pris mat ic /priz'maetik/ adj. 1 (technical A ill) using or
containing a prism; in the shape of a prism f]
( 2 (literary) (of colours 0fe)
formed by a prism; very bright
and clear
£ftM;
prison On /‘prizn/ noun
1
[C, U] a building where people are kept as
a punish
ment for a crime they have
committed, or while they are waiting for trial iitfK; AM; Em jail:
He was sent to prison for five years. ftfeMAif T 2l<A0 o She is in prison,
awaiting trial A „ 0 to
be released from prison ^ M f±J M 0 a
maximum- security prison the prison popula
tion (= the total number of
prisoners in a country) ft #Af5[ 0 the problem of
overcrowding in prisons UtMA
% B |b] M 0 Ten prison officers
and three inmates needed hospital treatment following the riot. MSlA/s, W+£MWfPH£IM1iAI^'fT0
o note at school
2
[U] the system of keeping people in
prisons A
}¥,; AMIS: the prison
service/system /
o The government insists
that ‘prison works’ and plans to introduce a tougher sentencing policy for
people convicted of violent crime. iAA “ ,
3
[da
place or situation from which
sb cannot escape 1$VXfft MIS: His hospital room
had become a prison.
SYNONYMS
prisoner
hostage ♦ captive ♦
detainee ♦ prisoner of war
These are all words for a person who has been captured and is being kept
somewhere.
amao
prisoner a person who has been
captured, for example by an enemy, and is being kept somewhere ( &A^ )
A&AWA, ## CESO The
more frequent meaning of prisoner is ‘a person who is kept in
prison'. * prisoner 2EA0
hostage a person who is captured
and held prisoner by a person or group, and who may be injured or killed if
people do not do what the person or group is asking Alt
captive (literary) a person who is kept as a
prisoner
im m
PRISONER OR CAPTIVE? prisoner
&J1 captive ?
Captive
often
occurs in more historical contexts involving people such as kings, queens and
princesses.
It is also sometimes found in references to political organizations
holding people against their will.
Prisoner
is
more often used to talk about people who have been captured in war. * captive
3a m
mAW##JE#o prisoner (¥%o
detainee a person who is kept in
prison, especially for political reasons and often without a trial
AMA
prisoner of war a person, usually a member
of the armed forces, who is captured by the enemy during a war and kept in a
prison camp until the war has finished
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS
■
to hold/keep sb prisoner/hostage/captive
■
to free/reiease a prisoner/hostage/captive/detainee/ a
prisoner of war
■
to set free a prisoner/hostage/captive
■
to take sb prisoner/hostage/captive
■
to capture a prisoner/hostage
a political prisoner/hostage/detainee
| 1575 private
'prison camp noun a guarded camp where prisoners,
especially prisoners of war or political prisoners, are kept* AH;
pris on er 0-w /‘prizn0(r)/ noun 1 a person who is kept
in prison as a punishment, or while they are waiting for trial 02E; <fBA;
#:
The
number of prisoners serving life sentences has fallen. «J ift 0 *E$t @ T I# T 0 0 They
are J
demanding the release of all political
prisoners. ftfedlE f£2 a person who has been captured,
for example by an enemy, and is being kept somewhere M ( ®CA# ) A^WA; He
was taken prisoner by
rebel soldiers.
0 They are holding her prisoner
and demanding a large ransom. 0
(figurative)
She is afraid to go out and has become a virtual
prisoner in her own home.
.prisoner
of 'conscience noun (pi. prisoners of
conscience) a person who
is kept in prison because of his or her political or religious beliefs ( ®
) ®A#fftA; £f^E
.prisoner
of 'war noun
(pi. prisoners of war) (abbr. POW) a person, usually a member of the
armed forces, who is captured by the enemy during a war and kept in a prison
camp until the war has finished ^ f?; (-?• Y% o note at prisoner
.prison
'visitor noun (in
prissy /'prisi/ adj. (informal, disapproving) too careful to always
behave correctly and appearing easily shocked by rude behaviour, etc. il/h'RjM;
AI^WM; iltXW HOGa prudish
pris tine /'pristiin/ adj. 1 fresh and clean, as if
new #f 0f Iff
(ft ET171 immaculate
: The car is in pristine
condition. 2 not developed or
changed in any way; left in its
original condition ATF %&)■, £t 7 JH £n E1771 UNSPOILED; pristine,
pollution-free beaches
pri thee /'pridi:/ exclamation (old use) used when asking sb politely to do
sth if;
priv acy /'privasi; NAmE 'praiv-/ noun [U] 1 the state of being alone and not
watched or disturbed by other people BtfA; fA$?: She was longing for
some peace and privacy. #$fAA£j£o
01 value my privacy.
S
M i £ (ft fA o 0 He read the letter
later in the privacy of his own room, fife fE Q S |h] MIATi^
TUPtffgc 2
the state of being free from the attention of the public freedom of speech
and the right to privacy WiE
k
&%B£fA&
private o-w /’praivat/ adj., noun
m adj.
4
NOT PUBLIC jp Aif 1 [usually before noun] belonging to or
for the use of a particular
person or group; not for public use fA ^ (ft; fA ^ : The sign said,
‘Private property. Keep out.' fc ± W It: ‘AA
A^itfe,
^
it jft A o ” O Those are my father’s
private papers.
SP
® U Ji & X % % A # o 0 The hotel has 110
bedrooms, all with private
bathrooms. 110 |a]
5
CONVERSATION/MEETING iS ; ^ B§ 2 intended for or
involving a particular person or group of people, not for people in general or
for others to know about fj — nP^tAW; fAA a private conversation % A
XM 0 They were sharing a
private joke. ftfeCliftlf AAff
0 Senior defence officials
held private talks.
6
FEELINGS/INFORMATION ‘If fi ; ff S 3 that you do not
want other people to know
about pfcpfr (ft; fA
T E1771 secret: her private thoughts
and feelings ftfe
NOT
OWNED/RUN BY STATE ||| 4 [usually before noun] owned or managed by an individual person
or an independent company rather than by the state % xL (ft; fA ff ; Rf M: private
banks/companies/schools fA