Inconsistency
“Inconsistency” 描述的是一种缺乏统一性(uniformity)或逻辑连贯性(logical coherence)的状态。当一个人的话前后矛盾,或者一个系统的实验结果每次都不同,我们就可以说其中存在 “inconsistency”。它强调的是差异、偏差或不稳定性。
- “There is a major inconsistency between what he said yesterday and what he is saying today.” (他昨天说的和今天说的之间存在严重的不一致。)
- “The quality of the service was marred by inconsistency.” (服务质量因水平参差不齐而大打折扣。)
- “The detective noticed an inconsistency in the suspect’s alibi.” (侦探注意到了嫌疑人不在场证明中的一个矛盾点。)
“Inconsistency” 源自 “consistent”(一致的)。
- 前缀: “in-” 意为“不”。
- 词根: “-sist-” 来源于拉丁语 “sistere”,意为“站立”或“放置”。
- “Consistent” 字面意思是“站在一起的”。
- 形容词基础: “inconsistent” (不一致的)。
- 后缀: “-ency”,名词后缀,表示性质、状态或程度。
在逻辑学和科学方法论中,“inconsistency” 是致命的缺陷。一个科学理论如果存在内部逻辑矛盾(internal inconsistency),就必须被修正或抛弃。在日常生活中,人们通常期望公众人物保持一致性,因此“言行不一”往往会被视为诚信缺失的表现。
- 词形变化: 形容词为 “inconsistent”。
- 动词关联: “consist” (由……组成)。
- 反义词: “consistency” (一致性)。
联想 “consistent”(一致的)。记住 “in-” 是否定前缀,那么 “inconsistency” 就是“不一致”。你可以想象一群人站得乱七八糟,没有统一的队形,这就是一种 “inconsistency”。
“The young baker struggled with inconsistency. One day his bread was perfect, and the next day it was too salty or too hard. He realized that to run a successful bakery, he needed to eliminate this inconsistency by measuring his ingredients more carefully. Consistency, he learned, was the secret to a great reputation.” (年轻的面包师在水平不稳中挣扎。有一天他的面包很完美,第二天就太咸或太硬。他意识到,要经营好一家面包店,他需要通过更仔细地称量配料来消除这种不一致。他学到,一致性是获得良好声誉的秘诀。)