hospitable

/hɒˈspɪtəbl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈhɑːspɪtəbl/ (ame, ipa) · /hä-ˈspi-tə-bəl ˈhä-(ˌ)spi-/ (ame, mw)

hospitable — 形容詞

  • hospitablepositive
  • more hospitablecomparative
  • most hospitablesuperlative

1. treating people who visit your home, country, or business with warmth, kindness,

1.形容詞B2
釋義

好客的

對賓客親切、大方地接待與款待

treating people who visit your home, country, or business with warmth, kindness, and generosity

例句

The Watanabe family gave their guests a hospitable welcome with tea and sweets.

Watanabe 一家用茶和點心熱情地歡迎他們的客人。

collocation: hospitable welcome

Amara was known throughout the village as the most hospitable host in the region.

Amara 在村裡遠近馳名，是那一帶最好客的主人。

collocation: hospitable host

同義詞
  • welcoming

    more about the initial reception; hospitable implies ongoing warmth and generosity throughout the visit

  • generous

    broader term; can refer to giving money or time without the guest-visitor context

  • gracious

    suggests elegance and refined courtesy alongside kindness

反義詞
  • inhospitable

    direct opposite: not welcoming or generous to guests

  • unwelcoming

    colder and less inviting, but not necessarily rude

用法筆記

Can describe people, places, or actions — a hospitable family, a hospitable welcome, a hospitable gesture. The subject is typically a person or group, but a country or region can also be described as hospitable when its people collectively treat visitors well.

常見錯誤

❌My boss was very hospitality today.
✅My boss was very hospitable today.
💡'hospitality' is the noun; 'hospitable' is the adjective form.

2. having a climate, environment, or surroundings where plants, animals, or people

2.形容詞B2
釋義

適宜生存的

環境或氣候適合動植物存活與發展

having a climate, environment, or surroundings where plants, animals, or people can live and grow well

例句

The warm coastal waters are hospitable to over three hundred species of fish.

溫暖的沿海水域適合三百多種魚類生存。

pattern: hospitable to + noun phrase

This high-altitude region is not naturally hospitable to fruit trees, but the farmers found a way.

這個高海拔地區自然不適合果樹生長，但農民們找到了辦法。

同義詞
  • favourable

    more general and can describe any helpful condition, not only for living things

  • conducive

    formal; stresses that conditions lead to a result, e.g. 'conducive to learning'

  • nurturing

    emphasises active support for growth, often used for parenting or care

反義詞
  • inhospitable

    direct opposite: a place where living things struggle to survive

  • harsh

    emphasises severity and discomfort, e.g. a harsh climate

  • barren

    specifically describes land where little or nothing can grow

文法句型

hospitable to + noun phrase

用法筆記

Subject is usually a place, climate, or region, not a person. Often followed by 'to' plus what can grow or survive there. This sense is distinct from sense 1: a person cannot be 'hospitable to plants' in this sense (that would mean something different — being welcoming to plants as if they were guests).

常見錯誤

❌She is very hospitable to orchids, so her garden is beautiful.
✅Her garden has conditions that are hospitable to orchids.
💡this sense describes places or environments, not people's gardening skills.

3. willing to give fair attention to ideas, changes, or viewpoints that are new or

3.形容詞C1
釋義

樂於接受的

對新觀念或改變持開放態度

willing to give fair attention to ideas, changes, or viewpoints that are new or unfamiliar

例句

Professor Okafor was known to be hospitable to theories that challenged the mainstream view.

Okafor 教授素以樂於接受挑戰主流觀點的理論而聞名。

pattern: hospitable to + abstract noun

The new mayor seemed far more hospitable to change than her predecessor.

新任市長似乎比前任更樂於接受變革。

同義詞
  • receptive

    neutral tone; stresses willingness to receive, without implying warmth

  • open-minded

    more colloquial; emphasises lack of prejudice rather than active engagement

  • amenable

    formal; often implies being easily persuaded or cooperative

反義詞
  • hostile

    actively opposed or resistant to ideas, much stronger than merely unreceptive

  • closed-minded

    unwilling to consider alternative viewpoints at all

文法句型

hospitable to + abstract noun

用法筆記

Often used with 'to' plus an abstract noun (ideas, change, reform, innovation). Common in academic, intellectual, or political contexts. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense always takes an abstract object, never a physical place or living thing.

常見錯誤

❌The company was hospitable for innovation.
✅The company was hospitable to innovation.
💡this sense requires the preposition 'to', not 'for'.