Day 30

Question 1

Obsolete

Answer 1

not in use any more, having been replaced by something newer and better or more fashionable:
- Gas lamps became obsolete when electric lighting was invented.

Question 2

To elucidate

Answer 2

to explain something or make something clear:
- I don’t understand. You’ll have to elucidate.
- The reasons for the change in weather conditions have been elucidated by several scientists.

Question 3

Vice versa

Answer 3

used to say that what you have just said is also true in the opposite order:
- He doesn’t trust her, and vice versa (= she also doesn’t trust him).

Question 4

Attorney

Answer 4

a lawyer :
- a defense attorney
- an attorney for the plaintiff
- a civil/criminal attorney

Question 5

Frailty

Answer 5

weakness and lack of health or strength:
- Though ill for most of her life, physical frailty never stopped her from working.
[ C or U ]
moral weakness:
- Most of the characters in the novel exhibit those common human frailties - ignorance and greed.
- Tolerant of human frailty in whatever form, she almost never judged people.

Question 6

Bolster

Answer 6

to support or improve something or make it stronger:
- More money is needed to bolster the industry.
- She tried to bolster my confidence/morale (= encourage me and make me feel stronger) by telling me that I had a special talent.
- They need to do something to bolster their image.

Question 7

Blasphemy

Answer 7

considered offensive to God or religion:
- a blasphemous remark

Question 8

Dismay

Answer 8

a feeling of unhappiness and disappointment:
- Aid workers were said to have been filled with dismay by the appalling conditions that the refugees were living in.
- The fans watched in/with dismay as their team lost 42–11.
- She discovered, to her dismay, that her exam was a whole month earlier than she’d expected.

Question 9

Vent

Answer 9

a small opening that allows air, smoke, or gas to enter or leave a closed space:
- If you have a gas fire in a room, you should have some kind of outside vent.

Question 10

Annihilate

Answer 10

to destroy something completely so that nothing is left:
- a city annihilated by an atomic bomb

Question 11

Malady

Answer 11

a disease:
- All the rose bushes seem to be suffering from the same mysterious malady.

Question 12

Grief

Answer 12

very great sadness, especially at the death of someone:
- Her grief at her son’s death was terrible.
- Newspapers should not intrude on people’s private grief.
- newspaper pictures of grief-stricken relatives
- She describes the anxieties and griefs caused by war.

Question 13

Flaw

Answer 13

a fault, mistake, or weakness, especially one that happens while something is being planned or made, or that causes something not to be perfect:
- I returned the material because it had a flaw in it.
- There’s a fatal flaw in your reasoning.
- This report is full of flaws.
- a character flaw

Question 14

Havoc

Answer 14

confusion and lack of order, especially causing damage or trouble:
- The storm wreaked (= caused) havoc in the garden, uprooting trees and blowing a fence down.
- The delay played (= caused) havoc with their travel arrangements.

Question 15

To advocate

Answer 15

to publicly support or suggest an idea, development, or way of doing something:
- [ + -ing verb ] She advocates taking a more long-term view.
- He advocates the return of capital punishment.

Question 16

Proponent

Answer 16

a person who speaks publicly in support of a particular idea or plan of action:
- He is one of the leading proponents of capital punishment.

Question 17

Predecessor

Answer 17

someone who had a job or a position before someone else, or something that comes before another thing in time or in a series:
- My predecessor worked in this job for twelve years.
- The latest Ferrari is not only faster than its predecessors but also more comfortable.

Question 18

Menace

Answer 18

something that is likely to cause harm:
- Drunk drivers are a menace to everyone.
- Dogs running loose are a public menace.
- the menace of industrial pollution

Question 19

Infant

Answer 19

a baby or a very young child:
- a newborn infant

Question 20

Infestation

Answer 20

a large number of animals and insects that carry disease, that are present where they are not wanted:
- a flea infestation
- an infestation of cockroaches/head lice

Question 21

To afflict

Answer 21

If a problem or illness afflicts a person or thing, they suffer from it:
- It is an illness that afflicts women more than men.
- a country afflicted by civil war

Question 22

Discretion

Answer 22

the ability to behave without causing embarrassment or attracting too much attention, especially by keeping information secret:
- “Can you trust him with this?” “Yes, he’s the soul of discretion (= he will not tell other people).”

Question 23

Upheaval

Answer 23

a great change, especially causing or involving much difficulty, activity, or trouble:
- Yesterday’s coup brought further upheaval to a country already struggling with famine.
- I’m not sure it’s worth the upheaval of moving to gain just a little more space.

Question 24

Supremacy

Answer 24

the leading or controlling position:
- The company has begun to challenge the supremacy of the current leading manufacturers in the textiles industry.
- The allies have established air supremacy (= military control of the sky).