Literary & Formal Vocabulary Flashcards
having a lot of trouble with something, or having to deal with a lot of something that causes problems
beset (by / with sth)
With the amount of traffic nowadays, even a trip across town is beset by/with dangers.
great pleasure and enjoyment
delectation
for sb’s delectation
› to cut open something, especially a dead body or a plant, and study its structure
› to examine or consider something in detail
dissect
/daɪˈsekt/
:In biology classes at school we used to dissect rats.
:He’s the sort of person who watches a film and then dissects it for hours.
(disapproving) to speak or write and give your opinion about something as if you knew everything about it and as if only your opinion was correct:
pontificate
I think it should be illegal for non-parents to pontificate on/about parenting.
The abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief.
Отступничество, измена
apostasy
Render (something) poorer in quality by adding another substance.
adulterate
‘the brewer is said to adulterate his beer’
A true principle or belief, especially one of fundamental importance
verity
:the eternal verities
You are full of enthusiasm for the eternal verities - life is worth living, and then out of sinful curiosity you open a newspaper.
Uproot (someone) from their natural geographical, social, or cultural environment
deracinate
/ˌdiːˈræsɪneɪt/
a deracinated writer who has complicated relations with his working-class background
Mass migration has intensified that sense of being deracinated.
We are deracinated Chinese, stripped of our regionalism, belonging neither here nor there.
to find or meet something or someone by chance
happen on/upon sth/sb
Eventually they happened on a road leading across the desert.
moving or speaking slowly with little energy, often in an attractive way
languid
/ˈlæŋ.ɡwɪd/
a languid manner/voice
a mental state of deep sadness and no hope
slough
slaʊ
She seems unable to pull herself out of this deep slough of self-pity.
