Ally

Protracted

發佈時間: 2023/03/08

Protracted

2019年、2020年新冠肺炎疫情初起時,誰又會想到疫情竟然這麼持久(protracted),持續影響我們的生活長達3年之久﹖

形容詞protracted的意思與prolonged一字類似,都有「延長、拖延」之意。不過,protracted帶貶義,只用於負面的語境,描述不理想的情況延長了;Prolong本身則是中性,用於正面和負面的語境均可。例句︰The protracted COVID-19 pandemic has enormous social and economic impact.(持續多時的新冠肺炎疫情具有巨大的社會和經濟影響。)During his prolonged stay in New York, he discovered his interest in fashion.(在紐約長期逗留期間,他發現了自己對時裝的興趣。)

Protracted一字除了可以形容這場新冠疫情,它常用於配搭argument(爭論)、conflict(衝突)、dispute(爭議)、discussion(討論)、litigation(訴訟)、negotiation(談判)等有關於爭論的名詞。

例句︰There was a protracted discussion on the unemployment assistance fund during COVID among government officials.(新冠疫情期間,政府官員對失業援助基金進行了長時間的討論。)

(本欄逢周三、五刊登)

撰文: Ally Dean's List級英文老師
欄名: WordDiscovery