| 释义 |
phraseencroach on/upon ! Encroach upon is more formal than encroach on and is mostly used in writing.1. encroach on/upon sth formal to gradually take away someone's rights or freedom, or reduce someone's power or authority - used to show that you disapprove of this: Civil Liberty groups are worried that the new laws will encroach upon our freedom of speech.2. encroach on/upon sth formal to reduce the amount of time that someone has available to do their work or do what they want to do: Weitz has had a lot of personal problems this year, which have obviously encroached on his work. Most people try to prevent their work from encroaching on their private lives.3. encroach on/upon sth formal to gradually cover more and more land, or take control of someone else's land - used especially to show that you disapprove of this: Everywhere we look, new housing developments are encroaching on our countryside. In the King's absence, his enemies began to encroach on his territories.■ SIMILAR TO: invade
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