Medium-frecuency Words Flashcards

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1
Q

 He shrank back against the wall as he heard them approaching.

A

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.

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2
Q

 She doesnʼt want to make a big emotional commitment to Steve at the moment.
 the governmentʼs commitment to public services

A

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

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3
Q

 surrender (to somebody) The rebel soldiers were forced to surrender.
 surrender yourself (to somebody) The hijackers eventually surrendered themselves to the police.

A

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.

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4
Q

The rain ceased and the sky cleared.

 The company ceased production at their Norwich plant last year.

A

cease  ​verb
NAmE /siːs/
1 formal. to stop doing something or stop happening
THESAURUS STOP1

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5
Q

 There was no personal sympathy between them.

A

sym·pathy  ​noun
NAmE /ˈsɪmpəθi/
(pl. sym·pathies)
3 [uncountable] a feeling that you understand someone because you are similar to them

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6
Q

 We are concerned about the childʼs welfare.

A

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.

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7
Q

 She likes to walk around in bare feet.

 They wore shabby clothes and their feet were bare.

A

bare  ​adjective
NAmE /ber/
(barer, bar·est)
1 not covered by any clothes

➔ SEE ALSO  ​barefoot

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8
Q

gaze

A

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.

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9
Q

nonetheless

A
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.
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10
Q

conceal

A

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.

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11
Q

where•as conj. 🌗🌗

NAmE /ˌwerˈæz /

A

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.

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12
Q

cun•ning adj. 🌗🌗

NAmE /ˈkʌnɪŋ /

A

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.

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13
Q

in•vade verb 🌗🌗

NAmE /ɪnˈveɪd /

A

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.

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14
Q

dread•ful adj. 🌗🌗

NAmE /ˈdredfl /

A

dread•ful adj. 🌗🌗
NAmE /ˈdredfl /

(especially BrE)
extremely unpleasant
     SYN terrible
👽What dreadful weather!  
👽It's dreadful the way they treat their staff.
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15
Q

por·tray  ​verb 🌗🌗

NAmE /pɔːrˈtreɪ/

A

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.

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16
Q

cite verb 🌗🌗

NAmE /saɪt /

A

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.

17
Q

like·li·hood  ​noun 🌗🌗

NAmE /ˈlaɪklihʊd/

A

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.

18
Q

phe•nom•enon noun 🌗🌗

A

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

19
Q

triv•ial adj.

NAmE /ˈtrɪviəl /

A

triv•ial adj.
NAmE /ˈtrɪviəl /

not serious, important, or valuable
THESAURUS UNIMPORTANT
👽She tends to get upset about trivial things.

20
Q

sob verb 🌗🌗
NAmE /sɑːb /
(sob•bing, sobbed)

A

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.

21
Q

puz·zled  ​adj 🌗🌗

NAmE /ˈpʌzld/

A

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.

22
Q

dense adj. 🌗🌗

NAmE /dens /

A

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

23
Q

com•pel verb

NAmE /kəmˈpel /

A

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.

24
Q

pin verb 🌗🌗

NAmE /pɪn /

A

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.

25
Q

inter•act verb AWL 🌗🌗

NAmE /ˌɪntərˈækt /

A

inter•act verb AWL 🌗🌗
NAmE /ˌɪntərˈækt /

1 to communicate with sb, especially while you work, play or spend time with them
👽Teachers have a limited amount of time to interact with each child.
2 [I] ~ (with sth) if one thing interacts with another, or if two things interact, the two things have an effect on each other
👽Perfume interacts with the skin’s natural chemicals.

26
Q

suck verb 🌗🌗

NAmE /sʌk /

A

suck verb 🌗🌗
NAmE /sʌk /

to take liquid, air, etc. into your mouth by using the muscles of your lips
👽a baby sucking at its mother’s breast

2 to hold something in your mouth and pull on it with your tongue and lips

27
Q

weep verb 🌗🌗
NAmE /wiːp /
(NAmE wept / )

A

weep verb 🌗🌗
NAmE /wiːp /
(NAmE wept / )
1 (formal or literary) to cry, usually because you are sad
👽She started to weep uncontrollably.
👽 I could have wept thinking about what I’d missed.

28
Q

fit noun 🌗🌗

NAmE /fɪt /

A

fit noun 🌗🌗
NAmE /fɪt /

OF STRONG FEELING (ataque)
a short period of very strong feeling
👽to act in a fit of anger/rage/temper/pique

29
Q

dis•rupt verb 🌗🌗

NAmE /dɪsˈrʌpt /

A

dis•rupt verb 🌗🌗
NAmE /dɪsˈrʌpt /

to make it difficult for sth to continue in the normal way
👽 Demonstrators succeeded in disrupting the meeting.
👽Bus services will be disrupted tomorrow because of the bridge closure.

30
Q

cap•able adj. 🌗🌗

NAmE /ˈkeɪpəbl /

A

cap•able adj. 🌗🌗
NAmE /ˈkeɪpəbl /

having the ability or qualities necessary for doing sth
👽You are capable of better work than this.
👽 I’m perfectly capable of doing it myself, thank you.

31
Q

frag•ment noun 🌗🌗

ˈfræɡmənt

A

frag•ment noun 🌗🌗
ˈfræɡmənt

a small part of sth that has broken off or comes from sth larger
👽Police found fragments of glass near the scene.
👽 I overheard a fragment of their conversation.

32
Q

vast adj. 🌗🌗

NAmE /væst /

A

vast adj. 🌗🌗
NAmE /væst /

extremely large in area, size, amount, etc.
SYN huge
👽a vast area of forest
👽a vast amount of information

33
Q

bit•ter adj. 🌗🌗

NAmE /ˈbɪtər /

A

bit•ter adj. 🌗🌗
NAmE /ˈbɪtər /

1 (of people) feeling angry and unhappy because you feel that you have been treated unfairly
👽 She is very bitter about losing her job.
2 making you feel very unhappy; caused by great unhappiness
👽If he failed, it would be a bitter disappointment to his parents.

34
Q

ul•tim•ate•ly adv. 🌗🌗

NAmE /ˈʌltɪmətli /

A

ul•tim•ate•ly adv. 🌗🌗
NAmE /ˈʌltɪmətli /

1 in the end; finally
👽Ultimately, you’ll have to make the decision yourself.
👽 A poor diet will ultimately lead to illness.
2 at the most basic and important level
👽All life depends ultimately on oxygen.

35
Q

imply verb 🌗🌗

NAmE /ɪmˈplaɪ /

A

imply verb 🌗🌗
NAmE /ɪmˈplaɪ /

1 to suggest that sth is true or that you feel or think sth, without saying so directly
👽 Are you implying (that) I am wrong?
2 to make it seem likely that sth is true or exists SYN suggest
👽The fact that she was here implies a degree of interest.

36
Q

trap verb 🌗🌗

NAmE /træp /

A

trap verb 🌗🌗
NAmE /træp /

to keep sb in a dangerous place or bad situation that they want to get out of but cannot
👽Help! I’m trapped!
👽They were trapped in the burning building.

37
Q

com•prise verb 🌗🌗

NAmE /kəmˈpraɪz /

A

com•prise verb 🌗🌗
NAmE /kəmˈpraɪz /

(formal)
1 (to have sb/sth as parts or members SYN consist of
👽The collection comprises 323 paintings.
2 to be the parts or members that form sth. SYN make sth up
👽Older people comprise a large proportion of those living in poverty.

38
Q

mol•ecule noun 🌗🌗

/ˈmɑːlɪkjuːl

A

mol•ecule noun 🌗🌗
NAmE /ˈmɑːlɪkjuːl

(chemistry)
the smallest unit, consisting of a group of atoms, into which a substance can be divided without a change in its chemical nature
👽A molecule of water consists of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen.