1 Flashcards
wind up
when you wind up an activity, you finish it or stop doing it.
jotting down
to write something quickly on a piece of paper
ex: jotting down a story idea
scrolling
ex: we’ve been sucked into endless scrolling.
proximity
the state of being near in space or time
ex: The listener and the singer are ‘ placed’ now in very intimate proximity.
atrophy
to be reduced in size and therefore strength, or, more generally, to become weaker
ex: it’s common belief that relying on our phones is atrophying our ability to remember.
temptation
the wish to do or have something that you know you should not do
feat
something difficult needing a lot of skill, strength, courage, to achieve
clumsy
awkward in movement or manner
ex: Russia is too big and clumsy
extravagance
behaviour in which you spend more money than you need to.
torpedo
thin bomb that travels underwater in order to destroy the ship at which it is aimed
one-off
something that happens or is made or done only once
ex: Jorgensen wondered if this was a one-off, but the tags recorded similar examples in later years
skedaddle
to run away quickly
ex: orcas arrive, and sharks skedaddle.
brawn
physical strength and big muscles
grueling
extremely tiring and difficult, and demanding great effort
ex: Neither side really wanted a long grueling war.
genocide
the crime of intentionally destroying part or all of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, by killing people
conscription
the act or process of forcing people by law to join the armed services
ex: the UK started conscripted men to the army so they had plenty of reserves.
conscription
the act or process of forcing people by law to join the armed services
ex: the UK started conscripted men to the army so they had plenty of reserves.
precipitously
very quickly or suddenly
ex: clothing quality has dropped precipitously over the past 30 years.
demolished
to completely destroy a building
ex: The building had to be demolished because of subsidence.
eviscerating
to remove one or all of the organs from the inside of a body
wedlock
the state of being married
orchard
an area of land where fruit trees (but not orange trees or other citrus trees) are grown
ex: It is a field of orchards and market gardens cultivated on a leased basis.
conspiracy
the activity of secretly planning with other people to do something bad or illegal
conspiracy
the activity of secretly planning with other people to do something bad or illegal
hypodermic
used to inject drugs
ex: The tube was a long 0.065 in. diameter hypodermic tubing with one end sealed.
embryo
an animal that is developing either in its mother’s womb or in an egg.
infiltrating
to secretly become part of a group in order to get information
infiltrating
to secretly become part of a group in order to get information
ex: The castle is infiltrated by foreigners from distant lands.
detachment
a group of soldiers who are separated from the main group in order to perform a particular duty
ex: a detachment of paratroopers
paratroppers
a soldier trained to be dropped from an aircraft with a parachute
prissily
in a way that shows too much care about behaving or dressing correctly
bargain
something on sale at a lower price than its true value
ex: The airline regularly offers last-minute bookings at bargain prices.
quirk
an unusual habit
ex: a personality quirk
maiden
a girl or young woman
invertebrates
an animal with no spine
ex: Studies on plants, invertebrates, lower vertebrates, mammals and humans at the molecular and cellular levels will be accepted.
Cretaceous
from or referring to the period of time between around 144 and 65 million years ago
ex: the Cretaceous period
fiendish
evil and cruel
ex: a fiendish attack
kneecaps
the bone at the front of the knee joint
the outback
the areas of Australia that are far away from towns and cities
slaughter
the killing of many people cruelly and unfairly
pivot
a fixed point supporting something
stumble
to step awkwardly while walking or running and fall or begin to fall.
ex: She stumbled over a toy
distress
a feeling of extreme worry or sadness.
ex: It was terrible for her to see her child in such distress.
cripple
to make something much less effective
ex: The accident crippled him.
glasnost
a political idea used by Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s to make the Soviet government more open and less secretive
ex: glasnost policy
perestroika
the political, social, and economic changes that happened in the Soviet Union during the late 1980s
ruble
the currency used in Russia
plummet
to fall suddenly and quickly from a high level
ex:
plummet
to fall suddenly and quickly from a high level
ex: The glamour stocks of the age saw their values plummet.
oligarch
someone who is extremely rich and powerful, especially a person from Russia who became rich after the end of the former Soviet Union
outback
the areas of Australia that are far away from towns and cities
ex: She went solo backpacking for eight months in the Australian outback.
campground
a piece of land where people on holiday can camp,
urbanites
someone who lives in a city or enjoys the type of life in a city
ex: Urbanites have a wide choice of cultural activities which involve close co-operation with others.
antelope
a mammal like a deer with horns and long, thin legs that allow it to run very fast:
cypress
a type of conifer (tree)
outweigh
to be greater or more important than something
outweigh
to be greater or more important than something
ex: Some people believe that the advantages of using automobiles outweighs the disadvantages.
inadequacy
the fact that something is not good enough or is too small in amount.
ex: When we fail at video games, we discover an inadequacy (however small) in ourselves
evade
to avoid or escape from someone or something
ex: The police have assured the public that the escaped prisoners will not evade recapture for long.
baleful
threatening to do something bad or to hurt someone
ex: He gave me a baleful look.
aforementioned
mentioned earlier
ex: The aforementioned result indicates that vertical displacements of three continuously aligned sensing elements estimate the fine inclination of the plate.
diabolical
extremely bad or shocking
ex: While plot details for the next installment are still under wraps, those involved in the show have dropped a whole bunch of diabolical clues as to what to expect, from behind the scenes set photos to new castings and promotions.
banter
conversation that is funny and not serious
ex: He considered himself a master of witty banter.
fledged
able to fly
ex: fledged member of the team
unhinged
mentally ill
confrontation
a fight or argument
ex: Some couples seem to like confrontation, but Josh and I hardly ever argue.
treacherous
guilty of or involving betral or deception
Ex: He was weak, cowardly and treacherous.
