Definitions and usage Flashcards
Devastating
Highly destructive or damaging.
- The devastating effects of war can still be seen.
- They had heard the devastating news about the plane crash.
Curfew
A regulation requiring people to remain indoors between specified hours
- A dusk-to-dawn curfew was in place throughout the war.
- When Mom and Dad are home, our curfew is midnight.
Savvy
Shrewdness and practical knowledge; the ability to make good judgments.
- He is savvy about computers.
- Bob is a savvy veteran who knows all the tricks
Wane
To decrease in size, extent, or degree
- The scandal caused her popularity to wane.
- Interest in this issue has continued to wane.
Falling out
A quarrel or disagreement.
- He left home after falling out with his parents.
- She’d fallen out with her boyfriend over his ex-girlfriend.
Lawnmower
A machine for cutting the grass on a lawn.
- I couldn’t start the lawnmower
- He was pushing the lawnmower up and down
Suffice
Be enough or adequate.
- Suffice to say that I got here in the end.
- Two examples should suffice to prove the content.
Turnout
The number of people attending or taking part in an event, especially the number of people voting in an election.
- We hope to have a good turnout on Sunday
- There was a huge turnout for the parade
Eyesore
A thing that is very ugly, especially a building that disfigures a landscape.
- The new office block is an eyesore.
- Residents believe that the shopping development will create an eyesore next to this historic building.
Allot
To assign someone a task as a share or portion.
- The newspaper will allot a full page to each of the three mayoral candidates.
- They allotted a separate desk to everyone.
Salvage
Rescue (a wrecked or disabled ship or its cargo) from loss at sea.
- An emerald and gold cross was salvaged from the wreck
- It was the only crumb of comfort he could salvage from the ordeal
Excursion
- a short journey or trip, especially one engaged in as a leisure activity
* Today we shall go on an excursion to the Lake District - a deviation from a regular pattern, path, or level of operation.
*The firm’s disastrous excursion into the US electrical market
Provisional
Arranged or existing for the present, possibly to be changed later.
- A provisional construction permit
- I’ve made a provisional booking for next weekend
Mandate
- an official order or commission to do something.
*A mandate to seek the release of political prisoners
* The bill was attacked on the grounds that there was no popular mandate for it - the authority to carry out a policy or course of action, regarded as given by the electorate to a candidate or party that is victorious in an election.
*A sick leader living beyond his mandate
Antiquity
The ancient past, especially the period before the Middle Ages.
- Even in antiquity, the Greeks and Romans had baths
- The issue for me is closely associated with the antiquity of the earth.
Glimpse
A momentary or partial view.
- She caught a glimpse of the ocean
- I got a glimpse of the house as I drove past