esoteric
/ˌiːsəˈterɪk/ (bre, ipa) · /ˌesəˈterɪk/ (ame, ipa) · /ˌe-sə-ˈter-ik -ˈte-rik/ (ame, mw)
esoteric — 形容詞
- esotericpositive
- more esotericcomparative
- most esotericsuperlative
1. describes something that very few people can appreciate or understand, because i
冷門
只有少數專業人士才懂或感興趣的
describes something that very few people can appreciate or understand, because it belongs to a narrow subject that requires deep specialist knowledge
Kenji's paper was so esoteric that only his advisor and two other professors understood it.
Kenji 的論文過於冷門，只有他的指導教授和其他兩位教授看得懂。
so + escoteric + that-clause showing too specialized for most people
The lecture on medieval poetry became too esoteric for the first-year students to follow.
那場關於中世紀詩歌的講座對大一新生來說太過冷僻，難以理解。
too + esoteric + for + noun + to-infinitive pattern
Rafael collects esoteric jazz records from the 1960s that most people have never heard of.
Rafael 蒐集 1960 年代的冷門爵士唱片，大多數人從未聽過這些作品。
Linh found the museum's exhibition of Buddhist art fascinating but rather esoteric.
Linh 覺得博物館的佛教藝術展覽引人入勝，但相當冷門深奧。
The joke was so esoteric that only the three engineers in the room laughed.
那個笑話太過冷門，在場只有三位工程師笑了出來。
- obscure
broader and less formal; simply means not widely known, without requiring specialist knowledge
- arcane
similar to esoteric but often hints at ancient, mysterious, or deliberately hidden knowledge
- abstruse
focuses more on the difficulty of understanding rather than on the small audience who finds it meaningful
- recondite
very formal and rare; suggests knowledge that is so deep or hidden that only a handful of experts can access it
- mainstream
opposite in the sense of being widely known and accepted by most people
- accessible
opposite in the sense of being easy to understand without specialist background knowledge
文法句型
so + esoteric + that-clause
too + esoteric + for + noun + to-infinitive
用法筆記
Common in academic, artistic, and intellectual contexts rather than everyday conversation. Frequently paired with 'so...that' or 'too...to' structures to explain why a topic is inaccessible to most people. Not typically used for personal secrets or private matters.