1
be an imp
用于描述好恶作剧的小孩或小精灵。
He is such an imp when he plays tricks on his sister.
他捉弄妹妹时真是个顽童。
顽童；小淘气
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
顽童；小淘气
A playful, mischievous person, especially a child.
He is such an imp when he plays tricks on his sister.
他捉弄妹妹时真是个顽童。
印刷工。
Printer.
一种小而淘气的精灵或恶毒的超自然生物,类似但比恶魔小且力量弱,旧时被认为是魔鬼或恶魔之子。
A small, mischievous sprite or a malevolent supernatural creature, somewhat comparable to a demon but smaller and less powerful, formerly regarded as the child of the devil or a demon (see sense 3.2).
民间传说中有点调皮的小精灵
(folklore) fairies that are somewhat mischievous
袋獾幼崽。
A baby Tasmanian devil.
The little imp hid his sister's toys.
那个小顽童把他姐姐的玩具藏了起来。
The imps in the story are always causing trouble.
故事里的小精灵总是惹麻烦。
He's a mischievous imp, always playing pranks on others.
他是个淘气的顽童，总是捉弄别人。
用于描述好恶作剧的小孩或小精灵。
He is such an imp when he plays tricks on his sister.
他捉弄妹妹时真是个顽童。
比喻调皮的行为举止。
She smiled like an imp after hiding the remote control.
她把遥控器藏起来后，像个顽童一样笑了。
常与mischief连用，表示顽皮的小精灵。
The story features an imp of mischief who causes havoc in the village.
故事里有个捣蛋鬼在村子里制造混乱。
Not this
He is very imp.
Use this
He is very impish.
imp 是名词，意为“顽童”，而“impish”才是形容词，意为“顽皮的”。
Not this
He is imp.
Use this
He is an imp.
imp 是可数名词，单数形式前需加冠词“an”。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
小淘气鬼，小顽童
Come here, you little imp! Who painted the cat?
过来，你这个小淘气鬼！谁给猫涂了颜色？
淘气的小精灵；捣蛋鬼
The mischievous imp put a toad in my boot.
那个捣蛋鬼往我靴子里放了一只癞蛤蟆。
恶作剧的淘气包
My brother was an imp of mischief from the moment he could walk.
我弟弟从会走路起就是个恶作剧的淘气包。
小淘气鬼，小捣蛋
You little imp, what have you done now?
你这个小淘气鬼，现在又干什么了？
逆反心理；明知故犯的冲动
The imp of the perverse made him open the box he was told to leave alone.
逆反心理驱使他打开了那个被告知不要去碰的盒子。
乖戾之魔
In his short story, Poe describes the Imp of the Perverse as the irrational urge that makes a man confess to a murder.
爱伦·坡在他的短篇小说中把乖戾之魔描述为一种非理性的冲动，它会使一个人坦白自己犯下的谋杀。
小恶魔
In Game of Thrones, everyone calls Tyrion Lannister "the Imp", and he turns the insult into a badge of pride.
在《权力的游戏》中，大家都叫提利昂·兰尼斯特“小恶魔”，而他把这句侮辱变成了骄傲的象征。
Use imp naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
想象一个小鬼在印刷机（printer）旁捣蛋，imp 就是那种小淘气、小恶魔的形象。
语域：mixed 常见场景：folklore and fairy tales、informal talk about a mischievous child、wildlife or zoology contexts imp 的语域随义项变化：指神话或民间传说中的小精灵、小恶魔时，多用于童话、奇幻作品或民俗描述，语感偏中性且略带古雅；指淘气小孩时，通常用于非正式口语，带有亲昵或戏谑的意味；指袋獾幼崽时，则常见于动物饲养或科普类的正式文本。具体用法请结合语境判断。
可数名词，复数形式为imps
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, OCTANOVE, WIKTIONARY.