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English words > All hard words > Flashcards

All hard words Flashcards

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Proverbs and Idioms flashcards
1
Q

Preposterous

A

Means utterly absurd or ridiculous

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2
Q

Sophisticated

A

having a great deal of worldly experience and knowledge of fashion and culture.

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3
Q

Atrocious

A

horrifyingly wicked or very poor quality/ extremely bad or unpleasant

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4
Q

blithering

A

complete; utter (used to express annoyance or contempt

’’ a blithering idiot’’

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5
Q

clod

A

A stupid person

'’You’re an incentive clod and i hope you fall and break your neck’’

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6
Q

Tormented

A

experiencing or characterized by severe physical or mental suffering

'’he’s so tormented he can barely walk’’

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7
Q

obnoxious

A

extremely unpleasant

'’obnoxious odours’’

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8
Q

patronizing

A

apparently kind or helpful but betraying a feeling of superiority; condescending.

'’we both occasionally experienced patronizing attitudes from staff’’

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9
Q

despicable

A

deserving to be despised, or regarded with distaste, disgust, or disdain

'’He was a mean, despicable man, who treated his wife and children badly’ or
‘‘A despicable crime’’

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10
Q

Bluffing

A

referred to as a strategic move, during which someone deceives another person about their intentions or knowledge. (strategic lying).

'’He might’ve been bluffing to keep me off guard’’

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11
Q

Geek

A

an unfashionable or socially inept person

'’Actually, Rick doesn’t mind being called a geek’’

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12
Q

Inept

A

having or showing no skill; clumsy

'’the referee’s inept handling of the match’’

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13
Q

fortitude

A

Strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage.

'’pray we have the fortitude to carry on fighting’’

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14
Q

insightful

A

having or showing an accurate and deep understanding; perceptive.

'’thank you for all the insightful comments’’

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15
Q

condolence

A

sympathy with another in sorrow

'’The bereaved family received many condolences’’

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16
Q

muzzle

A

prevent (a person or group) from expressing their opinions freely.

'’opposition leaders accused him of muzzling the news media’’

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17
Q

oblivious

A

not aware or connected about what is happening around one

'’she became absorbed, oblivious to the passage of time’’

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18
Q

collude

A

cooperate in a secret or unlawful way in order to deceive or gain an advantage over others.

'’he accused his opponents of colluding with one another’’

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19
Q

gracious

A

courteous, kind, and pleasant, especially towards someone of a lower social status.

'’a gracious hostess’’

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20
Q

lousy

A

very poor or bad

'’the service is usually lousy’’

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21
Q

burden

A

load heavily

'’she doesn’t want to burden her teacher with any more work of hers’’

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22
Q

anticipate

A

regard as possible, expect or predict.

'’Why hadn’t she anticipated these questions?’’

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23
Q

meticulous

A

showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise.

'’the inspector was very meticulous while working on his new case’’

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24
Q

sober

A

not having one’s mind affected by alcohol

'’I promised him that I’d stay sober tonight’’

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25
Q

thorough

A

complete with regard to every detail/ performed or written with great care and completeness.

'’officers have made a thorough examination of the wreckage’’

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26
Q

dispute

A

(Noun) A disagreement or argument

'’a territorial dispute between the two countries’’

(Verb) Argue about

'’the point has been much disputed’’

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27
Q

immaculate

A

perfectly clean, or tidy

'’an immaculate white suit’’

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28
Q

tantrum

A

an uncontrolled outburst of anger and frustration, typically in a young child

'’he has temper tantrums if he can’t get his own way’’

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29
Q

vindictive

A

having of showing a strong or unreasoning desire for revenge

'’the criticism was both vindictive and personalized’’

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30
Q

negligence

A

failure to take proper care of something

'’his injury was due to the negligence of his employers’’
‘‘I don’t trust my friend taking care of my cat because he is very neglegent’

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31
Q

ravishing

A

delightful, entrancing (very beautiful or gorgeous)

'’she looked ravishing’’

32
Q

integrity

A

the quality of being honest and having strong moral principals

'’a gentleman of complete integrity’’

33
Q

evict

A

expel (someone) from a property, especially with the support of law

'’a single mother and her children have been evicted from their home’’

34
Q

compassion

A

sympathetic pity and concern for the suffering or misfortunes of others

'’the victims should be treated with compassion’’

35
Q

gloating

A

brag or to observe or think about something with triumphant and often malicious satisfaction, gratification, or delight

'’gloat over an enemy’s misfortune’’
‘‘the winning team was gloating by screaming victory after they won’’

36
Q

pettiness

A

the quality or condition of being of little, lesser, or no importance, consequence, or merit

'’The economic cost of these wildfires pales into pettiness when compared to the real victims-the wildlife and the natural landscape’’

37
Q

slander

A

the action or crime of making a false spoken statement damaging t a person’s reputation

'’he is suing the TV company for slander’’

38
Q

impeccable

A

in accordance with highest standards; faultless

'’he had impeccable manners’’

39
Q

frankly

A

in an open, honest, and direct manner

'’she talks very frankly about herself’’

40
Q

frowning

A

the action of forming an expression of disapproval, displeasure, or concentration by furrowing one’s brows.

'’The angry man looked at me with a frowning face’’

41
Q

ambitious

A

having or showing a strong desire and determination to succeed

'’a ruthlessly ambitious workaholic’’

42
Q

obliterate

A

to destroy utterly; wipe out

'’The motorcycle got obliterated in an accident’’

43
Q

glorious

A

having a striking beauty or splendour

'’a glorious autumn day’’

having ,worthy of, or bringing fame or admiration

'’the most glorious victory of all time’’

44
Q

antagonize

A

cause (someone) to become hostile

'’the aim was to antagonize visiting supporters’’

45
Q

jeopardize

A

put (someone or something) into a situation in which there is danger of loss, hard, or failure.

'’I’m not about to jeopardize my job by asking all kinds of questions’’

46
Q

miniscule

A

extremely small; tiny

'’the cells under the microscope are truly minuscule’’

47
Q

narcissist

A

a person who has an excessive interest in or admiration of themselves

'’narcissists who think the world revolves around them’’

48
Q

vulgar

A

lacking sophistication or good taste

'’a vulgar check suit’’

making explicit and offensive reference to sex or bodily functions; coarse and rude

'’Apologies if I sound vulgar, I just asked out of curiosity.’’

49
Q

exquisite

A

extremely beautiful and delicate

'’exquisite, jewel-like portraits’’

intensely felt

'’the most exquisite kind of agony’’

50
Q

conundrum

A

a confusing and difficult problem or question

'’one of the most difficult conundrums for the experts’’

a question asked for amusement, typically one with a pun in its answer; riddle

'’Now there’s a conundrum to puzzle a tired head to sleep’’

51
Q

presumptuous

A

(of a person or their behaviour) failing to observe the limits of what is permitted or appropriate.

'’I hope I won’t be considered presumptuous if I offer some advice’’

52
Q

thrill

A

cause (someone) to have a sudden feeling of excitement and pleasure

'’his kiss thrilled and excited her’’

(of an emotion or sensation) pass with a nervous tremor

'’the shock of alarm thrilled through her’’

53
Q

unanimous

A

(of an opinion, decision, or vote) held or carried by everyone involved

'’this requires the unanimous approval of all member states’’

54
Q

unethical

A

not morally correct

'’it is unethical to torment any creature for entertainment’’

55
Q

contradict

A

deny the truth (a statement) by asserting the opposite

'’he did not contradict her but just said nothing’’

56
Q

eventuate

A

occur as a result (happen)

'’you never know what might eventuate’’

57
Q

spite

A

a desire to hurt, annoy, or offend someone

'’he’d think I was saying it out of spite’’

58
Q

explicitly

A

in a clear and detailed manner, leaving no room for confusion or doubt

'’He explicitly told him to keep his mouth shut’’

59
Q

devious

A

showing a skilful use of underhand tactics to achieve goals

'’he’s as devious as a politician needs to be’’

(Sneaky, dishonest)

60
Q

infuriate

A

make (someone) extremely angry and impatient

'’I was infuriated by your article’’

61
Q

ostracize

A

exclude from a society or a group

'’she was declared a witch and ostracized by the villagers’’

62
Q

indigent

A

poor, needy

'’a charity for the relief of indigent artists’’

63
Q

civility

A

formal politeness and courtesy in behaviour or speech

'’I hope we can treat each other with civility and respect’’

64
Q

indugle

A

allow oneself to enjoy the pleasure of

'’we indulged in a cream tea’’

65
Q

vigorous

A

strong, healthy, and full of energy

'’a tall vigorous, and muscular man’’

66
Q

ineffectual

A

not producing any significant or desired effect

'’an ineffectual campaign’’

67
Q

endure

A

suffer (something painful or difficult) patiently

'’it seemed impossible that anyone could endure such pain

68
Q

jubilant

A

feeling or expressing great happiness and triumph

'’a large number of jubilant fans ran on to the pitch’’

69
Q

reluctant

A

unwilling and hesitant, disinclined

'’He was reluctant to ask another question to as teacher’’

70
Q

convenient

A

fitting in well with a persons needs, activities, and plans

'’I phoned your office to confirm that this date is convenient’’

71
Q

intangible

A

unable to be touched, not having a physical presence

'’the moonlight made things seem intangible’’

72
Q

annihilate

A

destroy utterly; obliterate.

“a simple bomb of this type could annihilate them all”

73
Q

static

A

lacking in movement, action, or change, especially in an undesirable or uninteresting way.

“demand has grown in what was a fairly static market”

74
Q

detrimental

A

tending to cause harm:

“moving her could have a detrimental effect on her health”

75
Q

Prosperous

A

successful in material terms; flourishing financially:

“prosperous middle-class professionals”

76
Q

Contemplate

A

look thoughtfully for a long time at:

“he sat on the carpet contemplating his image in the mirrors”

77
Q

Immense

A

extremely large or great, especially in scale or degree:
“the cost of restoration has been immense”

English words (2 decks)

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