英漢辭典

1. conj. (連接詞 conjunction)
   1. 不過,可是;要不是,若非

   He makes good resolutions, only he never keeps them.

   他決心雖好,可不能持久

   I would do it with pleasure, only I am too busy.

   要不是太忙了,我倒很樂意做這件事.



2. adv. (副詞 adverb)
   1. 僅僅;只,單;不過;唯一地,獨一地;反而,結果卻,不料 【使用說明】通常置於所修飾的詞語前,有時也置於其後



3. adj. (形容詞 adjective)
   1. 唯一的

   an only son

   獨生子

   my one and only friend

   我唯一的朋友.

4. 2. 僅有的

   They were the only people present.

   只有他們在場.

   Her only answer was sobbing.

   她不回答,只是哭泣.

5. 3. 單獨的

6. 4. 最好的

   our only scientist

   我國首屈一指的科學家.

7. 5. 獨一無二的

柯林斯英英辭典

adj. (adjective)

1. (of a child) having no siblings

2. unique by virtue of being superior to anything else; peerless

adv. (adverb)

1. without anyone or anything else being included; alone

you have one choice only

only a genius can do that

2. merely or just

it's only Henry

3. no more or no greater than

we met only an hour ago

4. [Irish] (intensifier)

she was only marvellous

it was only dreadful

5. used in conditional clauses introduced by if to emphasize the impossibility of the condition ever being fulfilled

if I had only known, this would never have happened

6. not earlier than; notuntil

I only found out yesterday

sentence connector

1. but; however: used to introduce an exception or condition

play outside: only don't go into the street

2. [Etymology] Old English anlic, from an one + -lic -ly²

3. [Usage] In informal English, only is often used as a sentence connector: I would have phoned you, only I didn't know your number. This use should be avoided in formal writing: I would have phoned you if I'd known your number. In formal speech and writing, only is placed directly before the word or words that it modifies: she could interview only three applicants in the morning. In all but the most formal contexts, however, it is generally regarded as acceptable to put only before the verb: she could only interview three applicants in the morning. Care must be taken not to create ambiguity, esp in written English, in which intonation will not, as it does in speech, help to show to which item in the sentence only applies. A sentence such as she only drinks tea in the afternoon is capable of two interpretations and is therefore better rephrased either as she drinks only tea in the afternoon (i.e. no other drink) or she drinks tea only in the afternoon (i.e. at no other time)