cant
/kænt/ (bre, ipa) · [kˈænt] /kænt/ (ame, ipa) · [kˈænt] /ˈkant/ (ame, mw)
cant — noun
1. language about religion, morality, or other serious subjects that sounds noble o
language about religion, morality, or other serious subjects that sounds noble or concerned but is used without genuine belief, simply to create a good impression or fit in socially.
The senator's cant about family values fooled no one in the audience.
uncountable noun — no article before 'cant'
Maeve saw through the cant of the self-help movement, which preached kindness while it cheated its followers.
cant + of + [person/group] for source
Tariq grew tired of the empty cant recited at every company meeting about shared values.
Beneath the pious cant, the charity's leaders cared mainly about their own salaries and status.
Many voters are tired of political cant and want honest answers instead.
- hypocrisy
broader term; hypocrisy is the quality, cant is the insincere talk that expresses it
- sanctimony
stronger, more judgmental, implies offensive pretence of holiness
- platitude
more specific — a dull or trite remark, not necessarily insincere
- sincerity
genuine, honest expression of belief
用法筆記
Usually uncountable — you cannot say 'a cant' to mean an instance of insincere talk. Often modified by adjectives like 'empty', 'pious', 'religious', or 'political'.
常見錯誤
2. a special set of words and expressions that belongs to a certain community, such
a special set of words and expressions that belongs to a certain community, such as criminals, traders, or a specific trade, used among themselves and often meant to keep outsiders from understanding.
Ravindra learned the traders' cant during his first week on the stock exchange floor.
possessive: [group]'s cant
The dictionary listed over three hundred words of thieves' cant used in eighteenth-century London.
Street vendors switched to their cant when a police officer walked past their stalls.
Old sailing cant includes words like 'starboard' and 'galley' that sound foreign to modern ears.
The anthropologist spent a year documenting the cant of traveling circus performers.
- standard English
the non-specialized, widely understood form of the language
用法筆記
Typically uncountable when referring to the language system of a group as a whole. When countable, it refers to a specific term or expression within that system (e.g., 'a thieves' cant for a stolen watch'). Distinguish from sense 1 — sense 2 carries no implication of insincerity.
常見錯誤
3. a sloping or angled surface, edge, or position; the degree to which something le
a sloping or angled surface, edge, or position; the degree to which something leans away from the vertical or horizontal, such as a roof pitch, a road bank, or a bevel on a piece of wood or stone.
The carpenter carefully measured the cant of the roof before cutting the beams.
the cant of [object] — specific use in construction
A gentle cant on the racetrack helped horses hold their speed through the turn.
The old stone wall had a noticeable cant outward, as if about to fall over.
Ramón adjusted the cant of the easel until morning light hit the canvas evenly.
The road's slight cant on the curve prevented cars from sliding off in wet weather.
用法筆記
Technical or semi-technical term found in carpentry, architecture, road design, and geometry. In everyday conversation, 'slope', 'tilt', or 'angle' are far more common.
常見錯誤
cant — verb
- cantpresent simple I / you / we / they
- cants3rd person singular
- canting-ing form
- cantedpast simple
1. to lean, tilt, or move into a sloping position; to set something at an angle ins
to lean, tilt, or move into a sloping position; to set something at an angle instead of upright or flat.
The ship canted sharply to port when a large wave struck its side.
intransitive: cant + direction
Soraya canted her chair back so she could see the speaker above the crowd.
transitive: cant + object + adverb
The old fence posts had canted over the years, leaning toward the neighbour's yard.
Jin canted the rear-view mirror so he could watch the children in the back seat.
The cottage floor canted so much that a marble rolled across the room.
- straighten
to return to an upright, level position
- level
to make flat or horizontal again
文法句型
cant + object + adverb phrase
cant + adverb phrase
用法筆記
Commonly used in nautical and construction contexts. Intransitive uses describe the thing itself tilting; transitive uses describe someone causing it to tilt. In everyday language, 'tilt' or 'lean' are much more frequent.