#21-40-ADULATION-AMBIGUOUS Flashcards
x ADULATION
to adulate
stress on DU
excessive admiration, flattery
he thrived on the adulation of his fans
to admire smb or smth excessively
he is adulated by many, despite his criminal conviction
our society adulates youthfulness
TO ADULTERATE
adulterated / unadulterated pp
stress on DAL
to contaminate, make impure
to be contaminated by smth
the drinking water was adulterated by radioactive waste
contaminated / uncontaminated with smth
vegetarians dislike to have their food adulterated with animal fats
idiom: unadulterated joy
ADVERSE adj
x adversity
stress on VER
do not confuse with “averse” = unwilling to do smth
unfavourable, antagonistic (weather, conditions lit & fig)
planes do not fly in adverse weather
humans thrive in adverse conditions
difficult / unlucky situation or events
poor children are exposed to early adversity
laughing in the face of adversity is essential
AESTHETIC adj
[ae + sth]
aesthetically adv
x aesthetics
stress on THE
artistic (sense, value, appeal)
this building has little aesthetic value/appeal
this furniture is both aesthetic and functional
the principles of art and beauty
he is studying aesthetics
beautifully, artistically
the table was arranged aesthetically
idiom: aesthetically pleasing
I like objects to be both functional and aesthetically pleasing
AFFABLE adj
[2f]
x affability
stress on AF
easy to talk to, friendly
she was an affable girl
the dog was big but affable
charm, friendliness
the new boss lacks the affability of his predecessor
an AFFECTATION
[2f]
to affect
to be affected
TRICKY VERB (IN MEANING)
stress on TEI
unnatural, artificial behaviour, intended to impress
her British accent is an affectation, she only spent two weeks in England
to adopt a habit or characteristic to impress others
he affects indifference to all his problems
he affects an upper-class accent
to start to wear smth or carry smth to impress
she affects a smart pair of glasses, even though she has visual acuity
he recently affected a hat and cane
ATTENTION: to be affected by smth = to be greatly impacted
the buildings were badly affected by the fire
this disease affects mainly older people
an AFFINITY noun
[2f]
stress on FI
to have an affinity for/with: to feel sympathy, kinship (lit & fig)
ducks have an affinity for water
many people feel an affinity with dolphins
there is a close affinity between these two paintings
resemblance
magnets and iron have an affinity for each other
there is an affinity between snow and sleet
AFFLUENT adj
[2f]
x affluence
stress on AF
rich, prosperous (person, people, community, country)
We live in an affluent neighborhood.
material wealth
increased affluence has led to many consuming processed food
an AGENDA
stress on DJE
political, economic programme
The Labour party has a new agenda.
idiom: hidden/secret agenda
politicians often have a hidden agenda
things to be done
he had a packed agenda for the meeting
an AGGREGATE
[2g + g]
to aggregate
aggregate adj
stress on AGG
collection, mix of several things
Chili is an aggregate of meat and beans.
to mix, put together
We have to aggregate meat and beans to make chili.
combined, total
the company has an aggregate workforce of two million people
an AGNOSTIC
agnosticism (/-the)
stress on NO
smb who believes that the existence of God can be neither proven nor disproven
he was an agnostic for most of his life
smb who has no opinion whether smth is true or not
he says he is an agnostic when it comes to climate change
the system of beliefs
men significantly outnumber women in claiming agnosticism
an ATHEIST is smb who does not believe in the existence of God
x ALACRITY
stress on LAK
cheerful eagerness, readiness
he carried her luggage with great alacrity
Wickham accepted the money with alacrity
TO ALLEGE
[2L + 1g]
an allegation
alleged pp
allegedly adv
verb: stress on LEJ
noun: stress on GE
to assert without proof
he alleged that she had stolen his money
stated without proof
idiom: an alleged criminal
several alleged drug lords were arrested
smth wrong/illegal was done but it has not been proved
he was arrested for allegedly stealing a car
TO ALLEVIATE
[2L]
x alleviation
stress on LEV
to relieve temporarily or incompletely, to make smth bearable, to lessen
aspirine alleviates headache
relief
the alleviation of poverty is a long process
TO ALLOCATE
[2L]
an allocation
stress on AL
to distribute, to allot
Mrs Birling spends a lot of time allocating the blame to others.
distribution (of resources, time, funds, money)
The allocation of funds was handled by a charity.
an ALLUSION
[2L]
to allude
stress on LU
a reference to an idea, well-known among a wide group of people
The film is full of allusions to Hitchcock.
5 TYPES OF ALLUSIONS:
1. Historical: Gutenberg and the printing press
2. Political: He is quite Machiavellian. This is a Trump-like policy.
3. Geographical: the Great Wall of China
4. Cultural (specific to a certain culture): Charles and Diana’s marriage
5. Literary: mythical, biblical, intertextual
to allude to smth/smb indirectly
in his speech, he alluded to Winston Churchill
ALOOF adj
[2O]
x aloofness
stress on LOO
standoffish, uninvolved, not craving attention of others
Mr Darcy seemed rather aloof.
aloof behaviour
Is it aloofness, or is she just shy?
x ALTRUISM
altruistic adj
an altruist
stress on AL
the quality of selflessness, generosity
charitable organisations depend on the altruism of ordinary citizens
to be altruistic, to be an altruist
I doubt that her motives for donating the money were altruistic.
She was an altruist and idealist.
x AMBIENCE
French origin
ambient adj
stress on AM
not the same meaning as in French (in French, it means pleasant)
atmosphere, character
Despite being a busy city, Dublin has the ambience of a country town.
The restaurant had a pub-like ambience to it.
surrounding (in terms of environmental conditions, such as temperature, lighting, noise, pollution)
This article focuses on ambient pollution.
AMBIGUOUS adj
[uou]
an ambiguity
[uit]
stress on BI
unclear, confusing
Inspector Calls has an ambiguous ending.
smth that has more than one meaning, causing confusion
There are some ambiguities in the law.
