倫倫的小blog

undercut    /ˌʌn·dərˈkʌt/

under-cut

v. [ to weaken; undermine ]

  ex.  The perspective of homosexuality is a disease has been undercut by the efforts of modern scientific research.

v.較廉價的售出 [Offer goods or services at a lower price than (a competitor)]

  note: to cut the price and make better offers

  ex. Donald Trump plans to reduce the tax for American companies, letting them to undercut their Chinese competitors.

 note: undercut 也指一種髮型設計, side swipe undercut

undermine    /ˌʌn·dərˈmɑɪn/

v. [Damage or weaken (someone or something), especially gradually or insidiously.]

    note: mine 一般是指 n.礦場， 這邊有做base的意思。 undermine的概念是指一點一滴的削弱基礎。 ( literally means to dig a hole underneath something, making it likely to collapse.)

   ex. The opposite parties try every possible way to undermine the running party's credibility, and they believe when people dislike the running party, people will vote them. This is a common fallacy.

underdog    /ˈʌn·dərˌdɔɡ/

under-dog

n.處於劣勢的一方 [the weaker of two competitors, or anyone not expected to win a competition]

  ex. Media predicted Donald Trump would have been defeated by Hillary Clinton, but he turned from the underdog to the final winner.

underhanded    /ˌʌn·dərˈhæn·dəd/

under-hand-ed

adj. [done secretly, and sometimes dishonestly, in order to achieve an advantage]

  ex. U.S. government claimed Russia's hacking Democrats' email accounts aimed to provide underhanded aid to Donald Trump.

  note: aboveboard adj.光明正大的

underling    /ˈʌn.dɚ.lɪŋ/

under-ling (具有小的意思，名詞字尾)

n. [a person of low rank and little authority who works for someone more important]

   note: nestling = nest + ling , meaning bird that is too young to leave the nest.

   ex. Top staffers assigned underlings to spy on other top staffers.

underplay    /ˌʌn.dəˈpleɪ/

under-play

v. [to attach little importance to(BRIT); = to play down (US) ]

   ex. After being hacking, all customer information was stolen. All employees in the company were so frustrated such that the manager tried to play down its seriousness in order to encourage them.

understate    /ˌʌn·dərˈsteɪt/

under-state

v. [Describe or represent (something) as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.]

   note: understate <> exaggerate

   ex. In the media press the auto company, Volkswagen,  try to understate the influence of the emission scandal.

underestimate    /ˌʌn·dəˈres·təˌmeɪt/

under-estimate

v.低估 [to estimate (something) to be smaller or less important than it really is]

  ex. We tend to underestimate how much time we waste when blindly browsing Facebook.

  ex. To success, each team member's contribution can never be underestimated.

underrate    /ˌʌn·dərˈreɪt/

under-rate

v.低估 [Underestimate the extent, value, or importance of (someone or something)]

  note: to rate sth under

  ex. No one should underrate my grandmother. Although she is illiterate due to lack of education opportunity at her generation, she has worked very hard to raise all her children.

underlying    /ˌʌn·dərˈlɑɪ·ɪŋ/

under-lying ( 躺 )

adj.在什麼之下 [lying beneath or below]

  ex. A polar bear's dense fur keeps the underlying body warm.

adj. [being the cause or basis of (something)]

 ex. The process of pension reform expects to be painful since the underlying reason is that people think others should sacrifice for them.

underscore    /ˈʌn·dərˌskɔr/

under-score

v.強調 [ to emphasize, = underline ]

  ex.  Donald Trump's American foreign policies underscores the strategy of "America First".

   note: score, 除了大家比較熟悉的比分、分數的字義外，它還有當作割痕(所以可以用來計分)，還有樂譜(五線譜的形狀)

   note: 鍵盤上的 "_" symbol就是underscore