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

• 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。
• His attempt to row across the Atlantic in a bathtub was a lost cause right from the start!
  他用澡盆横渡大西洋的企图从一开始就是注定要失败的！
• 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。
• 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。
• 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。
• Finding love where you labor is never a lost cause.
  在你工作地方寻找爱不是注定要失败的。
• If the marriage doesn't take, it's a lost cause because divorce is out of the question.
  要是婚姻不如意，那就玩儿完了，因为离婚是不容许的。
• 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。
• But does teamwork have to be a lost cause?
  但是团队合作一定是徒劳无功的吗？
• 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。