Barrons 3500 E Flashcards
material
ADJ. /物质的；重要的/made of physical matter; unspiritual; impor?tant. Probing the mysteries of this material world has always fascinated physicist George Whitesides. Reporters nick?named Madonna the Material Girl because, despite her name, she seemed wholly uninterested in spiritual values. Lexy’s active participation made a material difference to the success of the fund-raiser.
materialism
N. /唯物主义/preoccupation with physical comforts and things. By its nature, materialism is opposed to idealism, for where the materialist emphasizes the needs of the body, the idealist emphasizes the needs of the soul.
maternal
ADJ. /母性的/motherly. Many animals display maternal instincts only while their offspring are young and helpless.
matriarch
N. /女家长；掌管全家的老太婆/woman who rules a family or larger social group. The matriarch ruled her gypsy tribe with a firm hand.
matriculate
V. /入学/enroll (in college or graduate school). Incoming students formally matriculate at our college in a special ceremony during which they sign the official regis?ter of students.
maudlin
ADJ. /多愁善感/effusively sentimental. Whenever a particu?larly maudlin tearjerker was playing at the movies, Marvin would embarrass himself by weeping copiously.
maul
V. /粗手粗脚的处理/handle roughly. The rock star was mauled by his over-excited fans.
maverick
N. /没打烙印的动物；闹独立的人；非国教徒；造反者/rebel; nonconformist. To the masculine literary establishment, George Sand with her insistence on wearing trousers and smoking cigars was clearly a maverick who fought her proper womanly role.
mawkish
ADJ. /过分多愁善感；感情脆弱到令人作呕的/mushy and gushy; icky-sticky sentimental; maudlin. Whenever Gigi and her boyfriend would sigh and get all lovey-dovey, her little brother would shout, “Yuck!” protesting their mawkish behavior.
maxim
N. /至理名言；格言/proverb; a truth pithily stated. Aesop’s fables illustrate moral maxims.
meager
ADJ. /瘦的；贫乏的，不足的/scanty; inadequate. Still hungry after his meager serving of porridge, Oliver Twist asked for a sec?ond helping.
meander
V. /弯曲；蜿蜒/wind or turn in its course. Needing to stay close to a source of water, he followed every twist and turn of the stream as it meandered through the countryside.
meddlesome
ADJ. /爱管闲事的；好事的；好插手的/interfering. He felt his marriage was suf?fering because of his meddlesome mother-in-law.
mediate
V. /调解；仲裁/settle a dispute through the services of an out?sider. King Solomon was asked to mediate a dispute between two women, each of whom claimed to be the mother of the same child.
mediocre
ADJ. /普通的，一般的/ordinary; commonplace. We were disap?pointed because he gave a rather mediocre performance in this role.
meditation
N. /沉思冥想/reflection; thought. She reached her deci?sion only after much meditation.
medley
N. /混合/mixture. To avoid boring dancers by playing any one tune for too long, bands may combine three or four tunes into a medley.
meek
ADJ. /谦卑的，驯服的；温和的；顺从的/quiet and obedient; spiritless. Can Lois Lane see through Superman’s disguise and spot the superhero hiding behind the guise of meek, timorous Clark Kent? Mr. Barrett never expected his meek daughter would dare to defy him by eloping with her suitor.
melancholy
ADJ. /忧郁/gloomy; morose; blue. To Eugene, stuck in his small town, a train whistle was a melancholy sound, for it made him think of all the places he would never get to see.
mellifluous
ADJ. /优美的；流畅的；蜜一样的/sweetly or smoothly flowing; melodious. Ital?ian is a mellifluous language, especially suited to being sung.
membrane
N. /（动植物的）膜，薄膜/thin soft sheet of animal or vegetable tissue. Each individual section of an orange is covered with a thin, transparent membrane. membranous,ADJ.
memento
N. /有象征意义的物品；纪念品/token; reminder. Take this book as a memento of your visit.
menagerie
N. /动物园/collection of wild animals. Whenever the children run wild around the house, Mom shouts, “Calm down! I’m not running a menagerie!”
mendacious
ADJ. /撒谎成性的；撒谎的，假的/lying; habitually dishonest. Distrusting Huck from the start, Miss Watson assumed he was menda?cious and refused to believe a word he said.
mendicant
N. /乞丐/beggar. “O noble sir, give alms to the poor,” cried Aladdin, playing the mendicant.
menial
ADJ. /仆人的；卑贱的/suitable for servants; lowly; mean. Her wicked stepmother forced Cinderella to do menial tasks around the house while her ugly stepsisters lolled around painting their toenails.
mentor
N. /门特；顾问；导师/teacher. During this very trying period, she could not have had a better mentor, for the teacher was sympathetic and understanding.
mercenary
ADJ. /唯利是图/interested in money or gain. Andy’s every act was prompted by mercenary motives: his first question was always “What’s in it for me?”
mercurial
ADJ. /善变的；无常的/capricious; changing; fickle. Quick as quicksilver to change, he was mercurial in nature and there?fore unreliable.
merger
N. /合并；吞并/combination (of two business corporations). When the firm’s president married the director of financial planning, the office joke was that it wasn’t a marriage, it was a merger.
mesmerize
V. /施催眠术/hypnotize. The incessant drone seemed to mesmerize him and place him in a trance.
metallurgical
ADJ. /冶金的/pertaining to the art of removing metals from ores. During the course of his metallurgical research, the scientist developed a steel alloy of tremendous strength.
metamorphosis
N. /变形/change of form; major transformation. The metamorphosis of caterpillar to butterfly is typical of many such changes in animal life. metamorphose,V.
metaphor
N. /隐喻/implied comparison. “He soared like an eagle” is an example of a simile; “He is an eagle in flight,” a metaphor.
metaphysical
ADJ. /形而上学的/pertaining to speculative philosophy. The modern poets have gone back to the fanciful poems of the metaphysical poets of the seventeenth century for many of their images. metaphysics, N.
methodical
ADJ. /方法论的；系统化的/systematic. An accountant must be methodical and maintain order among his financial records.
meticulous
ADJ. /小心翼翼的/excessively careful; painstaking; scrupu?lous. Martha Stewart was a meticulous housekeeper, fuss?ing about each and every detail that went into making up her perfect home.
metropolis
N. /大都会/large city. Every evening the terminal is filled with thousands of commuters going from this metropolis to their homes in the suburbs.
mettle
N. /勇气；精神/courage; spirit. When challenged by the other horses in the race, the thoroughbred proved its mettle by its determination to hold the lead.
miasma
N. /沼气；瘴气，毒气；天然气/swamp gas; heavy, vaporous atmosphere, often emanating from decaying matter; pervasive corrupting influence. The smog hung over Victorian London like a dark cloud; noisome, reeking of decay, it was a visible miasma.
microcosm
N. /微观世界/small world; the world in miniature. The small village community that Jane Austen depicts serves as a microcosm of English society in her time, for in this small world we see all the social classes meeting and mingling.
migrant
ADJ. /移居的；候鸟的/changing its habitat; wandering. These migrant birds return every spring. also N.
migratory
ADJ. /迁徙的；流浪的/wandering. The return of the migratory birds to the northern sections of this country is a harbinger of spring. migrate,V.
milieu
N. /环境；（社会）背景/environment; means of expression. Surrounded by smooth preppies and arty bohemians, the country boy from Smalltown, USA, felt out of his milieu. Although he has produced excellent oil paintings and lithographs, his proper milieu is watercolor.
militant
ADJ. /好战的/combative; bellicose. Although at this time he was advocating a policy of neutrality, one could usually find him adopting a more militant attitude. also N.
mimicry
N. /模仿/imitation. Her gift for mimicry was so great that her friends said that she should be in the theater.
mincing
ADJ. /装腔作势的/affectedly dainty. Yum-Yum walked across the stage with mincing steps.
minuscule
ADJ. /极小的/extremely small. Why should I involve myself with a project with so minuscule a chance for success?
minute
ADJ. /极小的/extremely small. The twins resembled one another closely; only minute differences set them apart.
minutiae
N. /细节；细微之处/petty details. She would have liked to ignore the minutiae of daily living.
mirage
N. /曲解；海市蜃楼；虚影 /unreal reflection; optical illusion. The lost prospector was fooled by a mirage in the desert.
mire
V. /陷入（泥塘）；麻烦缠身/entangle; stick in swampy ground. Their rear wheels became mired in mud. also N.
mirth
N. /欢笑/merriment; laughter. Sober Malvolio found Sir Toby’s mirth improper.
misanthrope
N. /厌恶人类的人；憎人者/one who hates mankind. In Gulliver’s Travels, Swift portrays an image of humanity as vile, degraded beasts; for this reason, various critics consider him a misanthrope.
misapprehension
N. /错误；误解/error; misunderstanding. To avoid misapprehension, I am going to ask all of you to repeat the instructions I have given.
miscellany
N. /杂记/mixture of writings on various subjects. This is an interesting miscellany of nineteenth-century prose and poetry.
mischance
N. /霉运；不幸/ill luck. By mischance, he lost his week’s salary.
misconception
N. /误解/mistaken idea. “Sir, you are suffering from a misconception. I do not wish to marry you in the least!”
misconstrue
V. /曲解/interpret incorrectly; misjudge. She took the passage seriously rather than humorously because she misconstrued the author’s ironic tone.
misdemeanor
N. /轻罪/minor crime. The culprit pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor rather than face trial for a felony.
miserly
ADJ. /吝啬的；贪婪的；坏的/stingy; mean. Transformed by his vision on Christmas Eve, mean old Scrooge ceased being miserly and became a generous, kind old man.
misgivings
N. /担忧，疑虑/doubts. Hamlet described his misgivings to Horatio but decided to fence with Laertes despite his fore?boding of evil.
mishap
N. /意外，灾难/accident. With a little care you could have avoided this mishap.
misnomer
N. /错误的名字；写错名字；用词不当/wrong name; incorrect designation. His tyrannical conduct proved to all that his nickname, King Eric the Just, was a misnomer.
misrepresent
V. /误传；有意制造误解/give a false or incorrect impression, often deliberately; serve unsatisfactorily as a representative. In his job application, Milton misrepresented his academic background; he was fired when his employers discovered the truth. The reformers accused Senator Gunbucks of mis?representing his constituents and claimed he took bribes from the NRA.
missile
N. /投掷物/object to be thrown or projected. After carefully folding his book report into a paper airplane, Beavis threw the missile across the classroom at Butthead. Rocket scien?tists are building guided missiles; Beavis and Butthead can barely make unguided ones.
missive
N. /信件/letter. The ambassador received a missive from the secretary of state.
mite
N. /小东西；小硬币/very small object or creature; small coin. Gnats are annoying mites that sting.
mitigate
V. /减轻；减缓；中和/appease; moderate. Nothing Jason did could mitigate Medea’s anger; she refused to forgive him for betraying her.
mnemonic
ADJ. /记忆的/pertaining to memory. He used mnemonic tricks to master new words.
mobile
ADJ. /移动的/movable; not fixed. The mobile blood bank operated by the Red Cross visited our neighborhood today. mobility, N.
mock
V. /嘲弄，嘲笑/ridicule; imitate, often in derision. It is unkind to mock anyone; it is stupid to mock anyone significantly big?ger than you. mockery, N.
mode
N. /时尚；方式；模式/prevailing style; manner; way of doing some?thing. The rock star had to have her hair done in the latest mode: frizzed, with occasional moussed spikes for variety. Henry plans to adopt a simpler mode of life: he is going to become a mushroom hunter and live off the land.
modicum
N. /少量/limited quantity. Although his story is based on a modicum of truth, most of the events he describes are fictitious.
modulate
V. /控制；调制到标准；调制（信号）/tone down in intensity; regulate; change from one key to another. Always singing at the top of her lungs, the budding Brunhilde never learned to modulate her voice.
molecule
N. /分子/the smallest particle (one or more atoms) of a substance, having all the properties of that substance. In chemistry, we study how atoms and molecules react to form new substances.
mollify
V. /平息；安抚/soothe. The airline customer service representa?tive tried to mollify the angry passenger by offering her a seat in first class.
molt
V. /换毛；褪毛/shed or cast off hair or feathers. When Molly’s canary molted, he shed feathers all over the house.
molten
ADJ. /融化了的/melted. The city of Pompeii was destroyed by volcanic ash rather than by molten lava flowing from Mount Vesuvius.
momentous
ADJ. /非常重要的/very important. When Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium, they had no idea of the momen?tous impact their discovery would have upon society.
momentum
N. /动量；动力/quantity of motion of a moving body; impetus. The car lost momentum as it tried to ascend the steep hill.
monarchy
N. /君主制；君主整体/government under a single ruler. Though England today is a monarchy, there is some question whether it will be one in twenty years, given the present dis?content at the prospect of Prince Charles as king.
monastic
ADJ. /僧侣的；遁入空门的，不问世事/related to monks or monasteries; removed from worldly concerns. Withdrawing from the world, Thomas Merton joined a contemplative religious order and adopted the monastic life.
monetary
ADJ. /金融的/pertaining to money. Jane held the family purse strings: she made all monetary decisions affecting the household.
monochromatic
ADJ. /单色的/having only one color. Most people who are color blind actually can distinguish several colors; some, however, have a truly monochromatic view of a world all in shades of gray.
monolithic
ADJ. /单片的，单块的；一体不动摇的/solidly uniform; unyielding. Knowing the importance of appearing resolute, the patriots sought to present a monolithic front.
monosyllabic
ADJ. /单音节的/having only one syllable. No matter what he was asked, the taciturn New Englander answered with a monosyllabic “Yep” or “Nope.” monosyllable, N.
monotony
N. /千篇一律的/sameness leading to boredom. What could be more deadly dull than the monotony of punching num?bers into a computer hour after hour?
montage
N. /蒙太奇/photographic composition combining ele?ments from different sources. In one early montage, Beauchamp brought together pictures of broken man?nequins and newspaper clippings about the Vietnam War.
monumental
ADJ. /雄伟的；厚重的；结实的；纪念的/massive. Writing a dictionary is a monu?mental task.
moodiness
N. /闷闷不乐/fits of depression or gloom. Her recurrent moodiness left her feeling as if she had fallen into a black hole.
moratorium
N. /延期偿还/legal delay of payment. If we declare a moratorium and delay collection of debts for six months, I am sure the farmers will be able to meet their bills.
morbid
ADJ. /病态的，恐怖的；喜怒无常的；不成熟的/given to unwholesome thought; moody; char?acteristic of disease. People who come to disaster sites just to peer at the grisly wreckage are indulging their morbid curiosity.
mores
N. /风俗习惯/conventions; moral standards; customs. In America, Benazir Bhutto dressed as Western women did; in Pakistan, however, she followed the mores of her people, dressing in traditional veil and robes.
moribund
ADJ. /垂死的/dying. Hearst took a moribund, failing weekly newspaper and transformed it into one of the liveli?est, most profitable daily papers around.
morose
ADJ. /郁闷的；乖僻的/ill-humored; sullen; melancholy. Forced to take early retirement, Bill acted morose for months; then, all of a sudden, he shook off his sullen mood and was his usual cheerful self.
mortician
N. /殡仪业者/undertaker. The mortician prepared the corpse for burial.
mortify
V. /侮辱；体罚/humiliate; punish the flesh. She was so mortified by her blunder that she ran to her room in tears.
mosaic
N. /马赛克/picture made of colorful small inlaid tiles. The mayor compared the city to a beautiful mosaic made up of people of every race and religion on earth.
mote
N. /小半点/small speck. The tiniest mote in the eye is very painful.
motif
N. /主旨，本意；动机/theme. This simple motif runs throughout the entire score.
motley
ADJ. /多彩的，杂色的；混合的/multi-colored; mixed. The jester wore a motley tunic, red and green and blue and gold all patched together haphazardly. Captain Ahab had gathered a motley crew to sail the vessel: old sea dogs and runaway boys, pil?lars of the church and drunkards, even a tattooed islander who terrified the rest of the crew.
mottled
ADJ. /有斑点的；弄脏的/blotched in coloring; spotted. When old Fal?staff blushed, his face was mottled with embarrassment, all pink and purple and red.
muddle
V. /迷惑的；搞乱了的，混淆了的/confuse; mix up. His thoughts were muddled and chaotic. also N.
muggy
ADJ. /又热又潮的（天气）/warm and damp. August in New York City is often muggy.
multifaceted
ADJ. /多面的/having many aspects. A multifaceted composer, Roger Davidson has recorded original pieces that range from ragtime tangos to choral masses.
multifarious
ADJ. /多样的；各式各样的/varied; greatly diversified. A career woman and mother, she was constantly busy with the multi?farious activities of her daily life.
multiform
ADJ. /多态的/having many forms. Snowflakes are multi?form but always hexagonal.
multilingual
ADJ. /多语种的/having many languages. Because they are bordered by so many countries, the Swiss people are multilingual.
multiplicity
N. /多样性/state of being numerous. He was appalled by the multiplicity of details he had to complete before set?ting out on his mission.
mundane
ADJ. /世俗的；日常的/worldly as opposed to spiritual; everyday. Uninterested in philosophical or spiritual discussions, Tom talked only of mundane matters such as the daily weather forecast or the latest basketball results.
munificent
ADJ. /宽宏大量的；慷慨大方的/very generous. Shamelessly fawning over a particularly generous donor, the dean kept on referring to her as “our munificent benefactor.” munificence, N.
mural
N. /壁画/wall painting. The walls of the Chicano Commu?nity Center are covered with murals painted in the style of Diego Rivera, the great Mexican artist.
murky
ADJ. /暗的，模糊的，暧昧的/dark and gloomy; thick with fog; vague. The murky depths of the swamp were so dark that one couldn’t tell the vines and branches from the snakes.
muse
V. /沉思/ponder. For a moment he mused about the beauty of the scene, but his thoughts soon changed as he recalled his own personal problems. also N.
mushroom
V. /膨胀，迅速生长/expand or grow rapidly. Between 1990 and 1999, the population of Silicon Valley mushroomed; with the rapidly increasing demand for housing, home prices sky-rocketed as well.
musky
ADJ. /麝香味儿的/having the odor of musk. She left a trace of musky perfume behind her.
muster
V. /收集；集合/gather; assemble. Washington mustered his forces at Trenton. also N.
musty
ADJ. /陈腐的，变质的；时间长损失品质的/stale; spoiled by age. The attic was dark and musty.
mutability
N. /变化能力/ability to change in form; fickleness. Going from rags to riches, and then back to rags again, the bank?rupt financier was a victim of the mutability of fortune.
muted
ADJ. /静默的；静音的/silent; muffled; toned down. Thanks to the thick, sound-absorbing walls of the cathedral, only muted traffic noise reached the worshippers within.
mutinous
ADJ. /反抗的；暴动的/unruly; rebellious. The captain had to use force to quiet his mutinous crew. mutiny, N.
myopic
ADJ. /鼠目寸光；缺乏远见/nearsighted; lacking foresight. Stumbling into doors despite the coke bottle lenses on his glasses, the nearsighted Mr. Magoo is markedly myopic. In playing all summer long and ignoring to store up food for winter, the grasshopper in Aesop’s fable was myopic as well.
myriad
N. /无数，非常多/very large number. Myriads of mosquitoes from the swamps invaded our village every twilight. alsoADJ.
mystify
V. /迷惑，蛊惑/bewilder purposely. When doctors speak in medical jargon, they often mystify their patients, who have little knowledge of medical terminology.
nadir
N. /谷底，最低点；天底/lowest point. Although few people realized it, the Dow-Jones averages had reached their nadir and would soon begin an upward surge.
naiveté
N. /天真烂漫的，简单的/quality of being unsophisticated; simplicity; art?lessness; gullibility. Touched by the naivetd of sweet, con?vent-trained Cosette, Marius pledges himself to protect her innocence. naive,ADJ.
narcissist
N. /自我陶醉的人；逞能的人/conceited person; someone in love with his own image. A narcissist is her own best friend.
narrative
ADJ. /解说的/related to telling a story. A born teller of tales, Tillie Olsen used her impressive narrative skills to advantage in her story “I Stand Here Ironing.” narrate,V.
nascent
ADJ. /初生的/incipient; coming into being. If we could identify these revolutionary movements in their nascent state, we would be able to eliminate serious trouble in later years.
natty
ADJ. /穿着整齐干净的/neatly or smartly dressed. Priding himself on being a natty dresser, the gangster Bugsy Siegel collected a wardrobe of imported suits and ties.
nauseate
V. /令人作呕的/cause to become sick; fill with disgust. The foul smells began to nauseate him.
nautical
ADJ. /航海的/pertaining to ships or navigation. The Mar?itime Museum contains many models of clipper ships, log?books, anchors and many other items of a nautical nature.
navigable
ADJ. /可以通航的/wide and deep enough to allow ships to pass through; able to be steered. So much sand had built up at the bottom of the canal that the waterway was barely navigable.
nebulous
ADJ. /暧昧的，混浊不清的/vague; hazy; cloudy. After twenty years, she had only a nebulous memory of her grandmother’s face.
necromancy
N. /巫术，妖术，招魂术/black magic; dealings with the dead. The evil sorceror performed feats of necromancy, calling on the spirits of the dead to tell the future.
nefarious
ADJ. /十恶不赦的/very wicked. The villain’s crimes, though various, were one and all nefarious.
negate
V. /拒绝，否定，取消/cancel out; nullify; deny. A sudden surge of adrenalin can negate the effects of fatigue: there’s nothing like a good shock to wake you up.
negligence
N. /疏忽，没能尽力的/neglect; failure to take reasonable care. Tommy failed to put back the cover on the well after he fetched his pail of water; because of his negligence, Kitty fell in.
negligible
ADJ. /可忽略不计的/so small, trifling, or unimportant that it may be easily disregarded. Because the damage to his car had been negligible, Michael decided he wouldn’t bother to report the matter to his insurance company.
nemesis
N. /复仇的人；寻衅者/someone seeking revenge. Abandoned at sea in a small boat, the vengeful Captain Bligh vowed to be the nemesis of Fletcher Christian and his fellow mutineers.
neologism
N. /新生词/new or newly coined word or phrase. As we invent new techniques and professions, we must also Invent neologisms such as “microcomputer” and “astronaut” to describe them.
neophyte
N. /新入教者；新信徒/recent convert; beginner. This mountain slope contains slides that will challenge experts as well as neophytes.
nepotism
N. /偏袒的人（亲戚）/favoritism (to a relative). John left his position with the company because he felt that advancement was based on nepotism rather than ability.
nettle
V. /烦恼；激怒；荨麻/annoy; vex. Do not let him nettle you with his sar?castic remarks.
neutral
ADJ. /中型的；自然的；中庸的，公允的/impartial; not supporting one side over another. Reluctant to get mixed up in someone else’s quar?rel, Bobby tried to remain neutral, but eventually he had to take sides.
nicety
N. /准确，精密/precision; minute distinction. I cannot distinguish between such niceties of reasoning.
nihilist
N. /虚无主义者/one who believes traditional beliefs to be groundless and existence meaningless; absolute skeptic; revolutionary terrorist. In his final days, Hitler revealed him?self a power-mad nihilist, ready to annihilate all of Western Europe, even to destroy Germany itself, in order that his will might prevail. The root of the word nihilist is nihil, Latin for nothing. nihilism, N.
nip
V. /夹，捏；剪断；阻止/stop something’s growth or development; snip off; bite; make numb with cold. The twins were plotting mis?chief, but Mother intervened and nipped that plan in the bud. The gardener nipped off a lovely rose and gave it to me. Last week a guard dog nipped the postman in the leg; this week the extreme chill nipped his fingers till he could barely hold the mail.
nirvana
N. /涅磐/in Buddhist teachings, the ideal state in which the individual loses himself in the attainment of an imper?sonal beatitude. Despite his desire to achieve nirvana, the young Buddhist found that even the buzzing of a fly could distract him from his meditation.
nocturnal
ADJ. /夜的/done at night. Mr. Jones obtained a watch?dog to prevent the nocturnal raids on his chicken coops.
noisome
ADJ. /有害的，有毒的；恶臭的/foul-smelling; unwholesome. The noisome atmosphere downwind of the oil refinery not only stank, it damaged the lungs of everyone living in the area.
nomadic
ADJ. /游牧的/wandering. Several nomadic tribes of Indi?ans would hunt in this area each year.
nomenclature
N. /命名法；术语学/terminology; system of names. Sharon found Latin word parts useful in translating medical nomen?clature: when her son had to have a bilateral myringotomy, she figured out that he just needed a hole in each of his eardrums to end the earaches he had.
nominal
ADJ. /有名无实的，名存实亡的；名义上的/in name only; trifling. He offered to drive her to the airport for only a nominal fee.
nonchalance
N. /冷淡/indifference; lack of concern; composure. Cool, calm, and collected under fire, James Bond shows remarkable nonchalance in the face of danger.
noncommittal
ADJ. /不明朗的，不表态的；中庸的，未决的/neutral; unpledged; undecided. We were annoyed by his noncommittal reply for we had been led to expect definite assurances of his approval.
nondescript
ADJ. /普通的/undistinctive; ordinary. The private detec?tive was a short, nondescript fellow with no outstanding fea?tures, the sort of person one would never notice in a crowd.
nonentity
N. /不存在/person of no importance; nonexistence. Because the two older princes dismissed their youngest brother as a nonentity, they did not realize that he was qui?etly plotting to seize the throne.
nonplus
V. /使迷惑；使为难；混淆/bring to halt by confusion; perplex. Jack’s uncharacteristic rudeness nonplussed Jill, leaving her uncertain how to react.
nostalgia
N. /想家；乡愁/homesickness; longing for the past. My grandfather seldom spoke of life in the old country; he had little patience with nostalgia. nostalgic,ADJ.
notable
ADJ. /显著的；值得注意的/conspicuous; important; distinguished. Nor?mally notable for his calm in the kitchen, today the head cook was shaking, for the notable chef Julia Child was com?ing to dinner.
notoriety
N. /臭名昭著的/disrepute; ill fame. To the starlet, any publicity was good publicity: if she couldn’t have a good reputation, she’d settle for notoriety. notorious,ADJ.
novelty
N. /新奇/something new; newness. The computer is no longer a novelty at work; every desk in our office has one. novel,ADJ.
novice
N. /新手/beginner. Even a novice at working with comput?ers can install Barron’s Computer Study Program for the SAT by following the easy steps outlined in the user’s manual.
noxious
ADJ. /有害的/harmful. We must trace the source of these noxious gases before they asphyxiate us.
nuance
N. /细微差别/shade of difference in meaning or color; subtle distinction. Jody gazed at the Monet landscape for an hour, appreciating every subtle nuance of color in the painting.
nullify
V. /使无效/to make invalid. Once the contract was nullified, it no longer had any legal force.
numismatist
N. /硬币收藏家/person who collects coins. The numisma?tist had a splendid collection of antique coins.
nuptial
ADJ. /婚姻的/related to marriage. Reluctant to be married in a traditional setting, they decided to hold their nuptial cere?mony at the carousel in Golden Gate Park.
nurture
V. /养育；教育/nourish; educate; foster. The Head Start pro?gram attempts to nurture pre-kindergarten children so that they will do well when they enter public school. also N.
nutrient
N. /营养品/nourishing substance. As a budding nutrition?ist, Kim has learned to design diets that contain foods rich in important basic nutrients.
oaf
N. /愚蠢的人/stupid, awkward person. “Watch what you’re doing, you clumsy oaf!” Bill shouted at the waiter who had drenched him with iced coffee.
obdurate
ADJ. /执拗的；顽固的/stubborn. He was obdurate in his refusal to listen to our complaints.
obese
ADJ. /肥胖的/fat. It is advisable that obese people try to lose weight.
obfuscate
V. /迷惑，困惑；增加不必要的复杂性/confuse; muddle; cause confusion; make needlessly complex. Was the president’s spokesman trying to clarify the Whitewater mystery, or was he trying to obfus?cate the issue so the voters would never figure out what went on?
obituary
ADJ. /讣告/death notice. I first learned of her death when I read the obituary column in the newspaper. also N.
objective
ADJ. /不为情所动的；公平的/not influenced by emotions; fair. Even though he was her son, she tried to be objective about his behavior.
objective
N. /目标/goal; aim. A degree in medicine was her ulti?mate objective.
obligatory
ADJ. /必须的/binding; required. It is obligatory that books borrowed from the library be returned within two weeks.
oblique
ADJ. /间接的；倾斜的；无诚意的/indirect; slanting (deviating from the perpen?dicular or from a straight line). Casting a quick, oblique glance at the reviewing stand, the sergeant ordered the company to march “Oblique Right.”
obliterate
V. /彻底摧毁/destroy completely. The tidal wave obliterated several island villages,
oblivion
N. /遗忘；赦免/obscurity; forgetfulness. After a decade of pop?ularity, Hurston’s works had fallen into oblivion; no one bothered to read them any more.
oblivious
ADJ. /遗忘的；出神的/inattentive or unmindful; wholly absorbed. Deep in her book, Nancy was oblivious to the noisy squab?bles of her brother and his friends.
obnoxious
ADJ. /讨厌的；冒犯的/offensive. I find your behavior obnoxious; please mend your ways.
obscure
ADJ. /模糊的，不明了的，暗淡的/dark; vague; unclear. Even after I read the poem a fourth time, its meaning was still obscure. obscu?rity, N.
obscure
V. /使模糊；使暗淡/darken; make unclear. At times he seemed purposely to obscure his meaning, preferring mystery to clarity.
obsequious
ADJ. /谄媚的；拍马屁的；奴性的/slavishly attentive; servile; sycophantic. Helen liked to be served by people who behaved as if they respected themselves; nothing irritated her more than an excessively obsequious waiter or a fawning salesclerk.
obsessive
ADJ. /强迫性的，入迷的；出神的/related to thinking about something con?stantly; preoccupying. Ballet, which had been a hobby, began to dominate his life: his love of dancing became obsessive. obsession, N.
obsolete
ADJ. /过时的；无用的/no longer useful; outmoded; antiquated. The invention of the pocket calculator made the slide rule used by generations of engineers obsolete.
obstetrician
N. /妇产科医师/physician specializing in delivery of babies. In modern times, the delivery of children has passed from the midwife to the more scientifically trained obstetrician,
obstinate
ADJ. /坚定的，倔强的/stubborn; hard to control or treat. We tried to persuade him to give up smoking, but he was obstinate and refused to change. Blackberry stickers are the most obstinate weeds I know: once established in a yard, they’re extremely hard to root out. obstinacy, N.
obstreperous
ADJ. /喧闹的，喧嚣的；任性的/boisterous; noisy. What do you do when an obstreperous horde of drunken policemen goes carous?ing through your hotel, crashing into potted plants and singing vulgar songs?
obtrude
V. /插手，强入，冲出/push (oneself or one’s ideas) forward or intrude; butt in; stick out or extrude. Because Fanny was reluctant to obtrude her opinions about child-raising upon her daughter-in-law, she kept a close watch on her tongue. obtrusive,ADJ.
obtuse
ADJ. /钝的，迟钝的；愚蠢的/blunt; stupid. What can you do with somebody who’s so obtuse that he can’t even tell that you’re insulting him?
obviate
V. /消除；排除；避免/make unnecessary; get rid of. I hope this contri?bution will obviate any need for further collections of funds.
