Definition
This four-character idiom (成语) means the consequences would be too awful to imagine. It's used to describe a situation that is so bad or dangerous that even thinking about it is frightening. The pattern is most often 后果不堪设想 ('the consequences would be unimaginably bad') or used predictively to warn about a future outcome.
f.e.
unimaginable (in a terrible way)too dreadful to contemplate
Examples
- ，不堪设想。Rúguǒ bú zhùyì ānquán, hòuguǒ bú.If we don't pay attention to safety, the consequences would be unimaginable.
- 不堪设想。Zhè chǎng huǒzāi de sǔnshī zhēn shì bú.The loss from this fire is truly too dreadful to contemplate.
- ，不堪设想。Yàoshi méiyǒu jíshí jiùyuán, qíngkuàng huì bú.If there hadn't been a timely rescue, the situation would have been unimaginably bad.
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