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500 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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struggle |
lutte |
fight |
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handy |
commode, maniable, pratique |
practical, convenient |
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to streamline |
rationaliser, simplifier, uniformiser |
"There are further opportunities to streamline business practices and policies, including harmonizing human resources" |
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to seize |
saisir, s'emparer de |
"We should not fail to seize this opportunity" sēz |
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to deem |
considérer, juger, estimer |
"The melting of the polar ice-caps and tropical storms are deemed to be the result of greenhouse gases" consider, regard, treat |
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elusive |
fuyant, insaisissable |
"It is an obligation to keep seeking out answers no matter how hard and elusive they are" |
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to elude |
fuir, échapper (à) |
"a definitive end to violence continues to elude us" |
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to deplete |
épuiser |
use up "Humans depleted the natural resources" the depletion |
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to dump |
décharger, larguer, déverser, jeter, se débarasser |
"The truck dumped sand on the beach" "I dumped my old clothes because they no longer fit me" to unload, get rid of |
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to smuggle |
passer en contrebande |
smugglers "They help deter importers and others from trying to smuggle illegal or restricted goods across the border" |
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to worship a worship |
adorer, vénérer culte, adoration |
"Spontaneously express your worship of the Father and your thanks for the energies of life" |
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positive, supporting |
favorable |
opposite : negative, adverse |
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to ignite |
mettre à feu, déclencher, provoquer |
"Therefore, this should not really in any way ignite any sort of debate" ignition = allumage induce, trigger, provoke, lead to |
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to pledge |
promettre (vb), engagement (noun) |
to promise |
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the wisdom |
sagesse, savoir, clairvoyance |
"I feel it is important to recognize their wisdom onthis issue" the foresight |
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a draft |
ébauche, version, esquisse |
a sketch, an outline |
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to draft |
rédiger OU enrôler (armée) |
"The legislators drafted a new bill" "The student was drafted into the military" |
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to loom |
menacer, se profiler, planer, imminent |
"Dark clouds loomed on the horizon" to threaten |
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to strain |
mettre à l'épreuve, forcer, tendre |
"Social inequalities strain the population to its breaking point" |
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a strain |
pression, tension |
a stress, a tension, a pressure |
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to probe a probe |
sonder, explorer, enquêter |
survey, investigation, inquiry |
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to witness a witness |
assister à, constater, être témoin |
to attend "The product was sufficiently well publicised, witness the 25 bids received" |
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a shelf |
étagère, rayon de supermarché |
:) |
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startling |
surprenant, frappant |
astounding, stunning, striking "Let me finish with one very startling fact" |
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to stretch |
étirer, étendre |
"There will be a couple of stops along the way to enable you to stretch your legs, grab a bite to eat or take a comfort stop" |
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the culprit |
le coupable, responsable |
"I am afraid I have no other remedy than another apology on behalf of whoever the culprit is that committed this" |
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straightforward |
simple, franc, honnête, juste |
"The issue is straightforward: no absolute targets, no exchange" |
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to undercut |
saper, miner, réduire |
to undermine, to sap |
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edible |
comestible |
comestible |
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to catch up |
rattraper, combler |
"The representative had indicated that the aim was to catch up with the schedule by the end of the year" |
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to originate in/from ! |
provenir, émaner |
in : country, location from : from a culture, activity |
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sheer |
même, seul, unique, pur (idée de suffisance) |
"Their sheer diversity however serves to act as a technical barrier" "I squeezed the brother's hands from sheer happiness" |
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to yield a yield |
rendement, produit, récolter produire, rendre, céder, rapporter |
"What we find is that to maximise yield, you can't have too much or too little hydrogen" efficiency, output, to generate, render |
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to desist from (+ing) |
cesser, renoncer, abandonner |
to cease, to leave off (+ing) "We keep working where others leave off!" |
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blatant, |
flagrant, criant |
"Punish this blatant injustice!" obvious, clear, overt |
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to chase |
chasser, poursuivre |
pursue |
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to drop out to abandon to renounce to give up |
renoncer, abandonner |
:) |
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to ensue |
s'ensuivre, résulter |
to follow, to result "Therefore, a higher volatility of net earnings (net loss) may ensue" |
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clumsy |
maladroit |
with people : tactless awkward |
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potent |
puissant, efficace |
"The medicine is very potent and should be taken with care" strong, powerful, forceful, effective, efficient |
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to elicit |
susciter, provoquer, obtenir, recueillir |
"The teacher always tries to elicit the interest of his pupils" "His speech elicited strong reactions from the audience" feelings ! |
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to harness |
exploiter, maitriser |
"The scientists managed to harness nuclear fusion" "We must harness the potential of this idea" exploit, operate, utilize, work |
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sofa, couch |
canapé |
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the liveliness |
vivacité |
the vivacity vivid |
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to take away |
enlever, priver, emporter, retirer |
"It does not take away the ability of a party to govern" |
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to dive a dive |
plonger |
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to track |
pister, suivre |
to follow, to trace, to monitor |
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to move around |
se balader, se déplacer |
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to roam |
errer, vaguer, parcourir, explorer tourner en rond |
"She used to roam about and never concentrated on anything" "You'll be able to roam freely around the eight detailed courts" |
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readily |
sans peine, facilement |
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swift(ly) |
rapide(ment) |
quick, prompt, fast |
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to be conducive to |
propice à, favorable à |
"Effective non-proliferation is crucial to a climate conducive to nuclear disarmament" ripe for/to = synonym |
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sharp |
tranchant |
cutting, trenchant opposite : blunt |
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harmful to harm |
nocif, néfaste faire du mal, endommager |
detrimental, hurtful, injurious, wicked damage, injure |
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wise |
savant, sensé, prudent, sage |
judicious, careful, cautious, aware clever, sound |
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the manners |
manières, usages |
mores, ways |
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mere |
simple, seul, pur |
"The mere presence of a chemical substance does not necessarily mean that the public is at risk" |
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negotiation |
négociation |
bargaining, to bargain to negotiate |
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intent |
intention, volonté, objectif (noun) attentif, déterminé |
A good student is intent on doing his homework well It was not my intent to break something |
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to shove |
bousculer, pousser |
The passenger accidentally shoved a woman on the train |
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to assert |
affirmer, faire valoir |
The teacher asserted her authority in the classroom. The suspect asserted his right to legal counsel to affirm, to testify |
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to disclose a disclosure |
divulguer, dévoiler, révéler, publier, exposer |
to reveal, to expose, to unfold |
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to scatter the scatter scattered |
(se) disperser, éparpiller dispersé, épars |
The noise scattered the bird I scattered the sunflower seeds all over the garden to disperse |
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an insight |
aperçu, perspective, connaissance, idée |
We need a better insight into the financial situation |
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to tackle |
lutter contre, plaquer OU aborder |
The government tackled the crisis by changing economic policies OR My speech tackles the issue of climate change to approach |
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a forebear |
ancêtre |
Analysis of mummified show how diseases connect modern humans to the experiences of our forebears ancestors |
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a swathe(e) to swathe |
bande, éventail, couloir envelopper, couvrir, bander |
This disease was present and not hard to find all over the world covering a wide swath of human history |
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to stack a stack |
empiler, entasser pile, tas |
I keep a big stack of wood in my garden for the winter I stacked the books on the table to pile, to heap up (a heap : tas) |
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to decay a decay |
pourrir, se decomposer, degrader (carie) pourriture, decomposition, |
The glass stopped the airflow and made the environment too humid and caused the mummies to decay to disintegrate, to rot (rotten), deteriorate, to fade |
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deceased a decease |
décédé un décès |
to pass away "he didn't make it" |
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a burial |
enterrement |
a funeral |
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a scourge |
fléau, calamité |
a plague, a bane |
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a tenement in a slum |
un immeuble (région pauvre) dans un bidonville |
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to harbor |
abriter, cacher OU avoir en tête (longue période) |
"My family harbored many refugees during the war" "He harbored the suspicion that someone in the agency was spying for the enemy" |
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framed |
encadré |
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the hallway |
couloir, entrée |
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repellent to repel |
répulsif, repoussant repousser |
"The spray repels mosquitoes" |
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to sever |
couper, amputer, separer en deux |
"The knife severed an artery and he bled to death" |
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to overtake |
dépasser, doubler |
to surpass, to exceed |
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the offspring |
descendants, progéniture |
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an inception |
création, commencement, constitution |
"I have worked for the company since its inception" |
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relentless |
incessant, acharné, infatigable |
"The activist is a relentless advocate of human rights" "The match took place despite the relentless rain" |
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an appraisal |
évaluation, estimation (juger une personne, un travail) |
"The newspaper gave an editorial appraisal of the government's achievements of the past year" |
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to unravel |
dénouer, démêler, déchiffrer, defaire |
"I need to unravel this knot" "Scientists want to unravel the mysteries of the universe" |
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to divest to divest sb of its |
céder, vendre (une partie non rentable d'un business) OU déposséder qn de qc |
"The company is divesting its less profitable business operations" "She divested herself of her cumbersome attire (clothes)" |
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ongoing |
en cours, continu, permanent |
"There is an ongoing investigation into the cause of the crash" "No agreement has yet been reached and the negotiations are still ongoing" |
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an appeal |
un appel (publique) |
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the onset |
début, commencement, aube |
"The alarming onset of the Cold War" |
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the makeover |
transformation, rénovation |
"One of the prizes was a makeover at a top beauty salon" "The restaurant needs an interior makeover" |
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to drain a drain |
vider, égoutter, vidanger OU fuite, canalisation |
"But the store’s design drains the book-buying process of much of its pleasure" "brain drain" also : to make tired "this hard day drained me |
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a rot, to rot |
pourrir, pourriture |
IDIOM : to talk rot = talk nonsense, talk rubbish |
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a flu |
la grippe (hiver) |
a cold, a headache, a fever |
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baffling to baffle |
déroutant, déconcertant dérouter, déconcerter |
to confuse |
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it is reminiscent of |
"cela rappelle" |
remembering, reminding reminiscence : the act of remembering events and experiences from the past |
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to entice an enticement |
attirer, aguicher, tenter (en offrant qqch) |
"One of the enticements of the job is the company car" "The adverts entice the customer into buying things they don't really want" |
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a stem |
pied (verre) , tige |
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to stem |
stopper limit the flow, or the growth |
"These measures are designed to stem the rise of violent crime" "She tied a handkerchief around the wound to stem the flow of blood." attention : to stem from : "to start or develop" |
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to cull a cull |
éliminer (selection ,tri) abattre abattage |
eliminate = to dispose of |
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to barter the barter |
troquer troc |
to exchange, to trade |
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a knack |
don, talent, aptitude |
"He has the knack of being in the right place at the right time" |
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the morale (prononcé à la française) ADJ : moral |
état d'esprit, moral, confiance, enthousiasme |
"Maintaining that precious link with loved ones boosts morale and helps soldiers remain confident" also : mood |
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grueling |
épuisant, exténuant, ardu, acharnée |
"a grueling 50-mile run" "a grueling battle" exhausting (to exhaust) |
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to supplant |
to replace |
to displace, to replace "Printed books will soon be supplanted by e-books" |
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to spur |
stimuler, encourager, inciter |
"Spurred (on) by her early success, she went on to write four more novels in rapid succession" "Rising consumer sales have the effect of spurring the economy to faster growth" to encourage, to prompt, to foster, to boost |
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to freeze (frozen, the freeze, the frost) to thaw (the thawing) |
geler dégeler |
fondre : melt |
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to exacerbate |
aggraver, accentuer, amplifier, exacerber |
to worsen, to amplify, to magnify "Political corruption exacerbates the country's poverty" |
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to spearhead the spearhead |
mener, diriger lance de fer |
"The politician spearheaded the campaign against plastic bags to lead, to run, to head to conduct (weaker) |
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fleeting |
bref, fugace |
short, quick, brief, (elusive) |
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to hurl |
jeter violemment (énervé) |
"In a fit of temper he hurled the book across the room" "Youths hurled stones at the soldiers" |
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to lurk (like a crocodile) |
rôder, préparer une attaque en se cachant |
rôder sans attaque : to roam |
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eerie |
étrange, inquiétant, mystérieux |
strange, odd, ominous, scary |
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to endow to be endowed with something |
doter, se faire donner ne grosse somme d'argent ET avoir la qualité de ... |
"Some lucky people are endowed with both brains and beauty" "The state of Michigan has endowed three institutes to do research for industry" |
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notwithstanding |
malgré qqch |
in spite of despite |
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the apex |
le sommet |
"The manager left the company at the apex of his career" the summit, the peak, the top (physical) |
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dismal |
triste, sombre, désastreux, lamentable |
depressing, very sad, miserable, hopeless "The mayor's mandate ended with a dismal record (bilan)" |
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dubious |
douteux, contestable, suspect |
"The few taxes collected are used for dubious purposes" |
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a stoplight |
un feu de circulation |
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to overlook |
négliger, ignorer OU surplomber, donner sur |
"My bedroom window overlooks the sea" "In the assignment, the teacher overlooked spelling error" |
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to disregard to dismiss to neglect |
ignorer (avec volonté) |
"The boy dismissed his father's advice" "The politician chose to disregard the journalist's questions" |
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idle |
inactif, à l'arrêt, vain fainéant |
"Half these factories now stand idle" "The idle boy did nothing but sleep all day." syn: dormant |
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to dredge |
draguer (le fond d'un ocean) |
"They have to dredge the canal regularly to keep it open" "That operation was shut down in 2015, amid concerns that the dredges were doing environmental damage to the seafloor" |
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to heap a heap |
entasser, accumuler |
to stack, a stack |
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a crane |
grue de construction |
"The crane lifted the container off the ship" |
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a pit (a mine) |
puits, fosse, mine |
"Miners spend the whole day working in the pit" |
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to shut down |
arrêter (le fonctionnement d'une usine) |
"Both chemical factories were shut down for safety reasons" |
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to bond a bond |
coller, lier lien |
"The glue can be used to bond wood to metal" "Hydrogen bond" |
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stiff (adj et nom) |
rigide, raide (aussi figuré) pas relaxé |
"He was unable to turn his head because of a stiff neck" "You can’t be stiff with a guy who takes you into his confidence" rigid |
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the concrete (made of cement, sand and water) |
béton bétonner |
"A row of reinforced concrete pillars supports the bridge" Warning : concrétiser = concretize |
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a mill to mill |
moulin, usine usiner, fraiser, moudre |
"Tidal mills are operated by seawater currents" "The mechanic milled the component to adjust its" |
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a collar |
un collier |
a necklace |
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a scam to scam |
fraude, escroquerie, arnaque escroquer, arnaquer |
"She was involved in an insurance scam, collecting on false accident claims" "financial scam" |
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to collapse a collapse |
s'effondrer, chuter effondrement, chute |
"Despite the earthquake, the building did not collapse" |
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to envision |
envisager |
"The company envisions adding at least five stores next year" |
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to hook |
crochet, hameçon, accroche accrocher, crocheter |
"He hooked his cane over the back of the chair" "I need to change the hook on my fishing line" |
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a regular |
un habitué |
"He’s one of the regulars at the club" |
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iron steel metal |
fer acier metal |
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the chores |
tâches ménagêres |
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to summon |
convoquer, appeler, invoquer |
"I was summoned as a witness" "I summoned my team for a quick meeting" |
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the clay |
argile, glaise |
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to puzzle puzzled |
rendre perplexe perplexe |
"Scientists who had studied the Lassie effect remained puzzled" |
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deterred undeterred |
dissuader, découragé pas dissuadé |
"Undeterred by sleet, heat, wind, cold |
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still to still |
immobile, calme, fixé calmer |
"The boy stayed still so as to not disturb the birds" |
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to be prone (to) |
être susceptible de ... être sujet à .. |
"If a child is particularly prone to mouthing a toy and has a high absorption level, that child will therefore be exposed" |
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the upside |
le bon coté |
"Some pet owners see little upside to dog walking" |
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to stroll a stroll |
se balader, se promener balade, promenade |
"I like to stroll in the park" |
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to walk (a dog) |
promener un animal |
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to arouse an arousal |
susciter excitation, eveil, stimulation |
"Our suspicions were first aroused when we heard a muffled scream" "The matter has aroused great interest" |
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utter to utter |
total, pur, flagrant, complet (adj) émettre (son), prononcer, dire (vb) |
"He always drives with utter concentration" "She sat through the whole meeting without uttering a word" |
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an angle to angle |
point de vue, orientation orienter |
"I have a different angle on this issue" |
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to belie |
démentir |
"Her calm face belied the terror she was feeling" deny, contradict, refute |
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in fallow |
en jachère |
The farmer left the field in fallow to restore the soil fertility |
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to accede to |
adhérer à qqch, accepter à |
"He graciously acceded to our request" |
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prosaic |
prosaïque, sans noblesse ni excitation, plat |
"He asked if I'd got my black eye in a fight - I told him the prosaic truth that I'd banged my head on a door" |
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patent |
évident OU brevet, breveter |
"He felt the notion of beginner's luck was patent nonsense" like obvious |
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reckless rash |
imprudent, insouciant |
"A lack of planning can result in reckless decisions" also : unwise, carefree "I remember my carefree student days" |
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wary to watch out for sb/sthg |
prudent, méfiant se méfier |
careful, cautious |
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to bolster (a booster = polochon) |
soutenir, renforcer |
"More money is needed to bolster the industry" |
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to preclude |
empêcher, exclure |
"His contract precludes him from discussing his work with anyone outside the company" also : hinder |
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placid |
d'apparence calme, doux |
calm, relaxed |
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a leisure |
loisir |
"The town lacks leisure facilities such as a swimming pool or squash courts" |
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seemly |
convenable(ment) |
unseemly |
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fortuitous(ly) |
fortuite, par hasard |
"The collapse of its rivals was a fortuitous opportunity for the company" "They had fortuitously been out of the house when the fire started" |
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recalcitrant recalcitrance |
unwilling to obey orders or to do what should be done |
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compelling |
obligeant, convaincant, irrésistible |
"There are compelling arguments against national service" |
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to wrench wrenching a wrench |
arracher, faire une clé déchirant, stressant une clé, déchirement, entorse |
"The ball was wrenched from his hands by another player" "He wrenched his back while digging in the garden" (twist badly) |
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broad broadly |
large, vaste, étendu largement |
also wide |
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to steer |
conduire, diriger (véhicule ou figuré) |
"The captain steered the ship to the port" "There are occasions when you have to actively steer a conversation away from the rocks |
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the land |
terre (matériau) |
"Nowadays, farmers use tractors to plough their land" |
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a repository |
dépôt, entrepôt |
"The most precious paintings are stored in a secure repository" |
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to vow a vow |
donner sa parole, promettre promesse, serment, voeu |
"After a lengthy and painful divorce, she vowed never to remarry" "She has vowed to remain true to the president whatever happens" |
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to bury buried |
enterrer, enfouir, ensevelir |
"The pirate buried his treasure in the sand" sous terre : under the ground |
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to indict someone an indictment |
inculper, accuser accusation, mise en cause, réquisitoire |
"The jury indicted the suspect for fraud" "The plaintiff made a very serious indictment against the suspect" |
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to exact |
demander et recevoir, souvent par la force/obligation |
"The blackmailers exacted a total of $100,000 from their victims" |
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a toll |
prix, frais, péage, tribu |
"Agricultural intensification has taken a toll on water quality" |
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tepid |
tiède |
figuré : "I got a tepid response to my suggestion" |
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feckless |
faible de caractère et de determination, incapable |
"He was portrayed as a feckless drunk" |
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shrewd shrewdly the shrewdness |
avisé, rusé, astucieux, malin |
"It was a shrewd move to buy your house just before property prices started to rise" "a shrewd tactician" astute, clever, wise, cunning(rusé) |
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canny |
astucieux, en particulier en business |
"He is a canny investor" |
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perfunctory perfunctorily AND cursory |
superficiel (superficial), sommaire 2 syn ! |
"His smile was perfunctory" "a cursory examination" |
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ubiquitous |
omnipresent widespread |
"New technologies are ubiquitous in our everyday lives" |
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the catering |
la restauration |
"My cousin is a cook and works in catering" |
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veracious |
véridique |
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to mitigate |
mitiger, diminuer, atténuer |
"Recycling helps mitigate environmental impacts" |
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the moisture |
humidité |
"Corrosion, caused by moisture, destroys metal" "I saw traces of moisture on the basement floor" |
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(a) staple |
une agrafe OU de base (adj), des incontournables |
"The documents were held together by a staple" "Compared to staple crops, coffee has some advantages" |
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a scholar |
savant, érudit, qui connait très bien un domaine d'étude |
"Dr Miles was a distinguished scholar of Russian history" |
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a flushing to flush |
un rinçage, circulation, évacuation, (rougissement) rincer |
to rinse (fréquent) |
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to contend |
lutter (pour gagner) prétendre |
to compete, to claim "He's contending against someone with twice his experience" "The director contends that his reforms will be beneficial" |
|
|
a strand |
un brin, mèche, (rivage) |
"She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears" |
|
|
the wit witty a witticism (un)wittingly |
drôle et intelligent |
"a woman of great intelligence and wit" "There have been both witting and unwitting participants in the fraud" |
|
|
insipid |
inanimé, ennuyeux, fade |
tasteless, flat, cheesy "Why anyone buys music with such insipid lyrics is a mystery" |
|
|
to impair |
nuire, perturber, degrader, affecter, réduire |
"Loud music can impair hearing" "The rain is impairing the workers who are building my house" |
|
|
to sway a sway |
se balancer, osciller, (influencer) |
"I hope to sway their decision by presenting the facts" "The tall grass is swaying in the wind" |
|
|
a wretch wretched |
pauvre, malheureux, triste, miserable |
"The people live in wretched conditions, with no running water" |
|
|
to overstate overstated |
exagérer, surestimé, surévalué |
"Initial forecasts overstated the impact of new regulations" |
|
|
to dissemble a dissembling |
to hide your real intentions and feelings or the facts |
"He accused the government of dissembling" |
|
|
munificent munificence |
généreux (argent) |
"A former student has donated a munificent sum of money to the college" |
|
|
personable |
sympathique, plaisant |
"She is intelligent, hard-working, and personable" |
|
|
mendacious the mendacity |
mensonger |
"Politicians are often accused of mendacity" |
|
|
an ersatz ersatz |
un remplacement (de qqch de rare et cher en général) |
"I'm allowed to eat ersatz chocolate made from carob beans, but it's a poor substitute for the real thing" |
|
|
undue |
excessif |
"Such a high increase will impose an undue burden on the local tax payer" |
|
|
arresting |
very attractive, so that you stop and notice it |
"The house has an arresting view of the river" |
|
|
to override |
dépasser, outrepasser |
"My curiosity usually overrides my fear of the unknown" "The pilot can override the autopilot if necessary" |
|
|
an ape to ape |
singe OU pale copie, mal copier |
"He called the new building unoriginal and said that it merely aped the classical traditions" |
|
|
shabby |
en mauvais état piètre, minable, miteux |
"Her home is a rented one-bedroom apartment in a shabby part of town" |
|
|
dulcet |
doux, suave, sucré |
"a dulcet voice" |
|
|
facile (fa-sol) |
simpliste, facile |
a facile theory |
|
|
a beam to beam |
faisceau, poutre, rayon rayonner, briller |
"The projectors light up the stadium with their powerful beams of light" "The sun beamed through the curtains" |
|
|
sole solely |
seul, unique, exclusif seulement, uniquement, exclusivement |
"The author owns the sole rights to his books" "I bought it solely for that purpose" |
|
|
garish |
voyant, flashy |
gaudy :) |
|
|
a paean (pi-anne) |
une ode |
|
|
|
to bring about |
causer, provoquer |
"Harold’s working to bring about changes in the industry" |
|
|
stolid |
calme, ne montrant pas d'émotion, pas intéressant ou attractif |
"He's a very stolid, serious man" |
|
|
to outstrip |
dépasser (nombre ou succès) |
"The demand for food in the war zone now far outstrips supply" |
|
|
noxious |
nocif, nuisible, délétère |
"They died from inhaling noxious fumes" |
|
|
patronizing to patronize |
condescendant traiter avec condescendance |
"It's that patronizing tone of hers that I can't bear" |
|
|
to dismiss a dismissal (a firing) dismissive(ly) |
renvoyer, écarter, ignorer |
"I think he'd dismissed me as an idiot within five minutes of meeting me" |
|
|
prescient |
visionnaire, qui voit le futur |
"a prescient warning" |
|
|
caustic |
acerbe, critique, dans la satire |
"She's famous in the office for her caustic wit" |
|
|
acerbic |
mordant, âpre, blessant |
|
|
|
abreast to keep abreast of |
côte à côte, de front informé |
"The motorcyclist came abreast of her car and shouted abuse at her" "I try to keep abreast of any developments" |
|
|
proponent |
promoteur, défenseur, partisan |
"He is one of the leading proponents of capital punishment" |
|
|
to laud lauded laudable(ly) laudatory |
louanger, faire l'éloge louable qui exprime des louange |
"The German leadership lauded the Russian initiative" |
|
|
a sentry |
sentinelle |
sentinel, guards |
|
|
to inveigle |
to persuade someone to do something in a clever and dishonest way, when they do not want to do it |
"Her son tried to inveigle her into giving him the money for a car" |
|
|
to inure sbdy to sthg |
If you become inured to something unpleasant, you become familiar with it and able to accept and bear it |
"After spending some time on the island they became inured to the hardships" |
|
|
to beguile |
séduire, envouter (en trompant) |
"The salesman beguiled him into buying a car he didn't want" |
|
|
a playwright |
dramaturge |
|
|
|
peculiar peculiarly peculiarity |
particulier, étrange, curieux particularité, singularité |
"The streets were peculiarly quiet for the time of day" |
|
|
to deify |
to make someone or something into a god |
"The Romans used to deify their emperors" |
|
|
alluring the allure |
attirant, existant la qualité d'être alluring |
"I didn't find the prospect of a house with no electricity very alluring" "the allure of working in television" |
|
|
a harbinger (dg) |
présage, précurseur |
|
|
|
to excise an excise |
couper OU une taxe (intérieure au pays) |
"The official censors have excised the controversial sections of the report" |
|
|
to embody |
incarner, représenter |
"She embodied good sportsmanship on the playing field" |
|
|
to posit |
poser, prendre pour acquis |
"If we posit that wage rises cause inflation, it follows that we should try to minimize them" |
|
|
to castigate |
fustiger, battre, critiquer, corriger vivement |
"Health inspectors castigated the kitchen staff for poor standards of cleanliness" |
|
|
to slander a slander slanderous |
diffamer, calomnier diffamation, calomnie, injure |
"She regarded his comment as a slander on her good reputation" |
|
|
warily wary |
prudemment, avec méfiance |
|
|
|
a rampage |
carnage "to go through an area making a lot of noise and causing damage" |
"Several villages were destroyed by rampaging soldiers" |
|
|
roundly |
sévèrement |
"The home team was roundly defeated" severely |
|
|
to defer |
différer, reporter |
"We decided to defer the meeting until next week" |
|
|
a pan to pan |
casserole, poêle OU critiquer sévèrement, descendre |
"The critics panned the movie version of the novel" |
|
|
tremulous(ly) |
tremblant |
shaking "In a tremulous voice she whispered: Who are you people?" |
|
|
chary (of sthg) |
incertain, peureux, unwiling to take risk/action |
"I'm a bit chary of using a travel agency that doesn't have official registration" |
|
|
to herald a herald |
annoncer, prononcer qqch de bon un signe |
"The president's speech heralds a new era in foreign policy" |
|
|
to discount a discount |
écarter, solder, réduire, ignorer remise, rédiuction |
"You shouldn't discount the possibility of him coming back" |
|
|
to recant a recantation |
désavouer, se rétracter, revoir sur ses dires |
"After a year spent in solitary confinement, he publicly recanted his views" |
|
|
a farewell |
un adieu |
"We said our sad farewells and got on the bus" |
|
|
vestigial |
réduit, rudimentaire, peu développé |
"a vestigial organ/limb/tail" |
|
|
high-handed |
autoritaire, arbitraire, violent |
"The United States' high-handed decision to override the UN has proven a miscalculation" |
|
|
a peccadillo |
une erreur peu grave |
"He dismissed what had happened as a mere peccadillo" |
|
|
premature prematurely |
prématuré, précoce |
"Their criticisms seem premature considering that the results aren't yet known" |
|
|
quixotic quixotically |
chimérique : illusoire, irréalisable, visionnaire, romanesque |
"This is a vast, exciting and some say quixotic project" |
|
|
precocious precocity precociously |
précoce |
"She recorded her first CD at the precocious age of twelve" |
|
|
endearing to endear sb to sb |
attachant faire aimer, attacher |
"His fiery temper did not endear him to his coworkers" "She laughs at herself a lot, which is always endearing" |
|
|
the probity |
intégrité, honnêteté, droiture |
"Her probity and integrity are beyond question" |
|
|
the indolence indolent indolently |
sans effort ni intérêt, mollesse, nonchalance |
"After a sudden burst of activity, the team lapsed back into indolence" |
|
|
desultory desultorily |
without a clear plan or purpose and showing little effort or interest |
"He wandered around, cleaning up in a desultory way" |
|
|
dearly |
deeply, very much |
"She will be dearly missed by her family and friends" |
|
|
to brook |
to allow/accept (esp. a difference of opinion or intention) |
"She won’t brook any criticism of her work." |
|
|
to solace |
consoler, réconforter |
"After we broke up, music was a great solace to me" |
|
|
a plaudit |
éloge, louange |
a praise Trick to remember : applause -> plaudits |
|
|
petty |
petit, insignifiant, mineur |
"It was the pettiness of their arguments that irritated her" "Don't be so petty!" (complaining about unimportant things) |
|
|
obsequious |
excessivement poli, hypocrite |
"She is embarrassingly obsequious to anyone in authority" |
|
|
sanguine |
optimiste, positif |
"They are less sanguine about the prospects for peace" |
|
|
stout |
solide, robuste, determiné |
"Mrs Blower was the stout lady with the glasses" |
|
|
a stopgap |
palliatif, bouche trou |
"Hostels are used as a stopgap until the families can find permanent accommodation" |
|
|
antiquated |
désuet, obsolete |
"It will take many years to modernize these antiquated industries" |
|
|
mercurial |
rapide, qui change rapidement, vif |
"She was entertaining but unpredictable, with mercurial mood swings" |
|
|
verdant |
verdoyant (jeune) |
"Much of the region's verdant countryside has been destroyed in the hurricane" |
|
|
garrulous garrulousness garrulously |
bavard (pour des choses pas importantes) |
|
|
|
a motley |
mélange bizarre, hétéroclite |
"There's a motley assortment/collection of old furniture in the house we're renting now" |
|
|
facetious |
plaisantin, peu sérieux sur des sujets important |
"I do not want to be too facetious, but the construction industry is collapsing" |
|
|
parlous |
dangerous, threatening, bad, uncertain |
"I'd like to buy a new car, but my finances are in such a parlous state that I can't afford to" |
|
|
ascetic (a'se'tic) |
avoiding physical pleasures and living a simple life, often for religious reasons |
They live a very ascetic life |
|
|
profligate (adj) profligacy |
prodigue, dépensier prodigalité |
"She is well-known for her profligate spending habits" Plus : prodigal, prodigality |
|
|
to enthrall enthralled |
captiver captivé |
"The baseball game completely enthralled the crowd" |
|
|
to lisp |
cheveu sur la langue, zozoter |
lips bruh lisp |
|
|
immutable |
immuable, inaltérable |
"Some people regard grammar as an immutable set of rules" |
|
|
parsimony |
épargne minutieuse, s'attachant aux petite choses |
contraire : prodigality |
|
|
terse terseness |
concis, laconique, usant peu de mots |
""Are you feeling any better?" "No!" was the terse reply" |
|
|
to expatiate |
faire un long discours |
"She expatiated on/upon her work for the duration of the meal" |
|
|
protean |
inconstant, changeant |
"the protean talents of this comedian" |
|
|
martial |
relating to soldiers, war, or life in the armed forces |
|
|
|
parochial |
paroissial limité à sa paroisse en terme d'idées |
"Although it's just a local paper, it somehow manages not to be too parochial in its outlook" |
|
|
squalid |
sale (très) |
"Many prisons, even today, are overcrowded and squalid places" |
|
|
to be/feel beholden to |
être redevable, avoir une dette envers |
"She wanted to be independent and beholden to no one" |
|
|
a dissent |
dissidence, désaccord |
"When the time came to approve the proposal, there were one or two voices of dissent" |
|
|
prudish prudishly prudishness |
prude (offensé par un manquement aux convenances) |
"I don't consider myself prudish but I do think the sex scenes in the film were a bit excessive" |
|
|
deft |
habile adroit |
skillful, clever, quick "She answered the journalist's questions with a deft touch." |
|
|
to abhor |
détester, abhorrer |
"I abhor all forms of racism" |
|
|
botched |
bâclé, raté |
"Thousands of women are infertile as a result of botched abortions" |
|
|
diffident |
hésitant, timide |
"You shouldn't be so diffident about your achievements - you've done really well!" |
|
|
a grooming |
toilettage, préparation |
"The nurse helps my grandfather with his daily grooming" |
|
|
seething |
to feel very angry but to be unable or unwilling to express it clearly |
"The rest of the class positively seethed with indignation when Julia won the award" |
|
|
to enshrine an enshrinement |
garder très précieusement, comme sacré |
"A lot of memories are enshrined in this photograph album" |
|
|
callous |
impitoyable, insensible |
"It might sound callous, but I don't care if he's homeless. He's not living with me!" |
|
|
dire |
sérieux, extreme, mauvais |
"These people are in dire need of help" |
|
|
a standstill |
arrêt, point mort, impasse, paralysie |
"Fighting and shortages have brought normal life to a virtual standstill in the city" |
|
|
purported purportedly |
prétendu, présumé, soi-disant prétendument |
"The study purportedly found that men married to smart women live longer" |
|
|
voluble |
volubile : speaking a lot, with confidence and enthusiasm: |
"She was a voluble, smart, funny interviewee" |
|
|
a specter |
un spectre, une menace |
"The specter of inflation concerns many voters" |
|
|
to pillory |
to severely criticize someone, especially in a public way |
Although regularly pilloried by the press as an obnoxious loudmouth, he is, nonetheless, an effective politician |
|
|
to pander |
to do or provide exactly what a person or group wants, especially when it is not acceptable, reasonable, or approved of, usually in order to get some personaladvantage |
"Political leaders almost inevitably pander to big business" |
|
|
congenial |
agréable, sympathique, convivial |
"congenial company or surroundings" |
|
|
to eschew |
to avoid something intentionally, or to give something up |
We won't have discussions with this group unless they eschew violence |
|
|
to/an uplift |
élever, améliorer |
"We are counting on your speech, bishop, to give some moral uplift to the delegates" |
|
|
to chive |
gronder |
"She chided him for his bad manners" |
|
|
languid |
moving or speaking slowly with little energy, often in an attractive way |
"a languid manner/voice" |
|
|
to whet |
aiguiser, suscité to tease |
"I've read an excerpt of the book on the Web and it's whetted my appetite" "He whetted his knife against the stone" |
|
|
to bay |
(of dogs and wolves) to make a long, deep cry repeatedly |
|
|
|
to ascertain |
verifier, determiner |
"The police have so far been unable to ascertain the cause of the explosion" "I ascertained that no one could overhear us before I told Otto the news" |
|
|
the diligence |
promptitude, rapidité efficace |
The employee was rewarded for his diligence |
|
|
fraught fraught with |
tendu, anxieux OU plein de (choses négatives) |
"This is one of the most fraught weekends of the year for the security forces" "The negotiations have been fraught with difficulties/problems" |
|
|
grizzled |
grisonnant |
|
|
|
tacky |
collant,adhesif OU kitsch, de mauvais gout |
"The shop sold tacky souvenirs and ornaments" |
|
|
thorough thoroughness |
complet, minutieux |
"You can rely on the thoroughness of his research." |
|
|
earthy |
related to sex/human body |
"She has an earthy sense of humour." vulgar |
|
|
fatuous |
stupide sot ridicule |
"a fatuous idea" |
|
|
to subside |
s'estomper; se calmer |
"The police are hoping that the violence will soon subside" |
|
|
eclectic |
éclectique : qui combinent bien, qui se connectent |
"The festival offers an eclectic programme, from jazz to heavy meta" |
|
|
versatile |
able to change easily from one activity to another or able to be used for many different purposes: |
"A leather jacket is a timeless and versatile garment that can be worn in all seasons." |
|
|
requisite |
requis, exigé |
"He lacked the requisite skills for the job" |
|
|
the conceit |
vanité, prétention, |
|
|
|
to contrive |
arranger, trouver un moyen de faire |
"Couldn't you contrive a meeting between them? I think they'd really like each other" |
|
|
bogus |
faux, fallacieux, fictif |
"She produced some bogus documents to support her application" |
|
|
a casualty |
victime |
"The train was derailed but there were no casualties, police said" |
|
|
the resilience |
the quality of being able to return quickly to a previous good condition after problems |
"The resilience of the economy has come as a surprise to some" |
|
|
the candor |
candeur (candide = crédule) |
""We want to help but really don’t know how," she said with surprising candor" gullible, credulous |
|
|
a discrepancy discrepant |
écart, divergence, difference |
"There is some discrepancy between the two accounts" |
|
|
to stir a stir |
mélanger, remuer attiser, provoquer |
"She paused to stir some milk into her coffee" "The speech stirred the crowd to take action" |
|
|
the assent |
consentement, assentiment, accord |
"Once the directors have given their assent to the proposal we can begin" |
|
|
a dilettante (french pronunciation) |
amateur |
"He's a bit of a dilettante as far as wine is concerned" |
|
|
pe'destrian |
relate to walking OR not interesting |
"His speech was long and pedestrian" |
|
|
to peer a peer |
regarder attentivement OU un pair |
"The driver was peering into the distance trying to read the road sign" |
|
|
the acumen |
skill in making correct decisions and judgments in a particular subject, such as business or politics perspicacité |
"She has considerable business/financial acumen" |
|
|
the eminence |
renommée, éminence |
"his eminence as a movie director" |
|
|
to coalesce (koʊ.əˈles) |
fusionner, se rassembler, confluer |
"The two parties coalesced to form a new movement" "The different streams coalesce into a single river" |
|
|
to loathe loath |
détester, répugner unwilling, reluctant |
"My father loathes mess in the kitchen" "I'm loath to spend it all at once" |
|
|
a buttress to buttress |
renfort, appui, soutien |
"Her good arguments buttressed her credibility" |
|
|
to meddle |
se mêler, s'immiscer |
"People shouldn't meddle with things they don't understand" "My sister's always meddling in other people's affairs" |
|
|
the asperity |
the quality of being severe in the way that you speak and behave roughness |
"the asperity of her manner" |
|
|
to confound confounding |
confondre OU déconcerter, to confuse |
"The singer confounded her critics with a remarkable follow-up album" |
|
|
earnest (eu-nest) |
sérieux, sincere |
"I thought he was joking - I didn't realize he was in earnest" |
|
|
to demean demeaning |
rabaisser, dévaloriser |
"I wouldn't demean myself by asking my parents for money" |
|
|
dull |
terne, ennuyeux |
"A world without literature would be a dull world" |
|
|
an allegation to allegate |
a statement, made without giving proof, that someone has done something wrong or illegal |
"Allegations that Mr Dwight was receiving money from known criminals have caused a scandal" |
|
|
the solemnity the solemness solemn |
sérieux, grave |
solennel, solennité "the solemnity of a funeral service" |
|
|
unduly undue |
contre la regle, la raison, l'usage indu |
"There's no need to be unduly pessimistic about the situation" |
|
|
fetid |
smelling extremely bad |
"fetid air/breath" |
|
|
labile |
fragile, peu stable, modifié rapidement |
"emotionally labile characters" |
|
|
scathing |
cinglant, acerbe criticizing someone or something in a severe and unkind way |
"He was very scathing about the report, saying it was inaccurate" |
|
|
inscrutable |
impénétrable |
"an inscrutable face/expression/smile" |
|
|
to be/get bogged down |
to be/become so involved in something difficult or complicated that you cannot do anything else |
"Let's not get bogged down with individual complaints" |
|
|
mired |
to be involved in a difficult situation, especially for a long period of time |
"The peace talks are mired in bureaucracy" |
|
|
to curtail |
réduire, mettre un frein, limiter |
"With all the snow, our daily walks have been severely curtailed" |
|
|
vindicative |
vindicatif rancunier, vengeur |
"In the movie "Cape Fear", a lawyer's family is threatened by a vindictive former prisoner" |
|
|
the scorn |
mépris, dérision |
"She has nothing but scorn for the new generation of politicians" |
|
|
onerous |
difficult to do or needing a lot of effort |
"She found the duties of motherhood onerous" |
|
|
a timeout |
un arrêt, temporisation |
"The little boy's mother gave him a timeout after he hit his friend" |
|
|
tortuous VS torturous |
tortueux, sinueux VS qui implique souffrance |
"the torturous path to passing the bill" |
|
|
a cloak to cloak |
manteau, cape cacher |
"He has always kept his love affairs cloaked in secrecy" |
|
|
to flout |
bafouer, défier |
"Many motorcyclists flout the law by not wearing helmets" |
|
|
artful |
astucieux |
"He has shown himself to be an artful politician" |
|
|
callow |
Someone, especially a young person, who is callow behaves in a way that showsthey have little experience, confidence, or judgment |
"Mark was just a callow youth of 16 when he arrived in Paris" |
|
|
to stipulate |
stipuler, préciser, spécifier to say exactly how something must be or must be done |
"She agreed to buy the car, but stipulated racing tyres and a turbo-powered engine" |
|
|
inchoate |
incomplet, mal defini, implicite |
"She had a child's inchoate awareness of language" |
|
|
to decipher |
déchiffrer, décoder |
"Can you decipher the writing on this envelope?" |
|
|
benign (bɪˈnaɪn) |
pleasant, kind |
|
|
|
brazen (ˈbreɪ.zən) |
insolent, éhonté |
"He told me a brazen lie" "brazen cheating" |
|
|
delineate |
delimiter, definir |
""The main characters are clearly delineated in the first chapter." |
|
|
phlegmatic |
A phlegmatic person does not usually get emotional or excited about things |
As a football player, his great asset was his calm, phlegmatic manner |
|
|
enraptured |
enchanté, ravi |
"filled with great pleasure or extremely pleased by something" |
|
|
to con con |
to make someone believe something false, usually so that that person will give you their money or possessions |
"It's a con - you get half the food for twice the price!" "He managed to con £20 out of them" |
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a swamp to swamp |
marais, marécage ET submerger, inonder (eau) |
"Foreign cars have swamped the UK market" |
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a demise |
disparition, déces, fin |
"The demise of the company was sudden and unexpected." |
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spurious |
fallacieux, faux, infondé |
"Some of the arguments in favour of shutting the factory are questionable and others downright spurious" |
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to evince |
manifester, montrer, faire preuve de |
"In all the years I knew her, she never evinced any desire to do such a thingIn all the years I knew her, she never evinced any desire to do such a thing" |
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to teem (with stgh) |
grouiller, fourmiller |
"The mall was teeming with shoppers that Saturday" |
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incipient |
naissant, balbutiant |
"signs of incipient public frustration appeared" |
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to breach |
enfreindre, rompre, déjouer |
"They felt that our discussions with other companies constituted a breach of/in our agreement" |
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to entail |
entrainer, impliquer |
"Such a large investment inevitably entails some risk" |
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to condone |
tolérer, permettre to accept or allow behaviour that is wrong: |
"The company does not condone harassment at work" |
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trite |
banal, commun |
"I know it will sound trite, but I've loved being part of this club" |
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hackneyed (ˈhæk.nid) |
banal, éculé |
"The plot of the film is just a hackneyed boy-meets-girl scenario" |
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leery |
méfiant, vigilant |
also : wary "I've always been a little leery of authority figures." |
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to skulk |
roder to hide or move around as if trying not to be seen, usually with bad intentions |
"I thought I saw someone skulking in the bushes - maybe we should call the police." |
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genuine |
véritable, réel, sincère |
"He has demonstrated a genuine interest in the project" |
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nascent |
naissant émergent |
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magnanimity |
clément, indulgent very kind and generous towards an enemy or someone you have defeated |
"The team's manager was magnanimous in victory, and praised the losing team" |
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to renege (g dur) a renegade |
to fail to keep a promise or an agreement un retourneur de veste |
"If you renege on the deal now, I'll fight you in the courts" |
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to heed the heed |
to pay attention to something, especially advice or a warning |
"The airline has been criticized for failing to heed advice/warnings about lack of safety routines" |
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sloth |
paresseux |
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the happenstance |
chance, hasard |
"By (a strange) happenstance they were both in Paris at the same time" |
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to flummox |
to confuse someone so much that they do not know what to do |
"I have to say that last question flummoxed me" |
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stimmen |
frappé, touché, enchanté (positif) to start to like very much |
"The story's about a man smitten with love for his wife's cousin" |
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dissolute, debased |
(of a person) living in a way that other people strongly disapprove of |
"He led a dissolute life, drinking, and womanizing till his death" |
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to cleave Warning : to cleave to |
fendre, couper, trancher OR to stick to sthg, continue believe |
"With one blow of the knight's axe, he clove the rock in twain (= into two pieces)" "People in the remote mountain villages still cleave to their old traditions." |
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a sedition seditious |
rébellion, révolte, insurrection (sédition) |
"She was arrested after making a speech that the government considered to be seditiou" |
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the pith |
essence, moelle |
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the gist |
essentiel, substance |
"I think I got (= understood) the gist of what she was saying" |
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to dim dim |
estomper, baisser OU faible (lumineux), vague |
"The lamp gave out a dim light" |
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to decry |
dénoncer, décrier |
"Lawyers decried the imprisonment of several journalists" |
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germane |
pertinent, en accord, en lien |
"Her remarks could not have been more germane to the discussion." |
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the sorrow |
chagrin, grande tristesse |
"The sorrows of her earlier years gave way to joy in later life" |
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to underpin |
soutenir, étayer |
"He presented data to underpin his argument" |
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to assuage (əˈsweɪdʒ) |
apaiser, dissiper |
"The government has tried to assuage the public's fears" |
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to inter |
to bury a dead body |
"Many of the soldiers were interred in unmarked graves" |
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laconic |
using very few words to express what you mean |
"She had a laconic wit" |
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curt curtly curtness |
brusque rude because quick |
"Steve answered curtly and turned his back on me" |
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to hanker hankering |
to have a strong desire for something |
" I always hankered to go to Nashville, a wonderful place" "She’s got a hankering to write plays" |
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the proclivity |
the fact that someone likes something or likes to do something, especiallysomething considered morally wrong "propension" en français |
"the sexual proclivities of celebrities" |
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to rue
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to feel sorry about an event and wish it had not happened regret, tristesse |
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sweeping |
affecting many people, many things, large |
"It is obvious that sweeping changes are needed in the legal system" |
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to rout (raʊt)
a rout |
mettre en déroute déroute |
"The Russian chess team routed all the rest" |
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a forgery |
contrefacon, faux |
"These banknotes are forgeries" |
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to hallow |
sanctifier, rendre sacré montrer du respect, admiration |
"The bread and wine has been hallowed by being dedicated to God" |
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to tether a tether |
attacher attache (cable, corde) |
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piecemeal (adj) |
fragmentaire, décousu, petit à petit |
"Unfortunately, everything is being done piecemeal" |
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truculent |
unpleasant and likely to argue a lot |
"He was truculent and difficult to deal with" |
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a rift |
a large crack in the ground or in rock Or plus figuré |
"The marriage caused a rift between the brothers and they didn't speak to each other for ten years" |
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sedulous |
careful and using a lot of effort: |
"It was agreed that the few students sedulous enough to read the book deserved top marks for diligence" |
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fickle |
inconstant, capricieux |
"She's so fickle - she's never been interested in the same man for more than a week!" |
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zealous |
fervent enthusiastic and eager (impatient, désireux) |
"a zealous supporter of the government's policies" |
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to beseech (bɪˈsiːtʃ) |
supplier, implorer, prier |
"Stay a little longer, I beseech you!" |
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lackluster |
terne lacking energy and effort |
"a lackluster performance" |
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piddling |
négligeable |
"They are making piddling profits of less than $20,000." |
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a blemish |
tache, défaut, souillure, marque |
"Is any politician's record without blemish on this issue?" "freckles, scars, and other minor skin blemishes" |
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a rejoinder |
une réplique (drôle et courte) |
"She always has a witty rejoinder to/for any question" |
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to fancy |
avoir envie de quelque chose OU imaginer |
"Do you fancy a drink this evening?" "I didn't fancy swimming in that water." "He fancies himself as a bit of a singer" |
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palatable |
acceptable, appétissant |
"a very palatable wine" |
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glaring |
flagrant, criant, manifeste |
"glaring errors" |
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strapping |
A strapping person is tall and strong-looking costaud |
"A big strapping lad like you shouldn't have much difficulty lifting that!" |
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abstruse |
abscons difficulté to understand |
"an abstruse philosophical essay" |
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steadfast |
constant, immuable staying the same for a long time and not changing quickly or unexpectedly |
"The group remained steadfast in its support for the new system, even when it was criticized in the newspapers" |
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a hurdle |
obstacle, difficulté |
"Getting a work permit was the first hurdle to overcome." |
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to retort |
répliquer, riposter with wit ! |
""That doesn't concern you!" she retorted" |
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to relish a relish |
savourer, prendre du plaisir |
"She's relishing the prospect of studying in Bologna for six months" |
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a stickler |
a person who thinks that a particular type of behaviour is very important, and always follows it or tries to make other people follow it |
"He's a stickler for detail/accuracy/efficiency" |
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raucous |
rauque, bruyant, agité |
"The party was becoming rather raucous." |
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hasty |
précipité, hâtif, rapide |
"We saw the rain and made a hasty retreat into the bar" |
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complicit |
complice |
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to cater |
répondre aux besoins, nourrir |
"Internet shopping caters to every conceivable need." "The club caters for children between the ages of four and twelve" |
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to pander |
to please other people by doing or saying what you think they want you to do or say flatter |
"She accused the other candidate of pandering to radical environmental groups" |
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to cower (ˈkaʊ.ɚ) a! |
to lower your head or body in fear, often while moving backwards: battre en retraite |
"Stop cowering! I'm not going to hit you" |
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to recoil |
to move back because of fear or disgust to refuse to accept an idea or principle, feeling strong dislike or disapproval |
"He leaned forward to kiss her and she recoiled in horror" |
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to congeal |
congeler, solidifier (coalesce) |
"The blood had congealed in thick black clots" |
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to plod plodding |
to walk taking slow steps, as if your feet are heavy, slowly |
We plodded through the mud. |
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equivocal |
not clear and seeming to have two opposing meanings, or confusing and able to be understood in two different ways |
"His words to the press were deliberately equivocal - he didn't deny the reports but neither did he confirm them" |
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to wield |
to hold a weapon or tool and look as if you are going to use it OR exercer : power, influence |
"She was confronted by a man wielding a knife" "He still wields enormous influence in politics" |
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to squint |
strabisme OU to partly close your eyes in order to see more clearly |
"The sun was shining straight in her eyes and made her squint." |
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heady |
enivrant, puissant having a powerful effect, making you feel slightly drunk or excited |
"In the heady days of their youth, they thought anything was possible" |
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legit |
legitime OU "vraiment" pour dire quelque chose de surprenant |
"I'm not getting involved in this fundraising scheme if it isn't legit" "He was legit driving the car with all the doors open." |
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flaw (flɑː) to flaw |
défaut, faille, faiblesse |
"A tiny mark flawed the otherwise perfect silk shirt" "Diamonds are still valuable, even when they are flawed" |
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solvent |
(especially of companies) having enough money to pay all the money that is owed to other people |
"Many insurance companies are under pressure to increase premiums to stay solvent" |
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dearth (de-rth) |
manque, pénurie |
"a dearth of new homes in the region" |
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valiant |
vaillant, brave, courageux |
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insidious |
gradually and secretly causing harm (of something unpleasant or dangerous) |
"High blood pressure is an insidious condition which has few symptoms" |
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bemused (beu-mused) |
stupéfait, déconcerté slightly confused |
"I was bemused at his sudden anger" |
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complacent the complacency |
complaisant feeling so satisfied with your own abilities or situation that you feel you do not need to try any harder |
"We can't afford to become complacent about any of our products" |
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bereft of |
dépourvu de |
"Alone now and almost penniless, he was bereft of hope" |
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to intrude |
to go into a place or situation in which you are not wanted or not expected to be |
"Newspaper editors are being urged not to intrude on/into the grief of the families of missing servicemen" |
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to hoard |
amasser, accumuler to collect large amounts of something and keep it in a safe, often secret, place |
"There would be enough food on a daily basis if people were not hoarding it" |
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lascivious |
expressing a strong desire for sexual activity |
a lascivious smile |
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prim (pr-eum) |
very formal and correct in behaviour and easily shocked by anything rude |
"She's much too prim and proper to drink pints of beer" |
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meretricious (mer.əˈtrɪʃ.əs) |
seeming attractive but really false or of little value |
"He claims that a lot of journalism is meretricious and superficial." |
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to stroke a stroke |
caresser (chien) caresse OU AVC OU coup/trait |
"With a few bold strokes, she signed her name" "She returned the volley with a powerful stroke to win the game" "The little boy stroked the cat to make it purr" |
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a quarrel to quarrel |
querelle, dispute, brouille |
"They had a bitter quarrel about/over some money three years ago and they haven't spoken to each other since" |
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a hoax |
canular, duperie, arnaque to deceive by playing a trick |
"He'd made a hoax call claiming to be the president" |
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to inflict |
infliger, imposer |
"The suffering inflicted on these children was unimaginable" |
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the lucre |
money or profit |
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conversely |
from a different and opposite way of looking at this |
"He was regarded either as too imitative to be considered original or, conversely, as being overly original" |
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staunch |
ardent, fervent, fidele, loyal |
"He gained a reputation as being a staunch defender/supporter of civil rights" |
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to expound |
exposer, expliquer |
"He's always expounding on what's wrong with the world" |
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weary (ˈwɪr.i) |
las, fatigué, épuisé |
"I think he's a little weary after his long journey" |
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bold |
brave, audacieux OU vif, visible |
"Of the three organizations criticized, only one was bold enough to face the press" "They painted the kitchen in bold colours" |
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a trifle |
bagatelle a matter or object of little value or importance |
"I brought a few trifles back from India - pieces of jewellery and fabric mainly" |
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to apprehend |
capture, arrest, understand |
"The police have finally apprehended the killer" |
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to exhort |
to strongly encourage or try to persuade someone to do something |
"The governor exhorted the prisoners not to riot" |
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the alacrity |
speed and eagerness empressement/rapidité |
" Mark worked with such alacrity that upper management knewthey would be giving him a promotion" |
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paucity |
manque, insuffisance |
" There is a paucity of jobs hiring today that require menial skills, since most jobs have either been automated or outsourced" |
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contrite |
remorseful |
" Though he stole his little sister’s licorice stick with malevolent glee, Chucky soon became contritewhen his sister wouldn’t stop crying" |
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pugnacious (pʌɡˈneɪ.ʃəs) G |
wanting to start an argument or fight, or expressing an argument or opinion very forcefully: pugnace |
"I found him pugnacious and arrogant" |
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egregious (ɪˈɡriː.dʒəs) |
extremely bad in a way that is very noticeable |
"It was an egregious error for a statesman to show such ignorance" |
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extant |
used to refer to something very old that is still existing Memo : ex-is-tant |
We have some extant parish records from the 16th century |
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contentious |
causing or likely to cause disagreement |
"a contentious decision/policy/issue/subject" |
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auspicious |
suggesting a positive and successful future, favorable |
"They won their first match of the season 5–1 which was an auspicious start/beginning" |
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to enervate |
to make someone feel weak and without energy |
"John preferred to avoid equatorial countries; the intense sun would always leave him enervated afterhe’d spent the day sightseeing" |
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equivocal to equivocate |
not clear and seeming to have two opposing meanings, or confusing and able to be understood in two different ways |
"His words to the press were deliberately equivocal - he didn't deny the reports but neither did he confirm them" |
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ambivalent |
having two opposing feelings at the same time, or being uncertain about how you feel |
"He has fairly ambivalent feelings towards his father." |
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blinkered |
to have a limited outlook or understanding |
" In gambling, the addict is easily blinkered by past successes and/or past failures, forgetting that theoutcome of any one game is independent of the games that preceded it" |
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unchecked |
If something harmful is unchecked, it is continuing or increasing without or despite any limits or attempts to prevent it (incontrôlé, effréné) |
"The war raged on, unchecked by the UN's efforts to stop it" |
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a raft |
1. Radeau 2. A lot of, a large number |
We’ve identified a whole raft of problems affecting traffic flow. |
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glazed to glaze |
glacer |
"I glazed the cake with a chocolate ganache" |
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retiring |
unwilling to be noticed or to be with other people |
" Nelson was always the first to leave soirees, he wasretiring, and preferred the solitude of his garret. |
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to imbibe |
absorber, s'imprégner de : drink, knowledge, information |
"Have you been imbibing again?" |
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expansive |
1. Very happy to talk to people in a friendly way 2. Covering large areas |
""All this is mine," she said with an expansive arm gesture" "There was an expansive view from the window." |
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benighted (bɪˈnaɪ.t̬ɪd) |
without knowledge or morals |
"Some of the early explorers thought of the local people as benighted savages who could be exploited" |
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to galvanize |
to cause someone to suddenly take action, especially by shocking or exciting/spuring them in some way |
"Western charities were galvanized by TV pictures of starving people" |
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expansive |
1. Very happy to talk to people in a friendly way 2. Covering large areas |
""All this is mine," she said with an expansive arm gesture" "There was an expansive view from the window." |
