put off

英 /pʊt ɒf/美 /pʊt ɔf/

v. 动词(及物)

推迟;使反感;使分心;关掉

含义详解

put off 的本义是“把……放到一边”,由此引申出“推迟”的含义,即把原定的事情放到以后处理。例如:They put off the meeting until Friday.(他们把会议推迟到周五。)进一步引申,当一个人或事物让你“推迟”对其的接纳或兴趣时,就产生了“使反感、使倒胃口”的意思,例如:His arrogant attitude put me off.(他傲慢的态度让我反感。)此外,put off 还可表示“使分心、使脱离专注”,如:The noise put me off my work.(噪音让我没法专心工作。)在航海或机械语境中,put off 也可指“离岸”或“关掉(灯光、设备)”,但后者多用于英式英语,如:Put off the light before you leave.(离开前关灯。)

词根溯源

put 源自古英语 potian(推、放),off 源自古英语 of(离开)。两者组合字面义为“放到一边”,由此自然引申出“推迟”和“使离开(兴趣)”等义。记忆时可联想“把东西推到远处”,一是时间上推远(推迟),二是情感上推远(反感)。

常见语境

put off 在口语和书面语中均常见。日常口语中多用于“推迟”或“使反感”,语气随意,如:I keep putting off my homework.(我老拖着不做作业。)商务邮件中用于正式地通知延期,如:We have to put off the launch due to technical issues.(由于技术问题,我们不得不推迟发布。)新闻报道中常出现,如:The game was put off because of rain.(比赛因雨延期。)文学作品中也用以描写人物的心理或行为,如:She was put off by his crude jokes.(他粗俗的玩笑让她反感。)在学术写作中较少用,更常用 postpone 或 delay。

语法要点

put off 是及物动词短语,后接名词、代词或动名词。常见句型:put off + 名词/代词,如:Don't put off the decision.(别拖延决定。)put off + doing sth.,如:He put off going to the dentist.(他推迟去看牙医。)注意:代词必须放在中间,如:put it off,不能说 put off it。另外,put off 用于被动语态时,如:The meeting was put off.(会议被推迟了。)易错点:不要与 put on(穿上)混淆。

同义词区别

与 put off 近义的词有 postpone、delay、procrastinate、defer。postpone 最正式,常指有计划地延期到明确时间,如:The concert was postponed to next week. delay 强调因故受阻而延误,可能是无意的,如:The flight was delayed by fog. procrastinate 指故意拖延,含贬义,如:Stop procrastinating and start working. defer 更正式,常用于官方或法律语境,如:The decision was deferred to the committee. put off 则最口语化,适用范围广。

常见误区

put off 语域中性偏口语,正式写作中建议用 postpone 或 delay。表示“使反感”时,语气较强,可能显得主观,需注意语境。常见误用包括:将其与“put on”混淆,或把代词放在 off 之后。另外,put off 作“关掉”讲时,在美式英语中不常用,美式英语多用 turn off。

高频搭配

put off doing sth.推迟做某事
put off a decision推迟决定
put off a meeting/appointment推迟会议/约会
put off the light/TV关灯/电视
be put off by sth.被某事弄得反感
put off indefinitely无限期推迟
put off until later推迟到以后

句子示例

I always put off doing my taxes until the last minute.我总是把报税拖到最后一刻。
The meeting was put off until next Tuesday.会议推迟到下周二。
His bad breath really put me off.他的口臭真让我反感。
The noise outside put me off my reading.外面的噪音让我无法专心阅读。
Could you put off the light? It's too bright.你能把灯关掉吗?太亮了。
Don't let setbacks put you off your goal.别让挫折使你偏离目标。