hủy tính
Definition
- Verb:
- To deliberately spoil or adulterate (a liquid, especially alcohol): The primary meaning of "hủy tính" is to intentionally add a toxic, foul-smelling, or unpleasant substance to a drink, most commonly wine or spirits, to render it undrinkable. This act is often done to prevent consumption or to mark the liquid as non-potable, such as for tax or regulatory purposes.
Usage Examples
- Verb:
- Nhân viên hải quan hủy tính số rượu nhập lậu. (The customs officer rendered the smuggled wine undrinkable.)
- Người ta thường hủy tính rượu bằng cách pha xăng vào. (People often adulterate alcohol by mixing gasoline into it.)
- Để tránh tái sử dụng, chai methanol đã bị hủy tính. (To prevent reuse, the methanol bottle was deliberately spoiled.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is highly specific and is primarily used in formal, legal, or technical contexts related to law enforcement, customs, taxation, or chemical safety. It describes an official or deliberate act of contamination for a specific purpose, not accidental spoilage.
Variants and Related Words
- Hủy tính hóa (v): This is a less common variant with the same core meaning, emphasizing the action as a process of "rendering" something unusable for consumption.
Synonyms
- Adulterate: To corrupt, debase, or make impure by adding a foreign or inferior substance.
- Contaminate: To make something impure or unsuitable by contact or mixture with something unclean.
- Spike: To add a substance, especially alcohol or drugs, to a drink without the knowledge of the person who will drink it (note: "spike" often implies malicious intent towards a person, while "hủy tính" is more procedural).
- Denature: To add a substance to alcohol to make it unfit for drinking but still usable for other purposes (a very close technical synonym).
Related Idioms
- There are no common idioms directly using the word "hủy tính." Its usage is almost exclusively literal and technical.