势（勢）shì ❶ （势力） power; force; influence: 权 ～ (a person's) power and influence; 仗 ～ 欺人 bully people on the strength of one's powerful connections; 人多 ～ 众。 Many hands provide great strength.
❷ （一切事物力量表现出来的趋向） momentum; tendency: 来 ～ 甚猛 come with tremendous force; 以排山倒海之 ～ with the momentum [force] of an avalanche [a landslide]; 大 ～ 趋向和平。 The tendency of events is towards peace.
❸ （自然界的现象或形势） the outward appearance of a natural object: 地 ～ physical features of the land; terrain; 山 ～ the lie of a mountain; 风 ～ 缓和了。 The wind is moderating.
❹ (状况； 情势) situation; state of affairs; circumstances: 趁 ～ take advantage of a favourable situation; ～ 所必然 inevitably; as a matter of course
❺ （姿态） sign; gesture: 摆姿 ～ pose; 作手 ～ make a sign with the hand
❻ （雄性生殖器） male genitals: 去 ～ castration
◆势必 certainly will; be bound to；
势不可挡 be a (general) trend which cannot be halted; advance irresistibly; carry all before one; carry the world before one; Defense was impossible.; None could withstand sb.'s onslaught.; sweep all before one；
势不两立 be irreconcilable [incompatible] with; at daggers drawn; be implacably [diametrically] opposed to; impossible for both to exist together; irreconcilably hostile to each other; One of the two must be destroyed.; (We and they) shall not live at the same time.; There is no compatibility between them.；
势差 potential difference；
势场 potential field；
势成骑虎 in the position of one riding a tiger — unable to get down but dangerous to go on; an awkward position from which there is no retreat; like riding a tiger — a situation from which it is hard to extricate oneself；
势函数 potential function；
势均力敌 be well-matched in strength; match each other in strength; a Roland for an Oliver; balance in power; balance of power [forces]; be a match for; be comparable to each other in strength; be evenly matched; be in equilibrium; be matched in skill and strength; be of equal strength; have met one's match; neck and neck; nip and tuck; Their strength and the advantage of the situation match each other.；
势垒 barrier potential; potential barrier; voltage barrier; barrier；
势利 snobbish；
势利眼 snobbish attitude; snobbishness; snob；
势力 force; power; influence；
势流 potential flow; potential motion of a fluid；
势能 {物} potential energy; static energy；
势如破竹 (smash into enemy territory) “like splitting bamboo”— without difficulty; carry all before one; carry the world before one; deal with ... just as one breaks a piece of bamboo; like a hot knife cutting through butter; meet with no resistance; The operation is like splitting the bamboo.; with a crushing force；
势所必然 inevitably; as a matter of course；
势态 attitude；
势头 impetus; momentum; [口] tendency; the look of things；
势源 potential source；
势在必行 be imperative (under such a circumstance) 势strategic configuration of power—roughly equivalent to an “alignment of forces” |