vapor
vapor — noun
1. matter that takes a gaseous form, like the mist you see rising from a heated pan
matter that takes a gaseous form, like the mist you see rising from a heated pan or the fog that forms above a lake on a cold morning.
When Min boiled the water, white vapor rose from the pot and fogged up the kitchen window.
subject + vapor + rise from [source]
The morning sun burned off the thin layer of vapor that hung over the lake at dawn.
Water vapor in the air turned into tiny drops on the surface of the cold glass.
Chemical vapor drifted from the factory pipe into the sky above the town.
Heather could see her breath turn into a small cloud of vapor in the freezing morning air.
文法句型
water vapor
vapor + rises/forms
用法筆記
Used as an uncountable noun; may be modified by a preceding noun that identifies the source (e.g. 'water vapor', 'mercury vapor').
常見錯誤
2. an old-fashioned term for a sudden feeling of illness or weakness, often with di
an old-fashioned term for a sudden feeling of illness or weakness, often with dizziness, believed in the past to be caused by shock or strong emotion.
In old novels, women characters often experienced the vapors after a shocking piece of news.
phrase: the vapors
When Amira heard the name called out, she felt a wave of the vapors and had to sit down.
Victorian doctors sometimes diagnosed female patients with the vapors when no physical cause could be found.
The character in the play clutched her chest and declared she was overcome by the vapors.
文法句型
the vapors
have/feel the vapors
用法筆記
This sense is now considered historical or literary. It appears almost exclusively in the fixed plural phrase 'the vapors'. Modern English would use 'faintness', 'dizziness', or 'nausea' instead.
常見錯誤
vapor — verb
- vaporpresent simple I / you / we / they
- vapors3rd person singular
- vaporing-ing form
- vaporedpast simple
1. of a liquid or solid: to change into a gas or mist and move upward into the air,
of a liquid or solid: to change into a gas or mist and move upward into the air, especially when heated.
The spilled gasoline vapored off the hot road surface within a few minutes.
vapor + off [surface]
As the morning frost melted, it vapored quickly under the strong rays of the sun.
The alcohol on Apinya's skin vapored into the warm air, leaving a cool feeling behind.
After the rain stopped, water from the pavement vapored slowly in the afternoon heat.
文法句型
vapor + off/from [source]
用法筆記
This intransitive verb is less common than the related 'evaporate' or 'vaporize'. It is mostly found in descriptive or literary writing about natural processes.
常見錯誤
2. of a thing: to send out or release vapor into the surrounding air.
of a thing: to send out or release vapor into the surrounding air.
The hot spring vapored gently in the cold mountain air, creating fog around the rocks.
subject + vapor + adverb phrase
After the heavy rain, the warm earth vapored under the bright summer sun.
The cooling tower of the power plant vapored steadily throughout the afternoon.
The pavement vapored after the sudden shower, making the street look hazy and soft.
文法句型
[source] vapors
用法筆記
Distinguish this sense from the first verb sense: here the subject is the source that releases vapor (e.g. ground, spring, tower), whereas the first sense describes the vapor itself rising. Both are intransitive.
3. to talk in a proud and tiresome way about things that are not real or important,
to talk in a proud and tiresome way about things that are not real or important, often with a lot of noise but little meaning.
At the party, Darius vapored for an hour about his so-called successes in business.
vapor + about [topic]
The old general vapored endlessly about battles he had never actually fought.
Arjun's friends grew bored of hearing him vapor about his imaginary travels around the world.
The two politicians sat around vaporing about grand plans that would never happen.
文法句型
vapor + about/over [topic]
用法筆記
This meaning is now rare and formal. More common modern equivalents are 'brag', 'boast', or 'bluster'. It appears mostly in older literature or deliberately stylistic writing.