Medium-frecuency Words Flashcards
He shrank back against the wall as he heard them approaching.
shrink verb
NAmE /ʃrɪŋk/
to move back or away from something because you are frightened or shocked
➔ SYNONYM cower
He shrank back against the wall as he heard them approaching.
She doesnʼt want to make a big emotional commitment to Steve at the moment.
the governmentʼs commitment to public services
com·mit·ment noun
NAmE /kəˈmɪtmənt/
a promise to do something or to behave in a particular way; a promise to support somebody/something; the fact of committing yourself
commitment (to somebody/something) She doesnʼt want to make a big emotional commitment to Steve at the moment.
the governmentʼs commitment to public services
surrender (to somebody) The rebel soldiers were forced to surrender.
surrender yourself (to somebody) The hijackers eventually surrendered themselves to the police.
sur·ren·der verb
NAmE /səˈrendər/
▶︎ to admit that you have been defeated and want to stop fighting; to allow yourself to be caught, taken prisoner, etc.
➔ SYNONYM give in (to somebody/something)
surrender (to somebody) The rebel soldiers were forced to surrender.
surrender yourself (to somebody) The hijackers eventually surrendered themselves to the police.
The rain ceased and the sky cleared.
The company ceased production at their Norwich plant last year.
cease verb
NAmE /siːs/
1 formal. to stop doing something or stop happening
THESAURUS STOP1
There was no personal sympathy between them.
sym·pathy noun
NAmE /ˈsɪmpəθi/
(pl. sym·pathies)
3 [uncountable] a feeling that you understand someone because you are similar to them
We are concerned about the childʼs welfare.
wel·fare noun
NAmE /ˈwelfer/
1 the general health, happiness and safety of a person, an animal or a group
➔ SYNONYM well-being
We are concerned about the childʼs welfare.
She likes to walk around in bare feet.
They wore shabby clothes and their feet were bare.
bare adjective
NAmE /ber/
(barer, bar·est)
1 not covered by any clothes
➔ SEE ALSO barefoot
gaze
gaze verb
NAmE /ɡeɪz/
to look steadily at somebody/something for a long time, either because you are very interested or surprised, or because you are thinking of something else
➔ SYNONYM stare
She gazed at him in amazement.
He sat for hours just gazing into space.
nonetheless
none·the·less adverb NAmE /ˌnʌnðəˈles/ (also ˌnone the ˈless) (formal) despite this fact ➔ SYNONYM nevertheless The book is too long but, nonetheless, informative and entertaining. The problems are not serious. Nonetheless, we shall need to tackle them soon.
conceal
con·ceal verb
NAmE /kənˈsiːl/
(formal)
to hide somebody/something
conceal somebody/something. The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster.
Tim could barely conceal his disappointment.
She sat down to conceal the fact that she was trembling.
where•as conj. 🌗🌗
NAmE /ˌwerˈæz /
where•as conj. 🌗🌗
NAmE /ˌwerˈæz /
used to compare or contrast two facts
👽Some of the studies show positive results, whereas others do not.
👽We thought she was arrogant, whereas in fact she was just very shy.
cun•ning adj. 🌗🌗
NAmE /ˈkʌnɪŋ /
cun•ning adj. 🌗🌗
NAmE /ˈkʌnɪŋ /
1 (disapproving) able to get what you want in a clever way, especially by tricking or cheating
SYN crafty, wily
👽a cunning liar
👽He was as cunning as a fox.
2 clever and skilful
SYN ingenious
👽It was a cunning piece of detective work.
in•vade verb 🌗🌗
NAmE /ɪnˈveɪd /
in•vade verb 🌗🌗
NAmE /ɪnˈveɪd /
1 to enter a country, town, etc. using military force in order to take control of it
2 to enter a place in large numbers, especially in a way that causes damage or confusion
👽 As the final whistle blew, fans began invading the field.
dread•ful adj. 🌗🌗
NAmE /ˈdredfl /
dread•ful adj. 🌗🌗
NAmE /ˈdredfl /
(especially BrE)
extremely unpleasant
SYN terrible
👽What dreadful weather!
👽It's dreadful the way they treat their staff.
por·tray verb 🌗🌗
NAmE /pɔːrˈtreɪ/
por·tray verb 🌗🌗
NAmE /pɔːrˈtreɪ/
2 portray somebody/something (as somebody/something) to describe or show somebody/something in a particular way, especially when this does not give a complete or accurate impression of what they are like
➔ SYNONYM represent
Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim.
cite verb 🌗🌗
NAmE /saɪt /
cite verb 🌗🌗
NAmE /saɪt /
(formal)
1 to mention sth as a reason or an example, or in order to support what you are saying
👽He cited his heavy workload as the reason for his breakdown.
2 to speak or write the exact words from a book, an author, etc. SYN quote
👽She cited a passage from the President’s speech.
like·li·hood noun 🌗🌗
NAmE /ˈlaɪklihʊd/
like·li·hood noun 🌗🌗
NAmE /ˈlaɪklihʊd/
the chance of something happening; how likely something is to happen
➔ SYNONYM probability
There is very little likelihood of that happening.
In all likelihood (= very probably) the meeting will be cancelled.
phe•nom•enon noun 🌗🌗
phe•nom•enon noun 🌗🌗
1 a fact or an event in nature or society, especially one that is not fully understood
2 (pl. phe•nom•enons in NAmE) a person or thing that is very successful or impressive
triv•ial adj.
NAmE /ˈtrɪviəl /
triv•ial adj.
NAmE /ˈtrɪviəl /
not serious, important, or valuable
THESAURUS UNIMPORTANT
👽She tends to get upset about trivial things.
sob verb 🌗🌗
NAmE /sɑːb /
(sob•bing, sobbed)
sob verb 🌗🌗
NAmE /sɑːb /
(sob•bing, sobbed)
to cry noisily, taking sudden, sharp breaths
👽I heard a child sobbing loudly.
👽He started to sob uncontrollably.
puz·zled adj 🌗🌗
NAmE /ˈpʌzld/
puz·zled adj 🌗🌗
NAmE /ˈpʌzld/
confused and unable to understand something
THESAURUS CONFUSED
SYN baffled
👽Harry was puzzled that Nicholas didn’t seem to recognize him.
dense adj. 🌗🌗
NAmE /dens /
dense adj. 🌗🌗
NAmE /dens /
1 containing a lot of people, things, plants, etc. with little space between them
👽 areas of dense population
2 difficult to see through SYN thick
👽dense fog/smoke/fumes
com•pel verb
NAmE /kəmˈpel /
com•pel verb
NAmE /kəmˈpel /
(formal)
1 to force sb to do sth; to make sth necessary
👽 I feel compelled to write and tell you how much I enjoyed your book.
pin verb 🌗🌗
NAmE /pɪn /
pin verb 🌗🌗
NAmE /pɪn /
to make someone unable to move by putting a lot of pressure or weight on them
👽They pinned him against a wall and stole his wallet.
