Advanced Words 5 Flashcards
(200 cards)
- morally very bad
Abhorrent(adj):
Formal
Ex: an abhorrent crime
- extremely unpleasant and causing or meriting hate
Odious(adj):
Formal
Ex: an odious crime
- (of feelings) not expressed or released
Pent-up(adj):
Ex: his pent-up anger and frustration burst forth
- making you feel serious or think about serious matters
Sobering (adj):
Ex: Jail has had a sobering effect on Hicks
- objects such as bullets and bombs that can be shot from a weapon
- information used to attack someone or to support an argument
Ammunition(n):
Ex: The president’s endorsement of the crime bill has deprived his opponents of ammunition to paint him as soft on crime.
- quick
Expeditious (adj):
Ex: The bank was expeditious in replying to my letter.
- expressed with strong emotion
Impassioned(adj):
Ex: she went on tv to make an impassioned plea for the release of her child
- the act of returning to an older and worse state
Retrogression(n):
Formal = regression
Ex: incompetent management has led the economy to retrogression
- to be enough
Suffice (adj):
Formal
Ex: the problems were of global importance, and only an international effort would suffice to deal with them
- Too interested in unpleasant subjects, esp. death
- relating to or caused by disease
Morbid (adj):
Ex: a morbid fascination with death
Pathological/morbid anatomy is the study of diseased organs
- impossible to remove by washing, impossible to forget or have a permanent influence or effect
Indelible(adj):
Ex: indelible ink
I have an indelible memory of what was between us
- eager enjoyment experienced when doing sth
Gusto(n):
Ex: we ate and drank with gusto
- next to or touching another thing
Contiguous(adj):
Formal =neighboring
Ex: the two states are contiguous with/to each other but the laws are quite different
- the same as, or in agreement with, other facts or principles
Congruous(adj):
Formal
Ex: his conclusion is congruous with one previously drawn by Mayer
- a state of not being able to decide what to do
Quandary(n):
= dilemma
Ex: I’ve had two job offers, and I’m in a real quandary about/over which one to accept
- to force sb’s hand
Put/tighten the screws on sb:
Ex: the govt needs to put the screws on businesses that have been trying to evade the tax
- to persuade sb to believe sth that is not true
Put sth over on sb:
Ex: my dad’s really smart-you can never put anything over on him
- to extirpate completely
Wipe off the map = wipe sth off the face of the earth/globe:
Ex: there are bombs so powerful that whole nations could be wiped off the map
- a reasonably good chance
Sporting chance(n):
Ex: she definitely has a sporting chance of winning the race
- a place where former inmates can stay after they leave prison or hospital and before they start to live their own
- sth that combines particular features of two things
Halfway house(n):
Ex: i like both teaching and researching so the position of a professor in college is like a halfway house between the two for me
- to be a hidden cause of or strong influence on sth
Underlie(v):
Ex: psychological problems very often underlie apparently physical disorders
- for the present time but likely to change
Provisional(adj):
Ex: a provisional government
These dates are only provisional
- to take priority over sth
Take precedence over sth:
Ex: I’m afraid their project takes precendence over yours
- to free sb from guilt, blame, or responsibility for sth
Absolve(v):
Formal
Ex: the report absolved her from/of all blame for the accident