Definition
This is a four-character idiomatic expression (成语) meaning 'to cause a sensation for a period of time' – it describes an event, person, or work that creates a huge public stir and becomes the talk of the town, but the buzz is often temporary. It's commonly used as a predicate (e.g. 这部电影轰动一时) or as an attributive (e.g. 轰动一时的新闻). The character 一 is read yī in the source pinyin but in natural speech it often becomes yì due to tone sandhi before 时 (second tone).
v
to cause a sensation (for a time)to make a splash
Examples
- 轰动一时，。Nà bù diànyǐng shàngyìng hòu hōng dòng yī shí, jīhū rénrén dōu zài tǎolùn.That movie caused a sensation after its release — almost everyone was talking about it.
- 轰动一时，。Zhège fāxiàn dāngnián hōng dòng yī shí, dàn rújīn yǐ bèi xīn de lǐlùn qǔdài le.This discovery caused a sensation back then, but now it has been replaced by new theories.
- 轰动一时，。Tā xiě de nà piān bàodào hōng dòng yī shí, yǐnqǐ le shèhuì guǎngfàn guānzhù.The report he wrote caused a sensation, drawing widespread public attention.
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