诱发

• Pinyin: yòu fā
• Hanzi breakdown: 诱 = 言 + 秀 (speech + elegant — to lead/entice); 发 = 弓 + 殳 + 又 (bow + weapon + hand — to shoot/trigger/emit)

Meaning

To trigger; to induce; to precipitate. Describes a factor that causes or brings about a condition, event, or reaction — often used in medical, psychological, or causal analysis contexts.

Common in medical literature (诱发疾病 — trigger a disease), psychology (诱发焦虑 — induce anxiety), and causal analysis. Distinguished from 引起 (cause) by its implication that a latent potential already existed and was merely activated. The triggering agent does not create the condition from nothing but rather sets off a pre-existing vulnerability.

Examples

1. 长期高压和高皮质醇状态，可能通过神经免疫通路诱发阿尔茨海默病等神经退行性疾病。 Long-term stress and high cortisol levels may trigger neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's through neuroimmune pathways.
2. 极端短时强降雨很容易在有滑坡隐患的山地诱发群发性地质灾害。 A short burst of extreme rainfall can easily trigger mass geological disasters in mountainous areas already at risk of landslides.
3. 对这位焦虑症来访者来说，不确定的工作环境和绩效机制最容易诱发急性焦虑发作。 For this client with anxiety disorder, an uncertain work environment and performance system most easily trigger acute anxiety attacks.

Usage Guide

Context: medicine, psychology, science, causal analysis

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 长期高饱和脂肪饮食加上久坐，可能显著诱发代谢综合征，并增加心脑血管病和二型糖尿病风险。(A long-term diet high in saturated fat, combined with a sedentary lifestyle, can significantly trigger metabolic syndrome and raise the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.)
• 这起坍塌事故虽由混凝土标号降低直接引发，但真正诱发悲剧的是监管失职和对安全规范的忽视。(This collapse was directly caused by lowering the concrete grade, but the tragedy was truly triggered by regulatory negligence and disregard for safety rules.)

Don't Say

• 这首歌诱发了快乐 — 诱发 is specifically for triggering conditions or states that involve risk, illness, or latent potential; for positive emotional effects use 激发 (inspire/stir), 引发 (give rise to), or 唤起 (evoke)

Origin & History

诱 (to lure/lead — 言 speech + 秀 elegant) + 发 (to trigger/emit — 发 originally depicted an arrow being shot from a bow, now also means to issue or start). Together: to lead into motion, to trigger.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal