Wolf Hall Flashcards

1
Q

Expiate

A

to show that you are sorry for bad behaviour by doing something or accepting punishment:

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2
Q

Uxorious

A

showing too much love for your wife:

The most openly uxorious husband is almost always the one who is having an affair.

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3
Q

Scruple

A

a feeling that prevents you from doing something that you think is morally wrong or makes you uncertain about doing it:
Robin Hood had no scruples about robbing the rich to give to the poor.
He is a man without scruple - he has no conscience.

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4
Q

Heed

A

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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5
Q

Veil

A

something that prevents you from knowing what is happening:

We want to lift the veil of secrecy that surrounds government decisions.

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6
Q

Gloating

A

feeling or expressing great pleasure or satisfaction because of your own success or good luck, or someone else’s failure or bad luck:
The gloating expression in his eyes had been replaced by curiosity.
He glanced at it, then at Michael, with a gloating expression.

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7
Q

demur

A

to express disagreement or refuse to do something:

The lawyer requested a break in the court case, but the judge demurred.

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8
Q

quibble

A

to argue about, or say you disapprove of, something that is not important:
There’s no point quibbling about/over a couple of dollars.

Our heated fight with Aigerim started when i quibbled over a dinner order.

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9
Q

conjure

A

to make something appear by magic, or as if by magic:

In an instant, the magician had conjured (up) a dove from his hat.

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10
Q

Linger

A

to take a long time to leave or disappear:
After the play had finished, we lingered for a while in the bar hoping to catch sight of the actors.
The smell from the fire still lingered days later.
It’s impossible to forget such horrific events - they linger (on) in the memory forever.

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11
Q

Pillory

A

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.

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12
Q

Sedition

A

language or behaviour that is intended to persuade other people to oppose their government

Koke is obsessed with Ablyazov’s seditions

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13
Q

Relish

A

to like or enjoy something:
I always relish a challenge.
[ + -ing verb ] I don’t relish telling her that her son has been arrested.

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14
Q

Thwart

A

to stop something from happening or someone from doing something:
Our holiday plans were thwarted by the covid outbreak

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15
Q

Chastity

A

the state of not having sexual relationships or never having had sex:
As a monk, he took vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience.

Traditional kazakh families consider a woman’s chastity very seriously

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16
Q

Prudence

A

behaviour that is careful and avoids risks:
The firm was commended for its financial prudence.
Everyone agreed that panic wasn’t called for, prudence was.

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17
Q

Fortitude

A

courage over a long period:

I thought she showed remarkable fortitude during that period.

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18
Q

Skirmish

A

to fight for a short time with a small group of people, away from the main area of fighting in a war:
Police and protesters skirmished in the chilly rain.
Rebels skirmished with nearby American forces.

to argue for a short time:
Although many legal disputes were resolved, lawyers still were skirmishing yesterday in a few places.
The parties skirmished about attorney fees.

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19
Q

Penitent

A

showing that you are sorry for something you have done because you feel it was wrong:
“I’m sorry,” she said with a penitent smile.
It was hard to be angry with him when he looked so penitent.

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20
Q

Exasperated

A

annoyed, especially because you can do nothing to solve a problem:
He’s becoming increasingly exasperated with the situation.

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21
Q

Surreptitiously

A

secretly, without anyone seeing or knowing:
Joe surreptitiously had a look in the answer book.
an audiotape of the surreptitiously recorded conversation

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22
Q

Gape

A

to look in great surprise at someone or something, especially with an open mouth:
They stood gaping at the pig in the kitchen.

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23
Q

Stagger

A

to walk or move with difficulty as if you are going to fall:
After he was attacked, he managed to stagger to the phone and call for help.
figurative The company is staggering under a $15 million debt and will almost certainly collapse by the end of the year.

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24
Q

Abstain

A

to not do something, especially something enjoyable that you think might be bad:
He took a vow to abstain from alcohol/smoking/sex.

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25
Q

Abjure

A

to say formally or publicly that you no longer agree with a belief or way of behaving:
He abjured his religion/his life of dissipation.

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26
Q

Secular

A

not having any connection with religion:
We live in an increasingly secular society, in which religion has less and less influence on our daily lives.
secular education
a secular state

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27
Q

Scant

A

very little and not enough:
He pays scant attention to the needs of his children.
scant regard for the truth

28
Q

in thrall

A

in thrall literary

If you are in thrall to someone or something, or in the thrall of someone or something, he, she, or it has a lot of power to control you:
Her love for him was like a madness, and she was completely in its thrall.

29
Q

Retinue

A

a group of people who travel with an important person to help them:
The president travels with a large retinue of aides and bodyguards.

30
Q

Gnaw

A

to bite or chew something repeatedly, usually making a hole in it or gradually destroying it:
Babies like to gnaw hard objects when they’re teething.
A dog lay under the table, gnawing on a bone.

31
Q

Tread

A

to put your foot on something or to press something down with your foot:
I kept treading on his toes when we were dancing.
Yuck! Look what I’ve just trodden in!
A load of food had been trodden into the carpet.
Before the days of automation, they used to tread grapes to make wine.

32
Q

Ardent

A

showing strong feelings:
an ardent supporter of Manchester United
an ardent feminist

33
Q

Opprobrious

A

expressing severe criticism and blame:
We denied the opprobrious charges published against us.
They called me by opprobrious names.

Zamira puts opprobrious charches on you if you quibble with her over something unimportant.

34
Q

Hound

A

to chase someone or to refuse to leave someone alone, especially because you want to get something from them:
The reporters wouldn’t stop hounding her.

35
Q

brace

A

something that is used to support or connect things, or to make something stronger:
He was recently fitted with a brace for his bad back.

36
Q

compunction

A

a slight guilty feeling about something you have done or might do:
I wouldn’t have any compunction about telling him to leave.

37
Q

ablaze

A

burning very strongly:

The house was ablaze, and the flames and smoke could be seen for miles around.

38
Q

confer

A

to exchange ideas on a particular subject, often in order to reach a decision on what action to take:
I need some time to confer with my lawyer

39
Q

inchoate

A

only recently or partly formed, or not completely developed or clear:
She had a child’s inchoate awareness of language.

40
Q

Jaded

A

not having interest or losing interest because you have experienced something too many times:
Flying is exciting the first time you do it, but you soon become jaded.
Perhaps some caviar can tempt your jaded palate.

41
Q

frivolity

A

behaviour that is silly and not serious, or things that are silly and not important:
You shouldn’t treat such a serious subject with frivolity.
I’m far too busy to waste time on frivolities like going to the cinema.
During my senior year at the university, I have got rid of my frivolities and other procrastinating activities.

42
Q

untether

A

to release a person, animal, or thing so that he, she, or it can move or act freely:
He untethered the pony and threw a blanket on him.
When success came, he untethered himself from his longtime literary agent.

43
Q

genuflection

A

the act of showing respect:

Contemporary Hollywood movies often make subtle genuflections to the great film-makers of the past.

44
Q

confinement

A

the situation in which a person or animal is kept somewhere, usually by force:
She spent most of those years under house arrest or close confinement.

45
Q

prowess

A

great ability or skill:
athletic/sporting prowess
He’s always boasting about his sexual prowess.

46
Q

emulate

A

to copy something achieved by someone else and try to do it as well as they have:
They hope to emulate the success of other software companies.
Fitzgerald is eager to emulate Martin’s record of three successive world titles.

47
Q

chasten

A

to make someone understand that they have failed or done something wrong and make them want to improve:
He was chastened by the defeat and determined to work harder.

48
Q

fickle

A

likely to change your opinion or your feelings suddenly and without a good reason:
She’s so fickle - she’s never been interested in the same man for more than a week!
The world of popular music is notoriously fickle.

49
Q

imperturbable

A

always staying calm and controlled, even in difficult situations that would cause other people to worry

50
Q

convivial

A

friendly and making you feel happy and welcome:
a convivial atmosphere/host
in the convivial days between Christmas and New Year

51
Q

congenial

A

friendly and pleasant:

congenial company/surroundings

52
Q

Chortle

A

to laugh, showing pleasure and satisfaction:
She chortled with glee at the news.
“… and Wolsey vanishes, with chortle

53
Q

inveterate

A

an inveterate liar, gambler, etc.

someone who does something very often and cannot stop doing it:
I never trust anything he says - the man’s an inveterate liar.

54
Q

snap

A

to suddenly become unable to control a strong feeling, especially anger:
When she asked me to postpone my trip to help her move to her new house, I just snapped (= got angry)

to cause something that is thin to break suddenly and quickly with a cracking sound:
You’ll snap that ruler if you bend it too far.
Some vandal’s snapped off my car aerial again.

55
Q

duress

A

threats used to force a person to do something:

He claimed that he signed the confession under duress.

56
Q

caress

A

to touch or kiss someone in a gentle and loving way:
Gently he caressed her cheek.
Aigerim caresses me a lot and I quite like it!

57
Q

feral

A

existing in a wild state, especially describing an animal that was previously kept by people:
feral dogs/cats

58
Q

snub

A

to insult someone by not giving them any attention or treating them as if they are not important:
Lawrence attempted to draw me into conversation, but I snubbed him, and went to another part of the room.
I think she felt snubbed because Anthony hadn’t bothered to introduce himself.

Maxim has been snubbing me since I joined the firm, but I hope it will get better.

59
Q

Munificence

A

the quality of being very generous with money:
I thanked them for their munificence.
His fellow guests did not share his munificence.

My dad is munificent man!

60
Q

Giblets

A

the inside parts and neck of a bird, for example a chicken, usually removed before it is cooked, that are often used to flavour sauces, etc.

61
Q

conciliate

A

to end a disagreement or someone’s anger by acting in a friendly way or slightly changing your opinions, or to satisfy someone who disagrees with you by acting in this way:
An independent adviser has been brought in to conciliate between the two sides involved in the conflict.
These changes have been made in an attempt to conciliate critics of the plan.

In school, when two of your friends start fighting you go and conciliate them.

62
Q

contempt

A

a strong feeling of disliking and having no respect for someone or something:
At school she had complete contempt for all her teachers.
You should treat those remarks with the contempt that they deserve.
She’s beneath contempt (= I have no respect for her)!

63
Q

saliva

A

the liquid produced in your mouth to keep the mouth wet and to help to prepare food to be digested

64
Q

fornicate

A

to have sex with someone who you are not married to

65
Q

Foe

A

an enemy:
The two countries have united against their common foe.
They were bitter foes for many years.
Foes of the government will be delighting in its current difficulties.