1. 1不可改變的、無法更動的。用在事實、法律、決定上,語氣比 fixed 重得多,等於「板上釘釘」。日常口語多半直接說 can't be changed。

    Unalterable means it cannot be changed. It is stronger and more final than 'fixed' or 'permanent', because it says changing is not merely difficult but impossible — the door is shut.

    Unalterable means it cannot be changed意思是不能被改變。It is stronger and more final than 'fixed' or 'permanent'它比 'fixed' 或 'permanent' 更強烈、更絕對, because it says changing is not merely difficult but impossible因為它說的不是難改,而是根本不可能改 — the door is shut門已經關死了。

    You meet it with facts, rules, laws, decisions, and the past: an unalterable fact, an unalterable law of nature, an unalterable decision, the unalterable past. It also attaches to firm human qualities — unalterable opposition, an unalterable belief — where it means the person will not be moved no matter what you say.

    You meet it with facts, rules, laws, decisions, and the past你會看到它搭配事實、規則、法律、決定和過去: an unalterable fact, an unalterable law of nature, an unalterable decision, the unalterable past像 an unalterable fact、an unalterable law of nature、an unalterable decision、the unalterable past。It also attaches to firm human qualities它也會搭配堅定的人格特質 — unalterable opposition, an unalterable belief像 unalterable opposition、an unalterable belief — where it means the person will not be moved no matter what you say意思是不管你說什麼,那個人都不會動搖。

    The word is formal and rather grand; it belongs to law, philosophy, contracts, religion, and serious writing, and it sounds heavy in ordinary conversation, where people say 'can't be changed' or 'final'.

    The word is formal and rather grand這個字很正式,語氣也頗大; it belongs to law, philosophy, contracts, religion, and serious writing屬於法律、哲學、合約、宗教和嚴肅文章的用字, and it sounds heavy in ordinary conversation日常對話裡聽起來會很重, where people say 'can't be changed' or 'final'一般人會說 'can't be changed' 或 'final'。

    Two things worth noticing. First, unalterable often carries feeling, not just fact: calling a decision unalterable can be a way of ending an argument, and a listener may hear stubbornness rather than impossibility. Second, alter is a slightly narrower word than change — it suggests adjusting something that stays basically itself, the way a tailor alters a jacket. So unalterable leans towards 'you cannot adjust even a detail of it', which is part of why it feels so absolute.

    Two things worth noticing有兩件事值得注意。First, unalterable often carries feeling, not just fact第一,unalterable 常常帶著情緒,不只是陳述事實: calling a decision unalterable can be a way of ending an argument把一個決定說成 unalterable,可能是想結束爭論, and a listener may hear stubbornness rather than impossibility聽的人感受到的可能是固執,而不是真的不可能。Second, alter is a slightly narrower word than change第二,alter 比 change 意思窄一點 — it suggests adjusting something that stays basically itself它暗示調整的東西本質上還是原來那個, the way a tailor alters a jacket就像裁縫師修改一件外套那樣。So unalterable leans towards 'you cannot adjust even a detail of it'所以 unalterable 更偏向「連一個細節都不能調整」, which is part of why it feels so absolute這也是它聽起來這麼絕對的原因之一。

core核心畫面

組成un- (not) + alter (to change) + -able (able to be). Alter came through Old French from a Latin word meaning 'other' — to alter something is to make it other than it was.

同家族的字

  • alterthe verb inside it — to change something, often in small ways
  • alterationthe change itself, as when a tailor makes alterations to a suit
  • alternativeshares the Latin root meaning 'other' — the other choice

原始詞典資料2 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法,摘錄並精簡格式,我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的;有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

unalterableadj

  • 1

    Incapable of being altered, or of changing.

    • People of unalterable ideas still insisted upon calling him "Sergeant" when they met him, which was in some degree owing to his having still retained the well-shaped moustache of his military days, and the soldierly bearing inseparable from his form.
    • ... every statute in the Bible and in the law books is an attempt to defeaat a law of God—in other words an unalterable and indestructible law of nature.
  • 2

    Irreversible, irrevocable.

摘錄自 英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary,已精簡格式;依 CC BY-SA 4.0 授權使用,改動後的內容同樣以此授權提供。