Both Uses of
approach
in
All Quiet on the Western Front
- Dawn approaches without anything happening—only the everlasting, nerve-wracking roll behind the enemy lines, trains, trains, lorries, lorries; but what are they concentrating?
p. 104.6approaches = comes nearer
- I fall into a doze and do not at first realise that evening is approaching.
p. 226.5 *approaching = getting near
Definitions:
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(1)
(approach as in: approached the city) to get closer to (near in space, time, quantity, or quality)
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(2)
(approach as in: use the best approach) a way of doing something; or a route that leads to a particular place
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(3)
(approach as in: approached her with the proposal) to begin communication with someone about something -- often a proposal or a delicate topic
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(4)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
More rarely (and typically only in classic literature), the phrase nearest approach to as used in "her nearest approach to an apology" or "her nearest approach to a smile" typically means that "something is as close to something else as it ever gets." "As near an approach to" can have a similar meaning.