mutual exclusivity
mutual exclusivity — 慣用語
1. the situation where two things cannot happen, be chosen, or be true together, so
互斥性
兩者無法同時成立的性質
the situation where two things cannot happen, be chosen, or be true together, so if one of them is the case, the other one cannot be
Mayumi argued that a career and raising children are not a mutual exclusivity.
Mayumi 主張，事業和養育孩子並不是一種互斥性的關係。
the mutual exclusivity of two life choices
The teacher explained the mutual exclusivity of these answers: only one can be right.
老師解釋了這些答案的互斥性：只有一個會是對的。
explaining why two options cannot both hold
Arjun reminds his friends there is no mutual exclusivity between saving money and enjoying life.
Arjun 提醒朋友，存錢和享受生活之間並沒有互斥性。
Voters often assume a mutual exclusivity between lower taxes and better public services.
選民常常假設降低稅金和改善公共服務之間具有互斥性。
Gabriela's study questioned the mutual exclusivity of speed and accuracy in the test results.
Gabriela 的研究質疑了測驗結果中速度和準確度的互斥性。
- incompatibility
broader: two things simply do not work well together, not strictly one-or-the-other
- either-or choice
informal phrasing of the same idea
- compatibility
the two things can both be true or happen together
文法句型
the mutual exclusivity of X and Y
用法筆記
Almost always uncountable and followed by 'of X and Y' or 'between X and Y'. Common in academic, legal, and debate contexts; rare in casual speech, where speakers say 'X and Y cannot both be true' instead.