allergic

allergic — adjective

1. If a person or animal is allergic to a food, plant, animal, or other substance,

1.形容詞A2
釋義

If a person or animal is allergic to a food, plant, animal, or other substance, their body reacts badly when they touch, eat, or breathe it in, often causing a rash, sneezing, or trouble breathing.

例句

Mia is allergic to peanuts, so her mother always checks the menu carefully.

be allergic to + food noun

Many children are allergic to cat hair and start sneezing within minutes.

plural subject + 'allergic to'

同義詞
  • hypersensitive

    more medical and formal; often used in clinical writing

  • intolerant

    wider — covers food intolerance that is not strictly an immune reaction

文法句型

be allergic to + noun

用法筆記

Almost always used with the preposition 'to' followed by the trigger (food, animal, drug, plant). Subject is usually a person or animal — distinguish from sense 2, where the subject is the reaction or condition itself.

常見錯誤

❌I am allergic with milk.
✅I am allergic to milk.
💡the fixed preposition is 'to', not 'with' or 'from'.
❌She has allergic to dust.
✅She is allergic to dust.
💡'allergic' is an adjective, so use 'be', not 'have'.

2. Used before a noun to describe a rash, swelling, cough, or other physical proble

2.形容詞B1
釋義

Used before a noun to describe a rash, swelling, cough, or other physical problem that the body produces because of an allergy.

例句

The bee sting gave Daniel a severe allergic reaction within ten minutes.

collocation: severe allergic reaction

Doctors treated the boy for an allergic rash on his arms and neck.

allergic + body symptom noun

同義詞
  • anaphylactic

    much stronger and life-threatening; only for the most severe reactions

文法句型

allergic + medical noun

用法筆記

Only sense that sits directly before a noun (attributive only). The noun describes the symptom or condition (reaction, rash, asthma, shock), not the person. Distinguish from sense 1, where the person is allergic and the structure uses 'be allergic to'.

常見錯誤

❌The cream made my skin allergic.
✅The cream caused an allergic reaction on my skin.
💡the symptom is allergic, not the body part itself.

3. Strongly disliking someone or something, or trying very hard to avoid an activit

3.形容詞B2
釋義

Strongly disliking someone or something, or trying very hard to avoid an activity, in a joking or exaggerated way.

例句

My brother is allergic to housework and disappears whenever I bring out the vacuum.

informal humour: allergic to + activity noun

Teenagers seem to be allergic to getting up before noon on weekends.

be allergic to + -ing form

同義詞
  • averse

    more formal; often appears with 'risk' in business writing

  • opposed

    stronger and more public; used about views and policies, not personal habits

反義詞
  • fond of

    opposite informal feeling: liking something rather than avoiding it

文法句型

be allergic to + noun / -ing

用法筆記

Informal and usually humorous — never used in serious medical or formal writing. Frequently followed by an -ing verb naming the disliked activity. Distinguish from sense 1 by context: a real medical trigger (peanuts, dust) signals sense 1, while an activity or abstract noun (housework, hard work) signals sense 3.

常見錯誤

❌He is allergic about hard work.
✅He is allergic to hard work.
💡keep the preposition 'to', the same as sense 1.