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mildew sth
mildew 用作及物动词时，主语常为湿气、潮湿环境等外部因素，宾语是被霉菌影响的事物。
Humidity mildewed the old books.
湿气使这些旧书发了霉。
发霉；受潮变质
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
发霉；受潮变质
to become affected or spoiled by mildew
Humidity mildewed the old books.
湿气使这些旧书发了霉。
不及物用法：自身因潮湿而发霉变质
使发霉；用霉菌污染。
To taint with mildew.
变得发霉；被霉菌污染。
To become tainted with mildew.
发霉；因潮湿而变质。
become moldy; spoil due to humidity
mildew
Base
原形
mildews
3rd person
第三人称单数
mildewing
-ing
现在分词
mildewed
Past
过去式
mildewed
Past participle
过去分词
Damp clothing mildews quickly in summer.
潮湿的衣服在夏天很快发霉。
The old books mildewed in the damp basement.
那些旧书在潮湿的地下室里发霉了。
The bread has mildewed because it was left out.
面包因为放在外面已经发霉了。
mildew 作动词时通常表示“变得发霉/使发霉”，常与 damp、humid 等词搭配，为规则动词。
If you leave damp clothes in the laundry basket, they will mildew in a few days.
如果你把湿衣服放在洗衣篮里，它们几天后就会发霉。
The old paperback books had mildewed after years in the basement.
那些旧平装书在地下室放了多年后已经发霉了。
The bathroom towels are starting to mildew because the room has no window.
浴室的毛巾因为没有窗户而开始发霉了。
mildew 用作及物动词时，主语常为湿气、潮湿环境等外部因素，宾语是被霉菌影响的事物。
Humidity mildewed the old books.
湿气使这些旧书发了霉。
mildew 用作不及物动词时，主语是发霉的物体，强调其自身受潮后发霉的过程。
Wet laundry mildews quickly in humid weather.
湿衣物在潮湿天气里很快就会发霉。
Not this
The bread is mildew after being left in the damp kitchen.
Use this
The bread is mildewed after being left in the damp kitchen.
mildew 作动词或名词时不能直接放在 be 动词后表状态；表示“发霉的”须用过去分词 mildewed 作形容词。
Not this
The towels mildew last week because nobody opened the window.
Use this
The towels mildewed last week because nobody opened the window.
中文的“发霉”没有时态变化，而英语叙述过去发生的事要用过去式 mildewed，不能保留原形。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
发霉；变得发霉
Wet towels left in a basket will become mildewed.
放在篮子里的湿毛巾会发霉。
容易发霉
Bathroom tiles mildew easily if there is no ventilation.
如果没有通风，浴室瓷砖容易发霉。
在潮湿环境中发霉
Stored grain will mildew in damp conditions.
储存的谷物在潮湿环境中会发霉。
因潮湿而发霉
The bathroom ceiling was mildewed by damp.
浴室天花板因潮湿而发霉。
Use mildew naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
mildew 末尾是 dew（露水），潮湿有露水就会发霉。
语域：neutral 常见场景：damp rooms、fabrics、food 中性词，通常用于书面或描述性语境，指因潮湿而发霉或使发霉；口语中更常说 get moldy 或 go moldy。
真正的同韵词：dew /du/、due /du/、blue /blu/、new /nu/、true /tru/ 都与 mildew 末尾的 -dew 押韵，以 /u/ 结尾。注意形近词：mild 拼写以 mil 开头，但读音是 /maɪld/，与 mildew 中的 mil /mɪl/ 不同。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.