novice

/ˈnɒvɪs/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈnɑːvɪs/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈnä-vəs/ (ame, mw)

novice — noun

  • novicesingular
  • novicesplural

1. someone just starting to learn or do something, with very little experience or s

1.名詞B1
釋義

someone just starting to learn or do something, with very little experience or skill yet

例句

The cooking class was designed for novices who had never boiled an egg before.

As a novice at chess, Hamza lost his first ten games against the school club.

collocation: a novice at [activity]

同義詞
  • beginner

    the most general and common term; can refer to oneself naturally

  • newcomer

    emphasizes recent arrival rather than lack of skill

  • rookie

    informal; strongly associated with sports, police, and military contexts

  • trainee

    implies a formal training programme with a supervisor

反義詞
  • expert

    someone with deep knowledge gained through long experience

  • veteran

    someone with extensive practice, especially in a demanding field

用法筆記

Frequently followed by 'at' or 'in' to specify the field of inexperience: 'a novice at golf', 'a novice in politics'.

常見錯誤

❌He is novice at using computers.
✅He is a novice at using computers.
💡As a countable noun, 'novice' needs an article (a/an/the) before it.

2. a trainee member of a religious community such as a monastery or convent, still

2.名詞B2
釋義

a trainee member of a religious community such as a monastery or convent, still in the preparatory stage before full vows are taken

例句

The novice spent her first year in the convent praying with the older nuns.

Zuri entered the monastery as a novice at the age of twenty-two.

collocation: enter as a novice

同義詞
  • postulant

    the stage before becoming a novice in some Catholic orders; a more preliminary status

  • initiate

    a broader term for someone newly admitted to a group, not exclusively religious

反義詞

用法筆記

Only this sense refers to a formal religious status within a monastery or convent; use sense 1 for all general meanings of inexperience.

常見錯誤

❌She became a novice monk last year.
✅She became a novice nun last year.
💡Match 'novice' with the correct term for the gender: 'novice monk' for men, 'novice nun' for women.