extraterrestrial
extraterrestrial — 形容詞
1. relating to life or objects that exist or come from somewhere beyond the Earth's
外星
存在或源自地球以外的
relating to life or objects that exist or come from somewhere beyond the Earth's atmosphere.
Dr. Talia Okonkwo detected an extraterrestrial radio signal from a galaxy far beyond our own.
Dr. Talia Okonkwo 從一個遙遠的星系偵測到一個外星無線電訊號。
attributive: extraterrestrial radio signal
The research team in Chile studied rock samples that may have an extraterrestrial origin.
智利的研究團隊分析了可能源自外星的岩石樣本。
attributive: extraterrestrial origin
Baraka often stares at the stars, wondering if extraterrestrial life exists somewhere out there.
Baraka 經常凝視星空，想著宇宙中是否存在外星生命。
When the strange object landed in Élise's garden, she wondered if it was extraterrestrial.
當那個奇怪的物體落在 Élise 的花園裡時，她懷疑它是否來自外星。
The government panel discussed how to handle a confirmed extraterrestrial visit to Earth.
政府小組討論了如何應對一起確認的外星到訪事件。
- alien
more common in everyday language; can also mean 'foreign' or 'strange', whereas extraterrestrial is specific to outer space
- cosmic
broader in scope — refers to the entire universe rather than specifically 'beyond Earth'
- space-based
more literal and technical; focuses on location rather than origin
- terrestrial
direct opposite — relating to the planet Earth
- earthly
emphasises the contrast with 'from space'
文法句型
extraterrestrial + noun
be + extraterrestrial
用法筆記
Often used attributively before nouns such as life, signal, being, or origin. The predicative use (e.g., 'the object might be extraterrestrial') is less common but acceptable.
常見錯誤
extraterrestrial — 名詞
1. a living being whose home is a planet other than Earth, especially in fictional
外星人
來自其他星球的生物
a living being whose home is a planet other than Earth, especially in fictional stories or scientific discussions about life beyond our solar system.
When the spaceship landed, a small green extraterrestrial stepped out and waved at the children.
當太空船降落時，一隻綠色的小外星人走出來，向孩子們揮手。
indefinite article + adjective: a small green extraterrestrial
Maeve drew a picture of a friendly extraterrestrial with three eyes and long, thin arms.
Maeve 畫了一幅圖，畫中有一個友善的外星人，長著三隻眼睛和細長的手臂。
Some people believe the government has hidden the remains of extraterrestrials in a secret facility.
有些人認為政府把外星人的遺體藏在一個祕密設施裡。
In the story, an extraterrestrial learns English by watching television with a human family.
在這個故事中，一個外星人透過和家人一起看電視來學習英語。
Samir wonders whether an extraterrestrial would find human music as beautiful as we do.
Samir 好奇外星人是否會像我們一樣覺得人類的音樂很美。
- alien
much more common in everyday speech; extraterrestrial sounds more formal or scientific
- space being
more informal and descriptive; less commonly used in scientific writing
- E.T.
informal and brand-specific, derived from the film title; carries friendly connotations
- earthling
humorous or science-fiction term for a human being from Earth
- terrestrial
formal term for an Earth-dweller, especially in scientific classification
文法句型
[article] + [adjective] + extraterrestrial
extraterrestrial + [relative clause]
用法筆記
Commonly appears in science fiction contexts and in discussions about the possibility of life beyond Earth. The plural form extraterrestrials is frequent when referring to hypothetical groups or species.