D_ETS verba official PS2(16/03/21)

Question 1

invasive

Answer 1

1. ADJECTIVE [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
   You use invasive to describe something undesirable which spreads very quickly and which is very difficult to stop from spreading.
   They found invasive cancer during a routine examination.
2. ADJECTIVE [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
   An invasive medical procedure involves operating on a patient or examining the inside of their body.
   Many people find the idea of any kind of invasive surgery unbearable.

Question 2

cutback

Answer 2

COUNTABLE NOUN
A cutback is a reduction that is made in something.
London Underground said it may have to axe 500 signalling jobs because of government cutbacks in its investment. [+ in]
…the 200-person staff cutback announced yesterday.
Synonyms: reduction, cut, retrenchment, economy

Question 3

condone

Answer 3

VERB
If someone condones behaviour that is morally wrong, they accept it and allow it to happen.
I have never encouraged nor condoned violence. [VERB noun]
I couldn’t condone what she was doing. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: overlook, excuse, forgive, pardon

Question 4

incessant

Answer 4

ADJECTIVE [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
An incessant process or activity is one that continues without stopping.
…incessant rain.
…his incessant demands for affection.
Synonyms: constant, endless, continuous, persistent More Synonyms of incessant
incessantly ADVERB [usually ADVERB with verb]
Dee talked incessantly.
Synonyms: all the time, constantly, continually, endlessly

Question 5

understated

understate

Answer 5

ADJECTIVE [ADJECTIVE noun]
If you describe a style, colour, or effect as understated, you mean that it is not obvious.
I have always liked understated clothes.
…his typically understated humour.

not trying to attract attention or impress people:
approving He’s very elegant, in an understated way.

VERB
If you understate something, you describe it in a way that suggests that it is less important or serious than it really is.
The government chooses deliberately to understate the increase in prices. [VERB noun]
That understates my commitment to the orchestra. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: play down, diminish, minimize, downgrade

Question 6

imminent

Answer 6

ADJECTIVE
If you say that something is imminent, especially something unpleasant, you mean it is almost certain to happen very soon.
There appeared no imminent danger.
They warned that an attack is imminent.
Synonyms: near, coming, close, approaching

Question 7

inconclusive

Answer 7

1. ADJECTIVE
   If research or evidence is inconclusive, it has not proved anything.
   Research has so far proved inconclusive.
   I find the evidence inconclusive.
   Synonyms: uncertain, vague, ambiguous, open More Synonyms of inconclusive
2. ADJECTIVE
   If a contest or conflict is inconclusive, it is not clear who has won or who is winning.
   The past two elections were inconclusive.
   …eight years of bloody and inconclusive war.

Question 8

Curtailed

Answer 8

VERB
If you curtail something, you reduce or limit it.
[formal]
NATO plans to curtail the number of troops being sent to the region. [VERB noun]
I told Louie that old age would curtail her activities in time. [VERB noun]
His powers will be severely curtailed. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: reduce, cut, diminish, decrease

to stop something before it is finished, or to reduce or limit something:
to curtail your holiday/spending
With all the snow, our daily walks have been severely curtailed.

Question 9

predicament

predilection

Answer 9

COUNTABLE NOUN
If you are in a predicament, you are in an unpleasant situation that is difficult to get out of.
Hank explained our predicament.
The decision will leave her in a peculiar predicament.
Synonyms: fix [informal], state, situation, spot

a preference or special liking for something; a bias in favour of something.
“my predilection for Asian food”

Question 10

gargantuan

Answer 10

ADJECTIVE [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
If you say that something is gargantuan, you are emphasizing that it is very large.
[written, emphasis]
…a marketing event of gargantuan proportions.
…a gargantuan corruption scandal.
Synonyms: huge, big, large, giant

Question 11

trackways

Answer 11

NOUN

a path or track

Question 12

inferences

Answer 12

COUNTABLE NOUN
An inference is a conclusion that you draw about something by using information that you already have about it.
There were two inferences to be drawn from her letter.
Synonyms: deduction, conclusion, assumption, reading More Synonyms of inference
2. UNCOUNTABLE NOUN
Inference is the act of drawing conclusions about something on the basis of information that you already have.
It had an extremely tiny head and, by inference, a tiny brain.

Question 13

inherent

inherit

Answer 13

ADJECTIVE [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
The inherent qualities of something are the necessary and natural parts of it.
Stress is an inherent part of dieting.
…the dangers inherent in an outbreak of war. [+ in]
Synonyms: intrinsic, natural, basic, central

1. VERB
   If you inherit money or property, you receive it from someone who has died.
   He has no son to inherit his land. [VERB noun]
   …paintings that he inherited from his father. [VERB noun + from]
   …people with inherited wealth. [VERB-ed]
   Synonyms: be left, come into, be willed, accede to

Question 14

whomsoever

Answer 14

whoever / whosoever

Question 15

correspondence

Answer 15

1. UNCOUNTABLE NOUN [oft a NOUN]
   Correspondence is the act of writing letters to someone.
   The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
   His interest in writing came from a long correspondence with a close college friend. [+ with]
   Synonyms: communication, writing, contact More Synonyms of correspondence
2. UNCOUNTABLE NOUN
   Someone’s correspondence is the letters that they receive or send.
   He always replied to his correspondence.
   She virtually never mentions him in her correspondence or notebooks.
   Synonyms: letters, post, mail More Synonyms of correspondence
3. COUNTABLE NOUN
   If there is a correspondence between two things, there is a close similarity or connection between them.
   In African languages there is a close correspondence between sounds and letters. [+ between]
   …correspondences between Eastern religions and Christianity.
   Synonyms: relation, match, agreement, fitness

Question 16

corresponding

Answer 16

ADJECTIVE
parallel; equivalent
March and April sales this year were up 8 per cent on the corresponding period in 1992.
the corresponding figures for last year
the inexorable rise in Britain’s fortunes and the corresponding decline of France as an international power

Question 17

fabricated

Answer 17

ADJECTIVE
invented
False and fabricated evidence had been used to charge him.
Eventually the fabricated charge of fraud against us was thrown out of court.
He went straight to the newspapers with his fabricated story

to invent or produce something false in order to deceive someone:
He was late, so he fabricated an excuse to avoid trouble.
He claims that the police fabricated evidence against him.

especially US
to produce a product, especially in an industrial process:
The company fabricates and sells steel.
An electronic circuit is fabricated on a silicon wafer.

Question 18

township

Answer 18

1. COUNTABLE NOUN
   In South Africa, a township was a town where only Black people lived.
   …the South African township of Soweto. [+ of]
   …a Black township.
2. COUNTABLE NOUN
   In the United States and Canada, a township is an area of land, especially a part of a county which is organized as a unit of local government.

Question 19

notwithstanding

Despise

Answer 19

PREPOSITION
If something is true notwithstanding something else, it is true in spite of that other thing.
[formal]
He despised William Pitt, notwithstanding the similar views they both held.
Synonyms: despite, in spite of, regardless of More Synonyms of notwithstanding
Notwithstanding is also an adverb.
His relations with colleagues, differences of opinion notwithstanding, were unfailingly friendly.

VERB
If you despise something or someone, you dislike them and have a very low opinion of them.
I can never, ever forgive him. I despise him. [VERB noun]
She secretly despises his work. [VERB noun]
How I despised myself for my cowardice! [V pron-refl for n/-ing]
Synonyms: look down on, loathe, scorn, disdain

Question 20

indemnified

Answer 20

VERB
To indemnify someone against something bad happening means to promise to protect them, especially financially, if it happens.
[formal]
They agreed to indemnify the taxpayers against any loss. [VERB noun + against]
The printers were indemnified against legal action. [V n against n]
It doesn’t have the money to indemnify everybody. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: insure, protect, guarantee, secure

Question 21

bridling

Answer 21

1. COUNTABLE NOUN
   A bridle is a set of straps that is put around a horse’s head and mouth so that the person riding or driving the horse can control it.
   Synonyms: rein, curb, control, check More Synonyms of bridle
2. VERB
   If you bridle, you show that you are angry or offended by moving your head and body upwards in a proud way.
   [literary]
   She bridled, then simply shook her head. [VERB]
   Alex bridled at the shortness of Pamela’s tone. [VERB + at]
   Synonyms: get angry, draw (yourself) up, bristle, seethe

Question 22

lionize

Answer 22

VERB
If someone is lionized, they are treated as if they are very important or special by a particular group of people, often when they do not really deserve to be.
[formal]
By the 1920’s, he was lionised by literary London. [be VERB-ed]
The press began to lionize him enthusiastically. [VERB noun]
In 1936, Max Schmeling had been lionised as boxing’s great hope. [be VERB-ed + as]
Synonyms: idolize, celebrate, honour, acclaim

Question 23

subversion

Answer 23

UNCOUNTABLE NOUN
Subversion is the attempt to weaken or destroy a political system or a government.
He was arrested in parliament on charges of subversion for organizing the demonstration.
Synonyms: trouble-making, rebellion, insurrection, revolution

Question 24

faint

Answer 24

1. ADJECTIVE [usually ADJECTIVE noun]
   A faint sound, colour, mark, feeling, or quality has very little strength or intensity.
   He became aware of the soft, faint sounds of water dripping.
   The room held the faint, sweet odour of pipe tobacco.
   He could see faint lines in her face.
   There was still the faint hope deep within him that she might never need to know.
   Synonyms: dim, low, light, soft More Synonyms of faint
   faintly ADVERB [usually ADVERB after verb, oft ADVERB adjective]
   He was already asleep in the bed, which smelled faintly of mildew.
   She felt faintly ridiculous.
   Synonyms: softly, weakly, feebly, in a whisper More Synonyms of faint
   Synonyms: slightly, rather, a little, somewhat More Synonyms of faint
2. ADJECTIVE [ADJECTIVE noun]
   A faint attempt at something is one that is made without proper effort and with little enthusiasm.
   Caroline made a faint attempt at a laugh.
   A faint smile crossed the Monsignor’s face and faded quickly.
   Ten years ago today the U.S. Center for Disease Control published the first faint warnings of a worldwide epidemic.
   Synonyms: slight, weak, feeble, unenthusiastic More Synonyms of faint
   faintly ADVERB [ADVERB after verb]
   John smiled faintly and shook his head.
   Synonyms: softly, weakly, feebly, in a whisper More Synonyms of faint
3. VERB
   If you faint, you lose consciousness for a short time, especially because you are hungry, or because of pain, heat, or shock.
   She suddenly fell forward on to the table and fainted. [VERB]
   I thought he’d faint when I kissed him. [VERB]
   Synonyms: pass out, black out, lose consciousness, keel over [informal] More Synonyms of faint
   Faint is also a noun.
   She slumped to the ground in a faint.
4. ADJECTIVE [verb-link ADJECTIVE]
   Someone who is faint feels weak and unsteady as if they are about to lose consciousness.
   Other signs of angina are nausea, sweating, feeling faint and shortness of breath.
   Synonyms: dizzy, giddy, light-headed, vertiginous More Synonyms of faint
   faintness UNCOUNTABLE NOUN
   One patient suffered headaches, nausea, and faintness.
   Synonyms: weakness, dizziness, dimness, languor

Question 25

disentanglement

Answer 25

1. VERB
   If you disentangle a complicated or confused situation, you make it easier to understand or manage to understand it, by clearly recognizing each separate element.
   In this new book, Harrison brilliantly disentangles complex debates. [VERB noun]
   It’s impossible to disentangle the myth from reality. [VERB noun + from]
2. VERB
   If you disentangle something or someone from an undesirable thing or situation, you separate it from that thing or remove it from that situation.
   They are looking at ways to disentangle him from this major policy decision. [VERB noun + from]
   The first thing they must do is disentangle themselves from the past. [VERB noun from noun]
   Synonyms: free, separate, loose, detach More Synonyms of disentangle
3. VERB
   If you disentangle something, you separate it from things that are twisted around it, or things that it is twisted or knotted around.
   She clawed at the bushes to disentangle herself. [VERB noun]
   The rope could not be disentangled and had to be cut. [VERB noun]
   [Also VERB noun from noun]
   Synonyms: untangle, unravel, untwist, unsnarl

Question 26

premonitory

Answer 26

COUNTABLE NOUN
If you have a premonition, you have a feeling that something is going to happen, often something unpleasant.
He had an unshakable premonition that he would die.
…a real, genuine premonition of bad news.
Synonyms: feeling, idea, intuition, suspicion

Question 27

mildew

Answer 27

a black, green, or whitish area caused by a fungus that grows on things such as plants, paper, cloth, or buildings, usually if the conditions are warm and wet:
There are patches of mildew on the walls.