Words 0009 Flashcards
Deft
skilful, clever or quick
- Her movements were deft and quick.
- She answered the journalist’s questions with a deft touch.
- He’s very deft at handling awkward situations.
- He deftly (= skilfully) caught the ball.
- deftness
Oomph
power, strength or energetic activity
- You want a car with a bit of oomph.
- It’s important to have someone with a bit of oomph in charge of the department.
Taut
tight or completely stretched
- a taut rope
- He kept his eyes on the road ahead, his face taut with concentration.
• tautly, tautness
Compare: slack
/tɔːt/
Oodles
a very large amount of something pleasant
• She inherited oodles of money from her uncle.
the firmament
the sky
[figurative]
• She is one of the rising stars in the political firmament.
Consternation
a feeling of worry, shock or confusion
- The prospect of so much work filled him with consternation.
- To his consternation, when he got to the airport he found he’d forgotten his passport.
Quintessential
being the most typical example or most important part of something
- Roasted garlic with sheep’s milk cheese is the quintessential Corsican meal.
- The painting is quintessentially British.
Moult
(of a bird or animal) to lose feathers, skin or hair as a natural process at a particular time of year so that new feathers, skin or hair can grow
/məʊlt/
Antler
a horn with parts like branches which grows on the head of a usually male deer
• a pair of antlers
Surmise
to guess something, without having much or any proof
• The police surmise (that) the robbers have fled the country.
Brusque
quick and rude in manner or speech
- His secretary was rather brusque with me.
- “I simply haven’t got time to deal with the problem today, “ she said brusquely.
Vehement
expressing strong feelings, or shown by strong feelings or great energy or force
- Despite vehement opposition from his family, he quit school and became an actor.
- Both men were vehement in their denial of the charges against them.
- They launched a vehement attack on the government’s handling of environmental issues.
- She argued with such vehemence against the proposal that they decided to abandon it.
/ˈviː.ə.mənt/
Abhor
to hate a way of behaving or thinking, often because you think it is not moral
• I abhor the consumerism culture
Complexion
- the natural appearance of the skin on a person’s face, especially its colour or quality
- a dark/fair complexion
- a healthy/clear/spotty complexion
- the general character of something
- These are radical changes which will alter the complexion of the British contemporary dance scene.
- What Pablo has just said puts an entirely/completely new complexion on (= changes) things.
Amiable
describes a person or their behaviour that is pleasant and friendly
- He seemed an amiable young man.
- So amiable was the mood of the meeting that a decision was soon reached.
- They were chatting quite amiably on the phone last night so I assumed everything was okay.
- I hate all that false amiability that goes on at parties.
