stewing
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- The process of cooking food slowly in a closed pot with a small amount of liquid: "stewing" refers to a method of cooking where food, often meat and vegetables, is simmered gently in a covered container.
- A state of prolonged worry, agitation, or brooding: "stewing" can describe the act of being mentally absorbed in anxious, angry, or resentful thoughts.
Usage Examples
- Noun (Cooking):
- The stewing of the beef for several hours made it incredibly tender.
- She prefers stewing to frying for preparing chicken.
- Noun (Mental State):
- His constant stewing about the mistake was unproductive.
- After the argument, she was in a state of stewing for days.
Advanced Usage
- "to be in a stew": to be in a state of worry or agitation.
- She was in a stew over her upcoming exam results.
- "stewing in one's own juices": suffering the consequences of one's own actions, often while being left alone to think about them.
- After he insulted the team, they left him stewing in his own juices.
Variants and Related Words
- Stew (n/v): The dish created by stewing or the act of cooking/thinking in this way.
- We had a delicious beef stew for dinner. (noun)
- Don't stew over things you can't change. (verb)
- Stewer (n): A pot used for stewing.
Synonyms
- Simmering: Cooking just below boiling point; also used metaphorically for suppressed anger.
- Braising: A similar cooking method that often involves browning first.
- Brooding: Thinking deeply about something that makes one unhappy; worrying.
- Fretting: Being constantly or visibly worried or anxious.
Related Phrases
- Let someone stew: To deliberately leave someone to worry or be anxious about a situation.
- He knew she was waiting for an answer, but he decided to let her stew for a while.
Noun
- cooking in a liquid that has been brought to a boil
- an extreme state of worry and agitation
- his stewing over the fight kept him awake most of the night