Word · Frequency #14367
spinsters
老姑娘；年长未婚女子
spinsters is the plural of spinster.
an elderly unmarried woman
- 1.
One who spins (puts a spin on) a political media story so as to give something a favorable or advantageous appearance; a spin doctor, spin merchant or spinmeister.
操纵政治媒体报道以使其显得有利或占优势的人；即“政治公关专家”(spin doctor)等。
- 2.
an elderly unmarried woman
年长未婚女子
- 3.
someone who spins (who twists fibers into threads)
纺纱者(将纤维捻成线的人)
纺纱者；纺线的人；政治公关专家；舆论引导者；操纵政治媒体报道以使其显得有利或占优势的人；即“政治公关专家”(spin doctor)等。；年长未婚女子；纺纱者(将纤维捻成线的人)
In use
The census records listed her as a spinster, though she managed the family farm alone.
Many people in the novel pity the spinster, but she actually enjoys her independent life.
A few spinsters in town started a small book club together.
be a spinster
She was a spinster all her life.
她一辈子都是个老姑娘。
remain a spinster
Despite many marriage proposals, she remained a spinster.
尽管求婚者众多，她仍然独身。
die a spinster
Connections
Collocations
- old spinster
- 老姑娘；年长的未婚女子
- The old spinster lived alone with her cats.那个老姑娘和她的猫独自生活。
- spinster aunt
- 未婚的姑妈（或姨妈）
- My spinster aunt took care of me when I was young.我小时候，未婚的姑妈照顾我。
- confirmed spinster
- 铁定不婚的老姑娘
- In those days, a thirty-year-old woman was already a confirmed spinster.那时候，三十岁的女人已经是铁定不婚的老姑娘了。
- die a spinster
- 终身未嫁；至死仍是未婚女子
- She worked all her life and died a spinster.她工作了一辈子，终身未嫁。
Synonyms
- old maid
- 老姑娘；老处女（常含贬义） · 与 spinster 义近，但更口语化且常带轻蔑或戏谑色彩，正式场合慎用。
Learner notes
Memory Tip
把 spinster 看成 spin（纺纱）+ -ster（人），联想到纺纱女工形象，从而记住“未婚老姑娘”；又因 spin 有“操控舆论”的意思，所以也指“政治公关”。
Context & Register
语域：mixed 常见场景：legal or historical writing、everyday conversation spinster（指年长未婚女性）多用于正式或历史语境，日常口语中显得过时且常带贬义。法律或行政文本中比较常见，如今通常改用 single woman 或 unmarried woman。
Pronunciation & Spelling
Only 'minster' (/ˈmɪnstər/) rhymes with 'spinster' (/ˈspɪnstər/): both have the stressed vowel /ɪ/ followed by /nstər/. The other listed words share the written ending -ster but not the rhyme: 'gangster', 'youngster', 'hipster', and 'prankster' have different stressed vowels and are stressed on the first syllable, so they only share the unstressed suffix /stər/. 'Sinister' looks similar in spelling but has an extra syllable and is pronounced /ˈsɪnɪstər/, so it does not rhyme. Also beware 'minister' /ˈmɪnɪstər/, which is not a rhyme.
Learn the forms together
页面下方列出了常见词形变化。学习时注意它们在句子中的语法位置。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.