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71 Cards in this Set
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un‧bri‧dled /ʌnˈbraɪdld/ adjective literary |
not controlled and too extreme or violent ©unbridled greed |
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calf /kɑːf $ kæf/ ●●○ noun (plural calves /kɑːvz $ kævz/) [countable] |
1. the part of the back of your leg between your knee and your ankle 2. the baby of a cow, or of some other large animals, such as an elephant |
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cor‧po‧re‧al /kɔːˈpɔːriəl $ kɔːr-/ adjective formal |
1. relating to the body, rather than to the mind, feelings, or spirit SYN physical ©corporeal desires 2. existing in a physical form and able to be touched |
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he‧don‧ist /ˈhiːdən-ɪst/ noun [countable] |
someone who believes that pleasure is the most important thing in life —hedonism noun [uncountable] —hedonistic /ˌhiːdənˈɪstɪk◂/ adjective |
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am‧biv‧a‧lent /æmˈbɪvələnt/ adjective |
not sure whether you want or like something or not ambivalent about ©We are both somewhat ambivalent about having a child. ambivalent attitude/feelings etc —ambivalence noun [singular, uncountable] ©O'Neill had a genuine ambivalence toward US involvement in the war. —ambivalently adverb |
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af‧front /əˈfrʌnt/ verb [transitive] formal |
to offend or insult someone, especially by not showing respect be affronted by something ©He stepped back, affronted by the question |
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affront noun [countable usually singular] |
a remark or action that offends or insults someone affront to ©The comments were an affront to his pride. |
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chap‧e‧rone, chaperon /ˈʃæpərəʊn $ -roʊn/ noun [countable] |
1. an older woman in the past who went out with a young unmarried woman on social occasions and was responsible for her behaviour 2. American English someone, usually a parent or teacher, who is responsible for young people on social occasions ©Three parents went on the school ski trip as chaperones. |
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bring something to bear (on/upon something) |
formal to use something, for example your power, authority, or your knowledge, in a way that will have a big effect on something or someone ©The full force of the law was brought to bear on anyone who criticized the government |
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en‧liv‧en /ɪnˈlaɪvən/ verb [transitive] |
to make something more interesting SYN liven up ©Humour can help enliven a dull subject. |
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be suffused with something literary |
if someone is suffused with a feeling, they are full of that feeling ©She was suffused with happiness. |
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starch /stɑːtʃ $ stɑːrtʃ/ noun |
1 [countable, uncountable] a substance which provides your body with energy and is found in foods such as grain, rice, and potatoes, or a food that contains this substance SYN carbohydrate ©He eats a lot of starch. ©Avoid fatty foods and starches. 2 [uncountable] a substance that is mixed with water and is used to make cloth stiff |
Nutrition |
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starch‧y /ˈstɑːtʃi $ ˈstɑːr-/ adjective |
1. containing a lot of starch (1) starchy foods 2. British English very formal and correct in your behaviour – used to show disapproval ©She spoke in a rather starchy manner. —starchily adverb —starchiness noun [uncountable] |
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loq‧ua‧cious /ləʊˈkweɪʃəs $ loʊ-/ adjective formal |
a loquacious person likes to talk a lot SYN talkative —loquacity /ləʊˈkwæsəti $ loʊ-/ —loquaciousness noun [uncountable] |
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preen /priːn/ verb [intransitive, transitive] |
3. to look proud and feel pleased because of something you have done preen yourself ©He enjoyed the applause, preening himself like a pop star. |
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come across phrasal verb |
3. if someone comes across in a particular way, they seem to have particular qualities SYN come over as ©He comes across as a very intelligent sensitive man. ©She sometimes comes across as being rather arrogant. ©I don’t think I came across very well (=seemed to have good qualities) in the interview. |
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broach the subject/question/matter etc |
to mention a subject that may be embarrassing or unpleasant or cause an argument ©I broached the subject of his past. ► see thesaurus at mention |
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de‧lu‧sion /dɪˈluːʒən/ noun |
1 [countable, uncountable] a false belief about yourself or the situation you are in under a delusion (that) ©He is under the delusion that I am going to cheat him. 2 → delusions of grandeur —delusive /-sɪv/ adjective —delusional adjective |
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haunt‧ed /ˈhɔːntɪd $ ˈhɒːn-/ ●●○ adjective |
1. a haunted building is believed to be visited regularly by the soul of a dead person ©a haunted house |
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pe‧cu‧li‧ar /pɪˈkjuːliə $ -ər/ ●●○ adjective |
1. strange, unfamiliar, or a little surprising ©There was a peculiar smell in the kitchen. ©Something peculiar is going on. ©It seems very peculiar that no one noticed Kay had gone. ► see thesaurus at strange |
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om‧i‧nous /ˈɒmɪnəs $ ˈɑː-/ adjective |
making you feel that something bad is going to happen ©‘How long will she be ill?’ he asked. There was an ominous silence. ©The car is making an ominous rattling sound. —ominously adverb ©The sky looked ominously dark |
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hov‧er /ˈhɒvə $ ˈhʌvər, ˈhɑː-/ ●○○ verb |
1. [intransitive] if a bird, insect, or helicopter hovers, it stays in one place in the air hover over/above ©flies hovering above the surface of the water 2. [intransitive] to stay nervously in the same place, especially because you are waiting for something or are not certain what to do ©Her younger brother hovered in the background watching us. hover around/about ©I noticed several reporters hovering around outside the courtroom. |
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grapple with something phrasal verb |
to try hard to deal with or understand something difficult ©The Government has to grapple with the problem of unemployment. ©Molly’s upstairs grappling with her maths homework |
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tra‧verse /ˈtrævɜːs $ trəˈvɜːrs/ verb [transitive] |
formal to move across, over, or through something, especially an area of land or water ©two minutes to traverse the park |
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be predicated on/upon something |
formal if an action or event is predicated on a belief or situation, it is based on it or depends on it ©The company’s expansion was predicated on the assumption that sales would rise. |
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re‧sent‧ment /rɪˈzentmənt/ ●○○ noun [uncountable] |
a feeling of anger because something has happened that you think is unfair SYN bitterness resentment at/against/of etc ©She was filled with deep resentment at being passed over for promotion. feel/harbour/bear resentment ©He felt considerable resentment towards Sheila for making him work late |
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rep‧li‧cate /ˈreplɪkeɪt/ ●○○ verb |
1 [transitive] formal if you replicate someone’s work, a scientific study etc, you do it again, or try to get the same result again ©There is a need for further research to replicate these findings. |
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big‧ot‧ry /ˈbɪɡətri/ noun [uncountable] |
bigoted behaviour or beliefs SYN prejudice ©sensational news stories that just encourage bigotry ► see thesaurus at prejudice |
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daz‧zling /ˈdæzəlɪŋ/ adjective |
1 a light that is dazzling is very bright and makes you unable to see properly for a short time► see thesaurus at bright2 very impressive and attractive a dazzling display of football skills |
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riff /rɪf/ noun [countable] |
1. a repeated series of notes in popular or jazz music a guitar riff 2. a piece of speech in which someone talks about a subject in an entertaining way that does not seem planned ©He goes off on a riff about the problems of being middle-aged. |
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ar‧dent /ˈɑːdənt $ ˈɑːr-/ adjective [usually before noun |
1. showing strong positive feelings about an activity and determination to succeed at it ©an ardent supporter of free trade 2. literary showing strong feelings of love ©an ardent lover —ardently adverb |
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e‧van‧ge‧lize (also evangelise British English) /ɪˈvændʒəlaɪz/ verb [intransitive, transitive] |
to try to persuade people to become Christians ©an attempt to evangelize the whole nation |
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con‧vey /kənˈveɪ/ ●○○ verb [transitive] |
1 to communicate or express something, with or without using words ©All this information can be conveyed in a simple diagram. ©Ads convey the message that thin is beautiful. ©He was sent to convey a message to the UN Secretary General. convey something to somebody ©I want to convey to children that reading is one of life’s greatest treats. convey a sense/an impression/an idea etc ©You don’t want to convey the impression that there’s anything illegal going on |
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vul‧ne‧ra‧ble /ˈvʌlnərəbəl/ ●●○ W3 adjective |
1. someone who is vulnerable can be easily harmed or hurt OPP invulnerable ©He took advantage of me when I was at my most vulnerable. ©We work mainly with the elderly and other vulnerable groups. be vulnerable to something ©Children are most vulnerable to abuse within their own home |
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prej‧u‧dice /ˈpredʒədɪs/ ●●○ noun |
1 [countable, uncountable] an unreasonable dislike and distrust of people who are different from you in some way, especially because of their race, sex, religion etc – used to show disapproval ©Women still face prejudice in the workplace. ©It takes a long time to overcome these kinds of prejudices. prejudice against ©a cultural prejudice against fat people racial/sexual prejudice ©Asian pupils complained of racial prejudice at the school |
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trait /treɪ, treɪt $ treɪt/ ●●○ noun [countable] |
formal a particular quality in someone’s character personality/character traits ©a mental illness associated with particular personality traits ©genetic/inherited traits |
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dis‧taste /dɪsˈteɪst/ noun [uncountable] |
a feeling that something or someone is unpleasant or morally offensive distaste for ©her distaste for any form of compromise |
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hap‧pen‧stance /ˈhæpənstæns/ noun [countable, uncountable] literary |
chance, or something that happens by chance |
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creed /kriːd/ noun [countable] |
1. a set of beliefs or principles ©Marxism has never been weaker as a political creed. ©a religious creed ©people of all colours and creeds |
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de‧cent /ˈdiːsənt/ ●●○ S3 adjective |
1. [usually before noun] of a good enough standard or quality ©a decent salary ©Don’t you have a decent jacket? ©a house with a decent-sized yard ©Their in-flight magazine is halfway decent (=quite good). ► see thesaurus at satisfactory |
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rel‧a‧tiv‧is‧m /ˈrelətɪvfɪzəm/ noun [uncountable] technical |
the belief in philosophy that nothing is absolutely true and that things can only be judged in comparison with one another |
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vice /vaɪs/ noun |
1. [uncountable] criminal activities that involve sex or drugs ©the fight against vice on the streets ©The police have smashed a vice ring (=a group of criminals involved in vice) in Chicago |
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con‧jec‧ture /kənˈdʒektʃə $ -ər/ noun formal |
1 [uncountable] when you form ideas or opinions without having very much information to base them on ©What she said was pure conjecture. ©There has been some conjecture about a possible merger. 2. [countable] an idea or opinion formed by guessing SYN guess, hypothesis ©My results show that this conjecture was, in fact, correct. —conjectural adjective |
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ni‧hil‧is‧m /ˈnaɪəlɪzəm/ noun [uncountable] |
1. the belief that nothing has any meaning or value 2. the idea that all social and political institutions should be destroyed —nihilist noun [countable] —nihilistic /ˌnaɪəˈlɪstɪk◂/ adjective |
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de‧spair /dɪˈspeə $ -ˈsper/ ●●○ noun [uncountable] |
1. a feeling that you have no hope at all in despair ©She killed herself in despair. the depths of despair (=very strong feelings of despair) ©The noise from the neighbours used to drive him to despair. to the despair of somebody ©To the despair of the workers, the company announced the closure of the factory |
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bom‧bard /bɒmˈbɑːd $ bɑːmˈbɑːrd/ ●○○ verb [transitive] |
2. to do something too often or too much, for example criticizing or questioning someone, or giving too much information ©The office was bombarded by telephone calls. bombard somebody with something ©They bombarded him with questions. ©Today we are bombarded with advice on what to eat and what to avoid |
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ap‧pal‧ling /əˈpɔːlɪŋ $ əˈpɒː-/ ●○○ adjective |
1. very unpleasant and shocking SYN terrible ©She suffered appalling injuries. ©He was kept in appalling conditions in prison. ©an appalling famine 2. very bad SYN atrocious The weather was absolutely appalling. ► see thesaurus at bad —appallingly adverb He behaved appallingly. ©an appallingly difficult job |
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per‧plex /pəˈpleks $ pər-/ verb [transitive] |
if something perplexes you, it makes you feel confused and worried because it is difficult to understand SYN puzzle ©Shea’s symptoms perplexed the doctors. —perplexing adjective ©a perplexing problem |
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co‧her‧ent /kəʊˈhɪərənt $ koʊˈhɪr-/ ●○○ AWL adjective |
1. if a piece of writing, set of ideas etc is coherent, it is easy to understand because it is clear and reasonable ©The three years of the course are planned as a coherent whole. a coherent account of the incident 2. if someone is coherent, they are talking in a way that is clear and easy to understand ©He sounded coherent, but he was too ill to have any idea what he was saying |
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pro‧cliv‧i‧ty /prəˈklɪvəti $ proʊ-/ noun (plural proclivities) [countable] |
formal a tendency to behave in a particular way, or to like a particular thing – used especially about something bad proclivity to/towards/for ©The child showed no proclivity towards aggression. ©his sexual proclivities |
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en‧dow‧ment /ɪnˈdaʊmənt/ noun |
1 [countable, uncountable] a sum of money given to a college, hospital etc to provide it with an income, or the act of giving this money 2 [countable] a natural quality or ability that someone has |
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in‧e‧rad‧i‧ca‧ble /ˌɪnɪˈrædɪkəbəl◂/ adjective formal |
impossible to change or remove ©ineradicable hostility —ineradicably adverb |
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come off phrasal verb |
1 come off (something) to become removed from something ©The label had come off, so there was no way of knowing what was on the disk |
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pre‧tence British English, pretense American English /prɪˈtens $ ˈpriːtens/ noun [singular, uncountable] |
1. a way of behaving which is intended to make people believe something that is not true pretence that ©the pretence that the old system could be made to work pretence of/at (being/doing) something ©a pretence at seriousness ©Tollitt made no pretense of being surprised. ©How long are you going to keep up the pretence of being ill? abandon/give up/drop a pretence ©Abandoning any pretense at politeness, they ran for the door. under the pretence of (doing) something ©John waited for her under the pretence of tying his shoelaces. ©It was all an elaborate pretence |
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su‧per‧sti‧tion /ˌsuːpəˈstɪʃən $ -pər-/ ●○○ noun [countable, uncountable] |
a belief that some objects or actions are lucky or unlucky, or that they cause events to happen, based on old ideas of magic ©the old superstition that walking under a ladder is unlucky |
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o‧blit‧er‧ate /əˈblɪtəreɪt/ verb [transitive] |
1. to destroy something completely so that nothing remains ©Hiroshima was nearly obliterated by the atomic bomb. ► see thesaurus at destroy 2. to remove a thought, feeling, or memory from someone’s mind ©Nothing could obliterate the memory of those tragic events. 3. to cover something completely so that it cannot be seen ©Then the fog came down, obliterating everything. —obliteration /əˌblɪtəˈreɪʃən/ noun [uncountable] |
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stul‧ti‧fy‧ing /ˈstʌltəfaɪ-ɪŋ/ adjective formal |
so boring that you feel as though you are losing your ability to think ©a stultifying office environment —stultify verb [transitive] |
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re‧sil‧i‧ence /rɪˈzɪliəns/ (also resiliency /-ənsi/) noun [uncountable] |
1. the ability to become strong, happy, or successful again after a difficult situation or event → toughness resilience of ©the resilience of youth ©People showed remarkable resilience during the war. 2. the ability of a substance such as rubber to return to its original shape after it has been pressed or bent |
Physics |
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o‧bliv‧i‧on /əˈblɪviən/ noun [uncountable] |
1. when something is completely forgotten or no longer important sink/slip/pass etc into oblivion ©Wind power presents too many advantages to be allowed to sink into oblivion. ©The loser’s name has been consigned to oblivion (=completely forgotten). |
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en‧tail /ɪnˈteɪl/ verb [transitive] |
1. to involve something as a necessary part or result ©A new computer system entails a lot of re-training. ©Some foreign travel is entailed in the job. entail doing something ©The journey will entail changing trains twice. 2 old use if you entail property, you arrange for it to be given to a specific person, usually your oldest son, when you die |
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make a mockery of something |
to make something such as a plan or system seem completely useless or ineffective ©This building plan makes a mockery of the government’s environmental policy |
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mock‧e‧ry /ˈmɒkəri $ ˈmɑː-/ noun |
1 → make a mockery of something 2. [uncountable] when someone laughs at someone or something or shows that they think they are stupid ©There was a hint of mockery in his voice. 3. [singular] something that is completely useless or ineffective ©She said that the trial had been a mockery |
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em‧broil /ɪmˈbrɔɪl/ verb [transitive] |
to involve someone or something in a difficult situation embroil somebody/something in something ©I became embroiled in an argument with the taxi driver. |
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con‧sti‧tu‧ent /kənˈstɪtʃuənt/ ●○○ AWL noun [countable] |
1. someone who votes in a particular area 2. one of the substances or things that combine to form something constituent of ©Sodium is one of the constituents of salt. |
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op‧pres‧sion /əˈpreʃən/ ●○○ noun [uncountable] |
when someone treats a group of people unfairly or cruelly and prevents them from having the same rights as other people have → discrimination political/racial/sexual etc oppression ©They suffered years of political oppression. ©the struggle against oppression |
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com‧mon‧place /ˈkɒmənpleɪs $ ˈkɑː-/ ●○○ adjective |
happening or existing in many places, and therefore not special or unusual ©Car thefts are commonplace in this part of town. ► see thesaurus at common |
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con‧sign /kənˈsaɪn/ verb |
[transitive] formal to send something somewhere, especially in order to sell it → consign somebody/something to something → See Verb table |
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consign somebody/something to something phrasal verb formal |
1. to make someone or something be in a particular situation, especially a bad one ©It was a decision which consigned him to political obscurity. consign somebody/something to the dustbin/scrapheap/rubbish heap etc British English ©Many older people feel they have been consigned to the medical scrapheap. 2. to put something somewhere, especially in order to get rid of it ©The shoes looked so tatty that I consigned them to the back of the cupboard |
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ob‧scu‧ri‧ty /əbˈskjʊərəti $ -ˈskjʊr-/ noun (plural obscurities) |
1. [uncountable] the state of not being known or remembered fade/slide/sink etc into obscurity ©The group produced two albums before disappearing into obscurity. live/work/remain etc in obscurity ©O'Brien died in obscurity. from obscurity to something ©She rose from obscurity to stardom. 2 [countable, uncountable] something that is difficult to understand, or the quality of being difficult to understand ©obscurities in the text |
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e‧rad‧i‧cate /ɪˈrædɪkeɪt/ ●○○ verb [transitive] |
to completely get rid of something such as a disease or a social problem eradicate something from something ©We can eradicate this disease from the world. ©an attempt to eradicate inflation ©This problem has now been completely eradicated. ► see thesaurus at remove —eradication /ɪˌrædɪˈkeɪʃən/ noun [uncountable] |
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tat‧ty /ˈtæti/ adjective (comparative tattier, superlative tattiest) |
informal in bad condition SYN shabby tatty jeans a few tatty old chairs—tattily adverb—tattiness noun [countable] |
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