A Short History of World War II

Question 1

aghast

Answer 1

suddenly filled with strong feelings of shock and worry:

He looked at her aghast.

Question 2

brainchild

Answer 2

an original idea, plan, or invention:

The project was the brainchild of one of the students.

Question 3

malign

Answer 3

causing or intending to cause harm or evil:
Foreign domination had a malign influence on local politics.
She describes pornography as “a malign industry”.

Question 4

assorted

Answer 4

consisting of various types mixed together:

a case of assorted wines

Question 5

grouping

Answer 5

several people or things when they have been arranged into a group or are being considered as a group:
political groupings

Question 6

ineffectually

Answer 6

in a way that does not produce good results:
She tried ineffectually to encourage him to eat.
At one camp there are hundreds of huts, ineffectually thatched with straw.

Question 7

overcome

Answer 7

to defeat or succeed in controlling or dealing with something:
Juventus overcame Ajax in a thrilling game.
to overcome difficulties/obstacles/problems/resistance
Eventually she managed to overcome her shyness in class.

to prevent someone from being able to act or think in the usual way:
They were overcome by fumes from the fire and had to be carried out of their houses.
Overcome with/by emotion, she found herself unable to speak for a few minutes.

Question 8

draft

Answer 8

a piece of text, a formal suggestion, or a drawing in its original state, often containing the main ideas and intentions but not the developed form:
This is only a rough draft - the finished article will have pictures too.
She asked me to check the (first) draft of her proposal.

Question 9

a hail of sth

Answer 9

a lot of similar things or remarks, thrown or shouted at someone at the same time:
a hail of bullets
The prime minister was greeted with a hail of insults as she arrived at the university.

Question 10

hail

Answer 10

to call someone in order to attract their attention:
Shall we hail a taxi?
I tried to hail her from across the room.

Question 11

milestone

Answer 11

an important event in the development or history of something or in someone’s life:
He felt that moving out of his parents’ home was a real milestone in his life.

Question 12

outgrowth

Answer 12

a result or development:

This policy is just an outgrowth of earlier decisions.

Question 13

renounce

Answer 13

to say formally or publicly that you no longer own, support, believe in, or have a connection with something:
Her ex-husband renounced his claim to the family house.
Gandhi renounced the use of violence.

Question 14

concomitant

Answer 14

something that happens with something else and is connected with it:
Loss of memory is a natural concomitant of old age.

Question 15

circumvent

Answer 15

to avoid something, especially cleverly or illegally:

Ships were registered abroad to circumvent employment and safety regulations.

Question 16

unwittingly

Answer 16

in a way that is done without knowing or planning:
I apologize for any anxiety which I may, unwittingly, have caused.
Unwittingly, I may have given a misleading impression in my interviews.

Question 17

oversee

Answer 17

to watch or organize a job or an activity to make certain that it is being done correctly:
As marketing manager, her job is to oversee all the company’s advertising.

Question 18

flesh sth out

Answer 18

to add more details or information to something:

These plans need to be fleshed out with some more figures.

Question 19

predicate

Answer 19

to say that something is true:

It would be unwise to predicate that the disease is caused by a virus before further tests have been carried out.

Question 20

be predicated on sth

Answer 20

If an idea or argument is predicated on something, it depends on the existence or truth of this thing:
The sales forecast is predicated on the assumption that the economy will grow by four percent.

Question 21

shelve

Answer 21

to not take action on something until a later time:

I’ve had to shelve my plans to buy a new car, because I can’t afford it at the moment.

Question 22

vehemently

Answer 22

in a strong and emotional way:

The president has vehemently denied having an extra-marital affair.

Question 23

dust sth off

Answer 23

to prepare something for use, especially after it has not been used for a long time:
It’s time to dust off the old chemistry books and start studying.

Question 24

watered-down

Answer 24

A watered-down idea or opinion has been made less extreme than it originally was, usually so that people are more likely to accept it:
They have returned with a watered-down version of the proposal.

Question 25

resolutely

Answer 25

in a determined way:
She resolutely refused to learn about computers.
The whole team were resolutely optimistic.

Question 26

ominous

Answer 26

suggesting that something unpleasant is likely to happen:
There was an ominous silence when I asked whether my contract was going to be renewed.
The engine had been making an ominous sound all the way from my parents’ house.
ominous dark clouds

Question 27

outlast

Answer 27

to live or exist, or to stay energetic and determined, longer than another person or thing:
The empress outlasted all her children.
The Orioles outlasted the Yankees, finally winning 10 to 9.

Question 28

entitled

Answer 28

feeling that you have the right to do or have what you want without having to work for it or deserve it, just because of who you are:
These kids are spoiled, entitled, self-absorbed, and apathetic.

Question 29

apathetic

Answer 29

showing no interest or energy and unwilling to take action, especially over something important:
Young people today are so apathetic about politics.
Don’t be so apathetic - how are you going to get a job if you don’t even start looking?

Question 30

spoiled

Answer 30

A spoiled child is allowed to do or have anything that they want, usually so that they behave badly and do not show respect to other people:
You’re behaving like a spoiled brat!

Question 31

grim

Answer 31

worrying, without hope:

The future looks grim.

Question 32

bleak

Answer 32

If a situation is bleak, there is little or no hope for the future:
The economic outlook is bleak.

Question 33

enacted

Answer 33

to put something into action, especially to make something law:
A package of economic sanctions is to be enacted against the country.

Question 34

enfeebled

Answer 34

made very weak:
The president had never before appeared so isolated or enfeebled.
Her grandfather is enfeebled with palsy and dementia.

Question 35

enervating

Answer 35

to make someone feel weak and without energy

Question 36

abeyance

Answer 36

a state of not happening or being used at present:
Hostilities between the two groups have been in abeyance since last June.
The project is being held in abeyance until agreement is reached on funding it.

Question 37

hamstring

Answer 37

to limit the amount of something that can be done or the ability or power of someone to do something:
The company was hamstrung by traditional but inefficient ways of conducting business.

Question 38

auspicious

Answer 38

suggesting a positive and successful future:
They won their first match of the season 5–1 which was an auspicious start/beginning.
Our first meeting was not auspicious - we had a huge argument.

Question 39

menacing

Answer 39

making you think that someone is going to do something bad:

a menacing look/gesture

Question 40

forbidding

Answer 40

unfriendly and likely to be unpleasant or harmful:
a forbidding row of security guards
With storm clouds rushing over them, the mountains looked dark and forbidding.

Question 41

baleful

Answer 41

threatening to do something bad or to hurt someone:
He gave me a baleful look.
his baleful influence