tine, trine, twine, Tyne, underline, undermine, vine, whine, wine noun fʌɪnfaɪn A sum of money exacted as a penalty by a court of law or other authority. Example sentencesExamples - There were no sanctions, no fines and no penalties.
- They could end up facing an employment tribunal, or be hauled before a judge in a county court, with fines running into thousands of pounds.
- Currently, fines of the High Court can be collected only by officers of the High Court.
- The Supreme Court held these fines could, consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, be imposed only if preceded by a criminal trial.
- The restraining order is the first step toward possible contempt-of-court findings and heavy fines if the court finds the mechanics staged illegal job actions.
- A person found guilty in the District court faces fines of up to 1,900, up to three months in prison, or both.
- Failure to comply constitutes a criminal offence and the penalty is a fine.
- Students caught without a licence risk a visit to the magistrates court and a fine of up to £1,000.
- More than £354m of fines imposed by magistrates courts across England and Wales is outstanding, with more than £16m owed in Yorkshire.
- The question becomes, ‘Are they penalties or fines imposed by a court’?
- A tough new regime across West Yorkshire will clamp down this month on non-payers of court penalties and on-the-spot fines, including speeding tickets.
- A speedy team of York council wardens will zip through the streets, slapping £60 penalty fines on cars parked illegally during the racing festival.
- The District Court can impose fines of up to €1,900 for any single offence in this area.
- Litter louts would get a set period of time - between 14 to 28 days - to pay the fines before running the risk of prosecution and larger fines in court.
- Drivers can opt to take part in the scheme instead of paying fines and incurring penalty points on their licences.
- Are we to assume that the money raised from parking fines is being put into an account that the owners, should they ever materialise, can have access to?
- Motorists parking illegally near the scene of a fatal accident face fines and penalty points as police in Accrington get tough on drivers.
- The 54 retailers who have been summonsed to the Rotorua District Court face fines of up to $1000.
- The Court should have regard to any other fines or penalties suffered by the defendant for the misconduct in question.
- The court can enforce fines, ranging from $25 to $10,000, by garnishing wages and bank accounts.
Synonyms financial penalty, punishment, forfeit, forfeiture, sanction, punitive action, penalty, fee, charge, penance (fines) damages formal mulct British historical amercement
verb fʌɪnfaɪn [with object]Punish (someone) for an illegal or illicit act by making them pay a sum of money. she was fined £1500 for driving offences Example sentencesExamples - He is fined and sentenced to three years' probation.
- The court can also fine these people and can also ask for a forfeiture order.
- He was fined £300 for each offence, and ordered to pay the respondent's costs in the sum of £675.
- For these offences he was variously fined, sent to a Detention Centre, and given a suspended prison term.
- Judge Mary Martin convicted the defendant and fined him £100.
- After a unanimous verdict of guilty at the impeachment, he was fined £30,000.
- The Tribunal made identical findings against myself and another Respondent but imposed wildly disparate penalties: I was struck off the roll whilst he was fined.
- I am going to fine you a modest sum for your failure to deal with the matter as you should have dealt with it yesterday.
- The judge explained to him at an early stage that he was being asked to fine him or commit him to prison.
- The recent move to fine inconsiderate drivers from illegal parking is late in forthcoming.
- He was fined $500 and ordered to pay $1, 000 compensation to the complainant.
- He was fined $300 and ordered to pay costs and witness expenses amounting to $190.
- He was fined at Elgin Sheriff Court, in Scotland, in May - but he is not the only gamekeeper whose sights are trained on this protected bird.
- It follows a series of cases at Bradford magistrates' court last month when several people were fined for not having licences.
- The magistrate convicted the applicant and fined him $400 with costs.
- The code also provides for fining drivers and legal persons whose cars do not have this type of insurance.
- We did prosecute in that particular case and the person was fined $1,000 for attempting that importation.
- In related news, the Taiwan High Court yesterday fined a man for illegally hiring a Chinese woman to work in his home.
- Four Italian football fans were fined by magistrates after a violent disturbance at Stansted Airport.
- In this instance a football club was appealing to the Football Association after a commission had fined the directors and severely censured the club for misconduct.
Synonyms penalize, punish by fining, impose a fine on, exact a penalty from, charge informal sting formal mulct British historical amerce
Derivatives adjectiveˈfʌɪnəb(ə)l Not only is it a fineable offence, it's completely disrespectful. Example sentencesExamples - This will mean punters will be able to consume alcohol only within designated zones and it would be a fineable offence for those who did not comply.
- Substantial areas in Scotland are now covered by these Orders which make it a fineable offence to fish without a written permit and/or by a method not prescribed on the permit.
- They declined to divulge any other examples of fineable offences.
- The employee claimed the reason why the cars were being parked in fineable zones in the first place was due to a ‘total lack of adequate spaces available for staff’.
Origin Middle English: from Old French fin 'end, payment', from Latin finis 'end' (in medieval Latin denoting a sum paid on settling a lawsuit). The original sense was 'conclusion' (surviving in the phrase in fine); also used in the medieval Latin sense, the word came to denote a penalty of any kind, later specifically a monetary penalty. noun fiːnfin mass noun1French brandy of high quality made from distilled wine rather than from pomace. - 1.1
noun ˈfiːneɪˈfineɪ (in musical directions) the place where a piece of music finishes (when this is not at the end of the score but at the end of an earlier section which is repeated at the end of the piece).
Origin Italian, from Latin finis 'end'. adjectivefaɪnfīn 1Of high quality. this was a fine piece of filmmaking Example sentencesExamples - I am more likely to be carrying Ranjith Chandrasiri's wine column guide to selecting fine wines!
- Moksh have a fine selection of wine and trained staff guide guests to appropriate selection of the right wine for the right food.
- She was a very popular lady who possessed many fine qualities and was held in high esteem by all who had the pleasure of her acquaintance.
- Of exceptionally fine quality, it is pyramid-shaped and inset with beaded gold wiring in the shape of a serpent.
- The wedding guests at Cana celebrated with wine that had aged, and rejoiced in its fine quality.
- Dye is a fine hitter when healthy, but he hasn't made it through any of the past three seasons unscathed.
- Tipping is discouraged and all alcoholic drinks are part of the deal, including a fine selection of wines for lunch and dinner.
- Gunner Palace is a fine piece of filmmaking and a fine piece of journalism, and I highly recommend it.
- This pottery is distinctive because of its high quality, fine decoration, and beautifully curved shapes.
- A fine quality shirt should have solid yet discreet stitching around the seams and buttons.
- The restaurant serves gourmet meals three times daily and we are promised they can choose from a fine selection of wines.
- It had a selection of top-notch artisan products and fine wines, in addition to its bigger industries.
- It represents the vampire genre well and delivers a quality story with fine performances.
- He was a man of very fine qualities and his great love of horses was no secret.
- This is probably the best place in the world to buy fine silk as quality is high and prices are surprisingly reasonable.
- Plentiful olive trees yield oil considered so fine and healthy Cypriots guard the output for themselves.
Synonyms excellent, first-class, first-rate, great, exceptional, outstanding, admirable, quality, superior, splendid, magnificent, beautiful, exquisite, choice, select, prime, supreme, superb, wonderful, sublime, superlative, very good, of high quality, of a high standard, second to none, top, rare - 1.1 (of a person) worthy of or eliciting admiration.
what a fine human being he is Example sentencesExamples - She is pretty, and a fine actress, but as a femme-fatale figure, she seems too sweet, and the film's themes are too thin.
- The two lads are extremely fine musicians and go down really well at various pub and cabaret venues around the city and county.
- He was a fine musician, playing the lyre, and he used music as a means to help those who were ill.
- The miners had done all that digging to get this new cavern open in a matter of days, and here was Akuma ignoring their fine workmanship.
- Martin is a fine musician and a main figure in the organisation of the most adventurous jazz gigs in Melbourne.
- He was a delight, a fine gentleman who made us all a little richer for his being here.
- If the city can't do this, perhaps your newspaper could find a way to honour this fine gentleman.
- One of them went to high school with my oldest son, and the other fine young man was a coach to one of my sons in track.
- The Minister complimented the Health Committee on its fine, very thorough work on the bill.
- Mezzo Janet Campbell doesn't have a large voice, but she is one fine singer and musician.
- A retired bachelor farmer, he was a very fine gentleman who gained the popularity and respect of everybody.
- A fine noble gentleman, honest and upright, he gained the respect of everybody.
- A fine musician, Eddie had been unable to hit the right notes with his golf until Sunday, when his dedication to the game paid off.
- A fine singer and musician, he also writes very good songs and is a record producer of considerable note.
- Now here is a fine young athlete that already has dipped into a little bit of professional competition.
- One of the men stripped off her filthy clothes, and the men about her grunted in admiration of her fine figure.
Synonyms worthy, admirable, praiseworthy, laudable, estimable, upright, upstanding, respectable, seemly, ladylike, gentlemanly - 1.2 Good; satisfactory.
relations in the group were fine Example sentencesExamples - He goes all right, fine, I endorse him, get the hell out of here.
- In this day and age, I think any and all of these are fine reasons to practice aikido.
- If you haven't yet reached a place where you feel worthy of peace, health and happiness, fine.
- The DVD quality is fine, with enough extra content to add even more impetus for purchase.
- Four days out of five it's fine, but on average, one day out of five, I can't get to it.
- One of his mentors wanted to reschedule to another day, it was fine so Kenny accepted.
- I recently bought a T68i phone in the Dubai Airport Duty Free shop and it appeared to work fine.
- In fact, just pressing my nose against the window and giving him a double thumbs up satisfies me fine.
- Excluding women seems to be unacceptable, but excluding men appears to be fine.
- However, more is fine if you tolerate the higher carbohydrate amount and feel good consuming it.
- I just know that one beer bash was fine, two was tolerable, and the third was just a way to eat up time on Memorial Day.
- It may be fine to say average rates have been lowered with the various rebates.
- If you edit entries by hand, it is fine to use filenames suitable for humans such as the name of the item.
- These are, nevertheless, still reasonably fine fabrics and much finer than some of the cloth some of the public expect us to be wearing.
- Brand quality is fine, but sales are poor and the owner is disillusioned with the plant at Tröllhattan.
Synonyms all right, acceptable, suitable, good, good enough, agreeable, fair, passable, satisfactory, adequate, reasonable, up to scratch, up to the mark, up to standard, up to par, average, tolerable - 1.3 Used to express one's agreement with or acquiescence to something.
anything you want is fine by me, Linda he said such a solution would be fine Example sentencesExamples - So he has an opinion and he's willing to express it which is fine by me - it's certainly not a freedom of speech issue.
- Frankly, if there are people on the left or the right that are not sure how he's going to rule on a case, that's fine by me.
- If you don't get HBO, you're missing a large part of that greatness, which is fine by me.
- Any outcome from here on in is fine by me, and I mean that honestly.
- Whatever it takes to be at peace with saying goodbye is fine by me.
- 1.4 In good health and feeling well.
“I'm fine, just fine. And you?” Example sentencesExamples - There is no update, he says, other than adding that his health is fine.
- Frances is on virtually no medication and in fine health.
- Sion knew that this was supposed to be good news; everyone in Dawe City was in fine health.
- She had been fine one day and silent and brooding the next.
- He appears to be fine though because I didn't find anything that had triggered the headache of his.
- Assuring her that she was in fine health, the doctor sent Shelley on her way.
- Similar tests were done in 1997 and at that time the Char stock was fine and healthy.
- After a couple of hours the med team announced to the commander that they were all in fine health.
- I presume he's fine, in good health and that, but it's very unlike him to pop off.
- Nathaniel appeared fine for the most part, besides his shaky hands and increasingly white face.
- The babe, clearly in fine health, scrunched its pink face and began to cry heartily.
- The six individuals, who looked fine, healthy and happy in real life were cruelly presented in muted monochromatic colors.
- Her husband, who had been in fine health, came home one day from the office feeling ill.
- Upon awaking four days later Hughes contrarily declared himself to be in fine health.
Synonyms in good health, well, healthy, all right, fit, fighting fit, as fit as a fiddle, as fit as a flea, robust, strong, vigorous, blooming, thriving, in good shape, in good condition, in fine fettle - 1.5 (of the weather) bright and clear.
it was another fine winter day Example sentencesExamples - However, in all this fine weather, something else has come out - insects.
- The river is still coloured but this is expected to clear over the coming week, if the fine weather forecasted arrives.
- The fine weather added to the enjoyment of the trip and well done to the organisers who ensured that everyone had a great time.
- Luckily, the weather was fine and some sunshine managed to peek through.
- Mr Clarke said he walks to work when the weather is fine but in the winter he appreciates being able to call on a lift.
- The fine weather has brought some plants into bloom unexpectedly early, including some stunning magnolias.
- The weather was fairly fine and we managed to get in a game or two on most days.
Synonyms fair, dry, bright, clear, sunny, sunshiny, cloudless, unclouded, without a cloud in the sky, warm, balmy, summery, clement, agreeable, pleasant, nice, benign - 1.6 Of imposing and dignified appearance or size.
a very fine Elizabethan mansion Example sentencesExamples - You enter the property via a fine hallway with an imposing stained glass window and original spindled staircase sweeping to the first floor.
- A fine figure of a man, he radiates masculine self-assurance, a quality that interested her greatly.
- It is also set among some fine church towers and mill chimneys.
- Holy Cross abbey, near the English bridge, has a fine early Norman nave.
- Hence it helps if the actor is a fine figure of a man, of noble countenance and with a beautiful speaking voice.
- He was a fine figure of a man, she thought and some woman must be missing him.
- Wherever he was, with his family, in a fine mansion, or in a dingy prison cell, he made the very best of his circumstances.
Synonyms impressive, imposing, dignified, striking, splendid, grand, majestic, magnificent, august, lofty, stately - 1.7 (of speech or writing) sounding impressive and grand but ultimately insincere.
fine words seemed to produce few practical benefits Example sentencesExamples - Greetings to members of the House and to all the other New Zealanders listening to this fine speech.
- He will make a fine speech on the title in the next couple of minutes.
- It is full of grand statements and fine sounding but vague promises to assist working people and the poor.
- I hesitate to interrupt my colleague, because he is giving a very fine speech.
- It will be very gratifying indeed to see such a fine speech as that followed up by a vote that is in line with her own rhetoric.
- 1.8 Denoting or displaying a state of good, though not excellent, preservation in stamps, books, coins, etc.
Example sentencesExamples - Despite the specimen's fine preservation, we are not sure to what species it belongs.
- 1.9 (of gold or silver) containing a specified high proportion of pure metal.
the coin is struck in .986 fine gold Example sentencesExamples - They have one of their fine Gold Dots of the same weight and also a 325 gr.
2(of a thread, filament, or person's hair) thin. I have always had fine and dry hair Example sentencesExamples - Once this is dry, fine threads of beeswax are tightly wound around it.
- Myst can make out the attempts at a mustache on his upper lip, but his hair is too fine and matches his pink skin too well to show.
- Iraq is also famous for its carpets, woven from fine threads in brilliant colors.
- Your surgeon then uses a fine thread to stitch the new cornea into place.
- In places the fine filaments run on top of the thicker filaments, and are thus closer to the plasma membrane.
- Dom ran a hand over his arm, wrapping his fingers around his wrists and stroking the fine hairs along his skin.
- Nick's Cajun chicken pasta consisted of a bed of fine ribbons of fresh pasta tossed in a light tomato sauce with pieces of spiced Cajun chicken on top.
- While fine hair is genetic, Kingsley says, there are plenty of ways to increase its volume.
- If the hair is fairly fine and downy, either on the upper lip or the cheeks, then bleaching is by far the best solution.
- This is the soft, flexible white tape that can be stretched out into a fine thread.
- People with fine hair tend to have more glands on their scalps and thus have greater chances of having oily hair.
- Abruptly, the strands lost their color, looking for all the world like fine threads of crystal.
- The obvious answer to counter this infiltration was a fine wire which lit a signal lamp when broken.
- At the mention of its name a thin dog with short fine hair came at attention beside Jen.
- Tiny, tiny fine hairs on her cheek and upper lip caught the red sun; her whole face shimmered.
- People with anorexia have dry skin and might have fine hair growing on their body.
- The process of converting the wild grass into fine thread involves stages of processing and dyeing.
- Marared was sitting across from him with her long fine hair braided and a robe covering her slender figure.
- It was a day when the fine hairs on your skin seem to crinkle up in the sun.
- Acupuncture points lie on meridians and are stimulated by the insertion of thin, fine needles at various points.
- Strong arms, lightly covered in fine hair, came around her to grasp the reins.
- The fine hair that covers our bodies provides warmth and protects our skin.
- There were no visible pores in the skin and the fine hairs of the lower legs were bleached white.
Synonyms thin, light, delicate, wispy, floaty, flyaway, feathery sheer, light, lightweight, thin, flimsy, ultra-fine, insubstantial - 2.1 (of a point) sharp.
I sharpened the leads to a fine point Example sentencesExamples - On the outer edges of the sword was shining steel, sharpened to a fine point.
- By the time I finished grade school, my sense of dark, black humor had been honed to a fine point.
Synonyms sharp, keen, acute, sharpened, honed, razor-sharp, razor-like, whetted - 2.2 Consisting of small particles.
the soils were all fine silt Example sentencesExamples - I descend through the green globs of the algal bloom, then into bottom visibility clouded by fine silt lifted by the tide.
- Just above the fine silt on the base of the ditch were four partial cattle skulls and a cranial fragment, probably also cattle.
- This groundbait with its very fine particles was designed to catch the tiny little canal roach.
- The grey paintwork and windows were already covered in a fine layer of silt.
- Sometimes they are split open, the pips removed, and the rest ground up into a fine powder to be sprinkled into stews and soups.
- I later applied a paint for cement floors, but it came off in fine particles.
- The sample was dried in an oven and ground into fine powder.
- The material can range from fine particles to large lumps.
- Conway said there is good evidence that fine particulate matter from Asia is landing in British Columbia.
- There was no damage to the property but a lot of fine silt mud was left.
- Enamel is essentially just coloured glass ground up into a fine powder.
- He could not resist the urge to look up, and when he did, his eyes became full of very fine, golden particles.
- Dust and fine sand particles tend to cling to the surface of the skin, especially in the folds and in between the toes and fingers.
- In deserts, and on Mars, fine sand and silt are funnelled down valleys by wind and may even carve new systems of ridges and depressions in solid rock.
- At the back is a bank of fine silt that is invariably stirred up by the first few divers who venture inside, so try to be first there if you can!
- A puff of fine silt draws my attention to a squat lobster darting back into a crack in the rocks.
Synonyms fine-grained, powdery, dusty, chalky, floury, powdered, ground, granulated, crushed, pulverized - 2.3 Having or requiring an intricate delicacy of touch.
Example sentencesExamples - In all his life, Peter had never seen any fabric so fine or so intricately woven.
- Color a few fine pieces for subtle highlights, or create chunkier pieces for a more dramatic look.
- He drinks in her delicate features, the fine curve of her jaw, the long lashes veiling her stark blue eyes.
- She fingered fine muslins and intricate laces, heavy crimson silks and tulle.
- I unscrew the tiny joints that holds the cover onto me with fine tools made for delicate jobs.
- Those of a higher class have theirs hand made by a tailor with intricate needlework and fine fabric.
- It looks like it is made up of an intricate fine lace expertly spun in glass fibers no thicker than human hair.
- The winning hybrids yielded breads with a fine crumb structure and a high overall number of cells.
- So we make these really fine structures that mechanically have hinges that allow them to move and bend.
- Beneath it lay more men's clothes, including linen tunics of fine weave and workmanship.
Synonyms delicate, fragile, frail, breakable, dainty, insubstantial intricate, delicate, detailed, minute, elaborate, ornate, dainty, meticulous, painstaking - 2.4 (of something abstract) subtle and therefore perceived only with difficulty and care.
there is a fine distinction between misrepresenting the truth and lying Example sentencesExamples - Maybe the fine distinctions between ethics and morality should be simplified.
- Other hypotheses he puts forward also invoke this very fine, subtle matter.
- It's a fine distinction, but I can think of no other way of making it than by testing the evidence in open court.
- The difference between prices and costs is not just a fine distinction made by economists.
- If we couldn't make fine distinctions in the natural world, we'd be done for.
- It's a fine distinction to be drawn, clearly - but we know that governments have more information than the general public.
- When the opportunity came I would be fine, I'd be okay because I like to think that I take care of the fine detail in football.
- There's a fine distinction between a burial ground and a graveyard, the former needing a few years to grow into the other.
Synonyms subtle, fine-drawn, ultra-fine, precise, minute, nice, narrow, tenuous - 2.5 (of a physical faculty) sensitive and discriminating.
he has a fine eye for the detail and texture of social scenery Example sentencesExamples - She begins to shrink from his lack of fine feeling and drunkenness; embittered, she turns their marriage into a battle.
- Srivatsa reveals a fine feeling for the telling detail, and a great sense of humour.
- Rafael Benitez is clearly an intelligent coach who has a fine understanding of the game.
- The reader will be curious to know where those fine feelings of moral repugnance were when you took the job.
- That fine sensitivity also helps to interpret a minor insult or affront as a threat or rejection.
- I think Dr Lynda Scott has struck that very, very sensitive, fine balance.
- While at work you must ruthlessly suppress all three of these fine emotions.
- You are able to maintain a fine balance in sensitive personal relationships and business partnerships.
- A heartless person incapable of fine emotions is unable to attain to high ideals.
- It was a good lesson that the truth is more important than fine feelings.
nounfaɪnfīn finesVery small particles found in mining, milling, etc. Example sentencesExamples - It raises dust, separating fines from aggregate.
- Dry maintenance comprises the use of a grader only, to smooth the road by respreading the mixed fines and gravel material across the surface.
- Transportation costs, on a per-kilometer basis, should be similar for both the sand and granite fines.
- There are limitations and certain conditions for the success of this method such as uniformity of sand and fines content in addition to the time factor.
- Odds ratios showed cows preferred the stalls bedded with sand 2.8 times more than the stalls bedded with granite fines.
- For flowability, the mixes contained additional fines, including limestone powder and silica fume.
- The product dries in 20 to 30 minutes to form a hard, durable surface that binds fines to the larger aggregate particles in the road surface.
- Eighteen stalls were randomly bedded with sand or granite fines.
- The clay minerals and copious fines reported suggest that blockfields were produced by chemical weathering in a Mediterranean-type climate.
- Screening followed, separating waste matter from the fines, or powdered borates.
adverbfaɪnfīn informal In a satisfactory or pleasing manner; very well. “And how's the job-hunting going?” “Oh, fine.” Example sentencesExamples - He had had trouble with TelePrompter in the past, he did just fine last night.
- He was well liked and fine mannered young man who later secured work in the Bacon Factory where he spent some years.
verbfaɪnfīn 1with object Clarify (beer or wine) by causing the precipitation of sediment during production. Example sentencesExamples - We fine the wine with egg extracts, so are we to put that on the label?
- If, after egg-white fining, the wine remains hazy, it always will be hazy.
- Fish extract is used to fine the wine - to take all the cloudy particles out of it.
- To ensure clarity and stability, wine often needs to be fined (wine-speak for clarified) and filtered.
- The aging in large Slovenian oak barrels remains the same and they are still not fining or filtering their wines.
Synonyms clarify, clear, become clear, make clear, purify, refine, filter - 1.1no object (of liquid) become clear.
the ale hadn't had quite time to fine down Example sentencesExamples - The heavy rains earlier in the week have added a much needed drop of extra water to our local rivers which should be fining down nicely by the weekend.
- Wood-matured ports, often called simply wood ports, are aged either in wooden casks or, sometimes, cement tanks, and are ready to drink straight after fining, filtration, and bottling.
2Make or become thinner. no object she'd certainly fined down—her face was thinner with object it can be fined right down to the finished shape Example sentencesExamples - He preserved a courtly oblivion towards the event, though it seems beyond reason that he could have not noticed his wife's girth had suddenly fined down.
- In a set of photographs at the end of the book, we see the twins fined down to skin and bone shortly after their release from Kolyma in 1942.
- His face was fined down and lost most of its boyishness but his skin was still a dusky gold.
Synonyms thin, become thin, make thin, become thinner, make thinner, narrow, taper, attenuate, constrict
Phrases Allow a very small margin of something, especially time. boys who have cut it rather fine are scuttling into chapel Example sentencesExamples - At evening signings I'll always stay and make sure everyone goes away happy, but on this tour there will be several places where I'll need to go from a signing to another signing, so don't cut it fine.
- Started out trying to get the holiday sorted out first, though - we go a week today, so we're cutting it fine already.
- We had the turf remover for three hours which was cutting it fine - especially since the thing kept stalling if you didn't have the choke out, but wouldn't cut turf if you did.
- They're cutting things fine in Athens as the jackhammers around the main stadium mix with the sounds of rehearsals for the Opening Ceremony.
- The airport bus wasn't due to leave for 20 minutes, and it was already 6: 10, which was going to be cutting it fine for a 7pm flight.
- If you still haven't got around to filling in your tax return, then you're cutting it fine.
- Another US Olympic legend Jenny Thompson also cut it fine coming in second behind Rachel Komisarz in the 100m fly, but should still make the journey to Greece for her fourth Olympics.
- ‘You're cutting it fine,’ said a thin man with dry lips.
- If you have your exam timetable to hand you are already cutting it fine.
- Thankfully, my instincts for not cutting it fine where travel plans are concerned kicked in, and I made it ok.
1Be entirely satisfactory. Example sentencesExamples - Francis says as long as the company's drugs continue to meet the needs of baby boomers, the company will do fine.
- 1.1Be healthy or well.
Example sentencesExamples - Now, in terms of his overall health, the press aide said he's doing fine.
- My family is doing fine and my niece is about to have her baby.
- Mother and baby arrived home earlier this week and are doing fine.
- After inquiries about his own health, Dr Anthony said he was doing fine.
- She said Jake, originally due on August 20th and weighing in at a healthy 6 lbs 11 oz, was doing fine, despite his dramatic entrance into the world.
- Adult animals are healthy enough, and young animals do fine while they're nursing, but juvenile sea lions between ages one and four are not surviving.
- She needed three attempts at it but was successful and the baby did fine.
- Luckily, Michael, a trained first-aider knew exactly what to do, and baby Alfie is now doing fine.
- Aside from that, the baby is said to be doing fine and is the spitting image of mom.
- A baby who seems to be doing fine one minute, can be dead from sepsis within a few hours.
- 1.2Do something in a satisfactory manner.
he was doing fine acquiring all the necessary disciplines in finance Example sentencesExamples - At a news conference today, President Bush said Donald Rumsfeld cares deeply about the troops and is doing fine work.
- As long as he shores up his base and reacts when his opponent messes up, he's doing fine.
- He will do fine, and the department will do fine.
- The economy is doing fine and, if left alone, will continue to do fine.
- Most of our affluent youngsters are doing fine in school, as international test comparisons reveal.
- We are - all of our hospitals are operating on emergency backup and they're doing fine.
- People think that because the the group is doing so well militarily, we are doing fine on the ground and getting food to people.
- Some of the team did fine without gloves and acquired a few blisters and scrapes during the event.
- You go through the motions of school, doing fine in one class but completely floundering in another, believing the whole time that you just don't get it.
- I thought we were doing fine the way we were and with the small number of members in our group, we can more thoroughly critique each others work.
fine feathers make fine birds proverb Beautiful clothes or an eye-catching appearance make a person appear similarly beautiful or impressive.
The more complex or detailed aspects of. he went on to discuss the finer points of his work Example sentencesExamples - We also had the opportunity to discuss the finer points of display and presentation.
- After all, the finer points of fiscal autonomy are not generally discussed down the local bar.
- Now their only problem might come from itinerant lawyers wanting to discuss the finer points of local corporate law.
- I doubt that he knows the finer points of what's proper or not proper.
- They hope to bring out a magazine, which will update women about the finer points of combining the microwave and gas-stove cookery.
- On Talkback Gardening, local rose expert, Dean Stringer, explained the finer points of pruning a bush rose and a standard.
- He had to know the finer points of how to get a web site noticed.
- When he asks why she is in therapy, she blithely professes ignorance and discusses the finer points of gourmet cooking.
- I was discussing the finer points of impeachment, and votes of no confidence.
- More than 20 people learned the finer points of photography on a Greenough river cruise yesterday.
informal The police of a particular city. Example sentencesExamples - I opened the door to one of our city's finest… the Vancouver Police Department.
- On another note, one of our county's finest who routinely patrols the multiplex actually stood in a side aisle through the entire film, even going so far as to participate in the various audience-related activities.
- Some of the city's finest were recognized Feb. 7 for their cool heads in the line of duty.
- The inimitable Fish makes several pungent observations on the transgressions of our city 's finest this past holiday.
One's feelings of honor, loyalty, or duty; one's conscience or sense of morality. Example sentencesExamples - It was a period when middle-class fathers often withdrew behind taciturnity and rituals of manliness, when mothers stifled their finer feelings and aspirations behind domestic routines.
- More specifically addressing Freeman Dyson's essay, Freeman writes ‘If we are partly analog, the downloading of a human consciousness into a digital computer may involve a certain loss of our finer feelings and qualities.’
- You're trying to appeal to his finer feelings, and people who write for that slimy rag don't have any.
- It addresses our finer feelings, and gives exercise to every mild and generous propensity ’.
The time of one's greatest success. Example sentencesExamples - I can't say more for fear of broken fingers and retribution, but tonight wasn't our finest hour.
- They are nostalgic for their finest hour.
- Others (the late, great Luis Bunuel for example), however, seem to enjoy their finest hour.
- And let us not forget their finest hour: the night of treachery 14 years ago that began this whole unhappy saga
- Which reminds me of possibly my finest hour in such matters.
- It is something less than our finest hour, but highly revelatory of our national obsessions.
- The 11-year-old achieved his finest hour when winning the 2003 Champion Hurdle, having taken this corresponding race the previous November.
- It can hardly be said that this was their finest hour.
- And the ten year old will be back at the scene of his finest hour and possibly favourite to become the first horse to achieve back to back victories in the race since the legendary Red Rum last did it all those long years ago.
- Many cite The Third Man as his finest hour, but Odd Man Out is not far behind.
fine words butter no parsnips proverb Nothing is achieved by empty promises or flattery.
not to put too fine a point on it not to put too fine a point on it, your Emily is a liar Example sentencesExamples - But the lyrics are, not to put too fine a point on it, controversial.
- For short stories are wonderful in this respect: they are, as the name of the genre strongly suggests, short, unlike novels, which, in comparison with most typical short stories, are, not to put too fine a point on it, long.
- His office, not to put too fine a point on it, is a tip.
- He lacks, not to put too fine a point on it, the breeding.
- This is, not to put too fine a point on it, insane.
- Then we went through several years of a very boring market, not to put too fine a point on it, and the ratings kept climbing.
- We are dealing here with people who are, not to put too fine a point on it, nuts.
- For we, not to put too fine a point on it, were robbed.
- If you believe they are, you are, not to put too fine a point on it, a fool.
- There is much more I could say here, but it would be, not to put too fine a point on it, frankly un-Christian, and I do try to avoid that.
At some unspecified or unknown time. you want to be the Chancellor one fine day Example sentencesExamples - Then one fine day, a boy called Rocky almost proved me wrong.
- And then, one fine day, your child turns to you and tells you that smoking is dangerous.
- Normal service resumes… oh, I don't know… one fine day.
- And once we get down to improving our infrastructure, which includes good roads, uninterrupted power supply, a good international airport, which is going to happen one fine day, then we can say we are nearly there.
- Arriving at school one fine day, this odd couple is smitten by a new student, Leigh Cabot, who is as smart as she is attractive.
- I have always made a habit of retaining the last few frames of film for the unexpected - it has never come to much all these years, but one fine day, I hit pay dirt.
- Having taken refuge in many other women after their break up he had finally, one fine day, woken up in some strange woman's bed and began to cry.
- I considered myself lucky most of the time, until one fine day…
- So one fine day, the moody tusker decides that he wants to take over the rat holes near his lair and starts killing the rats one by one.
- Once again the boredom of prison life seeps into Horatio's life, until one fine day when the commandant brings the unexpected news that Horatio and his men are being freed in recognition of their efforts to rescue the wrecked Spanish crew.
Suit or be enough for someone. Example sentencesExamples - So it looks like my theory that an 800 seater would do us fine with plenty of room for people who showed up on the day might have been a little over-optimistic.
- And yes, I know that the labels don't fit too well but I'm not happy to play games with them; most people know what you mean by pop and classical and that'll do me fine.
- I think you can just bring us a couple glasses of ice water, that'll do us fine.
- Graham seems to think that a cheap laptop plugged into the holiday camp network will do me fine.
- I'd rather be sitting on a sun lounger in Cyprus wondering which restaurant to go to for a long boozy lunch, but for now, Monday morning at home will do me fine.
- Quite frankly, any type of legitimacy in this country would do me fine.
- If we finish one place behind the European qualification places it would do me fine.
- For that reason I invite members to support the amendment from my colleague that simply changes the date to 5 years hence, which will do us fine.
- Ken pulled up in front of what looked like a dingy old hotel, but by this time even though I'd been sleeping in the car I knew that any bed would do me fine.
- I still ‘sleep fast ‘- 5-6 hours, but it seems to do me fine.’
Origin Middle English: from Old French fin, based on Latin finire ‘to finish’ (see finish). nounfaɪnfīn A sum of money exacted as a penalty by a court of law or other authority. Example sentencesExamples - A person found guilty in the District court faces fines of up to 1,900, up to three months in prison, or both.
- Are we to assume that the money raised from parking fines is being put into an account that the owners, should they ever materialise, can have access to?
- Litter louts would get a set period of time - between 14 to 28 days - to pay the fines before running the risk of prosecution and larger fines in court.
- A speedy team of York council wardens will zip through the streets, slapping £60 penalty fines on cars parked illegally during the racing festival.
- Drivers can opt to take part in the scheme instead of paying fines and incurring penalty points on their licences.
- The restraining order is the first step toward possible contempt-of-court findings and heavy fines if the court finds the mechanics staged illegal job actions.
- Failure to comply constitutes a criminal offence and the penalty is a fine.
- More than £354m of fines imposed by magistrates courts across England and Wales is outstanding, with more than £16m owed in Yorkshire.
- Students caught without a licence risk a visit to the magistrates court and a fine of up to £1,000.
- A tough new regime across West Yorkshire will clamp down this month on non-payers of court penalties and on-the-spot fines, including speeding tickets.
- Currently, fines of the High Court can be collected only by officers of the High Court.
- The Supreme Court held these fines could, consistent with the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, be imposed only if preceded by a criminal trial.
- They could end up facing an employment tribunal, or be hauled before a judge in a county court, with fines running into thousands of pounds.
- The question becomes, ‘Are they penalties or fines imposed by a court’?
- Motorists parking illegally near the scene of a fatal accident face fines and penalty points as police in Accrington get tough on drivers.
- The court can enforce fines, ranging from $25 to $10,000, by garnishing wages and bank accounts.
- The District Court can impose fines of up to €1,900 for any single offence in this area.
- The Court should have regard to any other fines or penalties suffered by the defendant for the misconduct in question.
- There were no sanctions, no fines and no penalties.
- The 54 retailers who have been summonsed to the Rotorua District Court face fines of up to $1000.
Synonyms financial penalty, punishment, forfeit, forfeiture, sanction, punitive action, penalty, fee, charge, penance
verbfaɪnfīn [with object]often be finedPunish (someone) by making them pay a sum of money, typically as a penalty for breaking the law. he was fined $600 and sentenced to one day in jail Example sentencesExamples - The code also provides for fining drivers and legal persons whose cars do not have this type of insurance.
- Judge Mary Martin convicted the defendant and fined him £100.
- The magistrate convicted the applicant and fined him $400 with costs.
- He was fined $300 and ordered to pay costs and witness expenses amounting to $190.
- He was fined at Elgin Sheriff Court, in Scotland, in May - but he is not the only gamekeeper whose sights are trained on this protected bird.
- He was fined $500 and ordered to pay $1, 000 compensation to the complainant.
- The court can also fine these people and can also ask for a forfeiture order.
- In this instance a football club was appealing to the Football Association after a commission had fined the directors and severely censured the club for misconduct.
- In related news, the Taiwan High Court yesterday fined a man for illegally hiring a Chinese woman to work in his home.
- The judge explained to him at an early stage that he was being asked to fine him or commit him to prison.
- It follows a series of cases at Bradford magistrates' court last month when several people were fined for not having licences.
- For these offences he was variously fined, sent to a Detention Centre, and given a suspended prison term.
- Four Italian football fans were fined by magistrates after a violent disturbance at Stansted Airport.
- He was fined £300 for each offence, and ordered to pay the respondent's costs in the sum of £675.
- The recent move to fine inconsiderate drivers from illegal parking is late in forthcoming.
- After a unanimous verdict of guilty at the impeachment, he was fined £30,000.
- I am going to fine you a modest sum for your failure to deal with the matter as you should have dealt with it yesterday.
- He is fined and sentenced to three years' probation.
- We did prosecute in that particular case and the person was fined $1,000 for attempting that importation.
- The Tribunal made identical findings against myself and another Respondent but imposed wildly disparate penalties: I was struck off the roll whilst he was fined.
Synonyms penalize, punish by fining, impose a fine on, exact a penalty from, charge
Origin Middle English: from Old French fin ‘end, payment’, from Latin finis ‘end’ (in medieval Latin denoting a sum paid on settling a lawsuit). The original sense was ‘conclusion’ (surviving in the phrase in fine); also used in the medieval Latin sense, the word came to denote a penalty of any kind, later specifically a monetary penalty. nounfinfēn 1French brandy of high quality made from distilled wine rather than from pomace. - 1.1
nounˈfēnāˈfineɪ (in musical directions) the place where a piece of music finishes (when this is not at the end of the score but at the end of an earlier section which is repeated at the end of the piece).
Origin Italian, from Latin finis ‘end’. |