Reading Theme:

Language:

Font Size:

📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Dwell: Definition, Common Uses & Examples (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：reside permanently (dwell)

dwell 🔊

/dwel/

vi.

To live somewhere for a long time, usually in a fixed place that is your home.

Dwell meaning illustrated by a person living in a cozy cottage by a lake.

reside permanently 🔊

➕

/rɪˈzaɪd ˈpɜːmənəntli/

vi.

To inhabit a place as one's home or usual abode for a significant, often extended period.

📁 Category：Buildings & Places 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Old English 'dwellan', meaning to mislead, delay, or linger. Evolved from 'to lead astray' to 'to stay'.

💡 Mnemonic

Think 'D' + 'WELL'. Imagine deciding to live Down in a WELL permanently. You dwell there.

📖 Example

She chose to dwell in a small cottage by the lake for its peace and quiet. 🔊 She chose to reside permanently in a small cottage by the lake for its peace and quiet.

🔗 Collocations

dwell in – To live in a particular place.

dwell on – To think or speak at length about something.

dwell upon – A slightly more formal variant of 'dwell on'.

🔄 Synonyms

reside (vi.) – To live in a place permanently or for an extended period.

inhabit (vt.) – To live in or occupy a place.

live (vi.) – To have one's home in a specified place.

🚫 Antonyms

depart (vi.) – To leave, especially to start a journey.

leave (v.) – To go away from a place.

vacate (vt.) – To leave a place that one previously occupied.

🌱 Derivatives

dweller (n.) – A person or animal that lives in a specified place.

dwelling (n.) – A house, apartment, or other place of residence.

📖 Cultural Story

The word 'dwell' has a fascinating shift in meaning. Originating from Old English 'dwellan' (to lead astray, hinder, delay), it came to mean 'to tarry' in Middle English. This sense of lingering eventually gave rise to its modern meanings of residing in a place or pondering on a thought.

Meaning 2：ponder excessively (dwell)

dwell 🔊

/dwel/

vi.

To keep thinking or talking about something, especially something that is upsetting, for too long.

Dwell on a problem scene showing a person deep in thought at a desk.

ponder excessively 🔊

➕

/ˈpɒndər ɪkˈsesɪvli/

vi.

To think, speak, or write at length about a particular subject, especially one that is negative or problematic.

📁 Category：Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

Don't dwell on that small mistake you made; everyone forgets about it now. 🔊 Do not ponder excessively on that small mistake you made; everyone forgets about it now.

🔗 Collocations

dwell on – To think or worry persistently about something.

dwell upon – A slightly more formal variant of 'dwell on'.

dwell in the past – To focus excessively on past events, often with nostalgia or regret.

🔄 Synonyms

brood (vi.) – To think deeply about something that makes one unhappy.

ruminate (vi.) – To think deeply about something; to meditate.

obsess (v.) – To preoccupy or fill the mind of someone continually and to a troubling extent.

🚫 Antonyms

overlook (vt.) – To ignore or disregard something, especially a mistake or fault.

dismiss (vt.) – To treat as unworthy of serious consideration.

forget (v.) – To fail to remember; to cease to think of.