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ADJ
親愛的;可愛的
You use dear to describe someone or something that you feel affection for.
例句
Mrs Cavendish is a dear friend of mine...
卡文迪什夫人是我的一位親密朋友。
At last I am back at my dear little desk.
我終于回到了我那張可愛的小桌子旁。
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ADJ-GRADED
對…來說心愛的;在…（心中）寶貴的
If something is dear to you or dear to your heart, you care deeply about it.
例句
His family life was very dear to him...
他很珍視自己的家庭生活。
This is a subject very dear to the hearts of academics up and down the country.
這個話題舉國上下的學者都非常關切。
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ADJ
(用于表示喜愛或帶有屈尊俯就意味的稱呼中）親愛的;小…
You use dear in expressions such as 'my dear fellow', 'dear girl', or 'my dear Richard' when you are addressing someone whom you know and are fond of. You can also use expressions like this in a rude way to indicate that you think you are superior to the person you are addressing.
例句
Of course, Toby, my dear fellow, of course...
當然，托比，我親愛的朋友，當然。
Take as long as you like, dear boy.
小伙子，隨你花多長時間都行。
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ADJ
(用于信函抬頭的名字或頭銜前）親愛的，尊敬的
Dear is written at the beginning of a letter, followed by the name or title of the person you are writing to.
例句
Dear Peter, I have been thinking about you so much during the past few days...
親愛的彼得，過去的這幾天里我一直都在想你。
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CONVENTION
尊敬的先生/尊敬的女士(英國英語中用于正式信函的開頭，美國英語中則用 Sir 或 Madam)
In British English, you begin formal letters with 'Dear Sir' or 'Dear Madam'. In American English, you begin them with 'Sir' or 'Madam'.
例句
'Dear sir,' she began.
“尊敬的先生，”她開頭寫道。
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N-VOC
(用于稱呼喜愛的人）親愛的
You can call someone dear as a sign of affection.
例句
You're a lot like me, dear...
親愛的，你很多地方都很像我。
'Good night, my dears,' she called to us as we closed her door behind us.
“晚安，我親愛的孩子們，”我們關上她的房門時她對我們說道。
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EXCLAM
(表示傷心、失望或吃驚）啊呀，哎喲，天哪
You can use dear in expressions such as 'oh dear', 'dear me', and 'dear, dear' when you are sad, disappointed, or surprised about something.
例句
'Oh dear, oh dear.' McKinnon sighed. 'You, too.'
“哎呀，哎呀！”麥金農嘆息道，“你也一樣。”
Outside, Bruce glanced at his watch: 'Dear me, nearly one o'clock.'
出了門，布魯斯瞥了一眼自己的手表，“天哪，快一點了。”
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N-COUNT
可愛的人;好人
You can call someone a dear when you are fond of them and think that they are nice.
例句
He's such a dear.
他人真好。
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ADJ-GRADED
昂貴的;價高的
If you say that something is dear, you mean that it costs a lot of money, usually more than you can afford or more than you think it should cost.
例句
CDs here are much dearer than in the States...
這兒的 CD 價格比美國那邊貴多了。
They're too dear.
它們的價格太高了。
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PHRASE
使…付出巨大代價;使…飽嘗苦頭
If something that someone does costs them dear, they suffer a lot as a result of it.
例句
Such complacency is costing the company dear.
這種自滿情緒正使公司付出沉重代價。