Yi's English Daily Learning 4

Front 1

argot

Back 1

noun
1.
a specialized idiomatic vocabulary peculiar to a particular class or group of people, especially that of an underworld group, devised for private communication and identification: a Restoration play rich in thieves' argot.
2.
the special vocabulary and idiom of a particular profession or social group: sociologists' argot.

Front 2

affront

Back 2

noun
1.
a personally offensive act or word; deliberate act or display of disrespect; intentional slight; insult: an affront to the king.
2.
an offense to one's dignity or self-respect.
verb (used with object)
3.
to offend by an open manifestation of disrespect or insolence: His speech affronted all of us.
4.
to make ashamed or confused; embarrass.
5.
Archaic. to front; face; look on.
6.
Obsolete . to meet or encounter face to face; confront.

Front 3

errand

Back 3

noun
1.
a short and quick trip to accomplish a specific purpose, as to buy something, deliver a package, or convey a message, often for someone else.
2.
the purpose of such a trip: He finished his errands.
3.
a special mission or function entrusted to a messenger; commission.

Front 4

jettison

Back 4

verb (used with object)
1.
to cast (goods) overboard in order to lighten a vessel or aircraft or to improve its stability in an emergency.
2.
to throw off (something) as an obstacle or burden; discard.
3.
Cards. to discard (an unwanted card or cards).
noun
4.
the act of casting goods from a vessel or aircraft to lighten or stabilize it.
5.
jetsam.

Front 5

synchronous

Back 5

adjective
1.
occurring at the same time; coinciding in time; contemporaneous; simultaneous.
2.
going on at the same rate and exactly together; recurring together.
3.
Physics, Electricity . having the same frequency and zero phase difference.
4.
Computers, Telecommunications. of, pertaining to, or operating using fixed-time intervals controlled by a clock ( opposed to asynchronous ).
5.
Aerospace. geostationary.

Front 6

halt

Back 6

verb (used without object)
1.
to stop; cease moving, operating, etc., either permanently or temporarily: They halted for lunch and strolled about.

Front 7

dowdy

Back 7

adjective
1.
not stylish; drab; old-fashioned: Why do you always wear those dowdy old dresses?
2.
not neat or tidy; shabby.
noun
3.
a dowdy woman.

Front 8

infatuated

Back 8

verb (used with object)
1.
to inspire or possess with a foolish or unreasoning passion, as of love.
2.
to affect with folly; make foolish or fatuous.
adjective
3.
infatuated.
noun
4.
a person who is infatuated.

Front 9

lampoon

Back 9

noun
1.
a sharp, often virulent satire directed against an individual or institution; a work of literature, art, or the like, ridiculing severely the character or behavior of a person, society, etc.
verb (used with object)
2.
to mock or ridicule in a lampoon: to lampoon important leaders in the government.

Front 10

utterance

Back 10

noun
1.
an act of uttering; vocal expression.
2.
manner of speaking; power of speaking: His very utterance was spellbinding.
3.
something uttered; a word or words uttered; a cry, animal's call, or the like.
4.
Linguistics . any speech sequence consisting of one or more words and preceded and followed by silence: it may be coextensive with a sentence.
5.
Obsolete . a public sale of goods.

Front 11

precision

Back 11

noun
1.
the state or quality of being precise.
2.
accuracy; exactness: to arrive at an estimate with precision.
3.
mechanical or scientific exactness: a lens ground with precision.
4.
punctiliousness; strictness: precision in one's business dealings.
5.
Mathematics . the degree to which the correctness of a quantity is expressed. Compare accuracy ( def 3 ) .

Front 12

repartee

Back 12

noun
1.
a quick, witty reply.
2.
conversation full of such replies.
3.
skill in making such replies.
Origin: