eared
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective 1. Having ears or ear-like appendages: Describes something that possesses ears or structures that resemble ears. 2. Worn or shabby from overuse; having corners turned down: Describes the condition of an object, especially the pages of a book, that are worn, frayed, or have folded corners from frequent handling.
Usage Examples
- The eared seal is distinguished from the true seal by its small external ears.
- After years of use, the manual's eared pages showed it was his favorite reference book.
- The botanist studied the eared leaf, noting the two small lobes at its base.
Advanced Usage
- Often used in combination to form compound adjectives that specify the type or quality of ears (e.g., long-eared, floppy-eared, sharp-eared).
- The sharp-eared guard heard the faint noise from a great distance.
- The sense of being worn is most commonly seen in the fixed compound "dog-eared," which specifically describes book pages with corners turned down from use.
- She found the passage in her dog-eared copy of the novel.
Variants and Related Words
- Dog-eared (adj.): Having the corners of the pages worn or turned down from use.
- -eared (suffix): Used to form adjectives describing the nature of something's ears (e.g., lop-eared, large-eared).
Synonyms
- For "having ears": auriculate (technical, chiefly botany/zoology).
- For "worn/shabby": frayed, tattered, worn-out, creased.
Related Idioms
- Dog-eared: This is the primary idiomatic usage.
- His dissertation draft was dog-eared and covered in notes.
Adjective
- having ears (or appendages resembling ears) or having ears of a specified kind; often used in combination
- worn or shabby from overuse or (of pages) from having corners turned down
- a somewhat dog-eared duke...a bit run down-Clifton Fadiman
- an old book with dog-eared pages