control

Compared meaning: to hold back something harmful (verb).

比较义项：控制、抑制（动词）。

• contain

  Contain stresses stopping something harmful, such as a fire, disease, or strong emotion, from spreading or getting worse; it is often used with crises, outbreaks, or feelings rather than ordinary situations.

  Contain 强调阻止有害的事物（如火灾、疾病或强烈情绪）进一步扩散或恶化；常用于危机、疫情或情绪，而不是普通情况。

  Firefighters managed to contain the blaze before it spread to nearby houses.

  消防员在大火蔓延到附近房屋之前将其控制住了。

• control 本词

  Control is the most general and neutral of the three, meaning to direct or manage the behavior, course, or outcome of something; it fits almost any situation, from machines to emotions to people.

  Control 是三者中最通用、最中性的词，表示指挥或掌控某事物的行为、进程或结果；几乎适用于任何情境，从机器到情绪再到人。

  A skilled pilot must control the aircraft even in strong winds.

  熟练的飞行员即使在强风中也必须控制住飞机。

• curb

  Curb means to hold back or reduce an unwanted impulse, habit, or increase; it is more formal than control and typically collocates with spending, appetite, inflation, or growth rather than people directly.

  Curb 表示抑制或减少某种不良的冲动、习惯或增长；比 control 更正式，通常与支出、食欲、通货膨胀或增长等搭配，而不是直接用于人。

  The government introduced higher taxes to curb smoking among teenagers.

  政府提高了税率以抑制青少年吸烟。

Contain, control and curb can all mean to stop something harmful. Contain stresses stopping a crisis or fire from spreading. Control is most general, meaning to direct anything. Curb is formal, for spending or crime. This excludes contain meaning 'to hold inside a box'.

这三个词都可以表示“控制、抑制”某种不良或危险的状况，但语气强弱和搭配有别：contain 侧重阻止危机、火情或情绪进一步扩散、恶化；control 是最常见、最中性的说法，几乎可用于任何“掌控局面”的场合；curb 语气较正式，多与支出、食欲、通胀、犯罪率等不良增长搭配，强调“抑制、遏制”。这里不比较 contain 常见的“容纳、装有”义项（如 This box can contain up to twenty small books）。