tột cùng
Definition
Adjective:
- Utmost / Extreme: Refers to the highest possible degree, the very limit, or the most intense point of something, often describing an abstract quality like emotion, effort, or condition.
- Supreme / Ultimate: Denotes the highest or final level in a hierarchy, state, or experience.
Adverb:
- Utterly / To the utmost: Used to modify a verb or adjective to indicate an action or state performed or experienced to the absolute highest degree.
Usage Examples
- Adjective:
- Nỗi đau tột cùng. (Utmost pain.)
- Đây là đỉnh cao tột cùng của sự nghiệp cô ấy. (This is the supreme peak of her career.)
- Adverb:
- Cô ấy tin tưởng anh ấy một cách tột cùng. (She trusts him utterly.)
- Họ kiệt sức tột cùng sau chuyến đi. (They were utterly exhausted after the trip.)
Advanced Usage
- Often used in literary, philosophical, or emotional contexts to amplify the intensity of a noun it describes.
- Can be paired with both positive and negative abstract nouns (e.g., - supreme happiness; - utter despair).
Variants and Related Words
- Cùng cực (adj): extreme, dire (often for negative conditions like poverty or suffering).
- Tột đỉnh (n): the pinnacle, the zenith (focuses more on a peak point).
- Cực điểm (n): the extreme point, the climax.
Synonyms
- Utmost: of the greatest or highest degree.
- Extreme: reaching a high or the highest degree.
- Supreme: highest in rank or degree.
- Ultimate: being or happening at the end of a process; final.
Related Idioms and Phrases
- Đau khổ tột cùng: to suffer immensely.
- Người mẹ rơi vào đau khổ tột cùng khi mất con. (The mother fell into utmost suffering upon losing her child.)
- Yêu thương tột cùng: to love to the absolute fullest.
- Tình yêu của anh dành cho cô là sự chân thành tột cùng. (His love for her is of utmost sincerity.)