23 Flashcards
proclaim
verb: to announce something publicly or officially, especially something positive:
All the countries have proclaimed their loyalty to the alliance.
Republican party members were confidently proclaiming victory even as the first few votes came in.
It was the famous speech in which he proclaimed that socialism was dead.
to show something or make it clear:
Wearing scarves and hats which proclaimed their allegiance, the football fans flooded into the bar.
noun: proclaimation: an official announcement:
to issue a proclamation
A bloody civil war followed the proclamation of an independent state.
rally
noun: a public meeting of a large group of people, especially supporters of a particular opinion:
5,000 people held an anti-nuclear rally.
The rally has been cancelled for the good of all concerned.
a car or motorcycle race, especially over long distances on public roads:
The French driver has taken the lead in the Paris-Dakar rally.
verb: to (cause to) come together in order to provide support or make a shared effort:
Supporters/Opponents of the new shopping development are trying to rally local people in favour of/against it.
The president has called on the people to rally to/behind the government.
to return to a better condition:
The nurse said my mother had rallied after a poor night.
The team played badly in the first half of the game but rallied in the second.
enclose
verb: to surround something:
The park that encloses the monument has recently been enlarged.
to send something in the same envelope or parcel as something else:
Please enclose a curriculum vitae with your application.
to include something inside a letter or parcel:
Apply in writing, enclosing a current CV, to the address below.
adj: enclosed: surrounded by walls, objects, or structures:
enclosed space He doesn’t like enclosed spaces.
sent to someone in an envelope with a letter:
The enclosed card is for Julia.
noun: enclosure: an area surrounded by fences or walls:
an enclosure for the horses
the act of putting fences around land:
enclosure of An early example of privatization was the enclosure of public land for use by wealthy landlords.
something extra that is sent in a letter or package with the main message:
You will find two enclosures with this letter – a check and a photograph.
resolve
verb: to solve or end a problem or difficulty:
resolve the problem Have you resolved the problem of transport yet?
resolve your differences The couple resolved their differences and made an effort to get along.
to make a decision formally or with determination:
She resolved that she would never speak to him again.
After hours of argument, they resolved against taking legal action.
[ + to infinitive ] The company resolved to take no further action against the thieves.
noun: strong determination: تصمیم
weaken/strengthen/test someone’s resolve I faced many challenges that week which all served to weaken/strengthen/test my resolve.
adj: resolved: determined: مصمم
[ + to infinitive ] He was resolved to ask her to marry him the next day.
We’re resolved to get together more often.
resolve something into something: to separate something into different parts:
There was a blur of sound, which slowly resolved itself into different words.
grip
verb: to hold very tightly:
The baby gripped my finger with her tiny hand.
Old tyres won’t grip (= stay on the surface of the road) in the rain very well.
to keep someone’s attention completely:
This trial has gripped the whole nation.
I was gripped throughout the entire two hours of the film.
When an emotion such as fear grips you, you feel it strongly:
be gripped by Then he turned towards me, and I was suddenly gripped by fear.
noun: control over something or someone:
grip on Rebels have tightened their grip on the city.
keep your grip on He will do anything to keep his grip on power.
a tight hold on something or someone:
She tightened her grip on my arm.
get a grip (on yourself): to make an effort to control your emotions and behave more calmly:
I just think he ought to get a grip on himself - he’s behaving like a child.
be in the grip of something: to be experiencing something unpleasant that you have no control over:
The country is currently in the grip of the worst recession in 20 years.
come/get to grips with something: to make an effort to understand and deal with a problem or situation:
The president has failed to come to grips with the two most important social issues of our time.
I can’t seem to get to grips with this problem.
halt
verb: to (cause to) stop moving or doing something or happening:
“Halt!” called the guard. “You can’t go any further without a permit.”
Production has halted at all of the company’s factories because of the pay dispute.
Security forces halted the demonstrators by blocking the road.
noun:
halt in the recent halt in production
bring something to a halt Severe flooding has brought trains to a halt (= prevented them from moving) on several lines in Scotland.
come to a halt The bus came to a halt (= stopped) just in time to avoid hitting the wall.
call a halt to something: to prevent something from continuing:
How many more people will have to die before they call a halt to the fighting?
impending
adj: used to refer to an event, usually something unpleasant or unwanted, that is going to happen soon: قریب الوقوع
impending disaster/doom
The player announced his impending retirement from international football.
verb: impend: If an event impends, usually an event that is unpleasant or unwanted, it is going to happen soon:
A crisis of huge proportions impends in the area.
perspire
verb: polite word for sweat (= to pass liquid through the skin):
He was perspiring in his thick woollen suit.
noun:
During the break between games, she had a drink of water and wiped the perspiration off her face and arms with a towel.
Beads (= drops) of perspiration glistened on his brow.
adj: perspiratory: producing sweat:
The doctor told him that he had a disease of the perspiratory glands.
snap
verb: to cause something that is thin to break suddenly and quickly with a cracking sound:
You’ll snap that ruler if you bend it too far.
snap something off Some vandal’s snapped off my car aerial again.
to suddenly become unable to control a strong feeling, especially anger:
When she asked me to postpone my trip to help her move to her new house, I just snapped (= got angry).
to move into a position quickly, producing a short noise as if breaking:
snap back Tendons store elastic energy by stretching and then snapping back into shape like rubber bands.
Simply snap the pieces into place.
to quickly return to a previous place or condition:
After substantial losses last year, the company has snapped back to profitability (= started making profits again).
snap shut: If something snaps shut or is snapped shut, it closes quickly with a sudden sharp sound:
She snapped her book shut and got up to leave.
If an animal snaps, it tries to bite someone:
The guard dog was snarling and snapping behind the fence.
to fasten using two small pieces of metal or plastic, one of which is pushed into the other:
snap something up He snapped up his jacket.
noun: a sudden loud sound like something breaking or closing:
She broke the stick over her knee with a loud snap.
an informal photograph that is not very skilful or artistic:
holiday snap Here are some tips for creating a photo book from your holiday snaps.
take a snap Did you take many snaps while you were away?
something that can be done without any difficulty:
a snap “Will you finish on time?” “Sure thing. It’s a snap.”
snap for Talking to girls is a snap for him.
in a snap: quickly, and without warning or much thought or effort:
They can lose their licence in a snap.
adj: done suddenly without allowing time for careful thought or preparation:
snap decision He always makes snap decisions and never thinks about their consequences.
sly
adj: (slyer-slyest) deceiving people in a clever way in order to get what you want:
He’s a sly old devil - I wouldn’t trust him with my money.
seeming to know secrets:
sly smile “You’ll find out eventually,” said Mary, with a sly smile.
on the sly: If you do something on the sly, you do it secretly because you should not be doing it:
He drives his mother’s car on the sly while she’s at work.
adv: slyly:
Two police officers catch them, but the criminals slyly explain their way out of it.
She grinned slyly and refused to tell me where the money came from.
noun: slyness:
Girls she’d been to school with said, “Welcome,” and some had slyness in their smiles.
The prosecution appealed to popular stereotypes about the slyness of women.
whatsoever
adv: used after a negative phrase to add emphasis to the idea that is being expressed:
He has no respect for authority whatsoever.
I can honestly say that I have no interest whatsoever in the royal family.
“Did you have any idea what was happening at the time?” “None whatsoever.”
outraged
noun: a feeling of anger and shock:
These murders have provoked outrage across the country.
a shocking, morally unacceptable, and usually violent action:
The bomb, which killed 15 people, was the worst of a series of terrorist outrages.
It’s an outrage (= it is shocking and morally unacceptable) that so much public money should have been wasted in this way.
verb: (especially of an unfair action or statement) to cause someone to feel very angry, shocked, or upset:
Local people were outraged at the bombing.
A proposed five percent cut in pay has outraged staff at the warehouse.
adj: outraged: feeling outrage:
Outraged viewers jumped onto social media to complain about the ending of the series.
She became outraged by poverty.
adj: outrageous
It is outrageous that these buildings remain empty while thousands of people have no homes.
These prices are just outrageous (= much too high).
an outrageous character
adv: outrageously
outrageously high prices
She said that the company had acted outrageously.
alongside
adv: next to, or together with:
A car pulled up alongside (ours).
The new pill will be used alongside existing medicines.
defy
verb: to refuse to obey a person, decision, law, situation, etc.:
It is rare to see children openly defying their teachers.
defy the law The fact that aircraft don’t fall out of the sky always seems to me to defy (= act against) the law of gravity.
defy belief/description/explanation: to be extreme or very strange and therefore impossible to believe, describe, or explain:
The chaos at the airport defies description.
defy someone to do something: to tell someone to do something that you think will be impossible:
I defy you to prove your accusations.
adj: defiant:
She is defiant, angry, and tough.
adv: defiantly:
When I said she might fail, she replied defiantly, “No, I won’t!”
feeble
adj: weak and without energy, strength, or power:
He was a feeble, helpless old man.
The little lamp gave only a feeble light.
Opposition to the plan was rather feeble.
not effective or good:
a feeble joke/excuse
adv: feebly: in a weak way, without energy, strength, or power:
He lifted his hands feebly.
in a way that is not effective or good:
I objected, but only feebly.
