Set 1 Flashcards
stifle
stifle
1 SYNONYMS SUFFOCATE, choke, asphyxiate, smother
2 SYNONYMS SUPPRESS, smother, restrain, keep back, hold back
2a SYNONYMS CONSTRAIN, hinder, hamper, impede, hold back, curb, check
> The verb is derived from Late Middle English stuflen (“to have difficulty breathing due to heat, stifle; to suffocate by drowning, drown”); from stuffen (“to kill by suffocation; to stifle from heat; to extinguish, suppress (body heat, breath, humour, etc.); to deprive a plant of the conditions necessary for growth, choke”) + -el- (derivational infix in verbs, often denoting diminutive, intensive, or repetitive actions or events). Stuffen is derived from Old French estofer, estouffer (“to choke, strangle, suffocate; (figuratively) to inhibit, prevent”)
> Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Wiktionary
commodify
commodify
venerate
ven‧e‧rate
/ˈvenəreɪt/
to honor or respect someone or something because they are old, holy, or connected with the past: REVERE, respect, honor, esteem, worship, adulate
…a writer venerated by generations of admirers
…My father venerated General Eisenhower.
…In particular, says Kling, the crypto industry remains vulnerable to hero worship—a tendency to venerate the individuals that accrue the most money and command the greatest influence in the sector: like Mashinsky, Bankman-Fried, Do Kwon of Terra Luna, and Kyle Davies and Su Zhu of Three Arrows.
—Joel Khalili, WIRED, 14 July 2023
→ venerate sb as sth
…These children are venerated as holy beings.
…She is venerated as a saint.
> 1620s, back-formation from veneration, or else from Latin veneratus, past participle of venerari “to reverence, worship,” from venus (genitive veneris) “beauty, love, desire” (from PIE root *wen- (1) “to desire, strive for”). Related: Venerated; venerating.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
flounder
flounder
/ˈflaʊndə $ -ər/
verb
1 to have a lot of problems and be likely to fail completely; If something is floundering, it has many problems and may soon fail completely: FALTER, STRUGGLE, stall, slow down
…What a pity that his career was left to flounder.
…The economy was floundering.
…More and more firms are floundering because of the recession.
2 to not know what to say or do because you feel confused or upset: DITHER, STRUGGLE, blunder, be confused
…The president is floundering, trying to get his campaign jump-started.
…I found myself floundering as I tried to answer her questions.
→ flounder around
…He lost the next page of his speech and floundered around for a few seconds.
3 [always + adverb/preposition] to be unable to move easily because you are in deep water or mud, or cannot see very well; If you flounder in water or mud, you move in an uncontrolled way, trying not to sink: STRUGGLE, toss, thrash, plunge
…They were floundering chest-deep in the freezing water.
…I could hear them floundering around in the dark.
…Three men were floundering about in the water.
> late 16th century: perhaps a blend of founder and blunder, or perhaps symbolic, fl- frequently beginning words connected with swift or sudden movement.
> Cambridge Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford Dictionary of English
concession
concession
> mid-15c., “act of granting or yielding” (especially in argumentation), from Old French concession (14c.) or directly from Latin concessionem (nominative concessio) “an allowing, conceding,” noun of action from past-participle stem of concedere “to give way, yield,” figuratively “agree, consent, give precedence,” from con- (“wholly”) + cedere “to go, grant, give way” (from PIE root *ked- “to go, yield”).
> From 1610s as “the thing or point yielded.” Meaning “property granted by government” is from 1650s. Sense of “grant of privilege by a government to individuals to engage in some enterprise” is from 1856, from a sense in French. Hence the meaning “grant or lease of a small part of a property for some specified purpose” (1897), the sense in concession stand “snack bar, refreshment stand.”
> Etymonline, Wiktionary
contend
1 to strive or vie in contest or rivalry or against difficulties; If you contend with someone for something such as power, you compete with them to try to get it: COMPETE, challenge, vie, contest; STRIVE, STRUGGLE, fight; clash
…Three armed groups are contending for power.
…with 10 U.K. construction yards contending with rivals from Norway, Holland, Italy and Spain
2 to argue or state that something is true: ASSERT, maintain, hold, allege
…Some astronomers contend that the universe may be younger than previously thought.
3 → contend with sth
to have to deal with something difficult or unpleasant; If you have to contend with a problem or difficulty, you have to deal with it or overcome it: COPE WITH, face, grapple with, deal with, take on, pit oneself against; resist, withstand
… The rescue team also had bad weather conditions to contend with.
…The peasants had to contend with lack of food and primitive living conditions.
…It is time, once again, to contend with racism.
…American businesses could soon have a new kind of lawsuit to contend with.
> late Middle English (in the sense ‘compete for (something)’): from Old French contendre or Latin contendere, from con- ‘together’ + tendere ‘“to stretch out, extend, strive after, contend’.
> Merriam-Webster, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Oxford Dictionary of English, Wiktionary
jettison
jet‧ti‧son
/ˈdʒetəsən, -zən/
1 to get rid of something or decide not to do something any longer: DISCARD, dispose of, throw away, throw out, get rid of, toss out; reject, scrap, dispense with, cast aside/off, abandon, relinquish, drop
…The scheme was jettisoned when the government found it too costly.
2 to throw things away, especially from a moving plane or ship: DUMP, drop, ditch, discharge, eject, throw out, empty out
…The crew jettisoned excess fuel and made an emergency landing.
> late Middle English (as a noun denoting the throwing of goods overboard to lighten a ship in distress): from Old French getaison, from Latin jactatio(n-), from jactare ‘to throw’ (see jet). The verb dates from the mid 19th century.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Oxford Dictionary of English, Collins English Dictionary
retention
re·ten·tion
/rəˈtenSHən/
1 FORMAL
the act of keeping something.
retention of
…The UN will vote on the retention of sanctions against Iraq.
2 TECHNICAL
the ability or tendency of something to hold liquid, heat etc within itself.
3 the ability to keep something in your memory.
> late Middle English (denoting the power to retain something): from Old French, from Latin retentio(n- ), from retinere ‘hold back’: from re- (“back, again”) + tenere (“to hold, keep”).
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford Dictionary of English, Wiktionary
Do you know how to get to …
Do you know how to get to …
I’m going to workout(=I’m going to do some ________).
I’m going to workout(=I’m going to do some exercise).
fraught
fraught
1 If a situation or action is fraught with problems or risks, it is filled with them: FULL OF, filled with, swarming with, rife with
…The earliest operations employing this technique were fraught with dangers.
…Their marriage has been fraught with difficulties.
2 full of anxiety or worry: TENSE, ANXIOUS, worried, upset, distraught, overwrought, agitated
…a fraught atmosphere
…a fraught situation
…Julie sounded rather fraught.
> late 14c., “freighted, laden, loaded, stored with supplies” (of vessels); figurative use from early 15c.; past-participle adjective from obsolete verb fraught “to load (a ship) with cargo,” Middle English fraughten (c. 1400), which always was rarer than the past participle, from noun fraught “a load, cargo, lading of a ship” (early 13c.), which is the older form of freight (n.).
> This apparently is from a North Sea Germanic source, Middle Dutch vrecht, vracht “hire for a ship, freight,” or similar words in Middle Low German or Frisian, apparently originally “earnings,” from Proto-Germanic *fra-aihtiz “property, absolute possession,” from *fra-, here probably intensive + *aigan “be master of, possess” (from PIE root *aik- “be master of, possess”). Related: Fraughtage.
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
unbridled
unbridled
If you describe behavior or feelings as unbridled, you mean that they are not controlled or limited in any way: UNRESTRAINED, unconstrained, uncontrolled, uninhibited, unrestricted, unchecked
…the unbridled greed of the 1980s
…a tale of lust and unbridled passion
> un- + from Middle English bridel, from Old English brīdel, from Proto-West Germanic *brigdil, from Proto-Germanic *brigdilaz (“strap, rein”), equivalent to braid + -le.
> Collins English Dictionary, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Wiktionary
yank
yank
/jæŋk/
verb
If you yank someone or something somewhere, you pull them there suddenly and with a lot of force: JERK, PULL, tug
→ yank something out/back/open etc
…One of the men grabbed Tom’s hair and yanked his head back.
…Nick yanked the door open.
→ yank on/at
…With both hands she yanked at the necklace.
noun
…He gave the rope a yank.
…Grabbing his ponytail, Shirley gave it a yank.
> “to pull, jerk,” 1822, Scottish, of unknown origin. Related: Yanked; yanking. The noun is 1818 in sense of “sudden blow, cuff;” 1856 (American English) as “a sudden pull.”
> Collins English Dictionary, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Etymonline
grapple
grapple
1 If you grapple with a problem or difficulty, you try hard to solve it: TACKLE, confront, address oneself to, face
…The Government has to grapple with the problem of unemployment.
2 If you grapple with someone, you take hold of them and struggle with them, as part of a fight. You can also say that two people grapple: WRESTLE, struggle, tussle, brawl, fight
…Two men grappled with a guard at the door.
> From Middle English *grapplen (“to seize, lay hold of”), from Old English *græpplian (“to seize”) (compare Old English ġegræppian (“to seize”)), from Proto-Germanic *graipilōną, *grabbalōną (“to seize”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰrebʰ- (“to take, seize, rake”), equivalent to grab + -le.
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Wiktionary
engaging
engaging
seismic
seis‧mic
/ˈsaɪzmɪk/
1 TECHNICAL
relating to or caused by earthquakes
…increased seismic activity
2 very great, serious, or important; A seismic shift or change is a very sudden or dramatic change.
…seismic changes in international relations
…I have never seen such a seismic shift in public opinion in such a short period of time.
> mid 19th century: from Greek seismos ‘earthquake’ (from seien ‘to shake’) + -ic.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford Dictionary of English
dichotomy
di‧chot‧o‧my
/daɪˈkɒtəmi $ -ˈkɑː-/
plural dichotomies
FORMAL
[countable] If there is a dichotomy between two things, there is a very great difference or opposition between them: DIVISION, gulf, split, separation
…There is a dichotomy between the academic world and the industrial world.
> late 16th century: via modern Latin from Greek dikhotomia, from dikho- ‘in two, apart’ + -tomia ‘cutting’, from temnein ‘to cut’.
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford Dictionary of English
pummel
pum‧mel
/ˈpʌməl/
verb (pummelled, pummelling British English, pummeled, pummeling American English)
If you pummel someone or something, you hit them many times using your fists: BEAT, BATTER, punch, pound, strike
…He trapped Conn in a corner and pummeled him ferociously for thirty seconds.
…She flew at him, pummeling his chest with her fists.
…Intel’s making bank right now, but it’s in a fight for the future, pummeled left and right by Apple and a resurgent AMD. ~ Aug 2020, PCWorld
> Alteration of pommel: From Middle English pomel, from Old French pomel and Medieval Latin pomellum, pumellum, presumedly via Vulgar Latin *pomellum (“ball, knob”), the diminutive of Late Latin pōmum (“apple”). Compare French pommeau and Spanish pomo.
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Wiktionary
presage
pres‧age
/ˈpresɪdʒ, prəˈseɪdʒ/
verb
FORMAL
If something presages a situation or event, it is considered to be a warning or sign of what is about to happen: PORTEND /pɔːˈtend $ pɔːr-/, augur, foreshadow, foretell
…The large number of moderate earthquakes that have occurred recently could presage a larger quake soon.
noun [countable]: OMEN, sign, indication, portent
…These symptoms were a somber presage of his final illness.
> late 14c., “something which portends or foreshadows,” from Latin praesagium “a foreboding,” from praesagire “to perceive beforehand, forebode,” from praesagus (adj.) “perceiving beforehand, prophetic,” from prae “before” (see pre-) + sagus “prophetic,” related to sagire “perceive” (see sagacity).
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
exasperate
ex‧as‧pe‧rate
/ɪɡˈzɑːspəreɪt $ ɪɡˈzæ-/
to make someone very annoyed by continuing to do something that upsets them: INFURIATE, IRRITATE, incense, anger, annoy, madden, enrage
…It exasperates me to hear comments like that.
…His refusal to cooperate has exasperated his lawyers.
> 1530s, “irritate, provoke to anger,” from Latin exasperatus, past participle of exasperare “make rough, roughen, irritate, provoke,” from ex “out, out of; thoroughly” (see ex-) + asper “rough” (see asperity). Related: Exasperated; exasperating.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
efface
ef‧face
/ɪˈfeɪs/
1 To efface something means to destroy or remove it so that it cannot be seen any more: ERASE, eradicate, expunge, blot out, rub out, wipe out, remove, eliminate
…an event that has helped efface the country’s traditional image
2 → efface yourself
to behave in a quiet way so that people do not notice or look at you: MAKE ONESELF INCONSPICUOUS, keep out of sight, keep oneself to oneself
…He retired to the largest chair and attempted to efface himself.
> From Middle French effacer (“erase”), from Old French esfacier (“remove the face”): from French effacer, from e- (from Latin ex- ‘away from’) + face ‘face, appearance’.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Wiktionary, Etymonline
imbue
im‧bue
/ɪmˈbjuː/
To imbue is to fill up with or become “soaked” in an idea or emotion, as a sponge takes in water. One visit to a sick relative in a hospital might be enough to imbue a child with a lifelong ambition to become a doctor.
…A feeling of optimism imbues her works.
…There was something that came across in the yearning and the mournful feeling that imbues a lot of Brian Wilson’s music.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 19 Feb. 2024
→ imbue sb/sth with sth
FORMAL
to make someone or something have a quality, idea, or emotion very strongly; If someone or something is imbued with an idea, feeling, or quality, they become filled with it: INSTILL, PERMEATE, infuse, steep, bathe
…His philosophical writings are imbued with religious belief.
…As you listen, you notice how every single word is imbued with a breathless sense of wonder.
…men who can imbue their hearers with enthusiasm
…Her training at the school for the deaf imbued her with a sense of purpose that she had never known before.
> Imbue comes from the Latin verb imbuere, meaning “to dye, wet, or moisten.”
> cf. Imbrue has been traced back through Anglo-French and Old French to the Latin verb bibere, meaning “to drink.”
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Vocabulary.com, Oxford Dictionary of English, Merriam-Webster
disparage
di‧spar‧age
/dɪˈspærɪdʒ/
: to belittle the importance or value of (someone or something) : to speak slightingly about (someone or something); If you disparage someone or something, you speak about them in a way which shows that you do not have a good opinion of them: BELITTLE, denigrate, deprecate, depreciate; disdain, dismiss; RUN DOWN, defame, decry; PUT DOWN, criticize
…Voters don’t like political advertisements in which opponents disparage one another.
…He disparages his business competitors, saying they are all a bunch of amateurs compared to him.
…It has become fashionable to disparage Lawrence and his achievements.
…The actor’s work for charity has recently been disparaged in the press as an attempt to get publicity.
…The article disparaged polo as a game for the wealthy.
…Bad actors can also use AI to generate false images and convincing audio and video deepfakes, such as fake photos of former President Trump embracing Dr. Anthony Fauci or a video of President Biden disparaging a transgender person.
—Jonathan Freger, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024
SYNONYMY NOTE:
to disparage is to attempt to lower in esteem, as by insinuation, invidious comparison, faint praise, etc.; to depreciate is to lessen (something) in value as by implying that it has less worth than is usually attributed to it [he depreciated her generosity]; decry implies vigorous public denunciation, often from the best of motives [to decry corruption in government]; belittle is equivalent to depreciate, but stresses a contemptuous attitude in the speaker or writer; minimize suggests an ascription of the least possible value or importance [don’t minimize your own efforts]
> late 14c., “degrade socially” (for marrying below rank or without proper ceremony), from Anglo-French and Old French desparagier (Modern French déparager) “reduce in rank, degrade, devalue, depreciate,” originally “to marry unequally, marry to one of inferior condition or rank,” and thus, by extension, to bring on oneself or one’s family the disgrace or dishonor involved in this, from des- “away” (see dis-) + parage “rank, lineage” (see peer (n.)).
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
prognosis
prog‧no‧sis
/prɒɡˈnəʊsɪs $ prɑːɡˈnoʊ-/
A prognosis is an estimate of the future of someone or something, especially about whether a patient will recover from an illness: FORECAST, prediction, projection, prognostication
…Doctors said Blake’s long-term prognosis is good.
…a gloomy prognosis of the Scots’ championship prospects
> 1650s, “forecast of the probable course and termination of a case of a disease,” from Late Latin prognosis, from Greek prognōsis “foreknowledge,” also, in medicine, “predicted course of a disease,” from stem of progignōskein “come to know beforehand,” from pro- “before” (see pro-) + gignōskein “come to know” (from PIE root *gno- “to know”). An earlier form in the same sense was pronostike (early 15c.), from Medieval Latin pronosticum. The general (non-medical) sense of “a forecast of the course of events” in English is from 1706. A back-formed verb prognose is attested from 1837; the earlier verb was Middle English pronostiken (c. 1400), from Medieval Latin pronosticare. Related: Prognosed; prognosing.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
fervor
fer‧vor
/ˈfɜːvə $ ˈfɜːrvər/
very strong belief or feeling; Fervor for something is a very strong feeling for or belief in it: PASSION, ARDOR, intensity, zeal, vehemence, vehemency, emotion, warmth, sincerity, earnestness, avidness, avidity, eagerness, keenness, enthusiasm, excitement
…religious fervor
…revolutionary fervor
…patriotic fervor
…They were concerned only with their own religious fervor.
> mid-14c., “warmth or glow of feeling,” from Old French fervor “heat; enthusiasm, ardor, passion” (12c., Modern French ferveur), from Latin fervor “a boiling, violent heat; passion, ardor, fury,” from fervere “to boil; be hot” (from PIE root *bhreu- “to boil, bubble, effervesce, burn”).
> Oxford Dictionary of English, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
incantation
incantation
> late Middle English: via Old French from late Latin incantatio(n- ), from incantare ‘chant, bewitch’ (see incant).
> Oxford Dictionary of English
bullion
bul‧lion
/ˈbʊljən/
bars of gold or silver
> mid-14c., “uncoined gold or silver,” from Anglo-French bullion, Old French billon “bar of precious metal,” also “place where coins are made, mint,” from Old French bille “stick, block of wood” (see billiards), influenced by Old French boillir “to boil,” from Latin bullire “boil” (see boil (v.)), through the notion of “melting.”
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Etymonline
cajole
ca‧jole /kəˈdʒəʊl $ -ˈdʒoʊl/
to persuade someone to do something by praising them or making promises to them; If you cajole someone into doing something, you get them to do it after persuading them for some time: PERSUADE, wheedle, coax, talk into, maneuver, get round
→ cajole sb into doing sth
…He hoped to cajole her into selling her house.
…It was he who had cajoled Garland into doing the film.
> “deceive or delude by flattery,” 1640s, from French cajoler “to cajole, wheedle, coax,” a word of uncertain origin; perhaps a blend of cageoler “to chatter like a jay” (16c., from gajole, southern diminutive of geai “jay;” see jay (n.)), and Old French gaioler “to cage, entice into a cage” (see jail (n.)). Related: Cajoled; cajoling.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
@restaurant
@restaurant
ravage
rav‧age
/ˈrævɪdʒ/
to damage something very badly; A town, country, or economy that has been ravaged is one that has been damaged so much that it is almost completely destroyed: DESTROY, ruin, devastate, wreck /rek/
…For two decades the country has been ravaged by civil war and foreign intervention.
GRAMMAR
Ravage is usually passive.
> From French ravage (“ravage, havoc, spoil”), from ravir (“to bear away suddenly, to take away hastily”), from Latin rapere (“to snatch, seize”), akin to Ancient Greek ἁρπάζω (harpázō, “to seize”).
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Wiktionary, Etymonline
weather
weather
interesting
interesting
adamant
ad‧a‧mant
/ˈædəmənt/
determined not to change your opinion or a decision that you have made: DETERMINED, FIRM, UNSHAKEABLE, immovable, inflexible, unwavering, uncompromising, resolute, resolved
…She begged me to change my mind, but I remained adamant.
…The prime minister is adamant that he will not resign.
…Sue was adamant about that job in Australia.
—adamantly adverb
…Britain is **adamantly opposed to
** the new directive.
> Old English (as a noun), from Old French adamaunt-, via Latin from Greek adamas, adamant-, ‘untameable, invincible’ (later used to denote the hardest metal or stone, hence diamond), from a- ‘not’ + daman ‘to tame’. The phrase to be adamant dates from the 1930s, although adjectival use had been implied in such collocations as ‘an adamant heart’ since the 16th century.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus
may as well
used to suggest that someone should do something, because there is no good reason to do anything else SYN might as well
…If there’s nothing more to do, we may as well go to bed.
…You may as well tell us now – we’ll find out sooner or later.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
sanguine
san‧guine
/ˈsæŋɡwɪn/
happy and hopeful about the future: OPTIMISTIC, bullish, hopeful, buoyant, positive, disposed to look on the bright side
…They have begun to take a more sanguine view.
…But by the late 1990s, nearly 20 years behind schedule on his book, Sherwin’s attitude toward the project became less sanguine.
—David Amsden, Los Angeles Times, 18 July 2023
→ sanguine about
…He’s remarkably sanguine about the problems involved.
…He is sanguine about the company’s future.
…I’m sanguine about the eventual success of the project.
…Saval is sanguine about socialism’s future—and how its ideas on the economy and health care, at least, have penetrated the mainstream.
—Ross Barkan, The New Republic, 3 Aug. 2023
…When I last compiled investment firms’ long-term asset-class return forecasts, in April 2020, most of the companies surveyed were feeling at least somewhat sanguine about stocks’ prospects.
— Benz, Christine. “Experts Forecast Stock and Bond Returns: 2021 Edition.” Morningstar, 20 Jan. 2021
…Most experts are also relatively sanguine about these potential downsides.
—David Leonhardt, BostonGlobe.com, 28 Aug. 2023
> Middle English: from Old French sanguin(e ) ‘blood red’, from Latin sanguineus ‘of blood’, from sanguis, sanguin- ‘blood’. The meaning “cheerful, hopeful, vivacious, confident” is attested by c. 1500, because these qualities were thought in old medicine to spring from an excess or predominance of blood as one of the four humors. The sense of “of or pertaining to blood” (mid-15c.) is rare.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Oxford Dictionary of English, Merriam-Webster, Etymonline
bonkers
bon‧kers
/ˈbɒŋkəz $ ˈbɑːŋkərz/
INFORMAL•BRITISH
mad; crazy.
…I nearly went bonkers with frustration.
…The man must be bonkers to take such a risk.
→ drive sb bonkers
to make someone feel crazy or very annoyed
…Thinking about the whole problem has driven me nearly bonkers.
> Perhaps from bonk (a blow or punch on the head), perhaps related to earlier bonce.
> Oxford Dictionary of English, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Wiktionary
flummoxed
flum‧moxed
/ˈflʌməkst/
so confused that you do not know what to do: BAFFLED, BEWILDERED, puzzled, stumped /stʌmpt/, perplexed
…He looked completely flummoxed.
…I was completely flummoxed by the whole thing.
…Doctors were flummoxed by the boy’s symptoms.
…an actor who’s easily flummoxed by any changes in the script
> mid 19th century: probably of dialect origin; flummock ‘to make untidy, confuse’ is recorded in western counties and the north Midlands. + ‘-ed’. The formation seems to be onomatopœic, expressive of the notion of throwing down roughly and untidily
> Oxford Dictionary of English, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Cambridge English Dictionary, Collins English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Wiktionary
tentative
ten·ta·tive
/ˈten(t)ədiv/
1 not definite or certain, because you may want to change things: PROVISIONAL, unconfirmed, unsettled, indefinite, pencilled in, preliminary, to be confirmed, subject to confirmation
…I passed on my tentative conclusions to the police.
…The government is taking tentative steps towards tackling the country’s economic problems.
…Political leaders have reached a tentative agreement.
2 If someone is tentative, they are cautious and not very confident because they are uncertain or afraid: HESITANT, uncertain, cautious, unconfident, timid, hesitating, faltering, shaky, unsteady, halting, wavering, unsure, doubtful, diffident
…My first attempts at complaining were rather tentative.
…She did not return his tentative smile.
> French tentatif, from Latin tentativus (“trying, testing”), from tentare, past participle tentatus (“to try, test”); see tent, tempt.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Wiktionary, Etymonline
impel
im‧pel
/ɪmˈpel/
to urge or drive forward or on by or as if by the exertion of strong moral pressure; If something impels you to do something, it makes you feel very strongly that you must do it.
→ impel sb to do sth
…The lack of democracy and equality impelled the oppressed to fight for independence.
→ be/feel impelled to do sth
…She was in such a mess I felt impelled to (= felt I had to) offer your services.
> early 15c., from Latin impellere “to push, strike against; set in motion, drive forward, urge on,” from assimilated form of in- “into, in, on, upon” (from PIE root *en “in”) + pellere “to push, drive” (from PIE root *pel- (5) “to thrust, strike, drive”). Related: Impelled; impelling.
> Merriam-Webster, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Cambridge Dictionary, Macmillan Dictionary, Etymonline
parlance
par‧lance
/ˈpɑːləns $ ˈpɑːr-/
You use parlance when indicating that the expression you are using is normally used by a particular group of people: JARGON, language, phraseology, idiom; informal lingo
…To put it in business parlance, it’s a lose-lose situation.
…In advertising parlance, this difference is termed a unique selling proposition, or USP.
…In medical parlance this procedure is commonly known as a career-ectomy.
…In military parlance this is known as a fast retreat.
…These schemes are known in common parlance as ‘private pensions.’
> 1570s, “speaking, speech,” especially in debate; 1787 as “way of speaking, manner of expression,” from Anglo-French (c. 1300) and Old French parlance, from Old French parlaunce, from parler “to speak” (see parley). In common parlance means “in ordinary language.”
> Oxford Dictionary of English, Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
#have #has #have-had #had-had
#have #has #have-had #had-had
I have a lot on my plate
I have a lot on my plate
at the behest of sb
behest
A command, bidding; sometimes also, an authoritative request; now usually in the phrase at the behest of: INSTRUCTION, bidding, request, requirement, wish, desire, command, order, decree, edict, rule, ruling, directive, direction
> c. 1200, biheste, “a promise or pledge,” from Old English behæs “a vow,” perhaps from behatan “to promise” (from be- + hatan “command, call”) and confused with obsolete hest “command,” which may account for the unetymological -t as well as the Middle English shift in meaning to “command, injunction” (late 12c.). Both hatan and hest are from Proto-Germanic *haitanan, for which see hight.
at the behest of sb
FORMAL
because someone has asked for something or ordered something to happen; If something is done at someone’s behest, it is done because they have ordered or requested it.
…The committee was set up at the behest of the president.
…Both posts were removed at the school’s behest.
…The policy document was produced at the behest of the Prime Minister.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
rickety
rickety
/ri·kuh·tee/
A rickety structure or piece of furniture is not very strong or well made, and seems likely to collapse or break: SHAKY, unsteady, unsound, unsafe, tottering, crumbling
…a rickety old bicycle
…a rickety bridge
…He lived in a rickety hut on the beach for several years.
…Mona climbed the rickety wooden stairway.
> late 17th century: from rickets + -y: mid 17th century: modern Latin, from Greek rhakhitis, from rhakhis ‘spine’.
> rickets (n.): disease caused by vitamin D deficiency, 1630s, of uncertain origin (see note in OED). Originally a local name for the disease in Dorset and Somerset, England. Some derive it from a Dorset word, rucket “to breathe with difficulty,” but the sense connection is difficult. The Modern Latin name for the disease, rachitis, comes from Greek rhakhis “spine” (see rachitic), but this was chosen by English physician Daniel Whistler (1619-1684) for resemblance to rickets.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Oxford Dictionary of English, Etymonline
backstop
backstop
shirk
shirk
to deliberately avoid doing something you should do, because you are lazy: EVADE, DODGE, avoid, get out of
…He was fired for shirking.
…We in the Congress can’t shirk our responsibility.
…The Government will not shirk from considering the need for further action.
…In the view of Trump and his supporters, that relationship allowed Europe to shirk spending on its own defense, a resentment that fueled Trump’s threats to reduce or withdraw U.S. commitments.
—Steven Erlanger, BostonGlobe.com, 19 Aug. 2023
…When Biden visited El Paso in January, the governor hand-delivered a terse letter warning that Texas would step up efforts to secure the border if Biden didn’t stop shirking that responsibility.
—Todd J. Gillman, Dallas News, 24 July 2023
…Democrats accuse Cameron of shirking his duties as attorney general by failing to hold Bevin accountable for issuing hundreds of pardons and commutations in his final days in office.
—Bruce Schreiner, The Courier-Journal, 22 June 2023
> mid 17th century (in the sense ‘practice fraud or trickery’): from obsolete shirk ‘sponger’, perhaps from German schurke “scoundrel, rogue, knave, villain” (see shark (n.)). The meaning “go evasively or slyly, slink, sneak away” is from 1580s; hence that of “evade one’s work or duty,” recorded by 1785, originally slang or colloquial. It also was used by 1787 in the sense of “evade (someone), avoid meeting, dodge.” Related: Shirked; shirking.
> Oxford Dictionary of English, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
impair
im‧pair
/ɪmˈpeə $ -ˈper/
If something impairs something such as an ability or the way something works, it damages it or makes it worse: DAMAGE, harm, diminish, reduce, weaken
…Consumption of alcohol impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery.
…The illness had impaired his ability to think and concentrate.
…His movements were painfully impaired by arthritis.
> late 14c., a re-Latinizing of earlier ampayre, apeyre “make worse, cause to deteriorate” (c. 1300), from Old French empeirier “make worse” (Modern French empirer), from Vulgar Latin *impeiorare “make worse,” from assimilated form of in- “into, in” (from PIE root *en “in”) + Late Latin peiorare “make worse,” from peior “worse,” perhaps originally “stumbling,” from PIE *ped-yos-, suffixed (comparative) of *ped- “to walk, stumble, impair,” from root *ped- “foot. In reference to driving under the influence of alcohol, first recorded 1951 in Canadian English. Related: Impaired; impairing.
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
compatriot
com‧pat‧ri‧ot
/kəmˈpætriət $ -ˈpeɪt-/
Your compatriots are people from your own country: FELLOW COUNTRYMAN, countryman, fellow citizen
…Schmidt defeated his compatriot Hausmann in the quarter final.
> From French compatriote, from Latin cum (“with, together”) + patria (“homeland”): late 16th century: from French patriote, from late Latin patriota ‘fellow countryman’, from Greek patriōtēs, from patrios ‘of one’s fathers’, from patris ‘fatherland’.
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford Dictionary of English, Wiktionary
pathology
pa‧thol‧o‧gy
/pəˈθɒlədʒi $ -ˈθɑː-/
1 the study of the causes and effects of illnesses
…research people skilled in experimental pathology
2 Pathosis: any deviation from a healthy or normal structure or function; abnormality; illness or malformation: ABNORMALITY, disease, illness, pathosis
…Some sort of renal pathology was suspected, but imaging and even biopsy found no discernible pathology, glomerular or otherwise.
…Some sort of mental and social pathology seemed to sweep over the discourse later that autumn.
> From French pathologie, from Ancient Greek πάθος (páthos, “disease”) and -λογία (-logía, “study of”).
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford Dictionary of English, Wiktionary
penchant
pen‧chant
/ˈpɒnʃɒn, ˈpentʃənt $ ˈpentʃənt/
If someone has a penchant for something, they have a special liking for it or a tendency to do it: LIKING, fondness, preference, taste, relish /ˈrelɪʃ/
…a penchant for fast cars
…a stylish woman with a penchant for dark glasses
…He had a penchant for playing jokes on people.
> Borrowed from French penchant, present participle of pencher (“to tilt, to lean”), from Middle French, from Old French pengier (“to tilt, be out of line”), from Vulgar Latin *pendicāre, a derivative of Latin pendere (“to hang”).
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Wiktionary
sycophant
syc‧o‧phant
/si·kuh·fnt/
FORMAL
someone who praises powerful people too much because they want to get something from them – used to show disapproval: TOADY, crawler, creep, yes man
…a dictator surrounded by sycophants
…Reese’s mistake was to surround himself with sycophants.
> mid 16th century (denoting an informer): from French sycophante, or via Latin Latin sycophanta “someone who tells about the bad actions of another; sense probably developed from ‘accuser’ to ‘informer, flatterer’”, from sukon ‘fig’ + phainein ‘to show’, perhaps with reference to making the insulting gesture of the ‘fig’ (sticking the thumb between two fingers) to informers.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford Dictionary of English, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus
exposition
ex‧po‧si‧tion
/ˌekspəˈzɪʃən/
1 An exposition of an idea or theory is a detailed explanation or account of it: EXPLANATION, description, elucidation, explication
…a clear exposition of his ideas
…We would have understood the play better if there had been some initial exposition of the background.
…Great care must be taken to make the exposition clear to a non-technical audience.
2 An exposition is an exhibition in which something such as goods or works of art are shown to the public: EXHIBITION, fair
…an art exposition
> late 14c., exposicioun, “explanation, narration,” from Old French esposicion “explanation, interpretation” (12c.) and directly from Latin expositionem (nominative expositio) “a setting or showing forth; narration, explanation,” noun of action from past-participle stem of exponere “put forth; explain; expose,” from ex “from, forth” (see ex-) + ponere “to put, place” (see position (n.)). The meaning “public display” is attested by 1851 in reference to the Crystal Palace Exposition in London. Abbreviation Expo is recorded from 1963, in reference to planning for the world’s fair held in Montreal in 1967.
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Merriam-Webster, Vocabulary.com, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
stave off
If you stave off something bad, or if you stave it off, you succeed in stopping it happening for a while: AVERT, prevent, head off, avoid
…The company is restructuring in an attempt to stave off bankruptcy.
…We’re still trying to stave off a trade war with the US.
…He drank plenty of orange juice, hoping to stave off the cold making the rounds at the office.
…We ate grass in an attempt to stave off our hunger.
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Macmillan Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Thesaurus, Wiktionary
loom
loom
> mid 16th century: probably from Low German or Dutch; compare with East Frisian lōmen ‘move slowly’, Middle High German lüemen ‘be weary’.
> Oxford Dictionary of English
languid
lan‧guid
/ˈlæŋɡwɪd/
1 LITERARY
moving slowly and involving very little energy: RELAXED, unhurried, languorous /ˈlæŋgərəs/, unenergetic, lacking in energy, slow, slow-moving
…He greeted Charles with a languid wave of his hand.
2 slow and not involving any activity: LEISURELY, peaceful, languorous, relaxed, restful, lazy
…We spent a languid afternoon by the pool.
> Borrowed from Middle French languide (“fatigued, weak; apathetic, indifferent”) (modern French languide), or from its etymon Latin languidus (“faint, weak; dull; slow, sluggish; ill, sick, unwell; (figuratively) inactive, inert, listless”), from a variant of Latin languere ‘to be faint, unwell’, related to laxus ‘loose, lax’.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Wiktionary
petrify
pet‧ri‧fy
/ˈpetrɪfaɪd/
1 If something petrifies you, it makes you feel very frightened: TERRIFY, horrify, frighten, scare
…Prison petrifies me and I don’t want to go there.
…I found the climb absolutely petrifying.
petrified adjective
very frightened – used especially when you are so frightened that you cannot think or move
→ petrified of
…She’s absolutely petrified of spiders.
→ petrified with fright/fear
…He was petrified with fear when he saw the gun
2 If something such as a society or institution petrifies, or if something petrifies it, it stops changing and developing.
…the fear that a political deadlock may petrify economic initiatives
> From Middle French pétrifier, from Medieval Latin petrificāre, from Latin petra (“rock”), from Ancient Greek πέτρα (pétra, “rock”) + -ficāre, from facere (“do, make”), equivalent to petro- + -ify.
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Wiktionary
ravenous
rav‧e‧nous
/ˈrævənəs/
1 If you are ravenous, you are extremely hungry: VERY HUNGRY, starving, starved, famished, sharp-set, esurient /əˈso͝orēənt/
…She realized that she had eaten nothing since leaving home, and she was ravenous.
2 wanting something very much or wanting a lot of something: VORACIOUS, insatiable, ravening, wolfish; greedy, gluttonous
…her ravenous appetite
…a ravenous appetite for cash
…a stage star who was ravenous for attention
—ravenously adverb
…She began to eat ravenously.
…She emerged looking ravenously hungry.
USAGE NOTES:
Voracious, Gluttonous, Ravenous, Rapacious mean excessively greedy.
-
Voracious applies especially to habitual gorging with food or drink.
- teenagers are often voracious eaters
-
Gluttonous applies to one who delights in eating or acquiring things especially beyond the point of necessity or satiety.
- an admiral who was gluttonous for glory
-
Ravenous implies excessive hunger and suggests violent or grasping methods of dealing with food or with whatever satisfies an appetite.
- a nation with a ravenous lust for territorial expansion
-
Rapacious often suggests excessive and utterly selfish acquisitiveness or avarice.
- rapacious developers indifferent to environmental concerns
> late 14c., ravinous, “obsessed with plundering, extremely greedy”, from Old French ravineus, from raviner ‘to ravage’ (see raven): late 15th century (in the sense ‘take as spoil’): from Old French raviner, originally ‘to ravage’, based on Latin rapina ‘pillage’.
> Collins English Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Merriam-Webster, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Oxford Dictionary of English, Etymonline
endeavor
en‧deav‧or
/ɪnˈdevə $ -ər/
verb
FORMAL
to try very hard; If you endeavor to do something, you try very hard to do it: TRY, attempt, venture, undertake, aspire, aim, seek, set out, strive, struggle, labor, toil, work hard, try hard, exert oneself, apply oneself, do one’s best, do one’s utmost, give one’s all
…Each employee shall endeavor to provide customers with the best service possible.
…They are endeavoring to protect labor union rights.
USAGE NOTES:
- Attempt stresses the initiation or beginning of an effort: will attempt to photograph the rare bird
- Endeavor heightens the implications of exertion and difficulty: endeavored to find crash survivors in the mountains
noun
[countable, uncountable] FORMAL
An endeavor is an attempt to do something, especially something new or original: ATTEMPT, try, bid, effort, trial, venture
→ scientific/creative etc endeavor
…an outstanding example of human endeavor
→ endeavor to do sth
…They made every endeavor to find the two boys.
…Despite our best endeavors, we couldn’t start the car.
> endeavor (n.): early 15c., “pains taken to attain an object,” literally “in duty,” from phrase put (oneself) in dever “make it one’s duty” (a partial translation of Old French mettre en deveir “put in duty”), from Old French dever “duty,” from Latin debere “to owe,” originally, “keep something away from someone,” from de- “away” (see de-) + habere “to have” (from PIE root *ghabh- “to give or receive”). One’s endeavors meaning one’s “utmost effort” is from late 15c.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
eclectic
e‧clec‧tic
/uh·klek·tuhk/
adjective
1 including a mixture of many different things or people, especially so that you can use the best of all of them: WIDE-RANGING, DIVERSE, wide, broad, broad-ranging, broad-based, extensive, varied
…an eclectic collection of paintings, drawings, and prints
…an eclectic mixture of 18th- and 19th-century furniture
2 selecting what appears to be best in various doctrines, methods, or styles
ANTONYMS dogmatic
…an eclectic approach to teaching the curriculum
noun
FORMAL
someone who chooses the best or most useful parts from many different ideas, methods etc
> 1680s, “not confined to or following any one model or system,” originally in reference to ancient philosophers who selected doctrines from every system; from French eclectique (1650s), from Greek eklektikos “selective,” literally “picking out,” from eklektos “selected,” from eklegein “pick out, select,” from ek ‘out’ + legein ‘to choose, count’.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, Wiktionary, Etymonline
double down
to strengthen one’s commitment to a particular strategy or course of action, typically one that is potentially risky; If you double down, you commit more strongly to a position.
…Rather than admit his policies had failed, he simply doubled down.
→ double down on sth
…The third quarter of the year saw central banks doubling down on the quantitative easing approach.
…In yesterday’s interview, the Prime Minister doubled down on his pledge to increase security measures.
…Expect to see Fox double down on its marketing efforts to give the movie a big boost.
…It’s time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that rarely has been more profitable, and double-down on a clean energy industry that never has been more promising.
> Oxford Dictionary of English, Collins English Dictionary, Cambridge Dictionary, Macmillan Dictionary
vagary
va·gar·y
/vay·gr·ee/
an unexpected and inexplicable change in a situation or in someone’s behavior; Vagaries are unexpected and unpredictable changes in a situation or in someone’s behavior which you have no control over: QUIRK, WHIM, caprice, idiosyncrasy, peculiarity, oddity, eccentricity, unpredictability, sport
→ vagaries of /ˈveɪɡəriz/
…the vagaries of the English weather
…I take an assortment of clothes on holiday, as a provision against the vagaries of the weather.
…the perplexing vagaries of politics
> From Italian vagare (“wander”) and/or its source Latin vagārī (“to wander”), from Latin vagus (“wandering”). Later apparently reinterpreted in English as vague + -ery but without changing the spelling.
> Oxford Dictionary of English, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Wiktionary
crest
crest
/krest/
noun
1 The crest of a hill or a wave is the top of it: SUMMIT, peak
…It took us over an hour to reach the crest of the hill.
2 A bird’s crest is a group of upright feathers on the top of its head: TUFT, crown, comb, plume
…Both birds had a dark blue crest.
…exotic birds with colorful crests
3 A crest is a design that is the symbol of a noble family, a town, or an organization: INSIGNIA /ɪnˈsɪɡniə/, EMBLEM, regalia, badge
…On the wall is the family crest.
verb
FORMAL
When someone crests a hill, they reach the top of it.
…They crested a wooded hill shortly before sunset.
> crest (n.): early 14c., “highest part of a helmet,” an extended sense, from Old French creste “tuft or tuft-like growth on the top of an animal’s head, comb” (12c., Modern French crête), from Latin crista “tuft, plume,” which is derived from the same source as words for “hair” (such as crinis, crispus), but it also was used for crest of a cock or the upright ornaments of a helmet. Said by Watkins to be from an extended form of PIE root *sker- (2) “to turn, bend.” Replaced Old English hris. The “tuft of an animal” sense is from late 14c. in English.Meaning “highest part of a hill or mountain range” is from late 14c.
> crest (v.): late 14c., “provide with a crest,” from Old French crester (12c.), from creste (see crest (n.)). Meaning “to come over the top (‘crest’) of” is from 1832; intransitive sense of “form or rise in a crest, reach the highest point” is from 1850. Related: Crested; cresting.
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
not be fussed
not be fussed
INFORMAL•BRITISH
to not mind what happens or is done; If you say you are not fussed about something, you mean you do not mind about it or do not mind what happens.
…‘Where do you want to go?’ ‘I’m not fussed.’
…I’m not fussed as long as we get where we want to go.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary
#would-rather
#would-rather
culinary
cul‧i‧na‧ry
/ˈkʌlənəri $ ˈkʌləneri, ˈkjuːl-/
FORMAL
relating to cooking
…culinary skills
> 1630s, “of the kitchen;” 1650s, “pertaining to the art of cookery,” from Latin culinarius “pertaining to the kitchen,” from culina “kitchen, cooking stove, food,” an unexplained variant from coquere “to cook” (from PIE root *pekw- “to cook, ripen”).
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Etymonline
fraternize
frat‧er‧nize
/ˈfrætənaɪz $ -ər-/
to be friendly with someone, especially if you have been ordered not to be friendly with them; If you fraternize with someone, you associate with them in a friendly way: ASSOCIATE, mix, mingle, consort, socialize, go around, keep company, rub shoulders
…Mrs Zuckerman does not fraternize widely.
…In the recession, disparate groups have fraternized in an atmosphere of mutual support.
→ fraternize with
…The troops were forbidden to fraternize with the enemy.
…At these conventions, executives fraternized with the key personnel of other banks.
…Don’t fraternize just with people of the same race, religion, or social background.
> early 17th century: from French fraterniser, from medieval Latin fraternizare, from Latin fraternus ‘brotherly’, from Latin fraternus, from frater ‘brother’.
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford Dictionary of English, Collins English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster
woot
woot
stingy
stin‧gy
/ˈstɪndʒi/
ensconce
en‧sconce
/ɪnˈskɒns $ ɪnˈskɑːns/
1 to settle yourself in a place where you feel comfortable and safe: SETTLE, install, establish, park, shut, plant, lodge, position, seat, entrench, shelter
→ be ensconced in/at/on etc
…I found her in the library, ensconced in an armchair.
…Nick was comfortably ensconced in front of the TV set.
…He was ensconced in a large armchair in his warm living room.
→ ensconce yourself
…Agnes ensconced herself in their bedroom.
…After dinner, I ensconced myself in an armchair with a book.
2 to cover or shelter; hide securely
…He ensconced himself in the closet in order to eavesdrop.
GRAMMAR
Ensconce is usually either passive or reflexive (=followed by myself/herself etc).
> late 16th century (in the senses ‘fortify’ and ‘shelter within or behind a fortification’; formerly also as insconce ): from en-, in- ‘in’ + sconce. Origin ensconce (1500-1600) sconce “small strong building for defense” ((16-19 centuries)), from Dutch schans
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Cambridge Dictionary, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Oxford Dictionary of English
excursion
ex‧cur‧sion
/ɪkˈskɜːʃən $ ɪkˈskɜːrʒən/
1 a short journey arranged so that a group of people can visit a place, especially while they are on holiday: TRIP, airing, tour, journey
→ excursion to
…Included in the tour is an excursion to the Grand Canyon.
→ on an excursion
…We went on an excursion to the Pyramids.
2 a short journey made for a particular purpose; You can refer to a short journey as an excursion, especially if it is made for pleasure or enjoyment.
…a shopping excursion
…In Bermuda, Sam’s father took him on an excursion to a coral barrier.
3 → excursion into sth
If you describe an activity as an excursion into something, you mean that it is an attempt to develop or understand something new that you have not experienced before.
…the company’s excursion into new markets
…Radio 3’s latest excursion into ethnic music, dance and literature
…During the meeting, the two leaders made brief excursions into the issue of Asian security.
> Borrowed from Latin excursio (“a running out, an inroad, invasion, a setting out, beginning of a speech”), from excurrere (“to run out”), from ex (“out”) + currere (“to run”).
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Wiktionary
freak out
freak out
galvanize
gal‧va‧nize
/ˈɡælvənaɪz/
1 to coat with a thin layer of metal by electrochemical means: ELECTROPLATE
2 to shock or stimulate into sudden activity, as if by electric shock; To galvanize someone means to cause them to take action, for example by making them feel very excited, afraid, or angry: JOLT, STIMULATE, shock, startle, impel, stir, spur, prod, urge, encourage, inspire, prompt
…The girl’s picture helped galvanize public opinion against the administration’s policy.
…The report galvanized world opinion.
…Republicans are hoping a proposed gas-tax repeal will galvanize their voters.
→ galvanize sb into (doing) sth
…The letter managed to galvanize him into action.
…The possibility of defeat finally galvanized us into action.
> From French galvaniser, from galvanisme, named after Italian physiologist Luigi Aloisio Galvani (1737–1798).
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Wiktionary
forlorn
for‧lorn
/fəˈlɔːn $ fərˈlɔːrn/
1 seeming lonely and unhappy; If someone is forlorn, they feel alone and unhappy: UNHAPPY, sad, miserable, sorrowful, dejected, despondent, disconsolate, wretched, abject, morose, regretful, broken-hearted, heartbroken, down, downcast, dispirited, downhearted
…One of the demonstrators, a young woman, sat forlorn on the pavement.
…Ana sat with a bowed head and spoke in a forlorn voice.
2 a place that is forlorn seems empty and sad, and is often in bad condition; If a place is forlorn, it is deserted and not cared for, or has little in it: DESOLATE /ˈdesələt/, deserted, abandoned, forsaken, forgotten, neglected
…The house looked old and forlorn.
…A forlorn house is all that remains on this abandoned block.
…The once glorious palaces stood empty and forlorn.
3 [only before noun] A forlorn hope or attempt is one that you think has no chance of success: HOPELESS, with no chance of success, beyond hope; useless, futile, pointless
…the forlorn hope of finding a peace formula
…a forlorn effort to keep from losing my mind
> mid-12c., forloren “disgraced, depraved,” past participle of obsolete forlesan “be deprived of, lose, abandon,” from Old English forleosan “to lose, abandon, let go; destroy, ruin,” from for- “completely” + leosan “to lose” (from Proto-Germanic *lausa-, from PIE root *leu- “to loosen, divide, cut apart”). In the Mercian hymns, Latin perditionis is glossed by Old English forlorenisse. OED’s examples of forlese end in 17c., but the past participle persisted. Sense of “forsaken, abandoned” is 1530s; that of “wretched, miserable” first recorded 1580s.
> In English now often in forlorn hope (1570s), which is a partial translation of Dutch verloren hoop, in which hoop means “troop, band,” literally “heap,” and the sense of the whole phrase is of a suicide mission. The phrase more often than not is used in English as if it meant “a faint hope,” and the misuse has colored the meaning of forlorn. Related: Forlornly; forlornness.
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Etymonline
moor
moor
accrue
ac‧crue
/əˈkruː/
1 If things such as profits or benefits accrue to someone, they are added to over a period of time.
…the expectation that profits will accrue
→ accrue to
…benefits that accrue to students
…a project from which considerable benefit will accrue to the community
→ accrue from
…advantages accruing from the introduction of new technology
2 If money or interest accrues or if you accrue it, it gradually increases in amount over a period of time.
…I owed £5,000–part of this was accrued interest.
…If you do not pay within 28 days, interest will accrue.
…Officials say the options will offer investors a longer time in which to accrue profits.
> First attested in mid 15th century. From Middle English acrewen, borrowed from Old French acreüe, past participle of accreistre (“to increase”), from Latin accrēsco (“increase”), from ad (“in addition”) + crescere (“to grow”).
> Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Collins English Dictionary, Oxford Dictionary of English, Wiktionary
swath
swath
renege on
re‧nege
/rɪˈniːɡ, rɪˈneɪɡ $ rɪˈnɪɡ, rɪˈniːɡ/
→ renege on an agreement/deal/promise etc
to not do something you have promised or agreed to do; If someone reneges on a promise or an agreement, they do not do what they have promised or agreed to do: DEFAULT ON, GO BACK ON, break your word, fail to honor, back out of, pull out of, withdraw from, retreat from, welsh on, backtrack on, repudiate, retract
…They reneged on a pledge to release the hostages.
…If someone reneged on a deal, they could never trade here again.
…He reneged on a campaign promise to keep taxes down.
…The administration had reneged on its election promises.
> mid 16th century (in the sense ‘deny, renounce, abandon’): from medieval Latin renegare, from Latin re- (expressing intensive force) + negare ‘to deny, to refuse’.
> Collins English Dictionary, Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus, Oxford Dictionary of English, Etymonline
caught up in sth
caught up in sth
orb
orb
> From Middle English orbe, from Old French orbe, from Latin orbis (“circle, orb”). Compare orbit.
> Wiktionary
wrought
wrought
