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本帖最后由 eeshu 于 2019-4-14 20:36 编辑
Constant, uninterrupted, continuous, unceasing. Incessant combines the privative prefix in-, meaning "not," with the Latin cessare, to stop, cease, and means literally not ceasing, never-ending. Synonyms of incessant include interminable, relentless, and unremitting. Antonyms of incessant include occasional, irregular, intermittent, incidental, sporadic (word 16 of Level 1), fitful, and erratic. Dictionaries often list the words continuous and continual as synonyms, and today many educated speakers use them interchangeably. They are not interchangeable, however, and the ability to distinguish continual and continuous precisely is one sign of a careful user of the language. Continual means happening again and again at short intervals. We speak of continual reminders, continual attempts, continual laughter, or the continual ringing of the telephone. Continuous means uninterrupted or unbroken. We speak of continuous noise, continuous rain, a continuous effort, or the continuous rotation of the earth. Continuous and incessant are close synonyms. The Century Dictionary (1914) explains that "continuous means unbroken, and is passive; incessant means unceasing, and is active." On one level that distinction is simple: we say a railroad track or telephone cable is continuous, not incessant, because tracks and cables are inactive. But on another level the distinction can be quite subtle and subjective. For example, we may say that a fever is continuous or incessant depending on whether we perceive it as a state or an activity. Similarly, the flow of a waterfall is continuous if viewed as a passive condition of a bucolic scene; it is incessant if looked upon as an active condition within that scene. The bland background music we typically hear in elevators, restaurants, and waiting rooms is continuous to those who don't mind it; but to those who are distracted or irritated by it, it's incessant, unceasing, constant, never-ending.
-- Verbal Advantage
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发表于 2019-4-14 10:58:23
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