Destination C1-C2 Flashcards
(Temporarily)
-> pour l’instant, pour le moment
for the time being
-> + present continuous
(Currently)
-> actuellement, en ce moment
at present (adv)
(occasionally)
-> de temps en temps / de temps à autre
Every now and then
(Temporarily, for the moment)
-> Pour le moment
for now
- (evaluate)
-> (une situation, un candidat,…) évaluer, jauger - (appraise : value)
-> (une valeur, un montant) estimer, expertiser
To assess
- (confuse, mystify)
-> dérouter, déconcerter, laisser perplexe - (sound, light, etc : reduce)
-> (le son, la lumière) réguler, étouffer - (thwart plans or efforts)
-> contrecarrer
To baffle ([sb/sth])
- (suspicious)
-> douteux, suspect - (person: doubtful)
-> (personne) dubitatif
dubious (adj)
/ˈdjuːbiəs/
Avoir des doutes sur [qch] / quant à [qch]
To be dubious / doubtful about sth
- (slight idea)
-> un pressentiment, une intuition - (hump)
-> bosse
hunch (noun)
- (believable)
-> p….
Plausible (adj)
- (think)
-> réfléchir - (think about, reflect on)
-> réfléchir à - (consider, think about)
-> réfléchir à
To ponder (over/on [sth)
- (person: biased)
-> (personne) qui a des préjugés, qui a des idées préconçues - (attitude, belief: showing bias)
-> (attitude, idée) partial, préconçu
-> (résultat) faussé
prejudiced (adj)
/ˈprɛdʒʊdɪst/
- (with clause: assume)
-> présumer que, supposer que - formal (assume)
-> présumer, supposer - (dare)
-> oser faire [qch] / se permettre de faire [qch]
- and 2. presume (that)
- presume to do [sth]
- (fit [sth] into small space)
-> entasser [qch] dans [qch]
-> fourrer [qch] dans [qch] - figurative (fit [sth] into limited time)
-> faire beaucoup - informal (fit in: a large amount)
-> (familier) fourrer - informal (prepare for an exam)
-> (familier) travailler seulement pour l’examen
- and 2. cram [sth] into [sth]
- cram [sth] in / cram in [sth]
- cram [for]
- (who does not watch or listen)
-> inattentif, étourdi - (unobservant, who does not notice)
-> négligent
inattentive (adj)
practise and improve your skills or knowledge of something
To brush up (on)
suddenly have an idea : discover something by chance
to hit upon
- informal (with object: see, perceive)
-> distinguer, discerner, voir - UK, informal (with clause: pretend)
-> faire croire - (represent as) -> often refers to a false claim
-> faire passer [qqn/qch! pour [qch]
- make [sth] out
- make out (that)
- make [sb/sth] out to be [sth]
think carefully about something over a period of time
-> (bien) réfléchir à
mull over
solve a confusing or complicated problem by thinking carefully about it
puzzle out
get information on a particular subject by reading a lot about it (research)
To read up (on/about)
invent or imagine something, especially an excuse
Quick! We have to… ….an excuse.
To think up
(compromise) If you……… between two things, you accept partsof both things in ordertosatisfysome of thedemandsof bothsidesin anargument,ratherthan all thedemandsof just oneside
-> trouver le juste milieu, le juste équilibre
strike a balance
(try to remember)
-> se creuser la cervelle, se creuser la tête
Rack/wrack your brain
(idea)
-> idée originale, personnelle
-> invention personnelle
brainchild
Naître de l’imagination de / être imaginé/inventé/conçu par
Be the brainchild of
It makes you think that you are better or more important than you really are
-> Monter à la tête de [qqn]
go to your head
Be able to think quickly and make sensible decisions
-> être sur le qui-vive
Keep / have your wits about you
Not have any way of proving that you are right about something
-> Ne pas avoir de preuves
-> (accusation, argument) reposer sur rien
Not have a leg to stand on
To be very involved in the details of something and so to not notice what is important about the thing as a whole
Not see the wood for the trees
Taking a very short / long time to understand or realise something
Quick / slow on the uptake
Something that …. …. …. sounds familiar to you, although you cannot remember the exact details
Ring a bell
figurative (focus on trivial things)
-> chercher la petite bête
split hairs (verb + expression)
- UK (instruction)
-> Les cours - (university payment)
-> frais de scolarité
Tuition
informal (figure out)
-> (familier) piger , comprendre
suss [sth] out
suss out that
figurative (understand)
-> comprendre
fathom [sth]
(all things considered)
-> Tout bien considéré, tout compte fait
on balance (adv)
informal (consider positive aspects)
-> voir le bon côté des choses
Look on the bright side (expr)
Believing that
In the belief that
informal, expr (decide)
-> se décider
make up your mind
synonym of “have the impression that”
Be under the impression that
(understand, absord)
-> assimiler, saisir
-> (familier) capter
take [sth] in
- (estimate)
-> estimer - informal (with clause : guess (the one that Esme said was the most similar to), believe)
-> imaginer que + [indicatif]
reckon [sth]
reckon that…
(correct, modify)
-> (un texte de loi) corriger, changer, modifier
To amend [sth]
- (decompose, rot)
-> se décomposer, pourrir
-> (dent) se carier - figurative (deteriorate)
-> (faculté d’une personne)
-> décliner
To decay
- (image, vision)
-> déformer - (twist out of shape)
-> déformer, distordre - (sound)
-> (un son) déformer - (facts)
-> déformer, dénaturer
-> (des résultats) -> fausser
to distort [sth]
- (oil, flour, etc)
-> (culinaire) raffiner - (petroleum, chemicals)
-> raffiner - (process: improve)
-> affiner
-> (familier) peaufiner - (work, etc; improve, polish)
-> (un texte, un discours) parfaire, peaufiner - (manners, taste: improve, polish)
-> améliorer
To refine [sth]
- (physically)
-> stable, ferme, solide - (no change)
-> stable - (continuous)
-> constant, régulier - verb
-> stabiliser, maintenir
-> i.e.: Mark …….. the ladder as Laura climbed up it
steady
To steady
(Internet: high-speed)
-> haut débit, à haut débit
broadband (noun or adj)
- (alteration, shift)
-> changement - US (rearrange)
-> Réorganiser, réarranger
- change round (noun)
- To change [sb/sth] round [sb/sth]
To remove an item of clothing in order to put on a different one
i.e: The minute I get home, all I want to do is to …… ……. …. my work clothes.
To change out of
- slang (eliminate, get rid of)
-> en finir avec
-> se débarrasser de - slang (kill, murder)
-> (figuré: tuer) éliminer, se débarasser de
To do away with [sb]
- informal (redecorate)
-> (une maison, voiture, repeindre,…)
-> retaper, refaire, rénover - informal (zip, buttons : fasten)
-> boutonner, fermer
To do [sth] up [sth]
Grow fainter or less distinct
-> disparaitre
-> (son) diminuer
-> (souvenirs) s’estomper, s’effacer
fade away
Change someone or something so that they become something else
-> (transform [sth])
To make [sth] into [sth] else
- (dismantle, disassemble)
-> démonter - figurative (analyse)
-> (analyser) décortiquer - figurative (criticise) -> sth or sb
-> (figuré, familier) démolir, démonter, casser
To take [sb/sth] apart
To take apart [sb/sth]
(Consume completely, exhaust)
-> (tout) utiliser
-> (une ressource) épuiser
To use [sth] up
To use up [sth]
- (Be destroyed through use)
-> s’user - (destroy through use)
-> user
-> abîmer - (exhaust, tire) -> sb
-> user, épuiser, éreinter - (make a hole in [sth])
-> trouer
- Wear out
- Wear sth out
- Wear sb out
- Wear [sth] out, wear [sth] through
To stop doing something that is a habit, especially something bad or harmful
To break a habit
(Diverge from norm)
-> rompre avec la tradition
break with tradition
(you) run to escape from something
To make a break (from/for)
(Be transformed)
-> subir un changement, une transformation
To undergo a change
- (all the time) -> adj
-> 24h sur 24
-> jour et nuit, nuit et jour - (constant) -> adj
-> 24h sur 24
-> jour et nuit, nuit et jour
- around the clock
- around-the-clock
- (in ….. direction)
-> dans le sens des aiguilles d’une montre - (going in ….. direction)
-> dans le sens des aiguilles d’une montre
clockwise
(exist since)
-> dater de
-> remonter à
date from [sth]
date back to [sth]
(popular, wanted, sought after)
-> demandé
in demand
(As and when requested)
-> Sur demande, sur commande
-> à la demande, à la carte
on demand
To use available information to develop or reach an opinion or idea
Form an impression (also opinion or idea)
A lot of
A good many / few of
many -> people
few -> things
(informed)
-> (assez familier) au courant
in the know
(Technical knowledge)
-> savoir-faire
know-how (noun)
(winning)
-> en tête
In the lead
(Instead of, replacing [sth])
-> à la place de, au lieu de
in place of [sth]
in the place of
(Not belonging)
-> pas à sa place
out of place
(Drive a vehicle)
take the wheel
Idiom: used for saying that someone will never change their behaviour or character
A leopard can’t change its spots
Idiom : change a situation by doing something that is very different from what most people usually do or have done in the past
-> Casser les codes
break the mould
change your opinion about something or decide not to do something you were planning to do
-> changer d’avis
have a change of heart
Be very familiar with
Know something inside out
Idiom: To waste time learning how to do something when it is already known how to do it
-> ex: We don’t need to ……. ….. ……., we just need to hire someone who already knows how to make the system work
Reinvent the wheel
Idiom: Refuse to change what you are saying or doing despite the opposition or criticism of other people
Stick to your guns
Idiom: Change your life by starting to be a better person or stopping a bad habit
-> changer
Turn over a new leaf
(Switch: from one system to another)
-> changement, passage
changeover (noun)
Difference between continuous and continual ?
Continuous = to something that happens without interruption or ceasing
Continual = to something that recurs frequently or regularly
- (again)
-> de nouveau, à nouveau - (in a new way)
-> à nouveau / nouveau, nouvelle
anew (adv)
Difference between “uniformed” and uniform
Uniformed (adj) = wearing a uniform
Uniform (adj) = unchanging throughout
-> (uniforme)
Difference between alternate and alternative
Alternate (adj)
-> Alterné
-> Un [jour/semaine/mois…] sur deux
Alternative (adj)
-> (choice, option: other)
-> alternatif / autre, possible
- slang (eliminate, get rid of)
-> en finir avec, se débarasser de - slang (kill, murder)
-> (figuré) se débarasser de, éliminer
do away with [sth/sb]
- informal (redecorate)
-> (familier: une maison, pièce) retaper, refaire, rénover - informal (zip, buttons: fasten)
-> (un manteau) boutonner, fermer
do [sth] up
Informal (suspect, sense)
Avoir le pressentiment que
Have a hunch that
- (while doing [sth])
-> au passage, en cours de route
2.(during, in the course of)
-> en [faisant [qch]]
- in the process
- in the process of [sth]
(be doing)
-> être en train de faire [qch]
Be in the process of doing [sth]
- (food : prepared by a process)
-> (nourriture) industriel, industrielle - (not in its natural state)
-> (matières premières, produits) traité, transformé
processed
Two different words
- The maximum amount that something can contain
- The power or ability to do something
- capacity
- capability
(Computer text editor)
-> (informatique) logiciel de traitement de texte
word processor
- (Stop)
-> arrêter, interrompre
-> (un service) annuler
-> (des visites) cesser - (stop manufacturing)
-> arrêter la production de [qch]
3, (come to an end)
-> cesser / prendre fin / s’arrêter
discontinue [sth]
Used to say that an action will not achieve what it is intended to achieve
It’s no good (doing something)
(on an unspecified future day)
-> Ultérieurement
-> A une date ultérieure
Ex: The decision will be made … … … … .
At a later/future date
(indique un seuil)
-> jusqu’où
How far
To what lengths
- informal (escape)
-> fuite, évasion - informal (trip,vacation)
-> (court) escapade
-> (long, lointain) voyage
-> (long) vacances - informal (holiday destination)
-> destination touristique, voyages
(noun) getaway
Used to say that when something bad happens other bad things usually happen at the same time.
It never rains but it pours
