sere
sere — adjective
- serepositive
- serercomparative
- serestsuperlative
1. so dry and lifeless that it has shrunk or turned brown, especially when plants n
so dry and lifeless that it has shrunk or turned brown, especially when plants no longer hold water
By August, the sere grass around the well had turned pale brown.
collocation: sere grass for dried vegetation
A hot wind swept across the sere fields behind Kabir's family farm.
The hikers crossed a sere hillside where even the small bushes looked dead.
After months without rain, the garden looked sere beside the green riverbank.
文法句型
sere + grass/leaves/fields
look/seem sere
用法筆記
Mostly used in literary or descriptive writing about plants, fields, or landscapes after a long loss of water. Distinguish from everyday 'dry': 'sere' suggests a lifeless, withered look rather than simple absence of moisture.
2. worn so much that the cloth looks thin, old, and close to falling apart
worn so much that the cloth looks thin, old, and close to falling apart
The actor stepped onstage in a sere black coat with frayed sleeves.
used of old fabric that has worn thin
A sere rug lay by the bed, worn thin by forty winters.
Grandfather still wore the sere sweater he had mended for years.
The library found a sere flag in a box of war letters.
- threadbare
the usual modern word for cloth worn thin from long use
- frayed
focuses on edges or threads coming loose
- shabby
broader and often describes poor condition in general, not just thin cloth
文法句型
sere + coat/rug/cloth
a sere + fabric noun
用法筆記
This sense is rare and literary, and it is used for cloth or fabric objects that look worn by age and repeated use. Distinguish from sense 1: this meaning is about old material, not dried plants or land.
sere — noun
1. in ecology, the ordered set of plant and animal communities that replace one ano
in ecology, the ordered set of plant and animal communities that replace one another as an area develops over time
The biologist mapped the sere from bare rock to young pine woodland.
the sere from one habitat stage to another
After the volcano cooled, students studied the new sere on the island slope.
The field guide explains each sere in the long recovery of the marsh.
Researchers compared one sere with another to measure how quickly the valley recovered.
- successional sequence
a clearer modern phrase that names the same ecological idea
- ecological series
a broader technical label for a connected set of communities
文法句型
the sere from [starting stage] to [later stage]
study/map a sere
用法筆記
Used mainly in ecology and environmental science. It names the whole sequence of changing communities in an area, not one single stage within that sequence.