flattened
/ˈflæt.ən/ (bre, ipa) · [flˈætənd] /ˈflæt̬.ən/ (ame, ipa)
flattened — 動詞
- flattenedpresent simple I / you / we / they
- flatteneds3rd person singular
- flatteneding-ing form
- flattenededpast simple
1. to press or push something down so its surface becomes level, or to lose any bum
壓平；弄平
把物體壓成平面或表面變平
to press or push something down so its surface becomes level, or to lose any bumps or curves of its own and end up level.
Tariro flattened the cardboard box with her boot before recycling it.
Tariro 在回收前用靴子把紙箱壓平。
transitive: flatten + concrete object
The road roller flattened the muddy track outside the school gate.
壓路機把校門外泥濘的小路壓平了。
machine subject leveling a surface
Caio rolled out the dough and flattened it into a thin circle for pizza.
Caio 把麵團擀開，弄平成一個薄圓片來做披薩。
After the storm, several tents in the campsite had flattened against the wet ground.
暴風雨後，露營地有好幾頂帳篷被壓平在濕地上。
Cyrus flattened a sheet of foil over the baking tray with his palm.
Cyrus 用手掌把一張錫箔紙在烤盤上壓平。
- level
more formal; often used for ground or surfaces in construction
- smooth
focuses on removing bumps, not pressing down
- press down
describes the action without saying the object ends up level
文法句型
flatten + [object]
[surface] + flattens
用法筆記
Typical objects are thin, soft, or hollow things (boxes, cans, dough, grass). Distinguish from sense 2 (numbers / rates levelling off) and sense 4 (becoming thinner as it flattens).
常見錯誤
2. if numbers, prices, or activity flatten, they stop going up or down quickly and
趨於平穩
數字或活動停止快速變化，維持差不多水準
if numbers, prices, or activity flatten, they stop going up or down quickly and stay at roughly one level; you can also flatten a rate by holding it steady.
House prices in Amihan's neighbourhood flattened after a year of rapid increases.
Amihan 社區的房價在快速上漲一年後趨於平穩。
intransitive with economic subject
Sales of the new phone flattened in March and stayed at around two thousand a week.
新手機的銷量在三月趨於平穩，維持在每週兩千支左右。
subject + flatten + adverbial of when/where
The central bank tried to flatten the rise in borrowing costs with new rules.
中央銀行試圖用新規定讓借貸成本的上升趨於平穩。
Asher noticed that the daily download numbers had flattened over the past two weeks.
Asher 注意到每日下載數在過去兩週已經趨於平穩。
文法句型
[numbers/prices] + flatten
flatten + the rate/growth
用法筆記
Subject is usually a measurable trend (prices, sales, infections, growth). Distinguish from sense 3, which is specifically about graph curves used in public-health or technical reporting.
常見錯誤
3. to slow down how quickly a chart's rising line keeps climbing, most often used a
壓平曲線
讓圖表上的成長線變慢，常用於疫情報導
to slow down how quickly a chart's rising line keeps climbing, most often used about the speed at which an illness moves through a population.
Health officials urged everyone to wear masks to help flatten the curve of new infections.
衛生官員呼籲大家戴口罩，幫助壓平新感染人數的曲線。
fixed collocation: flatten the curve
Élise's hospital team worked overtime to flatten the curve before winter arrived.
Élise 的醫院團隊加班工作，希望在冬天來臨前壓平曲線。
agent + flatten + curve in a medical setting
Schools in Sahil's district closed for two weeks to try to flatten the spread of flu.
Sahil 學區的學校停課兩週，試圖減緩流感的擴散。
The new vaccine programme helped flatten the rising line of cases across the country.
新的疫苗計畫幫助壓平全國病例上升的曲線。
- accelerate
make something happen faster
文法句型
flatten + the curve
flatten + the line on a graph
用法筆記
Almost always transitive with 'the curve', 'the line', or 'the spread' as object. Distinguish from sense 2: sense 3 is the graph metaphor used in public-health reporting, especially during disease outbreaks.
常見錯誤
4. to press a soft material out so it becomes a thin level layer, or to spread out
擀薄；壓薄
把軟材料壓開成薄薄的一層
to press a soft material out so it becomes a thin level layer, or to spread out like that by itself; the change in thickness is the key idea, not just becoming level.
Andrew flattened the ball of clay into a thin disc with the side of his hand.
Andrew 用手側把那團黏土擀成一個薄薄的圓片。
flatten + soft material + into [shape]
Eitan flattened the pancake batter on the hot pan with the back of a spoon.
Eitan 用湯匙背把熱鍋上的鬆餅麵糊壓薄。
kitchen scene; tool used to thin the layer
The piece of butter flattened slowly as it warmed up on the toast.
那塊奶油在吐司上變熱時慢慢攤薄開來。
Liang flattened the lump of dough until it was thin enough to wrap the dumplings.
Liang 把麵團擀薄，直到可以包餃子的厚度。
- thicken
make something become thicker
文法句型
flatten + [soft object] + into [shape]
[material] + flattens
用法筆記
Object must be something soft enough to thin out (dough, clay, butter, foil). Distinguish from sense 1: sense 4 focuses on the material becoming noticeably thinner, not just losing its bumps.