1.
to devote oneself completely to, to stick to
To commit fully to a particular role, attitude, or course of action without wavering. Often used with に to indicate what one devotes oneself to.
沈黙に徹した。
I maintained complete silence.
裏方に徹して支えてきた。
I devoted myself fully to supporting from behind the scenes.
彼は最後まで自分の信念に徹した。
He stuck completely to his convictions until the end.
2.
to last through, to continue throughout
To persist or continue all the way through a period of time, especially through the night.
夜を徹して議論した。
We debated all through the night.
夜を徹して勉強した。
I studied all night long.
締め切りに間に合わせるため、夜を徹して作業を続けた。
To meet the deadline, I continued working all through the night.
GRAMMAR:
This verb conjugates as a する irregular verb (徹する → 徹して → 徹した). Sense 1 takes the pattern Xに徹する. Sense 2 is almost exclusively used in the fixed expression 夜を徹して (all through the night).
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 沈黙に徹する: to maintain complete silence
- 裏方に徹する: to devote oneself to a support role
- 守りに徹する: to commit fully to defense
- 夜を徹して: all through the night