D_20/02/21(Manhattan 8 --> TC --> Intro + Drill Easy ) Flashcards
sermon
noun [ C ]
a part of a Christian church ceremony in which a priest gives a talk on a religious or moral subject, often based on something written in the Bible:
The Reverend William Cronshaw delivered/preached the sermon.
Today’s sermon was on the importance of compassion.
disapproving
a long talk in which someone advises other people how they should behave in order to be better people:
I really don’t think it’s a politician’s job to go delivering sermons on public morality.
utterly
adverb
completely or extremely:
What an utterly stupid thing to do!
She was utterly devastated when her husband died.
revolve
verb [ I or T ]
to move or cause something to move around a central point or line:
The earth revolves around the sun.
The gun turret revolved until the gun was aimed at the advancing soldiers.
revolution
noun
a change in the way a country is governed, usually to a different political system and often using violence or war:
The French Revolution changed France from a monarchy to a republic.
The country seems to be heading towards revolution.
a circular movement:
The revolution of the earth around the sun was proposed by Copernicus.
evolve
verb [ I or T ]
to develop gradually, or to cause something or someone to develop gradually:
Did humans evolve from apes?
The company has evolved over the years into a multi-million dollar organization.
Bacteria are evolving resistance to antibiotics.
devolve
verb [ T ]
to (cause power or responsibility to) be given to other people:
To be a good manager, you must know how to devolve responsibility downwards.
formal Those duties will necessarily devolve on/upon me.
to change something large into several smaller parts of a similar type:
A key proposal would devolve the central investigative unit into six regional bodies.
to change from one thing to another, often to something bad:
The stage is set for the country to devolve into military dictatorship, and few seem to care
congregation
noun [ C, + sing/pl verb ]
a group of people who have come together in a religious building for worship and prayer:
The priest asked the congregation to kneel.
notwithstanding
preposition, adverb formal
despite the fact or thing mentioned:
Notwithstanding some members’ objections, I think we must go ahead with the plan.
Injuries notwithstanding, the team won the semifinal.
execrable
adjective formal
very bad:
an execrable performance
Some critics praised the acting, but all condemned the execrable plot.
euphuism/euphuistic
any stylish affectation in speech or writing, esp a rhetorical device or expression
an artificial prose style of the Elizabethan period, marked by extreme use of antithesis, alliteration, and extended similes and allusions
euphemism
noun [ C or U ] LANGUAGE
a word or phrase used to avoid saying an unpleasant or offensive word:
“Senior citizen” is a euphemism for “old person”.
The article made so much use of euphemism that often its meaning was unclear.
eulogistic
adjective formal
relating to a speech, piece of writing, poem, etc. containing great praise, especially for someone who has recently died:
He had been eulogistic, poetic, in his praise.
Her eulogistic tribute was delivered in a mournful voice.
slew
a large amount or number:
Savino has been charged with three murders as well as a whole slew of other crimes.
divagate
VERB
(intransitive) rare
to digress or wander
assignation
An assignation is a secret meeting with someone, especially with a lover.
[formal]
She had an assignation with her boyfriend. [+ with]
countenance
- VERB
If someone will not countenance something, they do not agree with it and will not allow it to happen.
[formal]
Jake would not countenance Janis’s marrying while still a student. [VERB noun]
…the military men who refused to countenance the overthrow of the president. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: tolerate, sanction, endorse, condone More Synonyms of countenance - COUNTABLE NOUN
Someone’s countenance is their face.
[literary]
He met each inquiry with an impassive countenance.
Synonyms: face, features, expression, look
bastion
something that keeps or defends a belief or a way of life that is disappearing or threatened: British public schools are regarded as one of the last bastions of upper-class privilege.
forbidding
adjective
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.
anthropologist
noun [ C ] SOCIAL SCIENCE
someone who scientifically studies humans and their customs, beliefs, and relationships
infallibility
noun [ U ]
the fact of never being wrong, failing, or making a mistake:
His stubborn belief in his own infallibility kept him from listening to others.
A surgeon must project confidence and infallibility.
literal
adjective
The literal meaning of a word is its original, basic meaning:
The literal meaning of “television” is “seeing from a distance”.
You will need to show more than just a literal understanding of the text.
indiscernible
adjective
impossible to see, see clearly, or understand:
an indiscernible change/shape/reason
grim
adjective
worrying, without hope:
The future looks grim.
waggish
adjective old-fashioned informal
(of a person) funny in a clever way :
The piece, as one waggish writer put it, “begins like Bach and ends like Offenbach.”
using or expressing humour in a clever way:
The Beatles also appeared in two wildly successful and waggish films directed by Richard Lester.
Behind the author’s sometimes waggish prose is considerable scholarship.
staid
adjective
serious, boring, and slightly old-fashioned:
In an attempt to change its staid image, the newspaper has created a new section aimed at younger readers.
sycophantic
adjective formal disapproving
(of a person or of behaviour) praising people in authority in a way that is not sincere, usually in order to get some advantage from them:
There was sycophantic laughter from the audience at every one of his terrible jokes.
thematic
adjective
elating to or based on subjects or a theme:
In her study, the author has adopted a thematic rather than a chronological approach.
defunct
adjective formal
no longer existing, living, or working correctly:
members of a now defunct communist organization
humorous I think this TV is defunct!
sated
ADJECTIVE [verb-link ADJECTIVE]
If you are sated with something, you have had more of it than you can enjoy at one time.
[formal]
…children happily sated with ice cream. [+ with]
inveigle
verb [ T ] formal
to persuade someone to do something in a clever and dishonest way, when they do not want to do it:
Her son tried to inveigle her into giving him the money for a car.
opine
verb [ T ] formal
to express an opinion:
[ + speech ] Power grows from the barrel of a gun, opined Mao.
[ + that ] Ernest Rutherford opined that his work on radioactive substances would be of little or no practical use.
needle
noun [ C ]
to annoy someone, especially by repeated criticism:
His mother was always needling him about getting a job.
a thin metal pin, used in sewing, that is pointed at one end and has a hole called an eye at the other end for thread:
fulminate
verb [ I usually + adv/prep ] formal
to criticize strongly:
I had to listen to Michael fulminating against the government.
coronation
noun [ C ]
a ceremony at which a person is made king or queen:
He was present at the coronation of Queen Victoria.
protégé
noun [ C ]
a young person who is helped and taught by an older and usually famous person:
The young composer regarded himself as Berg’s protégé.
vassal
- COUNTABLE NOUN
In feudal society, a vassal was a man who gave military service to a lord, in return for which he was protected by the lord and received land to live on. - COUNTABLE NOUN [usually singular]
If you say that one country is a vassal of another, you mean that it is controlled by it.
[written, disapproval]
The question is whether the country is destined to end up as a vassal of its larger northern neighbour. [+ of]
serf
noun [ C ]
a member of a low social class in medieval times who worked on the land and had to obey the person who owned that land
precursor
noun [ C ] formal
something that happened or existed before another thing, especially if it either developed into it or had an influence on it:
Sulphur dioxide is the main precursor of acid rain.
Biological research has often been a precursor to medical breakthroughs.
minion
noun [ C ] usually disapproving
a person who is not important and who has to do what another person of higher rank orders them to do:
He sent one of his minions to do something about it.
incur
verb [ T ] formal
to experience something, usually something unpleasant, as a result of actions you have taken:
to incur debts/fines/bills
The play has incurred the wrath/anger of both audiences and critics.
Please detail any costs/expenses incurred by you in attending the interview.
obviate
VERB
To obviate something such as a problem or a need means to remove it or make it unnecessary.
[formal]
Our old-fashioned push-mower, for instance, obviates the needs for extension leads. [VERB noun]
This deferral would obviate pressure on the rouble exchange rate. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: avert, avoid, remove, prevent
mien
noun [ C ] literary
a person’s appearance, especially the typical expression on their face:
His aristocratic mien and expensive clothes singled him out.
