cant
/kænt/ (bre, ipa) · [kˈænt] /kænt/ (ame, ipa) · [kˈænt] /ˈkant/ (ame, mw)
cant — 名詞
1. language about religion, morality, or other serious subjects that sounds noble o
偽善言辭
關於道德、宗教的虛偽言論
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.
參議員關於家庭價值的偽善言辭沒有騙過在場任何人。
uncountable noun — no article before 'cant'
Maeve saw through the cant of the self-help movement, which preached kindness while it cheated its followers.
Maeve 看穿了那個心靈成長運動的偽善言辭——它嘴上宣揚善良，實際上卻欺騙追隨者。
cant + of + [person/group] for source
Tariq grew tired of the empty cant recited at every company meeting about shared values.
Tariq 對每次公司會議上關於共同價值的老調空談感到厭煩。
Beneath the pious cant, the charity's leaders cared mainly about their own salaries and status.
在那虔誠的偽善言辭背後，該慈善機構的領導人真正在意的只有自己的薪水與地位。
Many voters are tired of political cant and want honest answers instead.
許多選民厭倦了政治空話，期望聽到誠實的回答。
- 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
行話；黑話
特定群體使用的特殊詞彙或暗語
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.
Ravindra 在證券交易所工作的第一週就學會了交易員的行話。
possessive: [group]'s cant
The dictionary listed over three hundred words of thieves' cant used in eighteenth-century London.
這本字典收錄了三百多個十八世紀倫敦竊賊所用的黑話詞彙。
Street vendors switched to their cant when a police officer walked past their stalls.
路邊攤販一看到警察走過來，就改用他們的行話交談。
Old sailing cant includes words like 'starboard' and 'galley' that sound foreign to modern ears.
古老的航海行話裡有一些詞，像是 starboard 和 galley，現代人聽起來很陌生。
The anthropologist spent a year documenting the cant of traveling circus performers.
那位人類學家花了一整年記錄巡迴馬戲團演員的行話。
- 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
傾斜；斜面
傾斜的表面、邊緣或角度
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.
木匠仔細測量了屋頂的傾斜角度才開始切割木料。
the cant of [object] — specific use in construction
A gentle cant on the racetrack helped horses hold their speed through the turn.
賽道上的緩和傾斜面幫助賽馬在轉彎時保持速度。
The old stone wall had a noticeable cant outward, as if about to fall over.
那面老石牆明顯向外傾斜，隨時可能倒塌。
Ramón adjusted the cant of the easel until morning light hit the canvas evenly.
Ramón 調整了畫架的傾斜度，讓晨光均勻落在畫布上。
The road's slight cant on the curve prevented cars from sliding off in wet weather.
道路上彎道處的微傾設計防止了潮濕天氣下車輛打滑。
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 — 動詞
- 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
傾斜；使傾斜
向一側傾斜或使某物傾倒
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.
大浪撞上船舷時，船身猛地向左傾斜。
intransitive: cant + direction
Soraya canted her chair back so she could see the speaker above the crowd.
Soraya 把椅子向後傾，好越過人群看到講者。
transitive: cant + object + adverb
The old fence posts had canted over the years, leaning toward the neighbour's yard.
老圍籬的木樁年久失修，逐漸朝鄰居的院子傾斜。
Jin canted the rear-view mirror so he could watch the children in the back seat.
Jin 把後視鏡往下傾斜，這樣就能從書桌看到後座的孩子們。
The cottage floor canted so much that a marble rolled across the room.
小屋地板傾斜得很厲害，彈珠直接滾過了整間房間。
- 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.