sacrifice · 语义深度解析

核心

为了更重要的事放弃珍贵的东西——主动让渡，而非被迫失去

sacrifice 来自拉丁语 sacrificium = sacer（神圣的）+ facere（做）→ 献给神灵的祭品 → 引申为「为更高目标主动放弃珍贵之物」。核心义项：① 动词：为…而牺牲，放弃（sacrifice sth. for sth.）；② 动词：献祭（宗教语境）；③ 名词：牺牲，献身（make a sacrifice）。关键语义：sacrifice 强调「主动」且「有明确目的」——为了 X 而放弃 Y，与 give up（放弃，无目的性）有别。

释义

1

v.为…而牺牲，放弃（sacrifice sth. for sth.）

Many parents sacrifice their personal ambitions and leisure time to provide better opportunities for their children.

许多父母牺牲个人抱负和休闲时间，以为孩子提供更好的机会。

2

v.献祭（宗教/仪式语境）

In ancient civilisations, animals were often sacrificed during religious ceremonies to appease the gods.

在古代文明中，动物常在宗教仪式中被献祭以取悦神灵。

3

n.牺牲，舍弃；献身

The soldiers were honoured for their sacrifice in defending the nation against overwhelming odds.

这些士兵因在极端不利的情况下为保卫国家而做出的牺牲而受到表彰。

语感

sacrifice = 把珍贵的东西放上祭坛——你是主动的，为了某个更高的目标

牺牲放弃舍弃献身

核心句型：sacrifice sth. for sth. / sb.（为某事/某人牺牲某物），介词 for 固定。sacrifice oneself for（为…献身）是最高程度的表达。名词用法：make a sacrifice / make sacrifices（做出牺牲）；at great sacrifice（以巨大牺牲为代价）。区别：sacrifice（主动放弃，有明确目的，含高尚/痛苦感）vs. give up（放弃，更口语，不强调目的性或情感重量）vs. abandon（遗弃，放弃，含「彻底不管」的负面含义）。

陷阱

⚠️sacrifice vs. give up：有「为了」vs. 只是放弃

She sacrificed a promising career in finance to pursue her true passion for environmental conservation.

✗

sacrificed = gave up（只是放弃了，没有特别含义）

✓

sacrifice 强调「主动放弃有价值的东西，为了更高目标」——放弃了金融前途（损失），是为了追求真正热情（目的）；give up 不含这种「有目的的让渡」语义，也不含sacrifice 的情感重量

她牺牲了金融领域大有前途的职业，转而追求她对环境保护的真正热情。（sacrifice = 主动让出有价值之物，为了更高目标）

⚠️sacrifice 介词用法：固定用 for，不用 to

✗

He sacrificed his health to his career ambitions.

他为职业抱负牺牲了自己的健康。（介词 to 错误）

sacrifice sth. for sth. 介词用 for，不用 to；to 引导的是目的或动作（sacrifice oneself to do sth.），不是「为了某事物」

✓

He sacrificed his health for his career ambitions, pushing himself beyond all reasonable limits.

他为职业抱负牺牲了自己的健康，将自己推向了所有合理限度之外。

近义辨析

sacrifice vs give up

sacrifice 为更高目标主动放弃有价值之物（含情感重量和目的性） give up 放弃（中性，不强调目的性或情感重量）

Frontline healthcare workers sacrificed precious time with their families throughout the pandemic to serve those most in need.

整个疫情期间，一线医护人员牺牲了与家人相处的宝贵时间，去服务最需要帮助的人。

After years of effort, the startup eventually had to give up its original business model and pivot to a completely different market.

经过多年努力，这家初创公司最终不得不放弃原有商业模式，转向完全不同的市场。

写作加分

✨ 加分词

替换：give uplose

个人与社会话题家庭责任议论文奉献精神话题

普通

Parents often give up a lot for their children.

父母经常为孩子放弃很多。

加分 ✨

Parents routinely sacrifice their personal aspirations and financial security to ensure their children have access to quality education and a stable upbringing.

父母经常牺牲个人抱负和经济保障，以确保子女能够接受优质教育并拥有稳定的成长环境。

为什么更好：sacrifice 比 give up 更书面，含情感重量；配合 personal aspirations and financial security 具体化「牺牲内容」，论证说服力大幅提升

常用搭配

sacrifice sth. for sth. / sb.为某事 / 某人牺牲某物

sacrifice oneself for为…献身

make a sacrifice / make sacrifices做出牺牲

at great / considerable sacrifice以巨大 / 相当大的牺牲为代价

a self-sacrifice自我牺牲，无私奉献

词根

sacrifice = sacri（神圣）+ fice（做）→ 做神圣之事 = 献祭 → 为更高目标牺牲

考考你

Q1对错判断

判断下面句子里 sacrifice 的用法是否正确：

The athlete sacrificed years of social life to her training programme, ultimately winning an Olympic gold medal.

sacrifice sth. to... 此处 to 引导结果（training programme 是她付出的方向，句中 to her training programme 是介词搭配，表示「投入于」），或理解为 sacrifice years of social life for her training programme，语义清晰，用法正确

Q2近义选词

选择最恰当的词填空：

After the funding dried up, the research team had no choice but to ___ the most ambitious part of their project.

Asacrifice

Bgive up

✓ 资金耗尽后，研究团队别无选择，只得放弃项目中最雄心勃勃的部分。

此处是被迫放弃（no choice but to），非主动为更高目标让渡，用 give up；sacrifice 强调「主动且有目的的牺牲」，与「别无选择」的被迫情境语义相抵

Q3翻译应用

用 sacrifice 翻译下面句子（可参考 writing_upgrade 字段的搭配）：

无数先辈为了争取公民自由而牺牲了自己的自由乃至生命，这一历史不应被遗忘。

Countless predecessors sacrificed their freedom and even their lives in the pursuit of civil liberties — a history that must not be forgotten.

关键搭配：sacrificed their freedom and even their lives

sacrificed their freedom and even their lives（牺牲了自由乃至生命）是议论文引用历史的书面表达，破折号引出补充说明，结构层次清晰

接着学

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