TEM8 GRE
外刊例句
- In the old days he would have hectored.
在过去,他会用威吓的手段。
——《经济学人》 - People who have studied character development through the ages have generally found hectoring lectures don’t help.
多年来,研究性格发展的人们大都发现,声色俱厉的说教没有作用。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[verb] talk to (someone) in a bullying way
[动词] 以欺凌的方式(和某人)说话
深入解读
在希腊神话中,赫克托耳(Hector)是特洛伊(Troy)的大王子及第一勇士,被称为“特洛伊的城墙”。最后和阿喀琉斯(Achilles)决斗,死在对方手里。在与阿喀琉斯决斗之前他已经杀了多名希腊勇士,其名字令敌人闻风丧胆,所以从其名字产生了小写的 hector 一词,表示“令人恐惧的人”。
17世纪时英国伦敦的街头小混混们常将自己称为“hector”,玷污了赫克托耳的名声。所以后来 hector 的含义急转直下,变成贬义指“恃强凌弱者”,用作动词时则表示“威吓、威逼”,强调恃强欺凌弱者,常态度专横或带有令人精神崩溃的训斥,比如:
名著用例
Joseph remained to hector over tenants and labourers; and because it was his vocation to be where he had plenty of wickedness to reprove.
约瑟夫继续威吓着佃户与那些干活的,因为呆在一个有好多事他可以骂个没完的地方,就是他的职业。
出自英国女作家艾米莉·勃朗特(Emily Brontë)的小说《呼啸山庄》(Wuthering Heights)。该小说是19世纪英国文学的代表作之一,故事描写吉卜赛弃儿希斯克利夫被山庄老主人收养后,因受辱和恋爱不遂,外出致富,回来后,对与其女友凯瑟琳结婚的地主林顿及其子女进行报复的故事。
同近义词
- browbeat: to try to force someone to do something by threatening them or persuading them forcefully and unfairly
- bully: seek to harm, intimidate, or coerce (someone perceived as vulnerable)
- intimidate: frighten or overawe (someone), especially in order to make them do what one wants