62527
> 頭の中は恥辱と奇妙な解放感に混乱した。ともすると恥辱と刺激だけが意識を占めてしまいそうになる。
>
> 彼の掌から甘い痺れが沁みこんで来て、ともすれば腰が抜けそうになる。
>
> 呼吸を整えることで、ともすれば崩れそうになる自尊心を平静に保とうとした。

Regarding these examples, it seems "as a result," is more appropriate than "a
tendency to ~, prone to ~" for the uses of ともすれば・ともすると. The clauses after
ともすれば・ともすると feel much more like a outcome due to the actions in the first
clause than a long held habit.

even with 大辞林 I still only get どうかすると。ややもすると。ともすれば as definitions.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-30T22:47:54.597
62523
2022-07-08T03:02:52.887
2022-07-08T03:02:52.887
30454
22187
question
grammar meaning phrases
ともすれば～・ともすると～: " a tendency to ~, prone to ~" or "cause and effect"?
ともすれば is an adverb that adds the nuance of "possibly", "if things go bad", "if
we're unlucky", "depending on the situation", etc. I don't know where you saw
"as a result", but that's not what this adverb is saying. どうかすれば, どうかすると,
ともすると, ややもすれば, and ややもすると are all synonyms. どうかすれば ("if things turn out in a
certain way", "if something happens") may be the most intuitive form to grasp
the nuance. If ともすれば is used with a habitual action, "to prone/tend to" would
be an appropriate option. In your examples, ともすれば is effectively weakening the
meaning of そうになる (i.e., 腰が抜ける is only an unlucky possibility).
CC BY-SA 4.0
2018-10-31T04:38:15.420
62527
2018-10-31T04:58:36.467
2018-10-31T04:58:36.467
5010
5010
62523
answer