Deck002 Flashcards
re·pudi·ate
verb
BrE /rɪˈpjuːdieɪt/
NAmE /rɪˈpjuːdieɪt/
formal
1 repudiate something to refuse to accept something
➔ SYNONYM reject
to repudiate a suggestion
Socialism had been repudiated at the polls.
Borrowers have begun repudiating their debt obligations.
The buyer is entitled to repudiate the contract within a reasonable period of time.
2 repudiate something to say officially and/or publicly that something is not true
➔ SYNONYM deny
to repudiate a report
3 repudiate somebody (old-fashioned) to refuse to be connected with somebody any longer
➔ SYNONYM disown
He repudiated his first wife and married her sister.
rep·re·hen·sible
adjective
BrE /ˌreprɪˈhensəbl/
NAmE /ˌreprɪˈhensəbl/
formal
morally wrong and deserving criticism
➔ SYNONYM deplorable
His conduct was thoroughly reprehensible.
rele·gate
verb
BrE /ˈrelɪɡeɪt/
NAmE /ˈrelɪɡeɪt/
1 relegate somebody/something (to something) to give somebody a lower or less important position, rank, etc. than before
She was then relegated to the role of assistant.
He relegated the incident to the back of his mind.
2 [usually passive] relegate something (especially British English) to move a sports team, especially a football ( soccer ) team, to a lower position within an official league
➔ OPPOSITE promote
miti·gate
verb
BrE /ˈmɪtɪɡeɪt/
NAmE /ˈmɪtɪɡeɪt/
mitigate something (formal) to make something less harmful, serious, etc.
➔ SYNONYM alleviate
action to mitigate poverty
Soil erosion was mitigated by the planting of trees.
me·ticu·lous
adjective
BrE /məˈtɪkjələs/
NAmE /məˈtɪkjələs/
paying careful attention to every detail
➔ SYNONYM fastidious, thorough
meticulous planning/records/research
Their room had been prepared with meticulous care.
She planned her trip in meticulous detail.
meticulous in something/doing something Heʼs always meticulous in keeping the records up to date.
meticulous about something My father was meticulous about his appearance.
mag·nani·mous
adjective
BrE /mæɡˈnænɪməs/
NAmE /mæɡˈnænɪməs/
formal
kind, generous and forgiving, especially towards an enemy or a rival
a magnanimous gesture
He was magnanimous in defeat and praised his opponentʼs skill.
spuri·ous
adjective
BrE /ˈspjʊəriəs/
NAmE /ˈspjʊriəs/
1 false, although seeming to be genuine
He had managed to create the entirely spurious impression that the company was thriving.
2 based on false ideas or ways of thinking
a spurious argument
queru·lous
adjective
BrE /ˈkwerələs/ , /ˈkwerjələs/
NAmE /ˈkwerələs/ , /ˈkwerjələs/
formal, disapproving
complaining; showing that you are annoyed
➔ SYNONYM peevish
He complained in a querulous voice about having been woken up.
im·pute
BrE /ɪmˈpjuːt/
NAmE /ɪmˈpjuːt/
imˈpute something to somebody/something
(formal) to say, often unfairly, that somebody is responsible for something or has a particular quality
➔ SYNONYM attribute
I denied the motives that my employer was imputing to me.
im·petu·ous
adjective
BrE /ɪmˈpetʃuəs/
NAmE /ɪmˈpetʃuəs/
acting or done quickly and without thinking carefully about the results
➔ SYNONYM rash, impulsive
an impetuous young woman
an impetuous decision
prod·igal
adjective
BrE /ˈprɒdɪɡl/
NAmE /ˈprɑːdɪɡl/
formal, disapproving
too willing to spend money or waste time, energy or materials
➔ SYNONYM extravagant
a prodigal administration
Idioms
the/a ˌprodigal (ˈson)
a person who leaves home and wastes their money and time on a life of pleasure, but who later is sorry about this and returns home
in·sipid
adjective
BrE /ɪnˈsɪpɪd/
NAmE /ɪnˈsɪpɪd/
disapproving
1 having almost no taste or flavour
➔ SYNONYM flavourless
a cup of insipid coffee
2 not interesting or exciting
➔ SYNONYM dull
After an hour of insipid conversation, I left.
The group are an insipid imitation of the Beatles.
in·nocu·ous
adjective
BrE /ɪˈnɒkjuəs/
NAmE /ɪˈnɑːkjuəs/
formal
1 not intended or likely to offend or upset anyone
➔ SYNONYM harmless
It seemed a perfectly innocuous remark.
2 not harmful or dangerous
➔ SYNONYM harmless
an innocuous substance
in·ev·it·able
adjective
BrE /ɪnˈevɪtəbl/
NAmE /ɪnˈevɪtəbl/
1 that you cannot avoid or prevent
➔ SYNONYM unavoidable
It was an inevitable consequence of the decision.
It was inevitable that there would be job losses.
A rise in the interest rates seems inevitable.
2 [only before noun] (often humorous) so frequent that you always expect it
the English and their inevitable cups of tea
3 the inevitable noun [singular] something that is certain to happen
You have to accept the inevitable.
The inevitable happened—I forgot my passport.
ex·acer·bate
verb
BrE /ɪɡˈzæsəbeɪt/
NAmE /ɪɡˈzæsərbeɪt/
exacerbate something (formal) to make something worse, especially a disease or problem
➔ SYNONYM aggravate
His aggressive reaction only exacerbated the situation.
The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs.
fal·la·cious
adjective
BrE /fəˈleɪʃəs/
NAmE /fəˈleɪʃəs/
formal
wrong; based on a false idea
a fallacious argument
ex·tri·cate
verb
BrE /ˈekstrɪkeɪt/
NAmE /ˈekstrɪkeɪt/
formal
1 extricate somebody/something/yourself (from something) to escape or enable somebody to escape from a difficult situation
He had managed to extricate himself from most of his official duties.
2 extricate somebody/something/yourself (from something) to free somebody/something or yourself from a place where they/it or you are trapped
They managed to extricate the pilot from the tangled control panel.
dis·sem·in·ate
verb
BrE /dɪˈsemɪneɪt/
NAmE /dɪˈsemɪneɪt/
disseminate something (formal) to spread information, knowledge, etc. so that it reaches many people Their findings have been widely disseminated.
dis·cur·sive
adjective
BrE /dɪsˈkɜːsɪv/
NAmE /dɪsˈkɜːrsɪv/
formal
(of a style of writing or speaking) moving from one point to another without any strict structure
the discursive style of the novel
Poetry is closer to music than to the more extended and discursive literary forms.
The meetings were informal, discursive, even gossipy.
adroit
adjective
BrE /əˈdrɔɪt/
NAmE /əˈdrɔɪt/
formal
skilful and clever, especially in dealing with people
➔ SYNONYM skilful
an adroit negotiator
dis·son·ance
noun
BrE /ˈdɪsənəns/
NAmE /ˈdɪsənəns/
1 [countable, uncountable] (music) a combination of musical notes that do not sound pleasant together
➔ OPPOSITE consonance
2 [uncountable] (formal) lack of agreement
emu·late
verb
BrE /ˈemjuleɪt/
NAmE /ˈemjuleɪt/
1 emulate somebody/something (formal) to try to do something as well as somebody else because you admire them
She hopes to emulate her sisterʼs sporting achievements.
2 emulate something (computing) (of a computer program, etc.) to work in the same way as another computer, etc. and perform the same tasks
avar·ice
```
noun
BrE /ˈævərɪs/
NAmE /ˈævərɪs/
[uncountable]
formal
~~~
extreme desire for wealth
➔ SYNONYM greed
as·sidu·ous
adjective
BrE /əˈsɪdjuəs/
NAmE /əˈsɪdʒuəs/
formal
working very hard and taking great care that everything is done as well as it can be
➔ SYNONYM diligent
one of the most assiduous members of the team
their assiduous efforts and attention to detail
She was assiduous in her duties.
dep·re·cate
verb
BrE /ˈdeprəkeɪt/
NAmE /ˈdeprəkeɪt/
deprecate something (formal) to feel and express strong disapproval of something
