intimidate

/ɪnˈtɪmɪdeɪt/ v.
标准词条 CET-4
一句话记住

恐吓；威胁；使胆怯

释义与例句

v. 恐吓；威胁；使胆怯
to make someone feel frightened or nervous, especially so that they will do what you want
  1. The large dog intimidated the small children.
    那只大狗把小孩子们吓住了。
  2. Don't let his loud voice intimidate you.
    别让他的大嗓门吓到你。
展开其余 1 条例句
  1. Criminals often intimidate witnesses to stop them testifying.
    犯罪分子常常恐吓证人，阻止他们作证。

词源与构词

记忆钩子 intimidate = in + timid（胆小）+ -ate，使……变得胆小，即恐吓、威胁。搭配 intimidate sb into doing（恐吓某人做某事）。

词族与关联词

词族（同一词根派生出的不同词性或形式）
  • intimidation 恐吓；威胁
    名词，指恐吓的行为。
  • intimidating 令人害怕的
    形容词，形容人或事物使人胆怯。
同义词
  • frighten 使害怕；惊吓
    frighten 是普通的‘使害怕’；intimidate 强调‘用恐吓手段让人屈服、照做’，带有目的性。He frightened me 只是吓了我一跳，He intimidated me 则是他故意吓我让我听话。
    The sudden noise frightened the baby. 突如其来的响声吓到了婴儿。
反义词
  • encourage 鼓励；激励
    encourage 是‘鼓励’，让人更有信心；intimidate 是‘恐吓’，让人害怕退缩，二者行为效果相反。
    Her coach encouraged her to keep trying. 教练鼓励她继续努力。
易混词（形近或义近，注意区别）
  • timid 胆小的；羞怯的
    timid 是形容词‘胆小的’；intimidate 是动词‘恐吓’。拼写都含有 timid，但含义不同：intimidate 是‘使别人变得 timid’。
    The timid child hid behind his mother. 这个胆小的孩子躲在妈妈身后。
常见搭配
  • intimidate someone into 恐吓某人使其做……
    They intimidated the witness into changing his story. 他们恐吓证人改口。
  • feel intimidated 感到害怕/胆怯
    New students often feel intimidated on their first day. 新生第一天常会感到胆怯。
  • intimidating atmosphere 令人紧张的气氛
    The courtroom had an intimidating atmosphere. 法庭里有一种令人紧张的气氛。