ordeal
ordeal — 名詞
- ordealsingular
- ordealsplural
1. a situation that causes a person great mental or physical suffering, especially
折磨；苦難
極度痛苦的經歷
a situation that causes a person great mental or physical suffering, especially one that goes on for some time
The family went through the ordeal of moving abroad without knowing the language.
全家人經歷了一場搬到陌生國度、語言不通的折磨。
ordeal of + gerund
Lan said her ordeal in the refugee camp was the worst time of her life.
Lan 說她在難民營的經歷是她人生中最難熬的時光。
After the earthquake, the survivors faced a long ordeal of finding food and shelter.
地震後，倖存者面臨尋找食物與住所的長期苦難。
For Tomás, the job interview turned into a three-hour ordeal with eight different people.
對 Tomás 來說，那場求職面試變成了一場與八個人面談、長達三小時的折磨。
Hikers endured a terrible ordeal when snow trapped them on a mountain for two nights.
登山者遭遇了一場可怕的苦難：大雪將他們困在山中兩夜。
- trial
slightly more formal; emphasises the testing aspect of the experience
- hardship
focuses on ongoing difficulty rather than a single intense event
- nightmare
more informal and emotional; suggests the experience was terrifying
- tribulation
more formal and literary; often has religious overtones
文法句型
ordeal of + noun/gerund
ordeal for + person
用法筆記
Often used with verbs like 'go through', 'endure', 'face', or 'survive'. The object is typically described with an adjective (terrible, long, whole) or the structure 'ordeal of + gerund'.
常見錯誤
2. in medieval and ancient societies, a formal test in which an accused person was
神判；試罪法
古代透過痛苦測試判斷有罪與否
in medieval and ancient societies, a formal test in which an accused person was made to undergo a dangerous or painful task; surviving or recovering from the test was regarded as evidence that the person was blameless, because people believed God or the gods were protecting them
In medieval Europe, accused people faced ordeal by fire to test their guilt.
在中世紀歐洲，被告必須接受火刑審判來測試是否有罪。
pattern: ordeal by [element]
Trial by ordeal was gradually replaced by the jury system from the thirteenth century onward.
從十三世紀起，神判法逐漸被陪審團制度所取代。
collocation: trial by ordeal
Ordeal by water meant throwing the accused into a river; drowning proved guilt.
水審判法是將被告拋入河中：溺斃即證明有罪。
In some West African ordeals, suspects drank poison to prove their innocence.
在某些西非的試罪法中，嫌犯必須喝下毒藥來證明自己清白。
- trial by ordeal
the full fixed phrase; more specific than 'ordeal' alone
- judgment of God
the medieval theological concept underlying trial by ordeal
文法句型
trial by ordeal
ordeal by + noun
用法筆記
Always refers to historical practices, never modern legal systems. Commonly appears in fixed phrases 'trial by ordeal' and 'ordeal by fire/water'. Distinguished from sense 1 by its historical/legal context and by referring to a formal procedure rather than any difficult experience.