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📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Sugar: Definition, Examples, and Common Phrases (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：sugar (Sugar)

Sugar 🔊

/ˈʃʊɡər/

n., v.

A sweet substance, often white grains, that you add to food or drinks to make them taste sweet.

sugar 🔊

➕

/ˈʃʊɡər/

n., v.

A sweet, crystalline substance derived from sugarcane or sugar beet, widely used to sweeten foods and beverages.

📁 Category：Diet & Health 🔖 Level：Beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Sanskrit 'śarkarā' (gravel, sugar), via Latin 'succarum' and Old French 'sucre'.

💡 Mnemonic

Sugar makes everything sweet, so think of 'su' as 'sweet' and 'gar' as 'gift'.

📖 Example

I always add a spoonful of sugar to my hot lemon tea when I have a cold. 🔊 I always add a spoonful of sugar to my hot lemon tea when I have a cold.

🔗 Collocations

brown sugar – a type of sugar with molasses, giving it a brown color and moist texture

powdered sugar – finely ground sugar mixed with a small amount of cornstarch, used for icing and dusting

sugar cube – compressed sugar crystals formed into a small cube, often used for coffee or tea

🔄 Synonyms

sweetener (n.) – a substance used to add sweetness to food or drink

sucrose (n.) – a pure chemical compound that is the main component of table sugar

honey (n.) – a natural sweet substance produced by bees from plant nectar

🚫 Antonyms

salt (n.) – a mineral that adds savory flavor, often contrasted with sugar in cooking

bitter (adj.) – a sharp, unpleasant taste opposite to sweet

🌱 Derivatives

sugary (adj.) – containing or tasting of sugar

sugarless (adj.) – without sugar

sugared (adj.) – coated or sweetened with sugar

📖 Cultural Story

Originally from Sanskrit 'śarkarā', sugar entered English via Arabic 'sukkar' and Old French 'sucre'. In medieval Europe, it was a rare luxury used in medicine and among royalty.

Meaning 2：sugar-coat (Sugar)

Sugar 🔊

/ˈʃʊɡər/

n., v.

To make an unpleasant fact or piece of news sound nicer and easier to accept.

Harsh words transforming into candy shapes during gentle speech

sugar-coat 🔊

➕

/ˈʃʊɡər ˌkoʊt/

n., v.

To make an unpleasant fact or piece of news seem more acceptable by using gentle or euphemistic language.

📁 Category：Behaviors & Actions 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

He tried to sugar the bad news by calling it a 'restructuring' instead of 'layoffs'. 🔊 He tried to sugar the bad news by calling it a 'restructuring' instead of 'layoffs'.

🔗 Collocations

sugar the pill – make an unpleasant situation more acceptable by adding something pleasant

sugar the truth – present the facts in a softer, less harsh way

sugar your words – speak kindly to soften the impact of what you say

🔄 Synonyms

soften (v.) – to make something seem less harsh or severe

whitewash (v.) – to conceal unpleasant facts about something, often excessively

euphemize (v.) – to express an unpleasant subject in a milder or indirect way

🚫 Antonyms

expose (v.) – to reveal the unpleasant truth plainly without softening

blunt (v.) – to say something directly and frankly, without softening

🌱 Derivatives

sugar-coating (n.) – the act of making something unpleasant seem more acceptable

sugared (adj.) – having been made to seem more pleasant, as in 'sugared words'