induce

Compared meaning: make something happen (verb).

比较义项：引起，导致（某事发生）（动词）。

• cause

  A general, all-purpose verb for making something happen; used in everyday speech and writing with almost any subject or result, from minor annoyances to disasters.

  一个通用的、最常见的动词，表示使某事发生；可用于日常口语和书面语中几乎任何主体和结果，从小麻烦到灾难都能使用。

  The heavy traffic caused him to miss his flight this morning.

  今天早上严重的交通堵塞导致他错过了航班。

• induce 本词

  More formal, typically found in medical, scientific, or clinical contexts; usually paired with abstract or physiological effects like sleep, labor, or a reaction, and sounds unnatural for ordinary everyday causes.

  更正式，通常出现在医学、科学或临床语境中；一般搭配抽象或生理性的结果，比如睡眠、分娩或某种反应，用在普通日常事件上会显得不自然。

  Doctors used medication to induce labor in the overdue mother.

  医生用药物为这位过了预产期的母亲催产。

Cause and induce both mean making something happen. Cause is common and used for almost any reason and result. Induce is more formal, common in medical or scientific writing, often paired with a physical reaction like sleep. It does not cover cause meaning 'reason'.

这两个词在“引起、导致”这个意思上很接近，但语气不同：cause 是最普通、最常用的词，几乎可以用于任何原因和结果；induce 更正式，多见于医学、科学或书面语境，常搭配诱发某种生理或心理反应。这里不比较 cause 作名词表示“原因”的用法。