Vocabulary 10 Flashcards Preview

n.
1.The devising or choosing of names for things, esp. in a science or other discipline
2. The body or system of such names in a particular field

“there is a whole nomenclature that the IPCC authors have developed to convey how much agreement or certainty there is about a finding.”

v. Express (something) in language of a specified style

“seek out forecasts that couch their predictions in percentage or probabilistic”; many false claims are couched in scientific jargon

n. a succession of clicks

“The steady stream of click-clacks [telegram] from Japan’s fleet of aircraft carriers ordinarily betrayed their whereabouts”

a) The rearmost part of a ship or boat 船尾
b) The front end of a ship 船頭

“We stacked our planes wingtip to wingtip, and our ships stern to bow”

v. Occupy oneself in a desultory but pleasant manner, doing a number of small tasks or not concentrating on anything particular

Now I got time to putter in the living room.

v. showing luminous colors that seem to change when seen from different angles

Rachel McAdams turned heads at the About Time premiere in LA, wearing a slim-fitting, lavender Roksanda llincic gown featuring an iridescent panel at the waist.

n. A person who achieves great success when relatively young

Peggy Olson, advertising wunderkind. 

adj. Abrupt or offhand (Ungraciously or offensively nonchalant in manner) in speech or manner

They fired everyone; they were brusque. 

n. A person who engages in dishonest and fraudulent business dealings

Jury convicts the mob boss of two counts of racketeering.

n. a person who is skilled in relating stories and anecdotes interestingly.

Fearless raconteur, popular restauranteur, and hiphop hipster Eddie Huang; Culinary raconteur and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain.

adj.
1. Nearsighted
2. Lacking imagination, foresight, or intellectual insight

“The diving plays [in baseball] are the most spectacular and will catch our attention. But they can lead to a myopic view of the shortstop’s (游擊手) abilities.

a) v. Act or behave in a jovial and exuberant fashion; frolic
b) v. Dance to rock music in a violent manner involving jumping up and down and deliberately colliding with other dancersc

“a rollicking mosh pit”

v.
1. Haul or carry (something heavy or awkward)
2. (of a person) Go or move reluctantly or with effort

“For years I made my living schlepping city council stories for a small community newspaper”; You're supposed to ride a bike with this thing on, not schlep around airports. 

n.
1. A deep natural underground cavity formed by the erosion of rock, esp. by the action of water
2. A depression or hollow in a road surface caused by wear or subsidence

“The city council on Tuesday voted on a budget that contains no funds for fixing Main Street potholes.”

v.
1. Cut off the outer skin of (something); peel
2. Trim (something) by cutting away its outer edges (nails, excess dough, carrots)
3. Reduce (something) in size, extent, quantity, or number, usually in a number of small successive stages

“Let me pare down the sentence to show you what I mean”

adj.
1. Destructive to both sides in a conflict
2. Of or relating to conflict within a group or organization

“Athens was at war with Sparta in an internecine struggle that finally left her exhausted and shorn (past p. of shear) of her glory”

adj.
1. (esp. of a work of art) Having a mournful quality
2. resembling or characteristic of or appropriate to an elegy (A mourful poem; a lament for the dead)

Alternately shocking and elegiac, it could have been a series finale.

v.
1. Depart suddenly, esp. to relocate one's business or household in another area
2. Abscond hurriedly to avoid prosecution or detection

1. [Mad Men] Megan, Pete, and Ted Chaough decamped to California.
2. the copyists sold the originals and decamped with the proceeds

adj. Lacking care or attention to duty; negligent 不盡責

“the writer believed she'd be remiss if she overlooked the fact that job seekers both read and hear it. My advice: Be remiss. It's okay”

adj.
1. (esp. of a child or animal) Play roughly and energetically 歡蹦亂跳
2. Proceed without effort to achieve something

n.
1. a lighthearted movie or other work.

He knew his mind would never again be free to romp like the mind of God; the Vikings romped to victory; an enjoyable gross sci-fi romp. 

n. A shapeless mass or blob of something, esp. soft food

hard-shell, bright red candy apples with a dollop of caramel on top; great dollops of cream; a dollop of romance here and there.

v. Cause (someone) to become motionless with horror, wonder, or astonishment 呆若木雞

“He was the guy from Greek mythology who became so transfixed by his own reflection in a pool of water that he fell in and drowned.”

n.
1. A lump or bundle of a soft material, used for padding, stuffing, or wiping
2. A portion of chewing gum, or of tobacco or another narcotic when used for chewing
3. A bundle of paper, banknotes, or documents

“disconnect your Internet, stick a wad of gum in your flash drive, close the door, and have a ball”. a wad of cotton; a thick wad index  cards; wads of money

a) v. Gather (an area of fabric or part of a garment) by means of elasticized or drawn threads in parallel rows
b) v. (esp. of a machine, fan or a bird's wings) Make a low, continuous, regular sound

“[a monotone shirred] Even so, this shirred almost worked for me—almost. It conjured up something like a whirring, just silkier.”

n. A delayed reaction to something unexpected, immediately after one's first reaction

“But it's usually best not to force the Reader to do a doubletake”; Tony glanced at her, then did a double take.

adv. Before now; up to the present time

“now that I've thoroughly slammed using 'the' to refer to stuff heretofore unknown to the Reader”

adj.
1. (of food or drink) Pleasant to taste
2. (of an action or proposal) agreeable to the mind or sensibilities; acceptable or satisfactory

“Yes, it's more work to craft the facts into palatable sentences”

a) v. (of coffee) percolate; percolate (coffee)
b) n. Pincers with parallel, flat, and typically serrated surfaces, used chiefly for gripping small objects or bending wire

The robots are perking more mugs than required. We'll have to start jerking their heads off with pliers; while the coffee perks, head out for the morning coffee.

*percolate: (of a liquid or gas) Filter or spread gradually through a porous surface or substance

v.
1. Make a series of soft explosive sounds, typically when being heated or as a symptom of a fault 發劈啪聲
2. Speak in a series of incoherent bursts as a result of indignation or some other strong emotion
3. Emit with spitting sound 劈啪地噴濺
4. proceed or develop in a spasmodic and feeble way

1. the engine sputtered and stopped
2. "But... but..." she sputtered
3. the goose is in the oven, sputtering fat
4. strikes in the public services sputtered on

1. (of a person) Breathe with a whistling or rattling sound in the chest, as a result of obstruction in the air passages
2. Utter with such a sound; walk or move slowly with such a sound
3. (of a device) Make an irregular rattling or spluttering sound

He will learn to hum and wheeze; With a voice box full of bees; she wheezed up the hill toward them; the engine coughed, wheezed, and shrieked into life.

v. Avoid or neglect (a duty or responsibility)

“already the author is telling us what to think about one of his characters and shirking his due diligence to show us why this character is renowned.”

v.
1. Lay siege to; besiege; hem in
2. To trouble persistently; to beset (so/sth) with difficulties; harrass; badger; pester

“Flabby prose, repetitiveness, and statements beleaguering the obvious separate the amateurs from the pros”

I had no idea that buying white truffle oil requires you to trade in your toque for a dunce cap.

adj. (of a fabric) Having a dyed, printed, or woven design in which the color is graduated from light to dark 漸層
ombré hair

a) n. An enclosure, container, or structure adapted or prepared for keeping animals under seminatural conditions for observation or study or as pets; an aquarium or terrarium

b) n. A vivarium for growing and displaying plants and sometimes smaller land animals, such as turtles and lizards (terrestrial life)

v.
1. extract, gather, learn (find out), usu. bit by bit, slowly and laboriously, from various sources
2. Gather (leftover grain or other produce) after a harvest 拾落穗

1. the information is gleaned from press clippings; records from which historians glean their knowledge.
2. the conditions of farm workers in the 1890s made gleaning essential

a) vt. To wear away or rub hard by friction or eroseion; scrape; chafe
b) v. Reduce (something) to small particles or powder by crushing it; Rub or cause to rub together gratingly

a) a landscape slowly abraded by a fine, stinging dust
b) grind some black pepper over the salad; he grinds his teeth at night.

a) adj. polishing or cleaning by rubbing or scouring; tending to rub or graze the skin; rough to the ear, harsh; showing little concern for the feelsings of others.
b) (of a state) Oppressive, tedious, and seemingly without end; (sound or motion) harsh and grating

a) scratched the stovetop with an abrasive cleaner; fast, abrasive rhythms; her abrasive and arrogant personal style
b) grinding poverty; the group's grinding, ear-splitting guitar

v.
1. Cover with drops or spots of something; vehicles spattered his shoes
2. Scatter or splash (liquid, mud, etc.) over a surface; spattered grease all over the stove
3. Fall so as to be scattered over an area

n.
1. A spray or splash of something
2. A sprinkling
3. A short outburst of sound; the noise of something spattering or sputtering explosively

“they must prove they can draw a bowl of grapes before people will admire their abstract shapes or spatters.”; there was a spatter of freckles over her nose; the sharp spatter of gunfire

adj. Having a lot of space inside; roomy
n. (capaciousness) intellectual breadth

The setting is a capacious apartment house in the 17th Arrondissement of Paris; And there's a capaciousness that makes the book richly attractive to wander into.

v.
1. give out or reflect small flashes of light.
2. (of a person's eyes) shine with a particular emotion.

Look how beautiful these juicy beaded blackberries look, glinting darkly out of that pale billowing duvet of cream.

n.  art, objects, or design of bad taste; tawdry (cheap, gaudy, showy), excessively garnish and sentimental art, usu to appeal to popular taste, but enjoyed by other people, often because they are funny.

I put the kitsch in kitchen; the front room is stuffed with kitsch knickknacks (a small inexpensive mass-produced article), little glass and gilt ornaments.

. 

n. the point on which a lever rests or is supported and on which it pivots.

“But what’s most noteworthy about the passage—what indeed is the fulcrum on which the entire story turns.

a) 1. uncalled for; lacking good reason; unwarranted. 2. given or done free of charge.

b) n. a sweeping blow. v. hit or try to hit with a swing blow.

“Part of what makes the story so funny and so poignant, aside from the gratuitous swipe at American publishers.

v. assimilate or cause to assimilate a different culture, typically the dominant one.

“the acculturating back-and-forth that all of us here grew up with”

n. a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument.

“he believed that democracy was best served by the brightest minds and not by selfish, clamorous demagogues”

v. suppose that something is true without having evidence to confirm it; conjecture; speculate

“Instantly surmising that he had entered the dwelling of a madman, the thief turned and ran without taking anything”

n. waste or debris of any kind; litter, rubble

“With this recitation of paraphernalia and detritus, O’Brien manages to encapsulate the experience of an army”

n. A field where rice is grown

“of a mined and booby-trapped landscape... of soaking monsoons and rice paddies, and of the possibility of being shot”

adj. not physically or mentally strong, esp. through age or illness.; frail; decrepit; feeble

“How can you dissuade his eye in a crowd from seeking out the cheek with acne, the infirm hand:”

n. a statement of the beliefs or aims that guide someone's actions.; statement of belief(s), article of faith

“For years, I’ve heard this passage about the one true sentence cited as a sort of credo”

n. a long or elaborate essay or discussion on a particular subject.

“His friend’s surprise inspired Babel to deliver a lengthy disquisition on writing”

v.
1. cut off (a branch, limb, or other protrusion) from the main body of a tree; remove (sth regarded as unnecessary or burdensome)
2. hang loosely or limply; droop.

“The orange sun rolled down the sky like a lopped-off head, and mild light glowed from the cloud gorges."; a stomach that lopped over his belt. 

v. shorten (something) by cutting off the top or the end.

“Clearly, these are not the truncated, abrupt, one-two-punch one-sentence paragraphs”

v.
1. put (a weapon such as a knife or sword) into a sheath.
2. encase (something) in a close-fitting or protective covering.

“His long legs were like girls sheathed to the neck in shining riding boots.”; "her legs were sheathed in black stockings"

a) having or experiencing many different forms, or stages of development
b) (or camaraderie) comradeship; good-fellowship

“The perverse polymorphic eroticism of that moment, which...partly about interconnection of military comradery, sex, and violence...”; intelligence is a polymorphous concept

a) v. To rise up, especially an animal like a horse rising up on its rear legs
b) n. the back limb of a quadruped (/ˈkwädrəˌped/ an animal that has four feet, esp. a hoofed mammal)

“she was still smiling as the cat reared up on its hind legs, even as it struck her with extended claws”

n.
1. a large open space for the gathering or passage of crowds, as in an airport or train station. (車站、機場)中央大廳
2. a crowd or assembly of people; thong.
3. a coming together; confluence

1. “Down the long concourse they came unsteadily” 2. a vast concourse of learned men. 3. a concourse of events

adj. like an eagle 如鷹; (of a person's nose) hooked or curved like an eagle's beak.鷹勾鼻

“the forehead is high, his nose aquiline”

v. poke (someone) with a finger, foot, or pointed object; jab; elbow; stab

“In the reception room, under the gentle but insistent prodding of trained Assimilation Facilitators, Turks and Kurds called a truce”

v. gradually spread through or over. permeate; imbue; infuse; transfuse (percolate; seep; ooze)

but it has to be suffused with a little bit of gutsy glamor.