Deck013 Flashcards
ap·po·site
adjective
BrE /ˈæpəzɪt/
NAmE /ˈæpəzɪt/
apposite (to something) (formal) very appropriate for a particular situation or in relation to something
Her remarks are extremely apposite to the present discussion.
His conclusions remain apposite today.
▼︎ Word Origin
late 16th cent.: from Latin appositus, past participle of apponere ‘applyʼ, from ad- ‘towardsʼ + ponere ‘putʼ.
acute
adjective
BrE /əˈkjuːt/
NAmE /əˈkjuːt/
1 very serious or severe
There is an acute shortage of water.
acute pain
the worldʼs acute environmental problems
Competition for jobs is acute.
The scandal was an acute embarrassment for the President.
He was suffering from acute chest pains.
2 an acute illness is one that has quickly become severe and dangerous
acute appendicitis
➔ OPPOSITE chronic
▶︎ Wordfinder
3 (of the senses) very sensitive and well developed
➔ SYNONYM keen
Dogs have an acute sense of smell.
4 intelligent and quick to notice and understand things
He is an acute observer of the social scene.
Her judgement is acute.
5 (geometry) (of an angle) less than 90°
▼︎ Word Origin
late Middle English (describing a disease or its symptoms): from Latin acutus, past participle of acuere ‘sharpenʼ, from acus ‘needleʼ.
def·er·en·tial
adjective
BrE /ˌdefəˈrenʃl/
NAmE /ˌdefəˈrenʃl/
deferential (towards somebody)
showing that you respect somebody/something, especially somebody older or more senior than you
He was always deferential towards his mentor.
a deferential tone
cres·cendo
```
noun
BrE /krəˈʃendəʊ/
NAmE /krəˈʃendoʊ/
pl. cres·cendos
[countable, uncountable]
~~~
1 (music, from Italian) a gradual increase in how loudly a piece of music is played or sung
➔ OPPOSITE diminuendo
2 a gradual increase in noise; the loudest point of a period of continuous noise
➔ SYNONYM swell
Voices rose in a crescendo and drowned him out.
There was a tremendous crescendo of noise.
The shrieks of laughter rose to a crescendo.
(figurative) The advertising campaign reached a crescendo just before Christmas.
▼︎ Word Origin
late 18th cent.: Italian, present participle of crescere ‘to increaseʼ, from Latin crescere ‘growʼ.
forte
noun
BrE /ˈfɔːteɪ/
NAmE /fɔːrt/
BrE /ˈfɔːteɪ/ NAmE /fɔːrt/
[singular] a thing that somebody does particularly well
Languages were never my forte.
▼︎ Word Origin
noun mid 17th cent. (originally referring to a part of a sword blade; as fort): from French fort (masculine), forte (feminine) ‘strongʼ, from Latin fortis.
as·sent
noun
BrE /əˈsent/
NAmE /əˈsent/
[uncountable] assent (to something) (formal) official agreement to or approval of something
The director has given her assent to the proposals.
He nodded (his) assent.
There were murmurs of both assent and dissent from the crowd.
The bill passed in Parliament has now received (the) Royal Assent (= been approved by the king/queen).
She is by common assent, the best person for the job.
▼︎ Word Origin
Middle English: from Old French as(s)enter (verb), as(s)ente (noun), based on Latin assentire, from ad- ‘towardsʼ + sentire ‘feel, thinkʼ.
hein·ous
adjective BrE /ˈheɪnəs/ NAmE /ˈheɪnəs/ [usually before hein·ous adjective BrE /ˈheɪnəs/ NAmE /ˈheɪnəs/ [usually before noun] (formal)
morally very bad
a heinous crime
▼︎ Word Origin
late Middle English: from Old French haineus, from hair ‘to hateʼ, of Germanic origin.
con·spicu·ous
adjective
BrE /kənˈspɪkjuəs/
NAmE /kənˈspɪkjuəs/
easy to see or notice; likely to attract attention
Maryʼs red hair always made her conspicuous at school.
I felt very conspicuous in my new car.
The advertisements were all posted in a conspicuous place.
The event was a conspicuous success (= a very great one).
Bay windows are a conspicuous feature of his architecture.
➔ OPPOSITE inconspicuous
▼︎ Word Origin
mid 16th cent.: from Latin conspicuus (from conspicere ‘look at attentivelyʼ, from con- (expressing intensive force) + spicere ‘look atʼ) + -ous.
dim·in·ution
```
noun
BrE /ˌdɪmɪˈnjuːʃn/
NAmE /ˌdɪmɪˈnuːʃn/
diminution (of/in something
formal)
~~~
1 [uncountable] the act of reducing something or of being reduced
the diminution of political power
2 [countable, usually singular] a reduction; an amount reduced
a diminution in population growth
▼︎ Word Origin
Middle English: via Old French from Latin deminutio(n-), from the verb deminuere, from minuere ‘make smallʼ.
agile
Madjective
BrE /ˈædʒaɪl/
NAmE /ˈædʒl/
1 able to move quickly and easily
➔ SYNONYM nimble
a strong and agile athlete
2 able to think quickly and in an intelligent way
an agile mind/brain
▼︎ Word Origin
late Middle English: via French from Latin agilis, from agere ‘doʼ.
con·ver·gence
noun
BrE /kənˈvɜːdʒəns/
NAmE /kənˈvɜːrdʒəns/
[uncountable]
1 the process of moving together from different directions and meeting; the point where this happens
The city was a natural point of convergence for river-based traffic.
The diagram shows the convergence of two oceanic plates.
2 the process of becoming very similar or the same
The convergence of mobile technology and the Internet will continue to revolutionize the way businesses interact with consumers.
➔ OPPOSITE divergence
dili·gent
adjective
BrE /ˈdɪlɪdʒənt/
NAmE /ˈdɪlɪdʒənt/
formal
showing care and effort in your work or duties
a diligent student/worker
▼︎ Word Origin
Middle English: via Old French from Latin diligens, diligent- ‘assiduousʼ, from diligere ‘love, take delight inʼ.
haughty
adjective
BrE /ˈhɔːti/
NAmE /ˈhɔːti/
haught·ier, haught·iest
behaving in an unfriendly way towards other people because you think that you are better than them
➔ SYNONYM arrogant
a haughty face/look/manner
He replied with haughty disdain.
She threw him a look of haughty disdain.
▼︎ Word Origin
mid 16th cent.: extended form of obsolete haught, earlier haut, from Old French, from Latin altus ‘highʼ.
non·cha·lant
adjective
BrE /ˈnɒnʃələnt/
NAmE /ˌnɑːnʃəˈlɑːnt/
behaving in a calm and relaxed way; giving the impression that you are not feeling any anxiety
➔ SYNONYM casual
to appear/look/sound nonchalant
‘Itʼll be fine,ʼ she replied, with a nonchalant shrug.
▼︎ Word Origin
mid 18th cent.: from French, literally ‘not being concernedʼ, from the verb nonchaloir.
petu·lance
noun
BrE /ˈpetjuləns/
NAmE /ˈpetʃələns/
[uncountable]
the quality of being bad-tempered and unreasonable, especially because you cannot do or have what you want
She withdrew the offer in a fit of petulance.
zephyr
noun
BrE /ˈzefə(r)/
NAmE /ˈzefər/
old-fashioned or literary
a soft gentle wind
▼︎ Word Origin
late Old English zefferus, denoting a personification of the west wind, via Latin from Greek zephuros ‘(god of the) west windʼ. The current sense dates from the late 17th cent.
zen·ith
noun
BrE /ˈzenɪθ/
NAmE /ˈzenɪθ/
1 the highest point that the sun or moon reaches in the sky, directly above you
The sun rose towards its zenith.
2 (formal) the time when something is strongest and most successful
➔ SYNONYM peak
The rock band was at the zenith of its creative powers.
➔ OPPOSITE nadir
▼︎ Word Origin
late Middle English: from Old French or medieval Latin cenit, based on Arabic samt (ar-raʼs) ‘path (over the head)ʼ.
win·some
adjective
BrE /ˈwɪnsəm/
NAmE /ˈwɪnsəm/
especially literary
(of people or their manner) pleasant and attractive
➔ SYNONYM engaging
a winsome smile
▼︎ Word Origin
Old English wynsum, from wyn ‘joyʼ + -some.
vo·cif·er·ous
adjective
BrE /vəˈsɪfərəs/
NAmE /voʊˈsɪfərəs/
formal
expressing your opinions or feelings in a loud and confident way
➔ SYNONYM strident
vociferous protests
a vociferous critic of the presidentʼs stance
vi·cis·si·tude
```
noun
BrE /vɪˈsɪsɪtjuːd/
NAmE /vɪˈsɪsɪtuːd/
[usually plural]
formal
~~~
one of the many changes and problems in a situation or in your life, that you have to deal with
the vicissitudes of family life
▼︎ Word Origin
early 17th cent. (in the sense ‘alternationʼ): from French, or from Latin vicissitudo, from vicissim ‘by turnsʼ, from vic- ‘turn, changeʼ.
ver·acity
```
noun
BrE /vəˈræsəti/
NAmE /vəˈræsəti/
[uncountable]
formal
~~~
the quality of being true; the habit of telling the truth
➔ SYNONYM truth, truthfulness
They questioned the veracity of her story.
They had no reason to doubt his veracity.
▼︎ Word Origin
early 17th cent.: from French véracité or medieval Latin veracitas, from verax ‘speaking trulyʼ, from verus ‘trueʼ.
vapid
adjective
BrE /ˈvæpɪd/
NAmE /ˈvæpɪd/
formal
lacking interest or intelligence ➔ SYNONYM dull The vapid conversation bored her. ▼︎ Word Origin mid 17th cent. (used originally in description of drinks as ‘lacking in flavourʼ): from Latin vapidus.
vacu·ous
adjective
BrE /ˈvækjuəs/
NAmE /ˈvækjuəs/
formal
showing no sign of intelligence or sensitive feelings
a vacuous expression
▼︎ Word Origin
mid 17th cent. (in the sense ‘empty of matterʼ): from Latin vacuus ‘emptyʼ + -ous.
vacil·late
```
verb
BrE /ˈvæsəleɪt/
NAmE /ˈvæsəleɪt/
[intransitive]
formal
~~~
to keep changing your opinion or thoughts about something, especially in a way that annoys other people
➔ SYNONYM waver
The countryʼs leaders are still vacillating between confrontation and compromise.
▼︎ Word Origin
late 16th cent. (in the sense ‘sway unsteadilyʼ): from Latin vacillat- ‘swayedʼ, from the verb vacillare.
