finality
/faɪˈnæləti/ (bre, ipa) · /faɪˈnæləti/ (ame, ipa) · /fī-ˈna-lə-tē fə-/ (ame, mw)
finality — 名詞
1. the feeling or quality that something is over and can no longer be undone, reope
終局感
事情已成定局、無法改變的感覺
the feeling or quality that something is over and can no longer be undone, reopened, or altered
Eli closed the front door with a finality that frightened his younger brother.
Eli 關上大門時帶著一種終局感，把弟弟嚇了一跳。
collocation: with finality (manner of closing/saying/acting)
There was a strange finality in the way Gabriela packed away her late mother's photos.
Gabriela 把過世母親的照片收起來時，動作中帶著一種奇特的終局感。
pattern: a finality in the way [someone] [does action]
The judge spoke with such finality that no one in the courtroom dared to object.
法官說話的語氣如此斬釘截鐵，法庭上沒人敢提出異議。
Diya did not understand the finality of divorce until her father moved to another city.
Diya 直到父親搬到另一個城市，才真正明白離婚是無法挽回的定局。
A heavy sense of finality settled on the family when the coffin was lowered.
棺木放下時，一股沉重的終局感壟罩著整個家族。
- conclusiveness
more formal, often used about arguments, evidence, or proof rather than feelings
- irrevocability
stresses that a decision or act cannot legally or practically be taken back
- closure
focuses on the emotional sense of an issue or relationship being resolved, not just being over
- openness
suggests a matter is still up for discussion or change
- uncertainty
the situation is unresolved and may still go in different directions
文法句型
with finality
a sense of finality
the finality of [noun]
用法筆記
Often paired with the preposition 'with' to describe how someone speaks, closes a door, or signs a document — the manner shows that no further discussion is possible. Subject is typically an abstract life event (death, divorce, retirement, a verdict) rather than a person.
常見錯誤
2. a particular thing, event, or ruling that no one can ever take back or reverse,
定局
無法逆轉的重大事件或結果
a particular thing, event, or ruling that no one can ever take back or reverse, such as a death, an eviction, or a court verdict
For Adisa, his grandmother's burial was the first real finality he had ever faced.
對 Adisa 來說，祖母的葬禮是他人生第一次真正面對的定局。
pattern: a finality + (that) clause / for [person]
The verdict was a finality that the family had been dreading for months.
那項判決是這個家族擔心了好幾個月、終究無法挽回的定局。
collocation: a finality + relative clause
Christopher spoke of death and taxes as the two great finalities of modern life.
Christopher 把死亡和繳稅比喻為現代人生中兩件最大的定局。
After the court's ruling, Min realised the eviction was a finality, not just a threat.
法院裁定之後，Min 才意識到那次驅逐已是定局，不只是恐嚇。
Some scientists treat the heat death of the universe as the ultimate finality.
有些科學家把宇宙的熱寂視為最終極的定局。
- certainty
a fact that no one can argue with, but without the sense of being the last step
- inevitability
something that must happen, focusing on the build-up rather than the moment it lands
- possibility
an outcome that may or may not happen and could still change
文法句型
a finality
one of the finalities of [noun]
用法筆記
Countable in this sense (a finality / finalities), unlike sense 1. Subject or object is usually a momentous, irreversible event — a death, a verdict, an eviction, a permanent loss — rather than an everyday ending.