dead letter

英 [ˌded ˈletə(r)]

美 [ˌded ˈletər]

n.  无人遵守的法律; 形同虚设的规定; 空文; 死信; 无法投递(或退回)的邮件

法律

牛津词典

noun

• 无人遵守的法律；形同虚设的规定；空文
  a law or an agreement that still exists but that is ignored
• 死信；无法投递（或退回）的邮件
  a letter that cannot be delivered to an address or to the person who sent it

柯林斯词典

• N-COUNT 形同虚设的法律（或协议）；空文
  If you say that a law or agreement is adead letter, you mean that it still exists but people ignore it.
  1. No one does anything about it and the law becomes a dead letter.
     没有人执行它，该法律变成了一纸空文。

英英释义

noun

• mail that can neither be delivered nor returned
  Synonym:dead mail
• the state of something that has outlived its relevance
  Synonym:non-issue

双语例句