英文字根grad
在英文裡，「grad」這個字根源自拉丁文「gradus」，意思是「步伐」、「階段」、「等級」等，與「逐步前進」、「變化的程度」相關。這個字根衍生出許多我們在生活中常見的單字，不論是在形容學業進度、社會地位、變化程度，甚至是描述成長或衰退的過程時，都能看到它的蹤跡。以下精選三十個以「grad」為核心的英文單字，每個單字都附有詞義解釋和三個中英例句，幫助你從上下文中掌握它的用法與感覺。
gradual
形容詞，指「逐漸的、漸進的」，通常用來描述變化過程不是突然發生的。
- The change in her attitude was so gradual that no one noticed it at first.
她態度的變化非常漸進，一開始沒有人注意到。 - The weather is becoming gradually warmer as spring approaches.
隨著春天到來，天氣正逐漸變暖。 - He made a gradual recovery from the illness.
他從病痛中逐漸康復。
graduate
動詞或名詞，作動詞時意為「畢業」，作名詞時則為「畢業生」。
- She will graduate from university next year.
她明年將從大學畢業。 - After years of hard work, he finally became a graduate of medical school.
多年努力後，他終於成為醫學院的畢業生。 - Many graduates are struggling to find jobs these days.
現在很多畢業生都在努力找工作。
upgrade
動詞或名詞，指「升級、提升等級或品質」。
- We upgraded our internet plan to get faster speed.
我們升級了網路方案以獲得更快的速度。 - She was upgraded to first class on her flight.
她的機票被升等為頭等艙。 - The hotel room was an upgrade from what we expected.
飯店的房間比我們預期的更高級。
degrade
動詞，表示「貶低、使降低品質、腐敗」。
- His rude remarks degraded her in front of everyone.
他無禮的話讓她在眾人面前蒙羞。 - Plastic waste takes hundreds of years to degrade in nature.
塑膠垃圾在自然中需要幾百年才能分解。 - That job doesn’t degrade him—it’s honest work.
那份工作不會讓他丟臉——那是正當的勞動。
retrograde
形容詞或動詞，表示「倒退的、退步的、逆行的」。
- His thinking is completely retrograde and old-fashioned.
他的想法完全是倒退又過時。 - The planet appears to move in a retrograde motion.
那顆行星似乎在逆行。 - Social progress sometimes faces retrograde movements.
社會進步有時會遭遇倒退的潮流。
progress
名詞或動詞，指「進展、前進、進步」。
- She’s made a lot of progress in her English.
她的英文進步很多。 - Technology is progressing faster than ever.
科技進步得比以往還快。 - He walked with slow but steady progress.
他慢慢但穩定地走著。
aggressive
形容詞，指「積極的、侵略性的」。來自grad的「走向」與前綴ad（toward）結合。
- He has an aggressive approach to sales.
他在銷售上採取積極的方式。 - The dog became aggressive when provoked.
那隻狗受到挑釁時變得具有攻擊性。 - She is aggressive in pursuing her career goals.
她在追求事業目標上非常積極。
transgress
動詞，表示「違反、越界」，通常指違反法律、道德等規範。
- He transgressed the company’s code of ethics.
他違反了公司的道德準則。 - Those who transgress the rules will be punished.
違反規則的人將受到懲罰。 - She apologized for transgressing boundaries.
她為越界行為道歉。
regress
動詞，表示「退化、倒退」，與progress相反。
- After the treatment stopped, his condition began to regress.
停止治療後，他的病情開始惡化。 - Children sometimes regress under stress.
孩子在壓力下有時會出現退化行為。 - His behavior regressed to that of a toddler.
他的行為退化成像小孩一樣。
congress
名詞，指「國會、大會」，字面意思為「一起走向」，即眾人會合的地方。
- The law was passed by Congress last week.
這項法律上週由國會通過。 - She was elected to Congress in 2010.
她於2010年當選為國會議員。 - The annual science congress will be held in Tokyo.
年度科學大會將在東京舉行。
digress
動詞，表示「離題、偏離主題」。
- He digressed from the main topic during his speech.
他在演講中偏離了主題。 - Let’s not digress—stick to the issue at hand.
我們別離題了——回到正題吧。 - I’m sorry to digress, but that reminds me of another story.
抱歉我離題了，但那讓我想到另一個故事。
egress
名詞或動詞，表示「出口、離開」。
- Every building must have a clear egress route.
每棟建築都必須有清楚的出口路線。 - He made a quick egress from the room.
他迅速離開房間。 - Emergency egress must never be blocked.
緊急出口絕不可被阻擋。
ingress
名詞或動詞，表示「進入、入口」。
- The ingress of water caused damage to the floor.
水的滲入導致地板受損。 - No ingress is allowed during the performance.
演出期間禁止進入。 - The ingress gate was locked.
入口大門被鎖上了。
centigrade
形容詞，表示「攝氏的」，指溫度的度量方式。
- Water boils at 100 degrees centigrade.
水在攝氏100度時沸騰。 - It’s about 25 centigrade today.
今天大約是攝氏25度。 - This thermometer reads in centigrade.
這個溫度計是以攝氏顯示的。
gradation
名詞，表示「逐漸變化的程度、階段、層次」。
- The artist used subtle gradation in color.
那位藝術家運用了細膩的色彩漸變。 - There is a clear gradation of authority in the army.
軍隊中有明確的階級制度。 - The sky showed beautiful gradations of orange at sunset.
日落時天空展現出美麗的橘色漸層。
undergraduate
名詞，指「大學本科生」。
- She’s an undergraduate at NTU.
她是台大的大學生。 - The course is open to undergraduates only.
這門課只對大學生開放。 - Many undergraduates look for internships.
許多大學生尋找實習機會。
postgraduate
名詞，指「研究所學生、碩博士生」。
- He’s doing postgraduate research in economics.
他正在進行經濟學研究所的研究。 - Postgraduate students often teach undergraduate classes.
研究生常常教授大學課程。 - She applied for a postgraduate scholarship.
她申請了研究所的獎學金。
aggrandise
動詞，表示「擴大、提高地位或權力」。
- The king aggrandised his power through conquest.
國王透過征戰擴大權力。 - He always tries to aggrandise himself in meetings.
他總是在會議中誇大自己。 - The company aggrandised its image by sponsoring events.
這家公司藉由贊助活動來提升形象。
ingratiate
動詞，表示「討好、取悅（以獲得好感）」。
- He tried to ingratiate himself with the boss.
他試圖討好老闆。 - Don’t ingratiate yourself just to get promoted.
不要為了升遷而討好別人。 - She ingratiated herself with the new manager.
她設法討好新經理。
regrade
動詞，表示「重新評分或重新分類」。
- The test was regraded due to an error.
因為錯誤，考試被重新評分。 - He asked the teacher to regrade his paper.
他請老師重新評分他的報告。 - The company regraded the job positions.
公司重新分級了工作職位。