| 释义 |
stalestale /steɪl/ ●●○ adjective ETYMOLOGYstaleOrigin: 1200-1300 Probably from Old French estale standing still, settled, from estal standing place ► goes stale French bread goes stale quickly. ► go stale After two years, their marriage began to go stale. THESAURUSfirm► hard not soft, and difficult to press down, bend, break, or cut: Diamond is the hardest substance known to man. He chipped his tooth on a piece of hard candy. ► firm not completely hard, but not soft and not easy to press down: Brownies are done when the edges are firm but the middle is still soft. ► stiff difficult to bend or move: He made the sign with a piece of stiff cardboard. ► solid firm and usually hard, without spaces or holes: They blasted the tunnel through solid rock. ► rigid stiff and impossible to bend: Old airplanes had a rigid frame with cloth stretched tightly over it. ► crisp slightly hard and making a pleasant sound when broken. Used about food, dry leaves, and snow: She bit into the crisp apple. ► stale hard, dry, and no longer fresh. Used especially about food such as bread or cake: The bread was so stale it was hard to chew. not new► old something that is old has existed or been used for a long time: He was wearing an old leather jacket. Our car is getting old now, and things are starting to go wrong with it. ► ancient used about buildings, cities, languages, etc. that are thousands of years old: The explorers found the ruins of an ancient temple. ► antique used about furniture, jewelry, etc. that is old and valuable: The house has some valuable antique furniture from the 19th century. ► vintage used about wine, cars, or clothes that are old and valuable or interesting: Dan collects vintage cars from the 1950s. ► classic used about movies, books, TV programs, cars, etc. that are old but extremely good: James Dean appeared in the classic movie “Rebel Without a Cause.” ► secondhand used about cars, books, and clothes that were owned by someone else and then sold: The store sells secondhand books to raise money for charity. ► used used means the same as secondhand, and you use it especially about cars: You need to be careful when you are buying a used car, because you don’t know if the previous owner took care of it. ► stale used about bread and cake that is no longer fresh: The bread is three days old and it’s getting stale. ► rotten used about food, especially fruit or eggs, that is no longer good to eat: When I opened the egg box, there was a terrible smell of rotten eggs. 1bread or cake that is stale is not fresh or good to eat because it is slightly old OPP fresh: stale cookies French bread goes stale quickly.► see thesaurus at hard1, old2not interesting or exciting anymore: stale old gossip After two years, their marriage began to go stale.3air, breath, or liquid that is stale is not fresh or pleasant OPP fresh: the smell of stale smoke stale coffee4if a person gets stale, he or she has no new ideas, interest, or energy, especially because he or she has been doing the same thing for too long: I like him; he’s young, he’s not stale.—staleness noun [uncountable] |