1
be a leper
字面义，指患麻风病的人。
He is a leper and must avoid direct contact with others.
他是麻风病人，必须避免与他人直接接触。
麻风病人
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
麻风病人
a person who has leprosy
He is a leper and must avoid direct contact with others.
他是麻风病人，必须避免与他人直接接触。
麻风病患者；患汉森病的人。
A person who has leprosy, a person suffering from Hansen's disease.
被排斥的人；遭人嫌弃的人。
Synonym of outcast: A person who is shunned, a pariah.
In the past, a leper often had to live alone in a cave.
过去，麻风病人常常不得不住在山洞里。
Many people believed that touching a leper would make them sick.
许多人相信接触麻风病人会让他们生病。
The doctor explained how a leper could be treated with modern medicine.
医生解释了麻风病人如何用现代医学治疗。
字面义，指患麻风病的人。
He is a leper and must avoid direct contact with others.
他是麻风病人，必须避免与他人直接接触。
比喻义，表示因厌恶或恐惧而排斥、回避某人。
After he lost his job, his colleagues treated him like a leper.
他失业后，同事们像躲避麻风病人一样对待他。
Not this
He has leper.
Use this
He has leprosy.
leper 指患麻风病的人，不是疾病本身；表达‘患麻风病’要用疾病名词 leprosy。
Not this
He is leper.
Use this
He is a leper.
leper 是可数名词，单数使用前需要加冠词 a；中文没有冠词，所以学习者容易遗漏。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
麻风病聚居地；麻风病人收容所
Many were forced into leper colonies in the past.
过去许多人被迫住进麻风病聚居地。
社交弃儿；遭社会排斥的人
Without a mobile phone, she felt like a social leper.
她没有手机，因此觉得自己像个社交弃儿。
像躲瘟神一样疏远某人；排斥某人
The other students treated him like a leper because of his illness.
因为他的病，其他学生像躲瘟神一样疏远他。
社会弃儿；被社会排斥的人
After the scandal, he became a social leper.
丑闻之后，他成了社会弃儿。
像麻风病人一样被对待；被众人避之不及
She was treated like a leper after spreading the rumor.
她散布谣言后被大家避之不及。
像躲麻风病人一样躲着某人
His former friends avoid him like a leper.
他以前的朋友像躲麻风病人一样躲着他。
行行好，赏一个麻风病人一便士吧？
Spoken by a leper beggar in the 1979 Monty Python comedy film 'Life of Brian'.
出自1979年巨蟒剧团喜剧电影《万世魔星》中一个麻风病乞丐之口。
麻风病弥赛亚！
Title and recurring chant from the 1986 Metallica song 'Leper Messiah', which criticizes corrupt televangelists.
出自金属乐队1986年歌曲《麻风病弥赛亚》的标题及反复出现的歌词，这首歌批评腐败的电视布道者。
Use leper naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
联想 leper ≈ "离破"：因麻风病破相而被人远离，所以既指麻风病人，也指被排斥的人。
语域：mixed 常见场景：医学史或旧用法、社交排斥的比喻 作“麻风病人”解时，这个词多用于旧时或医学史叙述，现在通常被视为冒犯，宜改用‘Hansen病’等中性说法；作“被排斥的人”解时，常见于social leper这样的比喻，属于非正式且带贬义。日常使用应谨慎。
与 leper /ˈlepə/ 真正押韵的词是 pepper /ˈpepə/（两者都有 /ˈepə/ 的音）。注意：letter /ˈletə/ 和 leopard /ˈlepəd/ 拼写相似但读音不同；viper /ˈvaɪpə/ 和 paper /ˈpeɪpə/ 虽以 -per 结尾，但重读元音不同，不押韵。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.