casualties

casualties — 名詞

1. people who have been hurt or have lost their lives because of a war, an attack,

1.名詞B2
釋義

傷亡者

在戰爭、攻擊或重大事故中受傷或喪生的人

people who have been hurt or have lost their lives because of a war, an attack, or a major accident

例句

The earthquake left over two thousand casualties across the coastal villages.

地震在沿海村莊造成超過兩千名傷亡者。

Nkechi read that there were no casualties in the train derailment.

Nkechi 讀到火車出軌事故中沒有傷亡者。

同義詞
  • victims

    broader — includes emotional or financial suffering, not only physical harm

  • fatalities

    only the dead, never the injured

  • wounded

    only those injured, never those killed

反義詞

文法句型

casualties of [war / accident / disaster]

heavy casualties

civilian casualties

用法筆記

Frequently used in news reports and military contexts. Almost always appears in the plural form.

常見錯誤

❌There were many casualty in the crash.
✅There were many casualties in the crash.
💡'casualty' is a countable noun; always use 'casualties' when talking about more than one person.

2. someone or something that is harmed, lost, or destroyed when another event takes

2.名詞B2
釋義

受害者；犧牲品

因其他事件間接受到損害的人或事物

someone or something that is harmed, lost, or destroyed when another event takes place — not as the main target, but as an indirect or unintended result

例句

The shop became another casualty of the new motorway bypass.

這家商店成了新公路繞道的又一個受害者。

a casualty of — grammatical pattern with 'of'

Siti was a casualty of the company's sudden restructuring.

Siti 是公司突然重組的受害者。

同義詞
  • victims

    more general; doesn't emphasise the indirect or unintended nature

  • collateral

    shorter, often paired with 'damage' in formal or military contexts

反義詞
  • beneficiaries

    those who gain or benefit from an event rather than being harmed

文法句型

a casualty of [something]

become a casualty of [something]

fall casualty to [something]

用法筆記

Object is usually someone or something not directly targeted but harmed as a by-product. Distinguish from sense 1 (KILLED OR INJURED): this sense covers non-physical harm and inanimate things.

常見錯誤

❌He is a casualty from stress.
✅He is a casualty of stress.
💡the pattern is 'a casualty of something', not 'a casualty from something'.

3. in UK hospitals, the department that provides immediate medical care for people

3.名詞B1
釋義

急診室

英國醫院提供緊急醫療的部門

in UK hospitals, the department that provides immediate medical care for people with serious injuries from accidents or with sudden, severe illnesses

例句

Bernard was rushed to casualty after falling from the roof.

Bernard 從屋頂跌落後被緊急送往急診室。

to casualty — UK directional usage

The hospital's casualty department was overcrowded on Friday night.

醫院的急診部週五晚上人滿為患。

casualty department — full official name

同義詞
  • emergency room (ER)

    US equivalent; universally understood

  • A&E

    UK official term (Accident and Emergency); more common in formal contexts

文法句型

in casualty

taken to casualty

casualty department

casualty ward

用法筆記

UK usage only; the US equivalent is 'emergency room' or 'ER'. In the UK, 'A&E' (Accident and Emergency) is now the more common official term, but 'casualty' remains in everyday spoken use.

常見錯誤

❌I went to the casualty in New York.
✅I went to the ER in New York.
💡Americans do not use 'casualty' to mean the emergency department; this is British English only.

4. an accident in which people are badly hurt or killed, now considered somewhat ol

4.名詞C1
釋義

致命事故

造成人員傷亡的嚴重意外事件

an accident in which people are badly hurt or killed, now considered somewhat old-fashioned or literary in tone

例句

The newspaper described the bridge collapse as a tragic casualty.

報紙將橋樑倒塌描述為一起悲慘的致命事故。

In Victorian times, a railway casualty was a common fear among travellers.

在維多利亞時代，火車致命事故是旅客普遍的恐懼。

dated usage: 'railway casualty' — older collocation

同義詞
  • accident

    much broader; can refer to minor incidents as well as serious ones

  • disaster

    larger in scale; often implies widespread damage, not just one event

  • tragedy

    emphasises the emotional or moral weight of the event

文法句型

[determiner] casualty

a tragic casualty

用法筆記

Now largely replaced by 'accident' or 'disaster' in everyday English. Found mainly in older literature or formal historical writing. Distinguish from sense 1 (KILLED OR INJURED): here the word means the accident itself, not the people harmed.

常見錯誤

❌I had a small casualty with my bike.
✅I had a small accident with my bike.
💡sense 4 refers to serious or fatal accidents, not everyday mishaps, and is now old-fashioned.