Definition

Adverb: - Without restraint, freely: Indicates doing something to the fullest extent of one's desire or ability, without any hindrance or limitation.

Usage Examples

• Adverb:
  • Tuổi trẻ mặc sức bay nhảy. (Youth can soar and leap without restraint.)
  • Ra biển mặc sức mà bơi lội. (Go to the sea and swim freely / to your heart's content.)
  • Cứ mặc sức ăn đi, còn nhiều lắm. (Eat freely, there's plenty more.)

Advanced Usage

• "mặc sức mà [verb]": A common structure emphasizing permission or encouragement to do something without limits.
  • Cứ mặc sức mà sáng tạo. (Just create freely / to your heart's content.)
• Used to describe an action performed with complete abandon, often in a positive context of enjoyment or utilization.

Variants and Related Words

• Thoải mái (adj/adv): Comfortable, at ease; can sometimes overlap in meaning as "freely" or "without worry," but "mặc sức" emphasizes the absence of external limits more strongly.
• Tự do (adj/adv): Free, freely; focuses more on liberty or lack of prohibition rather than the exhaustive use of capacity implied by "mặc sức."

Synonyms

• Thả ga (idiomatic, adv): Literally "full throttle," meaning to do something without holding back, intensely.
• Vô tư (adv): Without worry, carefreely; often implies a carefree attitude rather than the physical or quantitative limitlessness of "mặc sức."

Related Phrases

• Mặc tình: Very similar in meaning and often interchangeable with "mặc sức," meaning "as one pleases" or "freely."
  • Anh ấy muốn đi đâu thì đi, mặc tình. (He can go wherever he wants, as he pleases.)

Notes on Meaning

• The word emphasizes the absence of restriction and the full utilization of capacity or desire. It is often used in permissive or encouraging contexts.
• It is primarily an adverb and is typically placed before the verb it modifies.

1. without restraint, freely