preposterous: [16] Preposterous originated as a Latin oxymoron, praeposterus. This was coined from prae ‘before’ and posterus ‘coming after, next’, a derivative of post ‘after’. It denoted ‘the wrong way round, out of order’ (and indeed that was how English preposterous was once used: ‘The preposterous is a pardonable fault … We call it by a common saying to set the cart before the horse’, George Puttenham, Art of English Poesie 1589). But already in Latin the notion had developed via ‘irrational’ to ‘absurd’, a sense quickly taken up by English.
preposterous (adj.)
1540s, from Latin praeposterus "absurd, contrary to nature, inverted, perverted, in reverse order," literally "before-behind" (compare topsy-turvy, cart before the horse), from prae "before" + posterus "subsequent." Related: Preposterously; preposterousness.
雙語例句
1. The implication that marital infidelity enhances a leader's credibility is preposterous.
婚姻不忠會提升領導人可信度的暗示荒謬之極。
來自柯林斯例句
2. These claims are absolutely preposterous!
這些要求簡直荒謬絕倫！
來自《權威詞典》
3. It would be preposterous to shovel coal with a teaspoon.
用茶匙鏟煤是荒謬的.
來自《現代英漢綜合大詞典》
4. The whole idea was preposterous.
整個想法都荒唐透頂。
來自辭典例句
5. He rushed about doing preposterous things in an extraordinary manner.