beget

/bɪˈɡet/ (bre, ipa) · /bɪˈɡet/ (ame, ipa) · /bi-ˈget bē-/ (ame, mw)

beget — verb

  • begetpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • begetshe / she / it
  • begotpast simple
  • begetting-ing form
  • begottenpast participle

1. for a man to have a child and become that child's father

1.動詞及物C2
釋義

for a man to have a child and become that child's father

例句

Christopher begot a son late in life after years of hoping.

beget + son/daughter/heir — formal pattern for fathering a child

Before the war, the king begot three daughters with his first wife.

同義詞
  • father

    the plain modern verb for being a child's male parent

  • sire

    more literary or technical, often used of animals or noble family lines

  • procreate

    more biological and less focused on the father's role

文法句型

beget + child/son/daughter/heir

be begotten by

用法筆記

Usually appears in historical, biblical, legal, or literary writing. The subject is normally the father, while the child is the object; everyday English more often says father a child or have a child.

常見錯誤

❌They begot a baby together.
✅He begot a child with her.
💡In formal use, this verb normally makes the father the grammatical subject.
❌His parents begot him with patience.
✅His parents raised him with patience.
💡'Beget' refers to producing a child, not bringing one up.

2. to produce a result, condition, or feeling that grows out of what came before

2.動詞及物C2
釋義

to produce a result, condition, or feeling that grows out of what came before

例句

Secrecy often begets fear inside a workplace where nobody trusts management.

beget + abstract noun — formal pattern for causing a result

When leaders ignore small complaints, they can beget anger across a town.

同義詞
  • cause

    the general everyday verb, with less sense of one thing growing out of another

  • breed

    often used for repeated bad feelings or social problems

  • engender

    similarly formal, but slightly broader and more common in academic writing

  • create

    can suggest deliberate making, not just a natural chain of results

文法句型

beget + result/feeling

beget + abstract noun

have begotten + result

用法筆記

Usually takes abstract objects such as fear, conflict, distrust, or kindness. Unlike the more direct verb cause, beget often suggests that one condition naturally gives rise to another over time.

常見錯誤

❌The manager begot a meeting for Friday.
✅The manager scheduled a meeting for Friday.
💡'Beget' is not used for arranging a specific event directly.
❌The speech begot that people protested.
✅The speech begot protests.
💡This verb usually takes the result as a noun phrase, not a that-clause.