牙刃（每日单词:dent）

dent /dent/

CET6丨IELTS丨TOEFL

外刊例句

The catastrophe led to a sharp decline in output and exports (and a long-term shift in economic activity away from the most affected regions), but despite the disruptions Japan remained in deflation. Higher tariffs should, in theory, disrupt supply and boost prices. But to date the main economic effect of the trade war being fought by America and China has been dented confidence, derailed business investment and tumbling interest rates.

这场灾难导致了产量和出口的急剧下降(以及经济活动从受影响最严重地区的长期转移)，但尽管出现了中断，日本仍处于通缩状态。从理论上讲，提高关税会扰乱供应，推高价格。但迄今为止，贸易战的主要经济影响是信心受挫、商业投资脱轨和利率下跌。

——《经济学人》

If something dents your confidence or your pride, it makes you realize that you are not as good or successful as you thought.

v. 挫伤；削弱；使产生凹痕

追根溯源

单词dent里的词根dent来源于拉丁语, 表示“牙齿”，所以，包含dent的英语单词，多与此相关，例如：

dental adj. 牙科的；牙齿的

dentist n. 牙科医生

denture n. 假牙

影视例句

在美剧《摩登家庭》中，Alex向Claire坦白，其中就用到了今天的单词：

Alex: Mom, I need to tell you something.

Claire: What is it, honey?

Alex: I distracted Haley while she was driving. And we dented your car.

-妈妈 我要告诉你一件事。

-是什么，宝贝？

-海莉开车的时候，我让她分心了，我们把你的车撞出了一个凹痕。