ligneous
/ˈlig-nē-əs/ (ame, mw)
ligneous — 形容詞
- ligneouspositive
- more ligneouscomparative
- most ligneoussuperlative
1. describing something that has the hard structure, surface, or appearance of wood
木質的
像木頭,或含硬木質組織
describing something that has the hard structure, surface, or appearance of wood
The field guide described the shrub's lower stems as ligneous by late summer.
那本圖鑑說這株灌木到了夏末,下部的莖會呈現木質。
botanical description: ligneous stems in formal writing
Arjun touched the dry vine and felt its ligneous surface near the gate.
Arjun 摸了摸那條乾藤,感覺到它靠近大門的表面帶有木質感。
attributive use before a material noun
Researchers noted that the young plant became ligneous after two hot seasons.
研究人員指出,那株幼苗經過兩個炎熱季節後變得木質化。
Soraya sketched the ligneous roots that pushed through the cracked garden wall.
Soraya 畫下那些穿過龜裂花園牆面的木質根部。
By winter, the once-soft stem looked ligneous beside the fresh green shoots.
到了冬天,那根原本柔軟的莖在嫩綠新芽旁看起來已經木質化。
- woody
the common everyday adjective, especially for plants and smells; less formal than 'ligneous'
- wooden
the normal word for objects made of wood, not a scientific label for plant tissue
- hard-stemmed
a descriptive phrase for plants with firm stems, but less precise and less technical than 'ligneous'
- herbaceous
used for plants with soft green stems rather than woody tissue
- soft-stemmed
describes stems that stay soft instead of becoming wood-like
文法句型
ligneous + noun
be/become/look + ligneous
用法筆記
Mostly found in scientific, botanical, or literary writing. In everyday English, people usually say 'wooden' for ordinary objects and 'woody' for plants, smells, or flavours.