has-been

/ˈhæz biːn/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈhæz bɪn/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈhaz-ˌbin -ˌben chiefly British -ˌbēn/ (ame, mw)

has-been — 名詞

1. a person whose past fame, success, or popularity has faded, and who is now widel

1.名詞B2
釋義

過氣人物

曾經風光但已過氣的人

a person whose past fame, success, or popularity has faded, and who is now widely seen as no longer important or relevant

例句

Twenty years after his last championship, fans called the former boxer a has-been.

距離上次奪冠二十年後，粉絲稱這位前拳擊手為過氣人物。

call [someone] + a has-been

Nora Chen laughed off the magazine article that labelled her a has-been.

Nora Chen 對於那篇稱她為過氣人物的雜誌文章一笑置之。

同義詞
  • washed-up person

    more informal and harsher, suggesting total failure rather than just faded fame

  • former star

    more neutral and factual; lacks the dismissive tone of 'has-been'

  • ghost of one's former self

    more figurative and literary; emphasises decline rather than public loss of status

反義詞
  • rising star

    someone whose fame or success is still growing

  • up-and-comer

    informal term for someone on the way up, the opposite of someone on the way down

文法句型

dismiss/label/call someone + a has-been

用法筆記

Frequently used in a dismissive or mocking tone, especially in the contexts of entertainment, sports, and politics. The word is almost always applied to people rather than things.

常見錯誤

❌My grandpa's old radio is a has-been.
✅My grandpa's old radio is outdated.
💡'has-been' is used for people who were once famous or successful, not for objects.
❌She has been a great teacher for twenty years.
✅She has been a great teacher for twenty years.
💡This is the present perfect verb phrase 'has been', not the noun 'has-been'. When speaking, the noun is stressed: HAS-been.