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

• One of the toughest decisions faced by hospital staff is how long to keep trying, and when to give up on a particular patient as a lost cause.
  医务人员最难做出的决定之一就是要对患者抢救多长时间，以及应在什么时候承认失败，放弃抢救。
• 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。
• 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。
• 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。
• When you pick a lost cause, you really commit.
  你拿了一手烂牌，还要继续玩到底。
• Shannon, I assure you and all who have lost a loved one that our cause is just, and our country will never forget the debt we owe Micheal and all who gave their lives for freedom.
  香农，我向你，以及所有永失我爱的人们保证，我们的目标是伸张正义，这个国家永远不会忘记我们对米歇尔，以及所有为自由奉献生命者所欠下的债。
• The results show that the soil erosion on slope not only bring about soil nutrients lost, but also cause the soil physical property damaged, soil infiltration capability weakened.
  结果表明，土壤侵蚀造成表层耕作土壤的物理性能下降、养分流失和水分入渗能力降低。
• 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。
• I bent the knee because I saw no sense in dying for the dead nor shedding Bracken blood in a lost cause.
  我在少狼主死了之后向您家族屈膝投降，是因为我认为给死人卖命，为了无法翻盘的败局让布雷肯家族白白流血，实在没有意义。
• If the individual doesn't declare a change of heart within six to eight weeks, he's probably a lost cause.
  如果问题员工在六到八个星期内，依然没有改邪归正，可能只能放弃他了。