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单词 quintessence
释义

Definition of quintessence in English:

quintessence

noun kwɪnˈtɛs(ə)nsˌkwɪnˈtɛsəns
  • 1The most perfect or typical example of a quality or class.

    he was the quintessence of political professionalism
    Example sentencesExamples
    • ‘Fingerprint’ evidence was regarded as virtually beyond challenge until replaced in recent years by DNA hits as the very quintessence of certainty.
    • Previously I was playing a beautiful prelude in C sharp minor op. 45 by Chopin, a piece that is the quintessence of healing compassion, so my heart was full and my spirit was ready to heal.
    • The quintessence of luxury, based upon a range of cashmere, the main collection for this winter is an irresistible invitation to enjoy the ultimate in refined elegance.
    • Euro 2004 has begun on the right note, as a quintessence of football skills.
    • In his brilliant first volume on the Second World War, Winston Churchill describes French statesmanship on the eve of war as ‘the quintessence of defeatism.’
    • Françoise Hardy was the waif-like archetype for a certain type of French vocal which many consider the quintessence of Sixties French pop.
    • It's the quintessence of all the bad things about email and none of the good things.
    • It would have redefined beauty, and captured the very quintessence of rural innocence.
    • Rolfe Kent's sunny up-tempo soundtrack bubbles ironically along, its sixties Italian jazz the quintessence of carefree.
    • Wachner is the quintessence of the driven, laser-focused American businesswoman.
    • A commentary on the website of CBS, the nearest equivalent to the BBC for serious news in the US, summed up: ‘Diana was the quintessence of cool’.
    • Sometime snooker world champion, perpetually in the tabloids for his substance-assisted high jinks, he's the quintessence of Essex wide-boy.
    • Richard Conlon's Brick, handsome, quiet, explosively raging in his guilt and despair over the death of his friend, is the quintessence of the rich boy laid low by unforgiving social mores.
    • But above all the play itself - its writing, the conceptions it embodies, and the way it tells its story - is a quintessence of skill.
    • In both his visits to the wicket he was the quintessence of anxiety.
    • The Agony and the Ecstasy is the much-mocked quintessence of Hollywood's ham-fistedness when it comes to filming the lives of the great artists.
    • Despite his trepidation, betrayed by occasional furtive glances to the right and left, Waddley was the quintessence of efficiency.
    Synonyms
    perfect example, exemplar, prototype, stereotype, picture, epitome, embodiment, personification, paragon, ideal
    best, cream, elite, flower, jewel, gem, pick, prime, last word, acme of perfection
    French crème de la crème, beau idéal
    1. 1.1 The aspect of something regarded as the intrinsic and central constituent of its character.
      we were all brought up to believe that advertising is the quintessence of marketing
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Other geographical regions defined by polka have emerged, for example the Texas-Mexico border regions, where various conjunto fusions have transformed polka while retaining its quintessence.
      • With eloquent violence, workers in Britain smashed the clocks above the factory gates, the loathed symbol of a new world order which had stolen their time, that quintessence of true individual freedom.
      • It pronounces: ‘the constant endeavour to achieve a balance between bodily and mental health was the quintessence of the Greek spirit’.
      • The family farm is the quintessence of old English society, embodying all those virtues of continuity, tradition, patriotism, and local attachment that our ancestors embraced and defended in two world wars.
      • The Authorized Version became the quintessence of Englishness and an index of human character.
      • And sitting in the dark theatre about halfway through Intern Academy, the subject of this little foray, I realized one thing: this film captures the quintessence of Canada.
      • Electricity is the quintessence of the ‘modern way of life’, but the electric power systems themselves are demanding, dangerous, and delicate.
      • Played in its unadulterated form the venerable, patriotic tune has a divine character: Cameron managed to capture the quintessence of the song.
      • The quintessence of religion lies in actual perception and realization of Self under tutelage of a perfect master of the time.
      • The Vedas are the quintessence of classical Hindu philosophy.
      • Paradoxically, however, critical discussions of these same films and their powerful physical effects also often suggest that they are the quintessence of cinema.
      • Not even a hint of this doctrine of salvation is to be found in the Sermon on the Mount - the quintessence of Jesus's message - or in the Lord's Prayer, or in Christ's traditional parables.
      • If any high points are to be singled out on this cd, ‘Nostalgia’ is a good one, a raga that captures the quintessence of some musical explorations in certain times.
      • Rains, thunder, roaring rivers, sky-scraping hills, industrious people, charming smiling girls, Buddhist flavor, sensational jungles, and varied wildlife are the quintessence of the life of Darjeeling.
      • The energy, the spirit and quintessence of the land of his birth dominate his personal space, from which emerges his external space - the canvas.
      • The speech contains much excellent advice, but perhaps the quintessence is, ‘To thine own self be true.’
      Synonyms
      essence, soul, spirit, ethos, nature, core, heart, centre, crux, nub, nucleus, kernel, marrow, pith, substance, sum and substance
      informal nitty-gritty
      Philosophy quiddity, esse
  • 2A refined essence or extract of a substance.

    Example sentencesExamples
    • Some chemists now turned less to distilled quintessences and more to precipitates and residues in their search for new remedies.
    • Mercury was believed to possess magical properties and some regarded it as the quintessence of the human body and of all substances.
  • 3(in classical and medieval philosophy) a fifth substance in addition to the four elements, thought to compose the heavenly bodies and to be latent in all things.

    Example sentencesExamples
    • Beyond the four elements, everything consisted of a fifth substance, the quintessence, which unlike them was not subject to any kind of change except locomotion, uniformly and in perfect circles.
    • In ancient philosophy, quintessence was believed to be the stuff of heavenly bodies, which Aristotle credited as divine, alive and intelligent.
    • The quintessence permeates the compost, soil and plants like astral perfume, and affects plant growth with subtle yet powerful forces of the cosmos.

Origin

Late Middle English (as a term in philosophy): via French from medieval Latin quinta essentia 'fifth essence'.

  • Classical and medieval philosophers believed that there were four elements that made up everything that existed in the world (see humour). In addition, they thought that there was a fifth substance hidden in all things, of which the heavenly bodies were composed. This they called the quintessence, from medieval Latin quinta essentia ‘fifth essence’. Later the word came to mean ‘the most typical or perfect example or form of something’, as in Sir Walter Scott's remark in a letter written in 1823, ‘You have escaped the quintessence of bores.’

Rhymes

acquiescence, adolescence, arborescence, coalescence, convalescence, deliquescence, effervescence, essence, evanescence, excrescence, florescence, fluorescence, incandescence, iridescence, juvenescence, luminescence, obsolescence, opalescence, phosphorescence, pubescence, putrescence, quiescence
 
 

Definition of quintessence in US English:

quintessence

nounˌkwinˈtesənsˌkwɪnˈtɛsəns
  • 1The most perfect or typical example of a quality or class.

    he was the quintessence of political professionalism
    Example sentencesExamples
    • The Agony and the Ecstasy is the much-mocked quintessence of Hollywood's ham-fistedness when it comes to filming the lives of the great artists.
    • Rolfe Kent's sunny up-tempo soundtrack bubbles ironically along, its sixties Italian jazz the quintessence of carefree.
    • But above all the play itself - its writing, the conceptions it embodies, and the way it tells its story - is a quintessence of skill.
    • Richard Conlon's Brick, handsome, quiet, explosively raging in his guilt and despair over the death of his friend, is the quintessence of the rich boy laid low by unforgiving social mores.
    • In both his visits to the wicket he was the quintessence of anxiety.
    • In his brilliant first volume on the Second World War, Winston Churchill describes French statesmanship on the eve of war as ‘the quintessence of defeatism.’
    • Françoise Hardy was the waif-like archetype for a certain type of French vocal which many consider the quintessence of Sixties French pop.
    • Euro 2004 has begun on the right note, as a quintessence of football skills.
    • Despite his trepidation, betrayed by occasional furtive glances to the right and left, Waddley was the quintessence of efficiency.
    • ‘Fingerprint’ evidence was regarded as virtually beyond challenge until replaced in recent years by DNA hits as the very quintessence of certainty.
    • The quintessence of luxury, based upon a range of cashmere, the main collection for this winter is an irresistible invitation to enjoy the ultimate in refined elegance.
    • A commentary on the website of CBS, the nearest equivalent to the BBC for serious news in the US, summed up: ‘Diana was the quintessence of cool’.
    • It's the quintessence of all the bad things about email and none of the good things.
    • Sometime snooker world champion, perpetually in the tabloids for his substance-assisted high jinks, he's the quintessence of Essex wide-boy.
    • Previously I was playing a beautiful prelude in C sharp minor op. 45 by Chopin, a piece that is the quintessence of healing compassion, so my heart was full and my spirit was ready to heal.
    • Wachner is the quintessence of the driven, laser-focused American businesswoman.
    • It would have redefined beauty, and captured the very quintessence of rural innocence.
    Synonyms
    perfect example, exemplar, prototype, stereotype, picture, epitome, embodiment, personification, paragon, ideal
    1. 1.1 The aspect of something regarded as the intrinsic and central constituent of its character.
      we were all brought up to believe that advertising is the quintessence of marketing
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Paradoxically, however, critical discussions of these same films and their powerful physical effects also often suggest that they are the quintessence of cinema.
      • And sitting in the dark theatre about halfway through Intern Academy, the subject of this little foray, I realized one thing: this film captures the quintessence of Canada.
      • It pronounces: ‘the constant endeavour to achieve a balance between bodily and mental health was the quintessence of the Greek spirit’.
      • Electricity is the quintessence of the ‘modern way of life’, but the electric power systems themselves are demanding, dangerous, and delicate.
      • With eloquent violence, workers in Britain smashed the clocks above the factory gates, the loathed symbol of a new world order which had stolen their time, that quintessence of true individual freedom.
      • Played in its unadulterated form the venerable, patriotic tune has a divine character: Cameron managed to capture the quintessence of the song.
      • The energy, the spirit and quintessence of the land of his birth dominate his personal space, from which emerges his external space - the canvas.
      • The speech contains much excellent advice, but perhaps the quintessence is, ‘To thine own self be true.’
      • The Authorized Version became the quintessence of Englishness and an index of human character.
      • The Vedas are the quintessence of classical Hindu philosophy.
      • The quintessence of religion lies in actual perception and realization of Self under tutelage of a perfect master of the time.
      • Other geographical regions defined by polka have emerged, for example the Texas-Mexico border regions, where various conjunto fusions have transformed polka while retaining its quintessence.
      • The family farm is the quintessence of old English society, embodying all those virtues of continuity, tradition, patriotism, and local attachment that our ancestors embraced and defended in two world wars.
      • If any high points are to be singled out on this cd, ‘Nostalgia’ is a good one, a raga that captures the quintessence of some musical explorations in certain times.
      • Rains, thunder, roaring rivers, sky-scraping hills, industrious people, charming smiling girls, Buddhist flavor, sensational jungles, and varied wildlife are the quintessence of the life of Darjeeling.
      • Not even a hint of this doctrine of salvation is to be found in the Sermon on the Mount - the quintessence of Jesus's message - or in the Lord's Prayer, or in Christ's traditional parables.
      Synonyms
      essence, soul, spirit, ethos, nature, core, heart, centre, crux, nub, nucleus, kernel, marrow, pith, substance, sum and substance
    2. 1.2 A refined essence or extract of a substance.
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Mercury was believed to possess magical properties and some regarded it as the quintessence of the human body and of all substances.
      • Some chemists now turned less to distilled quintessences and more to precipitates and residues in their search for new remedies.
    3. 1.3 (in classical and medieval philosophy) a fifth substance in addition to the four elements, thought to compose the heavenly bodies and to be latent in all things.
      Example sentencesExamples
      • The quintessence permeates the compost, soil and plants like astral perfume, and affects plant growth with subtle yet powerful forces of the cosmos.
      • Beyond the four elements, everything consisted of a fifth substance, the quintessence, which unlike them was not subject to any kind of change except locomotion, uniformly and in perfect circles.
      • In ancient philosophy, quintessence was believed to be the stuff of heavenly bodies, which Aristotle credited as divine, alive and intelligent.

Origin

Late Middle English (as a term in philosophy): via French from medieval Latin quinta essentia ‘fifth essence’.

 
 
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更新时间:2024/9/22 5:43:03