倫倫的小blog

substitute    /ˋsʌbstəˏtut/

sub-stitut-e

v.代替

n.代替的人或事物 [person or thing that replaces, acts for or serves as sb or sth else]

  ex. The basketball team coach called a timeout, he wanted to do a substitution, and then Jeremy Lin as a substitute for the original point guard, he started a legend that night from nothing to make fans exclaiming Linsanity.

subsume    /səbˋsum/

sub-sum(take)-e

v.把...歸入 [to include something in a particular group and not consider it separately]

  note: 字根sum 當 take的例子我們已經看了不少了唷，比方說consume, assume. subsume這邊的解釋，你可以想成拿下來於這個個group.

  ex. On the Map made by China, Taiwan is subsumed into its territories. 

  ex. Whether or not these artists subsume sexuality connotations in their work, their painting is favored by many other contemporary artists. ( 把sexaulity 歸入於他們的作品)

  ex. To physicists, we'd like subsume many related equations into just one simple equation. A famous and straightforward example is the Maxwell equation, it can explain all the classical electromagnetic phenomenon.  ( consider the Faraday tensor form.)

subterfuge     /ˋsʌbtɚˏfjudʒ/

n. [a trick or a dishonest way of getting what you want. ]

 ex. She approaches that handsome boy, telling him she wants to discuss the homework with him, but actually it is just her subterfuge to get his solutions, because she hasn't really studied the homework at all.

 ex. In the snow-covered Arctic land, a kind of crow -which is a scavenger- can locate the dead bodies buried under snow, but he cannot dig it out. So here comes his subterfuge. The crow will use his singing to guide a fox to the location, and the fox can dig out the carcass, and they share the meal together.

subterranean    /sʌbtəˋrenɪən/

sub(below)-terr(earth)-an-ean

adj.地下的 [under the earth's surface; underground]

  ex. When I was a child, I dreamed of having a subterranean house, or a underground palace like ants'.

  note1: subterranean除了當作地下的之外，還有常衍生指hidden的。 His smile has subterranean jealousy in it.

  note2: Mediterranean Sea : 地中海

subtle    /ˋsʌtl/  (b沒有發音)

adj.細微的 [not easy to detect or describe; fine; delicate]

  ex. A bird's calls or songs can have many complicated meanings, and that is subtle for human to understand.

  ex. A fashion designer needs to have abilities to deal with the subtle relation between colors and feeling.

adj. 覺靈敏的 [able to see and describe fine and delicate differences]

  ex. A wine connoisseur has subtle gustation, and he is able to taste the differences that most people cannot notice.

  ex. A subtle Jazz player can identify who the clarinet player is by just a few notes.

subtract    /səbˋtrækt/

sub(below)-tract(draw)

v.減去 [to take away by or as if by deducting]

  ex. Our company will offer you a special deal for your loyalty. We not only keep all the recent service quality for you, but also subtract $20 form your original house rent per month.

   note:類似構成的字有 protract, extract 等等

subvert    /sʌbˋvət/

sub(under)-vert(turn)

v.顛覆 [destroy the authority of (a political system, religious faith, etc)]

   note: subvert的概念是徹底的由地基翻轉，類似的字有 overthrow, overturn.

  ex. The raise of mobile devices subverts the ecosystem of software engineering industry, which long lived upon Windows operation system. Now a small App Game like flappy bird can bring $50,000 a day from Ads revenue to a individual creator.

  ex. The confirmation of heliocentricism subverted all the images people knew from the Catholic religion at that time. 

subversive    /səbˋvəsɪv/

sub-vers(turn)-ive

adj.顛覆性的 (特別用於指顛覆政府方面)

  ex. Around 50 years ago in Taiwan, promotion or discussion about communism will be considered as a subversive activity, and people will be taken into a prison.

  ex. China will use any mean of media to suppress subversive books, ideas, discussion, which call for media freedom.

succinct  /səkˋsɪŋkt/

adj.簡潔的 [expressed briefly and clearly ]

  note: 類似的字有 concise, pithy, compact, (laconic, terse)

   ex. The students like his style of teaching. Before classes, he will draw graphs on the board and give a succinct story of how the physicists struggled to solve the problems which will be present in today's lecture. Once the students realize they are learning a useful subject, they show a more responsive attitude in the class. ( from my teaching experience)

  ex. His novel is thought-provoking, evocative, masterly, deeply human, and — at a mere 234 pages — also succinct.

succor    /'sʌkər/

n. [ help; relief; aid; assistance.]

  ex. When I was a 10-year-old kid, I had a surgery on the next day of the Thanksgiving. But my parents cannot be with me, and I felt so lonely and worried. A student nurse noticed me and offered succor to me. We had dinner together and she told me stories until I slept. So far I can never forget it.

  ex. The international succor has been arrived in the most damaged area where people desperately need food and clean water after this typhoon.

v. [to give aid to]

  ex. A campaign pleads with people to donate money or succor to the poor kids who don't have money to go to school.

succumb    /səˋkʌm/

sub-cumb(lie,躺)

v.屈從 [to yield to superior strength or force or overpowering appeal or desire]

  note: succumb這個字根組合的概念有點像是sink。 類似的字有： yield to, cede to, give up.

  ex. Instead of continuing to protect their forest, the local people all succumb to the huge profits a logging company offers.

  ex. Never succumbing to pressure is one of his persistent trait developed through his miserable childhood as an indispensable factor to his successful CEO position now.