Words 1 Flashcards
Misconstrue
to form a false understanding of the meaning or intention of something that someone does or says
(She said Harris had misconstrued her comments.)
(Their caution was misconstrued as cowardice.)
Retribution
deserved and severe punishment
(They fled because they feared retribution for the genocide.)
(She was asked whether a civilian government should seek retribution against military officers involved in human rights abuses.)
(Many saw her death as divine retribution (= punishment by God) for her crimes.)
(retributive action/justice)
Wither
• (to cause) to become weak and dry and decay
(Grass had withered in the fields.)
• to slowly disappear, lose importance or become weaker
(This country is in danger of allowing its industrial base to wither away.)
Recalcitrant
(of a person) unwilling to obey orders or to do what should be done, or (of an animal) refusing to be controlled
- recalcitrance
To bandy words
to argue
I haven’t come here to bandy words with you.
To bandy smth about/around
to mention something often, without considering it carefully
Large figures were bandied about, but no money was ever paid.
Corroborate
to add proof to an account, statement, idea, etc. with new information
(Recent research seems to corroborate his theory.)
(corroborating evidence/reports)
(Without corroboration from forensic tests, it will be difficult to prove that the suspect is guilty.)
Whim
a sudden wish or idea, especially one that cannot be reasonably explained
- We booked the holiday on a whim.
- You can add what you like to this mixture - brandy, whisky or nothing at all - as the whim takes you.
- Oh for a husband who would indulge my every whim!
Feint
(especially in football or boxing) to pretend to move, or to make a move, in a particular direction in order to deceive a competitor
- Callas feinted to pass the ball and then shot it into the net.
- He feinted a shot to the left.
- He produced a brilliant feint, passed two defenders, and smashed the ball into the net.
Affront
- a remark or action intended to insult or offend someone
- to insult or offend someone
- I was most affronted by his comments.
- an affronted look/glance
- He regarded the comments as an affront to his dignity.
Silken
- literary soft, smooth and shiny like silk
• The princess in the fairy story had long silken hair. - a silken sound is one that is pleasant because it is very smooth
• The actor delivered his speech in a silken voice.
Flutter
to make a series of quick delicate movements up and down or from side to side, or to cause something to do this
- Brightly coloured flags were fluttering in the breeze.
- Leaves fluttered down onto the path.
- Butterflies fluttered about in the sunshine.
- A white bird poised on a wire and fluttered its wings.
Execrable
very bad
- an execrable performance
- She’s always had execrable taste in men.
- he was treated execrably
Scowl
to look at someone or something with a very annoyed expression
• The boy scowled at her and reluctantly followed her back into school.
Excrescence
- formal: an unusual growth on an animal or one of its organs or on a plant
- literary: something considered to be very ugly
The new office development is an excrescence on the face of the city.
Instep
the curved upper part of the foot between the toes and the heel, or the part of a shoe or sock which fits around this
Impertinence
rude and not respectful, especially towards someone older or in a higher position than you
- I hope he didn’t think me impertinent when I asked him about his private life.
- an impertinent remark/question
Expostulate
to express disagreement or complaint
Walter expostulated with the waiter about the size of the bill.
Pawnbroker
a person who lends money in exchange for things which they can sell if the person leaving them does not pay an agreed amount of money in an agreed time
Sidle
to walk towards or away from someone, trying not to be noticed
- Tim sidled up/over to the girl sitting at the bar and asked if he could buy her a drink.
- She sidled past him, pretending that she had not seen him.
Sexton
a person whose job is to take care of a church building and its graveyard, and sometimes to ring the church bells
Collusion
agreement between people to act together secretly or illegally in order to deceive or cheat someone
(It is thought that they worked in collusion with the terrorist network.)
(The report concluded that there was no evidence of collusive behaviour between the banks.)
Abject
- abject misery/poverty/terror, etc.
when someone is extremely unhappy, poor, frightened, etc - They live in abject poverty.
- This policy has turned out to be an abject failure.
- showing no pride or respect for yourself
• an abject apology
• He is almost abject in his respect for his boss.
Omniscient
having or seeming to have unlimited knowledge
(the omniscient narrator)
- omniscience
Milliner
a person who makes or sells women’s hats
Adamant
impossible to persuade, or unwilling to change an opinion or decision
- [+ that ] I’ve told her she should stay at home and rest but she’s adamant that she’s coming.
- The mayor is adamantly opposed to any tax increase.
Blithe
happy and without worry
• She shows a blithe disregard for danger.
Demure
(especially of women and children) quiet and well behaved
She gave him a demure smile.
(She sat with her hands folded demurely in her lap.)
Malinger
to pretend to be ill in order to avoid having to work
- And is he really ill or just malingering?
- I’m sure she thinks I’m a malingerer.
Crevice
- a small narrow crack or space, especially in the surface of rock
- a deep line in an old person’s face, or a deep fold in someone’s body
- The harsh light revealed every crevice and wrinkle in his face.
- Sweat poured out of every crevice of the fat man’s body.
Decorum
behaviour that is controlled, calm and polite
- As young ladies we were expected to act/behave with proper decorum
- His manner, as ever, was decorous.
- decorously
Neuter
relating to a group of nouns in a particular language which have the same grammatical behaviour and which do not usually include words that refer to females or males
•The German word for ‘book’, ‘das Buch’, is neuter.
-> Compare: masculine; feminine
/ˈnjuː.tər/
Murmur
to speak or say very quietly
• “I love you,” she murmured.
• He was murmuring to himself.
-> He murmured sweet nothings (= romantic talk) in her ear.
Covetous
wanting to have something too much, especially something that belongs to someone else
- Western companies are casting covetous eyes on the bargain-priced companies of eastern Europe.
- The boys looked covetously at the shiny new motorcycles.
- covetousness
Meek
quiet, gentle and not willing to argue or state your opinions in a forceful way
- She seemed so very meek and mild.
- meekly, meekness
Conspicuous
very noticeable or attracting attention, often in a way that is not wanted
- In China, her blonde hair was conspicuous.
- He tried not to look conspicuous and moved slowly along the back of the room.
- The temple’s grand white arches rose conspicuously over the dirty decaying city.
- conspicuousness
Conspicuous consumption
when people spend a lot of money intentionally so that other people notice and admire them for their wealth
exonerate
to show or state that someone or something is not guilty of something
- The report exonerated the crew from all responsibility for the collision.
- exoneration
glean
to collect information in small amounts and often with difficulty
- From what I was able to glean, the news isn’t good
- They’re leaving on Tuesday - I managed to glean that much (from them).
Putrid
/ˈpjuː.trɪd/
› decayed and having an unpleasant smell
- the putrid body of a dead fox
- What’s that putrid smell?
› very unpleasant or ugly
• a dress in a putrid shade of yellow
façon de parler
A turn of phrase or rhetorical formula, especially one that ought not to be taken literally, but rather as employed for convenience of expression only.
• learn to regard that interpretation as a kind of façon de parler, rather than the description of a real, independent, objective world.
Imbue
› to fill something or someone with a particular feeling, quality, or idea
• His poetry is imbued with deep, religious feeling.
Skint
having no money
• I get paid each Friday, and by Tuesday I’m always skint.
voluble
› speaking a lot, with confidence and enthusiasm
• Many see Parker as the obvious leader, whose voluble style works well on TV.
› expressed in many words
- It’s not often that one hears such voluble praise for this government.
- volubly
corpulent
Fat
• a corpulent gentleman
divulge
to make something secret known
- Journalists do not divulge their sources.
- The managing director refused to divulge how much she earned.
predilection
If someone has a predilection for something, they like it a lot
• Ever since she was a child, she has had a predilection for spicy food.
exhort
to strongly encourage or try to persuade someone to do something
- The governor exhorted the prisoners not to riot.
- exhortation
heretofore
Before this point in time
riposte
a quick and clever remark, often made in answer to a criticism
- She made a sharp/witty/neat riposte.
- to riposte
assuage
to make unpleasant feelings less strong
• The government has tried to assuage the public’s fears.
volte-face
a sudden change from one set of beliefs or plan of action to the opposite
• In 1986 he made a very public and dramatic political volte-face from Left to Right.
salacious
causing or showing a strong interest in sexual matters
- a salacious film/book/joke/comment
- salaciously, salaciousness
whinge
to complain, especially about something that does not seem important
- Oh stop whinging, for heaven’s sake!
- She’s always whingeing (on) about something.
- We were just having a whinge about our boss - nothing new.
vexillology
scientific study of the history, symbolism and usage of flags or, by extension, any interest in flags in general
