liệt bại
Definition
- Adjective:
- To be defeated / to be vanquished: Describes a state of having been completely overcome by an opponent in a conflict, competition, or struggle.
- To be inferior / to be deficient: Describes a state of being markedly worse or weaker in quality, ability, or power compared to another.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Đội bóng đó đã hoàn toàn liệt bại. (That football team was completely defeated.)
- Kế hoạch của họ liệt bại trước sự cạnh tranh. (Their plan proved inferior in the face of competition.)
Advanced Usage
- Used in formal or literary contexts to describe a decisive and often total failure or shortcoming, rather than a minor loss.
Variants and Related Words
Thất bại (n, v): failure; to fail. A more common and general term for failure.
- Thất bại là mẹ thành công. (Failure is the mother of success.)
Đại bại (n): a great or crushing defeat.
- Trận chiến kết thúc với một đại bại. (The battle ended in a crushing defeat.)
Synonyms
- Defeated: overcome in a contest or battle.
- Vanquished: defeated thoroughly.
- Inferior: lower in quality or ability.
Related Idioms
- Liệt bại như cháy đồng: To be utterly and rapidly defeated (like a fire burning across a field).
- Đội quân ấy liệt bại như cháy đồng. (That army was utterly and rapidly defeated.)