such
/sʌtʃ
/determiner, predeterminer, & pronoun
1Of the type previously mentioned: I have been involved in many such courses [as predeterminer]: I longed to find a kindred spirit, and in him I thought I had found such a person we were second-class citizens and they treated us as such...
- It did not feel right that such patients should actually be in with very elderly patients.
- As is often the case in such volumes, the quality of the articles is a bit uneven.
- They light up the night sky like a beautiful but harmless fire, if such a thing existed.
2 (such —— as/that) Of the type about to be mentioned: there is no such thing as a free lunch [as predeterminer]: the farm is organized in such a way that it can be run by two adults the wound was such that I had to have stitches...
- Inside the closet she was astounded to find a beautiful dress of such fabric she had never seen.
- Dr Keeling had never encountered such a degree of bleeding as shown in the photographs.
- It narrows to such a degree that there is a risk of becoming wedged by the surge.
3To so high a degree; so great (often used to emphasize a quality): this material is of such importance that it has a powerful bearing on the case [as predeterminer]: autumn’s such a beautiful season [as pronoun]: such is the elegance of his typeface that it is still a favourite of designers...
- We might as well have been in Paris or Rome, such was the beauty and magnificence of our trip.
- Parliament won the day, but such was the confusion neither side was quite sure who had won.
- As he teed off on the eighth hole such was the pain he had to immediately release his club.
Phrases
and such
as such
such-and-such
such as
such as it is (or they are)
such a one
such that
Origin
Old English swilc, swylc; related to Dutch zulk, German solch, from the Germanic bases of so1 and alike.