The gerund "without looking back" has, in addition to its direct meaning, also figurative. This article will address the issue of the use of this word in Russian speech.
The direct meaning of the verb "to look back"
First, in order to understand the meaning of the expression “without looking back”, you should understand what the initial form of the verb from which the gerund is formed means, without a negative particle. So, according to dictionaries, in the literal sense, it means an action associated with examining a place, moreover, with a turn of the body or head. That is, a living being turns around, considering the area or peering into the distance.
The direct meaning of the word "not looking back"
Now you can easily explain the meaning of the negative participle. "Looking back" means moving without looking at the area behind you. That is, the creature moves without turning its head back to see what is happening there. For example: "The wolf ran fast, without stopping or looking back."
Figurative meaning of the verb "to look back"
- It is often used to express a state of fear: “Having started writing an autobiographical story, Alexei constantly looked around, afraid to inadvertently make a mistake,flaunting his relationship with Natalia.”
- The second meaning can be an action, also related to fear, but expressed a little differently. A person, as it were, compares his actions with the opinions of others, that is, he looks back at them: “You yourself decide what to do, there is nothing to look back at others!”
- There is a third option - opportunism: "The old man lived, constantly looking back, afraid of something to disturb his well-established peace."
- In the fourth version, this verb denotes memories: “He mentally looked back into his past and found in it the causes of the present discomfort.”
- Arriving or coming to an unfamiliar place, a person or animal gradually learns all the nuances of a new way of life: “The transfer to a new job made Mikhail look around to understand what laws reigned here.”
Figurative meaning of the word
In this case, you should also act by analogy with finding out the direct meaning of the word "without looking back." That is, you need to choose semantic antonyms for the figurative meaning of the initial form without negation.
- In the first variant, such an opposite meaning will be a feeling of security, that is, confidence, calmness. “Matvey calmed down and began to live, not even mentally looking back – it was much easier that way.”
- To act without fear, abruptly, without hesitation - this is the second meaning of the participle. “Having slammed the door, Tatyana left without looking back.”
- If a person does not consider someone else's opinion above his own, then his behavior is characterized as follows. “He lived without looking back at others, as he himself believedfit.”
- It is difficult to live without taking into account memories and the past, but, according to psychologists, it is possible. And it is necessary. “Valentina broke up with her ex-lover, without looking back at their common past, she found the strength to start all over again.”
- And one more meaning. Feeling something boundlessly or acting extremely passionately, forgetting about everything, a person says that he lived and felt “without looking back.”
