Definition
姑息 means to tolerate or be lenient toward someone's faults, mistakes, or wrongdoing in a way that is seen as harmful in the long run — it carries a strong negative connotation that the indulgence is allowing a bad situation to worsen. You'll often see it in the set phrase 姑息养奸 (gū xī yǎng jiān, 'tolerating evil breeds it'), which is a warning against being too soft on misconduct. Use it where English would say 'appease', 'indulge', 'tolerate', but with the implication that the speaker disapproves of the leniency.
v.
to be over-indulgent or lenient toward (someone's faults/mistakes)to tolerate without proper correction
Examples
- 姑息，。Duì háizi de cuòwù bùnéng gū xī, fǒuzé huì hài le tā.You cannot be lenient toward a child's mistakes, or it will harm him.
- 姑息，。Lǐngdǎo rúguǒ gū xī xiàshǔ de wéiguī xíngwéi, tuánduì jìlǜ jiù huì huànsàn.If leaders tolerate their subordinates' violations, team discipline will become lax.
- 姑息。Lìshǐ shàng hěn duō zhèngquán yīnwèi gū xī fǔbài ér zuìzhōng bēngkuì.Many regimes in history ultimately collapsed because they were over-lenient toward corruption.
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