punctuate

Word family

1. [transitiveT]SLG to divide written work into sentences, phrases etc using commas, full stops etc 在…中加标点

2 [transitiveT]INTERRUPT literary to interrupt something, especially when this is repeated （不时）被打断

The silence was occasionally punctuated by laughter.

寂静间或被笑声打破。

n Grammar

Punctuate is usually passive in this meaning.

Examples from the Corpus

punctuate• Danoff's resignation punctuated a decade of tremendous change at the museum.• Clare had led Carolyn along endless humming corridors, whose walls were punctuated by closed doors.• The path turned inland and met the road to Sandweg which cut through arable land, punctuated by low, brooding barns.• An air of helplessness and despair spread about, punctuated by stirrings of an uglier mood.• Periods of punctuated equilibrium are equally visible in human history.• As Carol Jackson moved about in the kitchen she could hear the steady burble of conversation, punctuated every so often by a laugh.• President Nixon punctuated his Watergate tapes with obscenities.

Origin punctuate

(1600-1700) Medieval Latin past participle of punctuare, from Latin punctum; → POINT1

LDOCE Online

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus

BNC: 11199 COCA: 9198

punctuate

Punctuation: ampersand, apostrophe, bad break...