Definition
幻灭 is a verb that literally means 'an illusion extinguishes.' It is most commonly used to describe the sudden loss or collapse of a cherished ideal, hope, or fantasy — the moment when a beautiful dream shatters. A secondary, less frequent meaning is 'to vanish into thin air,' describing the concrete disappearance of something. You often see it in patterns like 理想幻灭 (ideals shattered) or 希望幻灭 (hopes dashed).
v.
to be disillusionedto have one's illusions shatteredto vanish into thin air (less common)
Examples
- ,幻灭。Jīnglì le zhè chǎng shībài, tā de lǐxiǎng chèdǐ huàn miè le.After this failure, his ideals were completely shattered.
- ,幻灭。Tā yuánběn duì àiqíng chōngmǎn huànxiǎng, dàn xiànshí ràng tā de mèngxiǎng huàn miè le.She was once full of romantic fantasies, but reality dashed her dreams.
- 幻灭,。Nà zuò gǔchéng zuìhòu zài yì chǎng dàhuǒ zhōng huàn miè, zài wú hénjì.That ancient city finally vanished into thin air in a great fire, leaving no trace.
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