Day 19

Question 1

Omniscience

Answer 1

the quality of having or seeming to have unlimited knowledge:
- I do not claim omniscience, nor am I incapable of making mistakes.
- The biographer lacks the novelist’s omniscience.

Question 2

Pinnacle

Answer 2

the most successful or admired part of a system or achievement:
- By the age of 32 she had reached the pinnacle of her career.

Question 3

To gauge

Answer 3

to calculate an amount, especially by using a measuring device:
- Use a thermometer to gauge the temperature.
- I tried to gauge (= guess) the weight of the box.

Question 4

Rapture

Answer 4

extreme pleasure and happiness or excitement:
- He listened to the music with an expression of pure rapture on his face.
- The prime minister’s supporters greeted her speech with rapture.

Question 5

Bewildered

Answer 5

confused and uncertain:
- Arriving in a strange city at night, I felt alone and bewildered.
- I came out of the movie a bit bewildered, but I enjoyed it.

Question 6

Embroil

Answer 6

to cause someone to become involved in an argument or a difficult situation:
- She had no desire to embroil herself in lengthy lawsuits with the tabloid newspapers.
- The United Nations was reluctant to get its forces embroiled in civil war.

Question 7

Pathetic

Answer 7

causing feelings of sadness, sympathy, or sometimes lack of respect, especially because a person or an animal is suffering:
- The refugees were a pathetic sight - starving, frightened and cold.
- After the accident he became a pathetic figure, a shadow of his former self.

Question 8

Astray

Question 9

Merit

Answer 9

the quality of being good and deserving praise:
an entertaining film with little artistic merit
- Her ideas have merit.
- Brierley’s book has the merit of being both informative and readable.

Question 10

Despicable

Answer 10

very unpleasant or bad, causing strong feelings of dislike:
- despicable behaviour
- He’s a despicable human being!
- It was despicable of her to lie about her friend.

Question 11

Juncture

Answer 11

a particular point in time:
- At this juncture, it is impossible to say whether she will make a full recovery.

Question 12

Delineate

Answer 12

to describe or mark the edge of something:
- The main characters are clearly delineated in the first chapter.
- The boundary of the car park is delineated by a low brick wall.

Question 13

To surveil

Answer 13

to carefully watch a place or person or listen to private conversations over a period of time, usually in order to get information about illegal activity:
- The new Patriot Act lets the FBI wiretap and surveil more easily.
- The warrants give agents broad powers to electronically monitor and surveil people who they allege are connected to terrorism or espionage cases.

Question 14

Prolonged

Answer 14

continuing for a long time:
- Prolonged use of the drug is known to have harmful side-effects.

Question 15

Instigation

Answer 15

the action of causing an event or situation to happen by making a set of actions or a formal process begin:
- The inquiry was begun at the instigation of a local MP.
- They were arrested on suspicion of the instigation of acts of terrorism.

Question 16

Regardless

Answer 16

despite; not being affected by something:
- The plan for a new office building went ahead regardless of local opposition.
- She knew it was dangerous to visit him except at night, but she set out regardless (of the risk).
- This job is open to all, regardless of previous experience.

Question 17

Boldness

Answer 17

a brave and confident way of behaving that shows no fear:
- He is famous for the boldness of his business methods.
- Even critics admire his boldness.

Question 18

Contingency

Answer 18

something that might possibly happen in the future, usually causing problems or making further arrangements necessary:
- You must be able to deal with all possible contingencies.
- Have you made any contingency plans?

Question 19

To impugn

Answer 19

to cause people to doubt someone’s character, qualities, or reputation by criticizing them:
- Are you impugning my competence as a professional designer?

Question 20

Irreparably

Answer 20

impossible to repair or make right again:
- Unless the oil spill is contained, irreparable damage will be done to the coastline.

Question 21

Trivial

Answer 21

having little value or importance:
- I don’t know why he gets so upset about something so trivial.
- Getting computers to understand human language is not a trivial problem.

Question 22

Marvelous

Answer 22

extremely good:
He’s done a marvelous job of the painting.
- It took me forever to get it right, but it was a marvelous feeling when I did.
- It’s marvelous how everyone’s tried to help.
- He was a truly marvelous storyteller.
- We’ve achieved some marvelous results with this new drug.

Question 23

To pry

Answer 23

to try to find out private facts about a person:
- As a reporter, I was paid to pry into other people’s lives.
- I hope you don’t think I’m prying, but has your boyfriend ever lived with anyone before?
- She wanted a private holiday away from prying eyes (= where no one would be trying to see her).

Question 24

Brink

Answer 24

the point where a new or different situation is about to begin:
- Extreme stress had driven him to the brink of a nervous breakdown.
- Scientists are on the brink of (= extremely close to) a major new discovery.

Question 25

Embrace

Answer 25

to accept something enthusiastically:
- This was an opportunity that he would embrace.

Question 26

Impious

Answer 26

showing no respect, especially for God or religion

Question 27

Detain

Answer 27

to force someone officially to stay in a place:
- A suspect has been detained by the police for questioning.
- Several of the injured were detained overnight in hospital.
to delay someone for a short length of time:
- I’m sorry I’m late - I was unavoidably detained.

Question 28

Herring

Answer 28

Селедка

Question 29

Refute

Answer 29

to say or prove that a person, statement, opinion, etc. is wrong or false:
- to refute a person/theory/argument/claim

Question 30

Fed up

Answer 30

bored, annoyed, or disappointed, especially by something that you have experienced for too long:
- I’m fed up with my job.
- He got fed up with all the travelling he had to do.

Question 31

Confess

Answer 31

to admit that you have done something wrong or something that you feel guilty or bad about:
- [ + that ] She confessed to her husband that she had sold her wedding ring.
- He confessed to sleeping/having slept through most of the movie.
- He has confessed to the murder.
- [ + (that) ] I have to confess (that) when I first met Reece I didn’t think he was very bright.

Question 32

Forte

Answer 32

a strong ability, something that a person can do well:
- Cooking was not exactly her forte.

Question 33

Harbor