CET6 SAT TEM8 GRE
外刊例句
- The general public has not forsaken cash or credit cards.
广大民众并没有弃用现金或信用卡。
——《经济学人》 - Britain was forsaking the European Union, almost certainly reviving customs checks on both sides of the English Channel, while threatening to disrupt a vital trading relationship.
英国正在脱离欧盟,这几乎可以肯定会导致英吉利海峡两岸的海关重新开始验关,同时会威胁搅乱一个至关重要的贸易关系。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[verb] abandon (someone or something)
[动词] 抛弃(某人或某事)
深入解读
相对于 forsake 而言,一般更为熟悉的是 for the sake of (为了)这个常用表达。尽管都是由 for + sake 构成,但 forsake 的含义却与之大不相同,主要表示“抛弃、遗弃、离开”,侧重断绝感情上的依恋,自愿抛弃所喜欢的人或物,尤指在他人需要时不履行责任,也可以指抛弃信仰或摒弃恶习(forsake a bad habit ),比如:
- 尽管他们的整个婚姻都是在做戏,但他明确地向妻子说,永远不离开她。
He had made it clear to his wife that he would never forsake her, even though their whole marriage had been a charade. - 她抛开城市的绚烂,去一个宁静的乡间小镇居住。
She forsook the glamour of the city and went to live in a sedate country town.
除此之外, forsake 还可以用来表示“离开、告别”某个地方或某物,比如:
- 一个懒洋洋的搬运工从旅馆门口的隐蔽处走了出来,把我的行李搬了进去。
A languid porter forsook the shelter of the inn doorway and brought my bags in.
说到地方, forsake 有一个有趣的衍生词叫 godforsaken ,字面意思是“被上帝抛弃的”,实则用于形容地方“乏味的、沉闷的、丑陋的”,比如:
- 住在这么个破地方,我受不了。
I can't stand living in this godforsaken hole.
最后值得注意的是, forsake 是一个不规则动词,其过去式为 forsook ,其过去分词为 forsaken 。
经典用例
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.
恶人当离弃自己的道路,不义的人当除掉自己的意念。
出自旧约全书(Old Testament)。《旧约圣经》是基督教对《圣经》全书的前一部分的常用称呼。旧约圣经原是犹太教主要经籍《塔纳赫》(Hebrew Bible)。
同近义词
- abandon: cease to support or look after (someone); desert
- desert: abandon (a person, cause, or organization) in a way considered disloyal or treacherous
- jilt: suddenly reject or abandon (a lover)