antennae

antennae — 名詞

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

1.名詞B2
釋義

複數形式

antenna 的拉丁語複數

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.

蛾的纖細觸角捕捉到幾公尺外一朵花的微弱香氣。

biological sense — insect sensory organs

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

優秀的新聞記者會保持政治敏感度，隨時留意選民的聲音。

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.