mutual

Word family

mu·tu·al /ˈmjuːtʃuəl/ AWL adjectiveadj

1 EACH OTHERmutual feelings such as respect, trust, or hatred are feelings that two or more people have for each other 〔尊重、信任、憎恨等情感〕相互的，彼此的 → reciprocal

mutual respect/trust/understanding etc

Mutual respect is necessary for any partnership to work.

互相尊重是任何一种伙伴关系成功建立的必要条件。

European nations can live together in a spirit of mutual trust.

欧洲国家能以相互信任的态度共处。

I didn’t like Dev, and the feeling seemed to be mutual.

我不喜欢德夫，他好像也不喜欢我。

The two men were a mutual admiration society, gushing about how much they were learning from each other.

两个男人互相吹捧，盛赞对方让自己受益匪浅。

2 [only before noun] mutual support, help etc is support that two or more people give each other 〔支持、帮助等〕相互的，彼此的

MAMA puts new mothers in touch with each other, for mutual support and friendship.

“妈妈”组织让新妈妈们彼此接触认识，互相扶持，互相关爱。

3 mutual agreement/consent when two or more people both agree to something 相互意见一致

5 In the end the relationship was ended by mutual agreement.

最后双方都同意结束这段关系。

n The relationship was ended by mutual agreement.

Examples from the Corpus

mutual agreement/consent• Any changes to these dates will be made by mutual agreement.• Paul permits temporary abstinence also but only by mutual agreement.• The rules of the game are seen as fixed at any point in time by mutual agreement and changeable through mutual agreement.• This mutual agreement is usually reached through the process of offer and acceptance.• A contract can also be terminated by mutual agreement of the parties.• The land claims commission has settled more than 11,000 cases by mutual agreement on compensation.• During the meal, as if by mutual consent, they talked of other things, but it was difficult.

4 mutual friend/interest a friend or interest that two people both have 共同的朋友/兴趣

We discovered a mutual interest in drama.

我们在戏剧方面找到了共同兴趣。

Examples from the Corpus

mutual friend/interest• His earliest rape, of a 19year-old girl, happened the previous year after they met via a mutual friend.• The participating States also envisage holding future seminars on topics of mutual interest.• Their mutual interest had transcended the age difference, and he had invited her back to his island home on Grand Cayman.• The officials were eager to stress the mutual interests of our two countries and a future full of cooperation.• She just wanted a mutual friend's number.• It was enough to have discovered one true mutual friend whose testimony could be relied upon.

Examples from the Corpus

mutual• He was very much in love with Hilda and the feeling appeared to be mutual.• Baker will leave the company shortly by mutual agreement.• An investment in my company would be to our mutual benefit.• But it was a remarkable demonstration of allied unity and mutual dependence.• But the movie character and the real-life teacher do share a mutual dream of earning their livings as composers of music.• The couple were introduced to each other by a mutual friend.• For three years, Kevin Furr watched his retirement savings go next to nowhere in a mutual fund.• They would meet every week to discuss matters of mutual interest.• The meeting broke up in an atmosphere of mutual irritation.• A good marriage should be based on mutual love and respect.• We have mutual respect for each other's work.• Together, the two players in the development process must have a sense of mutual responsibility for projects.• What started with high hopes for mutual support among poor countries was confounded by market forces.• A mutual therapy session for emotionally dislocated correspondents.

mutual respect/trust/understanding etc• Hostages are a useful as well as a time-honoured gesture of mutual trust.• Successful partnerships must be based upon a sense of security and mutual trust.• Somewhere below Jeff George, who has a mutual respect affair with Mike White.• The heart of the legal notion of partnership consists in the mutual trust and confidence of the participants.• But gradually a mutual respect, based on agreed boundaries for each other's territory and mutual usefulness, built up.• Love and submission and mutual respect is certainly just as important as the success of the new church.• A conventional union based on love and mutual respect is, quite clearly, impossible to maintain.• Affective autonomy arises out of mutual respect relationships.

mutual support• Something whole, something alive dwells in that mutual support.• Theirs was a relationship based upon expediency and convenience, not one of compatibility and mutual support.• While the canal boatmen were away without their families the women who remained were drawn together for mutual support.• What started with high hopes for mutual support among poor countries was confounded by market forces.• Tonight eight children would be married, thus forming important alliances and mutual support between families which would last lifetimes.• But those that come together for mutual support can and do survive.• Overall group needs and mechanisms of mutual support provide the institutional stability that allows a more long-term orientation.• Positive long-term acceptance of the child involves the parents' mutual support throughout the time after birth.

From Longman Business Dictionary

mutualmu·tu·al /ˈmjuːtʃuəl/ adjectiveadj [only before a noun]

FINANCE relating to financial institutions, for example some insurance companies and, in Britain, BUILDING SOCIETIES, where there are no shareholders but where investors receive their share of profits in other forms

The insurance company plans to drop its mutual status to become a public company.

—mutual noun [countableC]

In insurance, two forms of companies coexist in the UK, mutuals and public liability companies.

→ see also demutualize

Origin mutual

(1400-1500) French mutuel, from Latin mutuus “lent, borrowed, mutual”

mu·tu·al adjectiveadj

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