lost cause

英 [ˌlɒst ˈkɔːz]

美 [ˌlɔːst ˈkɔːz]

n.  业已失败的事情; 没有希望的事情

牛津词典

noun

• 业已失败的事情；没有希望的事情
  something that has failed or that cannot succeed

柯林斯词典

• N-COUNT 必败无疑的事；无望之人
  If you refer to something or someone asa lost cause, you mean that people's attempts to change or influence them have no chance of succeeding.
  1. They do not want to expend energy in what, to them, is a lost cause.
     他们不想把精力投到他们认为注定不会成功的事中去。

英英释义

noun

• a defeated cause or a cause for which defeat is inevitable

双语例句

• The implementation of sentence of imprisonment is mandatory. Once this power is lost of control and supervision, it will cause terrible impact. Therefore, such powers must be strictly monitored to be correctly used.
  监禁刑执行具有强制性的特点，但是这种权力一旦失去制约和监督就会产生可怕的后果，所以对这种权力必须依法进行严格监督，使之得到正确的行使和运用。
• Some were wasting their energies on a lost cause though-six percent revealed they had secretly fancied the groom, with three per cent admitting they had even been romantically involved with the man of the hour before he met his bride.
  一些人把精力浪费在注定失败的事情上&6%的受访者表示她们偷偷地觊觎过新郎，3%的人承认她们在新娘和新郎相识之前，和新郎曾有一段恋情。
• It was a foolish risk, taken in a lost cause, but he was itching to get to it.
  这是一次愚蠢的冒险行动，是注定要失败的，然而他却迫不及待地想去试一试。
• But does teamwork have to be a lost cause?
  但是团队合作一定是徒劳无功的吗？
• He is a tone deaf, so he is a lost cause when it comes to music.
  他对音调一点感觉也没有，所以听音乐的时候他就无可救药了。
• Yet, they have provided quality medical service to local residents without asking for returns.40 doctors even lost their lives for this great cause.
  他们大多驻扎在贫困偏远地区，克服生活、医疗条件差等困难，以精湛的医术、高尚的医德为非洲人民提供了优质的医疗服务，甚至有40多名优秀医生献出了宝贵的生命。
• They do not want to expend energy in what, to them, is a lost cause.
  他们不想把精力投到他们认为注定不会成功的事中去。
• If the person is a lost cause, walk away.
  如果对方是个心怀鬼胎的人，直接转身离开。
• The lost Supreme Court case was not a lost cause, however.
  然而，输了最高法庭的案子并非一件失败的事情。
• I've tried three times to get my book back from her but it's a lost cause.
  我已经三次试图从她那儿把我的书要回来，可是一点都没用。