hesitate
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++LDOCE 5++hes·i·tate /ˈhezɪteɪt/ ●●○ W3 verb 1 [intransitive]PAUSE to pause before saying or doing something because you are nervous or not sure 犹豫,踌躇,迟疑 Kay hesitated for a moment and then said ‘yes’. 凯迟疑了片刻,然后说“是的”。hesitate about/over He was still hesitating over whether to leave or not. 他还在犹豫要不要离开。2 don’t hesitate to do something NOT DO somethingused to tell someone that it is correct or right for them to do something and they do not have to worry about offending anyone 尽管做某事 Don’t hesitate to contact me if you need any more information. 如果你需要更多资料,尽管和我联系。 —hesitatingly adverb→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
hesitate• I continued my way around to the front and hesitated.• When they reached the door she hesitated and threw him a pleading look.• He lifted his hand, hesitating, but withdrew it again and sat awhile, quite still.• She hesitated for a moment before replying.• Had we hesitated much longer, we might not even have had the spot on the rooftop.• Paul started to speak but hesitated, searching for just the right words.• Barry stood at the door, hesitating. Should he walk straight in or knock?• If anyone of you is troubled or needs help please don't hesitate to contact me or my wife.• Why would any nation hesitate to serve its own best interests by such sensible and humane redirection of its wealth?hesitate about/over• Those within the existing Community who hesitate over future commitments would form the next circle.• Had she driven poor Tina away by hesitating about paying for the installation of a bathroom?• It had all been so flimsy that Pascoe had hesitated about presenting it to Dalziel.• Since it is quite unusual to need to stop a launch, a shy person would certainly hesitate about shouting out.• Most girls wouldn't hesitate over this sort of thing.• The thought came to him in an instant as he stood, hesitating over whether to join the fight.• Coming out of the bathroom, she hesitated over which bedroom to enter.Origin hesitate (1600-1700) Latin past participle of haesitare “to stick firmly, hesitate”, from haerere “to stick”hes·i·tate verbChineseSyllable
doing pause before to saying something or Corpus
hesitate
hes‧i‧tate W3 /ˈhezəteɪt, ˈhezɪteɪt/
verb
Kay hesitated for a moment and then said ‘yes’.
hesitate about/over
He was still hesitating over whether to leave or not.
2. don’t hesitate to do something used to tell someone that it is correct or right for them to do something and they do not have to worry about offending anyone:
Don’t hesitate to contact me if you need any more information.
—hesitatingly adverb
▪ pause to stop speaking or stop doing something for a very short time before starting again. Pause is used especially in written descriptions. In everyday spoken English, people usually just say stop: She paused at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at the clock. | He paused, waiting for Larry to say something.
▪hesitate to stop for a moment and wait before doing something, because you feel unsure or nervous about it: She hesitated for a moment before replying.
▪have/take a break to stop working for a short time in order to rest, eat etc: We’re all getting tired. Let’s take a break for ten minutes.
▪adjourn formal if a meeting or court adjourns or is adjourned, it stops for a short time: If there are no more questions, the committee will adjourn until tomorrow morning. | The trial was adjourned because one of the defendants was ill.
▪take five especially American English informal to stop for a short time in order to rest: Let’s take five and get some coffee.
▪break off to suddenly stop speaking, especially because you see, hear, or think of something: He broke off his conversation when he saw Mary running towards him. | She broke off and looked embarrassed, then said, ‘I’ll explain later.’
hes‧i‧tate W3 /ˈhezəteɪt, ˈhezɪteɪt/
verb Date: 1600-1700
Language: Latin
Origin: past participle of haesitare 'to stick firmly, hesitate', from haerere 'to stick'
1. [intransitive] to pause before saying or doing something because you are nervous or not sure:Language: Latin
Origin: past participle of haesitare 'to stick firmly, hesitate', from haerere 'to stick'
hesitate about/over
2. don’t hesitate to do something used to tell someone that it is correct or right for them to do something and they do not have to worry about offending anyone:
—hesitatingly adverb
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Ways of talking about men and women 表示男女的说法
When you are writing or speaking English it is important to use language that includes both men and women equally. Some people may be very offended if you do not. 说写英语时,重要的是用词要把男女都包括在内,否则可能会冒犯某些人。
The human race 人类
Man andmankind have traditionally been used to mean 'all men and women'. Many people now prefer to usehumanity ,the human race ,human beings orpeople .* man 和 mankind 传统上用以指所有男性和女性,不过,现在许多人喜欢用 humanity、the human race、human beings 或 people。
Jobs 职业
The suffix -ess in names of occupations such asactress ,hostess andwaitress shows that the person doing the job is a woman. Many people now avoid these. Instead you can useactor orhost (althoughactress andhostess are still very common), or a neutral word, such asserver forwaiter andwaitress .后缀 -ess 在职业的名称如 actress、hostess 和 waitress 中表明从事此职业的是女性。目前,许多人避免用这些词。取而代之的是 actor 或 host(尽管 actress 和 hostess 仍然很常见)或用中性词如 server 取代 waiter 和 waitress。 Neutral words like assistant ,worker ,person orofficer are now often used instead of-man or-woman in the names of jobs. For example, you can usepolice officer instead ofpoliceman orpolicewoman , andspokesperson instead ofspokesman orspokeswoman . Neutral words are very common in newspapers, on television and radio and in official writing, in both andBrE .NAmE 现在职业名称常用中性词如 assistant、worker、person 或 officer 取代 -man 或 -woman。例如可用 police officer 代替 policeman 或 policewoman,用 spokesperson 代替 spokesman 或 spokeswoman。在报刊、电视、广播和公文中,英式英语和美式英语都常用中性词。 When talking about jobs that are traditionally done by the other sex, some people say: a male secretary /nurse /model (NOTman ) ora woman /female doctor /barrister /driver . However this is now not usually used unless you need to emphasize which sex the person is, or it is still unusual for the job to be done by a man/woman.谈及传统上由另一性别干的工作时,有人用 male secretary/nurse/model(不用 man)或 woman/female doctor/barrister/driver 表示。不过现在这种用法不常见,除非要强调此人的性别,或由某性别干此工作仍然少见 :◆ My daughter prefers to see a woman doctor. 我的女儿喜欢让女医生看病。 ◆ They have a male nanny for their kids. 他们有个男保姆照料孩子。 ◆ a female racing driver 女赛车手
Pronouns 代词
He used to be considered to cover both men and women.* he 过去被认为既指男性也指女性 :◆ Everyone needs to feel he is loved. 人人都需要有被爱的感觉。 This is not now acceptable. Instead, after everybody ,everyone ,anybody ,anyone ,somebody ,someone , etc. one of the plural pronounsthey ,them , andtheir is often used.现在此用法不获认同。取而代之的是在 everybody、everyone、anybody、anyone、somebody、someone 等之后常用复数代词 they、them 和 their :◆ Does everybody know what they want? 人人都知道自己需要什么吗? ◆ Somebody's left their coat here. 有人把外衣落在这儿了。 ◆ I hope nobody's forgotten to bring their passport with them. 希望没人忘了随身带上护照。 Some people prefer to use he or she ,his or her , orhim or her in speech and writing.有人在口语和书面语中喜欢用 he or she、his or her 或 him or her :◆ Everyone knows what's best for him- or herself. 人人都知道对自己来说什么是最好的。 He/she or(s)he can also be used in writing.* he/she 或 (s)he 亦可用于书面语中 :◆ If in doubt, ask your doctor. He/she can give you more information. 如有疑问请向你的医生咨询,他/她会给你更多的信息。 (You may find that some writers just use 'she'.) 有些人只用 she。 :These uses can seem awkward when they are used a lot. It is better to try to change the sentence, using a plural noun. 这种说法用得太多可能显得别扭。最好尽量改动句子,用复数名词。 :Instead of saying 避免说 :◆ A baby cries when he or she is tired you can say 可以说 :◆ Babies cry when they are tired. 婴儿疲倦时会哭。