Words 0011 Flashcards
Hurtle
[v] to move very fast, especially in a way that seems dangerous
- The truck came hurtling towards us.
- The explosion sent pieces of metal and glass hurtling through the air.
Skive
[v] to be absent from work or school without permission
• Tom and Mike have skived (off) school today to watch the football match.
Torrent
- a sudden large or too large amount, especially one that seems to be uncontrolled:
- He let out a torrent of abuse/angry words.
- They are worried that the flow/trickle/stream of tourists could swell into an unmanageable torrent if there are no controls.
- a large amount of water that is moving quickly:
• Heavy rainfall turned the river into a rushing/raging torrent.
- torrents [plural]: large amounts:
- torrents of rain
- The rain came down/fell in torrents.
- We have received torrents of letters/requests/criticism
Fain
[old]
willingly or happily
• I would fain forget what I had done.
Inexorable
continuing without any possibility of being stopped
- the inexorable progress of science
- These events led inexorably to war.
- inexorability
Beetling
to go somewhere quickly:
• Hoping to miss the traffic jams, she beetled off home at four o’clock.
Enmity
a feeling of hate:
- She denied any personal enmity towards him.
- Bitter historical enmities underlie the present violence.
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.
Baleful
threatening to do something bad or to hurt someone
- He gave me a baleful look.
- his baleful influence
- She glared balefully at me.
Bereave
To be bereaved: to have a close relation or friend who has died
- Everyone who has been bereaved has to find his or her own way of coping.
- a bereaved widow
- The bereaved parents wept openly.
- the bereaved [plural]: a person whose close relation or friend has recently died
• It is generally accepted that the bereaved benefit from counselling.
- bereavement: the death of a close relation or friend
• She has recently suffered a bereavement.
acquiesce
to accept or agree to something, often unwillingly
• Reluctantly, he acquiesced to/in the plans
Prowl
- to move around quietly in a place trying not to be seen or heard, such as when hunting
- There have been reports of a masked man prowling in the neighbourhood.
- At night, adult scorpions prowl the desert for (= trying to catch) insects.
• [informal] Unable to sleep, he prowled (= walked without purpose) (about/around) the hotel corridors.
- to be on the prowl
• there was a fox on the prowl earlier
Tidings
[Old] news
• tidings of great joy
- glad tidings: good news
• Let me be the first to give you the glad tidings.
Falter
- To lose strength or purpose and stop, or almost stop
- The dinner party conversation faltered for a moment.
- Her friends never faltered in their belief in her.
- Nigel’s voice faltered and he stopped speaking.
- to move awkwardly as if you might fall
• The nurse saw him falter and made him lean on her.
- faltering, falteringly
- She took a few faltering steps.
- This legislation is designed to stimulate the faltering economy.
Assent
- [n] an official agreement to or approval of an idea, plan, or request
- Once the directors have given their assent to the proposal we can begin.
- She nodded her assent to the proposal.
- Before an Act of Parliament can become law, it needs to receive Royal Assent (= an official signature) from the monarch.
- [v] to agree to or give official approval to something
• Have they assented to the terms of the contract?
