antennae

antennae — noun

1. one of two plural forms of the noun 'antenna'; it is the Latin-style plural used

1.名詞B2
釋義

one of two plural forms of the noun 'antenna'; it is the Latin-style plural used when talking about the sensory feelers on an insect's head or about figurative sensitivity (e.g. 'political antennae'). For the electronic device that sends or receives radio/TV signals, the regular English plural 'antennas' is more common.

例句

The moth's delicate antennae picked up the faint scent of a flower metres away.

biological sense — insect sensory organs

A good journalist keeps her political antennae tuned to what voters are saying.

figurative sense — sensitivity / awareness

用法筆記

The plural 'antennae' follows the Latin pattern (like 'formula → formulae'), while 'antennas' follows the regular English pattern. Some writers use 'antennae' for all meanings in formal or literary contexts, but 'antennas' is far more common for electronic devices in everyday English.

常見錯誤

❌The satellite dish needs new antennae.
✅The satellite dish needs new antennas.
💡'antennae' is rarely used for radio/TV devices; 'antennas' is the standard plural for that meaning.