wean

/wiːn/ (bre, ipa) · [wˈin] /wiːn/ (ame, ipa) · [wˈin] /ˈwēn How to pronounce wean (audio)/ (ame, mw) · /weɪn/ (bre, ipa) · [wˈin] /weɪn/ (ame, ipa)

wean — 動詞

  • weanpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • weanshe / she / it
  • weanedpast simple
  • weaning-ing form

1. to help an infant move from a diet of breast milk or formula to eating solid foo

1.動詞及物B2
釋義

斷奶

讓嬰兒或動物停止喝母乳

to help an infant move from a diet of breast milk or formula to eating solid food, by reducing milk feeds slowly until the baby or young creature no longer nurses from its mother

例句

Nora weaned her son at around six months when he started eating solid food.

Nora 在兒子大約六個月大、開始吃固體食物時，替他斷了奶。

wean + direct object (baby/animal)

The farm workers weaned the calves by separating them from their mothers at eight weeks.

農場工人讓小牛在八週大時與母牛分開，替牠們斷奶。

passive: be weaned from + age

同義詞
  • transition

    more general and neutral; 'transition a baby to solid food' sounds less emotional than 'wean'

  • stop nursing

    describes the action from the mother's perspective rather than the baby's

反義詞
  • nurse

    to feed a baby from the breast; the opposite action

  • breastfeed

    the ongoing feeding that weaning brings to an end

文法句型

wean + baby/animal + from + noun

be weaned + onto + noun

用法筆記

Frequently used in the passive ('the baby was weaned at six months'). The preposition 'onto' introduces the new food (e.g., 'weaned onto solid food'), while 'off' emphasises removing the old food ('weaned off breast milk').

常見錯誤

❌ 'I weaned my baby from breastfeeding last week.' (correct but more natural: 'I weaned my baby off breast milk last week.') — 'wean off' is the more common phrasal pattern.

❌The baby was weaned of milk at six months.
✅The baby was weaned off milk at six months.
💡'wean of' is not a standard English pattern; use 'wean off' or 'wean from'.

2. to make someone gradually stop depending on something they are addicted to or ha

2.動詞及物B2
釋義

戒除；脫離

逐漸擺脫依賴或習慣

to make someone gradually stop depending on something they are addicted to or have a strong habit for — for example, a drug, a bad habit, or a harmful system

例句

The government wants to wean the country off fossil fuels with solar panel tax breaks.

政府希望藉由太陽能板稅務優惠，讓國家逐漸減少對化石燃料的依賴。

wean + country + off + fossil fuels (abstract dependence)

Hana's doctor helped her gradually wean herself from sleeping pills over two months.

Hana 的醫生幫她在兩個月內逐漸減量，戒掉了安眠藥。

wean + reflexive pronoun + from + noun

同義詞
  • detach

    more general and neutral; does not imply a gradual process like 'wean' does

  • break of

    stronger and more abrupt; 'break a child of a habit' suggests a quicker, firmer approach

  • withdraw

    focuses on the removal of the thing itself, not the person's gradual adaptation

反義詞
  • addict

    to cause someone to become dependent on something

  • hook

    informal; the opposite of gradually detaching

文法句型

wean + someone/something + from + noun

wean + someone/something + off + noun

be weaned + on + noun

用法筆記

The object is something the subject has grown dependent on — a substance, a habit, a system. 'Wean off' is the most frequent pattern in figurative use; 'wean from' sounds slightly more formal. 'Be weaned on' is a fixed expression meaning 'to be raised or strongly influenced by something from an early age' and is NOT negative — it describes formative exposure.

常見錯誤

❌I weaned my coffee addiction.
✅I weaned myself off coffee.
💡the verb needs a person as its object, not an abstract noun like 'addiction'.
❌The programme weans addiction from patients.
✅The programme weans patients from their addiction.
💡the person is the direct object; the thing being withdrawn is the object of the preposition.

wean — 名詞