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a thistle
用不定冠词表示一株蓟。
A thistle has prickly leaves.
蓟长有带刺的叶子。
蓟；蓟属植物
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
蓟；蓟属植物
a wild plant with prickly leaves and purple or white flower heads
A thistle has prickly leaves.
蓟长有带刺的叶子。
几种多年生菊科植物中的任何一种,尤其指蓟属、飞廉属、菜蓟属或大翅蓟属,具有带刺的叶和带刺苞片的花序。
Any of several perennial composite plants, especially of genera Cirsium, Carduus, Cynara, or Onopordum, having prickly leaves and showy flower heads with prickly bracts.
众多菊科植物,尤指飞廉属、蓟属和大翅蓟属,叶缘有刺。
any of numerous plants of the family Compositae and especially of the genera Carduus and Cirsium and Onopordum having prickly-edged leaves
作为苏格兰国徽的这种植物。
This plant seen as the national emblem of Scotland.
用作纹章图案的这种植物图像。
An image of this plant used as a charge.
The thistle has prickly leaves and a purple flower that blooms in late summer.
蓟的叶子带刺，夏末会开出紫色的花。
When I was picking blackberries, I accidentally touched a thistle and got scratched by its spines.
我摘黑莓时，不小心碰到一棵蓟，被它的刺划了一下。
Thistles grow well in dry, sunny meadows and provide food for many insects.
蓟在干燥、阳光充足的草地上长得很好，为许多昆虫提供食物。
用不定冠词表示一株蓟。
A thistle has prickly leaves.
蓟长有带刺的叶子。
用复数形式表示多株蓟。
Thistles grow in the field.
田野里长着蓟。
定冠词加单数名词，泛指蓟这类植物。
The thistle is a prickly plant.
蓟是一种带刺的植物。
Not this
There are many thistle in the field.
Use this
There are many thistles in the field.
thistle 是可数名词，在 many 后要用复数形式 thistles；汉语名词没有复数变化，所以容易漏掉词尾 -s。
Not this
The thistle of the kettle tells me the water is boiling.
Use this
The whistle of the kettle tells me the water is boiling.
thistle（蓟）和 whistle（哨声；呼啸声）拼写相近，但意义完全不同；水壶发出的响声是 whistle，不能用 thistle。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
蓟花絮
In autumn, thistle down floats in the air.
秋天，蓟花絮在空中飘浮。
蓟花
She picked a thistle flower and put it in a vase.
她摘了一朵蓟花放进花瓶。
蓟丛
The dog ran into a thistle patch and came out yelping.
狗跑进蓟丛，出来时呜呜直叫。
多刺蓟
Wear gloves when removing prickly thistles from the garden.
清除花园里的多刺蓟时要戴手套。
苏格兰蓟
The Scotch thistle appears on some Scottish coins.
苏格兰蓟出现在一些苏格兰硬币上。
水飞蓟
Milk thistle is often taken as a supplement for liver health.
水飞蓟常作为护肝补充剂服用。
荆棘和蒺藜；比喻困难、障碍、不顺利
There are always thorns and thistles in any worthwhile project, but perseverance gets you through.
任何有价值的项目都难免有重重困难，但坚持下去就能克服。
人岂能从荆棘上摘葡萄，从蒺藜里摘无花果呢？
The weeds behind the barn were mostly thistles, their purple heads swaying in the wind.
谷仓后面的野草大多是蓟，紫色的花头在风中摇曳。
地必给你长出荆棘和蒺藜来。
The old garden had become overgrown with thistles, making it impossible to walk barefoot.
那座旧花园长满了蓟，光脚走路已经不可能了。
Use thistle naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
发音像“this'll”（这将），想象你指着带刺的草说“这将是蓟”——thistle 就是有刺的蓟。
语域：neutral 常见场景：植物学、园艺、自然观察 该词通常用于植物学描述，也多见于园艺和自然观察场合；日常口语中提到这类带刺植物时也常用 thistle，语气比较中性。
Genuine rhymes with thistle: whistle, bristle, gristle, and missile (US) all end in /ɪsəl/. Watch out: castle /ˈkæsəl/ and little /ˈlɪtəl/ are spelling lookalikes but do not rhyme; British missile /ˈmaɪsaɪl/ does not rhyme either.
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.