New words Flashcards
bustling
If a place is bustling, it is full of busy activity.
narrow-minded
Not willing to accept ideas or ways of behaving that are different from your own.
down-to-earth
practical, reasonable, and friendly:
She’s a down-to-earth woman with no pretensions.
knowledgeable
well-informed. well-versed: He is very knowledgeable in his job.
conscientious
hardworking, very careful, thorough.
greedy
wanting a lot more food, money, etc. than you need: Don’t be so greedy, you’ve eaten enough!
sceptical
uncertain, unconvinced, distrustful
tactless
not careful about saying or doing something that could upset someone, thoughtless:
It was tactless of you to invite his ex-girlfriend.
fussy
not easily satisfied, or having very high standards about particular things: All my kids were fussy eaters.
mean
not willing to give or share things, especially money: my best friend is incredibly mean with money.
to thrive
to grow, develop, prosper or be successful:
His business thrived in the years before the war.
to abet
to help or encourage someone to do something wrong or illegal: His accountant had aided and abetted him in the fraud.
ravishing
very beautiful, delightful.
boastful
having a tendency to praise yourself and what you have done.
to heed
to pay attention to something, especially advice or a warning:
The airline has been criticized for failing to heed advice/warnings about lack of safety routines.
pinnacle
the most successful or admired part of a system or achievement:
By the age of 32 she had reached the pinnacle of her career.
abnegation
the act of not allowing yourself to have something, especially something you like or want:
They believe it is the duty of women to live for others in complete abnegation of themselves.
abstruse /æbˈstrúːs/
not known or understood by many people:
an abstruse philosophical essay
abysmal
very bad:
abysmal working conditions
The food was abysmal.
acrimonious /ˌæk.rɪˈməʊ.ni.əs/
full of anger, arguments, and bad feeling:
an acrimonious dispute
Their marriage ended eight years ago in an acrimonious divorce.
to juggle (with)
to succeed in arranging your life so that you have time to involve yourself in two or more different activities or groups of people:
Many parents find it hard to juggle children and a career.
to adjure
to ask or order someone to do something:
The judge adjured him to answer truthfully.
hastily /heistili/
too quicky: I hastily dropped my copy
giddiness
dizzy feeling
summon
to order someone to come to or be present at a particular place, or to officially arrange a meeting of people: “my dream was interrupted by the alarm summoning me to our summit attempt”
apprehension
worry about the future, or a fear that something unpleasant is going to happen:
It’s normal to feel a little apprehension before starting a new job.
apparent
able to be seen or understood:
Her unhappiness was apparent to everyone.
manifold
many and of several different types:
Despite her manifold faults, she was a strong leader.
rugged
(of land) wild and not even; not easy to travel over:
rugged landscape/terrain/hills/cliffs
a straight o a rugged path
fleetingly
in a way that lasts only a short time:
I glimpsed her fleetingly through the window.
The subject was mentioned only fleetingly.
startle
to do something unexpected that surprises and sometimes worries a person or animal:
She was concentrating on her book and his voice startled her.
remarkable
unusual or special and therefore surprising and worth mentioning
retiring
unwilling to be noticed or to be with other people:
to be shy and retiring
astounding
very surprising or shocking:
an astounding fact/decision/revelation
an astounding (= very great) victory/achievement/success
barred
If a door is barred, a bar of wood or metal has been put across it so that it cannot be opened:
They arrived at the house to find the door locked and barred.
to hail
to publicly praise or show approval for a person or an achievement:
Heppner has been hailed as one of the finest tenors in the operatic world today.
meteoric
used to describe something that develops very fast and attracts a lot of attention:
The group had a meteoric rise to fame in the 70s.
snatch
to take hold of something suddenly and roughly:
He snatched the photos out of my hand before I had a chance to look at them. (steal)
freakish
very unusual or unexpected, especially in an unpleasant or strange way:
Freakish weather conditions have caused massive traffic jams in the area.
boldly
in a brave and confident way, without showing any fear:
He advanced boldly and knocked on the door.
flourish
to grow or develop successfully:
My tomatoes are flourishing this summer - it must be the warm weather.
Watercolour painting began to flourish in Britain around 1750.
the remainder /rɪˈmeɪn.dər/
the part of something that is left after the other parts have gone, been used, or been taken away:
I ate most of it and gave the remainder to the dog.
purported
that has been stated to be true or to have happened, although this may not be the case:
A recent study into the purported health benefits of the drink was not conclusive.
to counterbalance
to have an equal but opposite effect on something so that it does not have too much of a particular characteristic:
The ugliness of the resort is counterbalanced by the excellence of the skiing.
to circumscribe, circumscribed
to limit something:
Their movements have been severely circumscribed since the laws came into effect.
There followed a series of tightly circumscribed visits to military installations.
aghast
suddenly filled with strong feelings of shock and worry:
He looked at her aghast.
foolhardy
brave in a silly way, taking unnecessary risks:
a foolhardy decision
Sailing the Atlantic in such a tiny boat wasn’t so much brave as foolhardy.
It would be foolhardy to try and predict the outcome of the talks at this stage.
ground rules
the principles on which future behaviour is based:
In all relationships a few ground rules have to be established.
tenable
(of an opinion or position) able to be defended successfully or held for a particular period of time:
His theory is no longer tenable in the light of the recent discoveries.
The fellowship is tenable for (= lasts for) three years.
disruption
the action of preventing something, especially a system, process, or event, from continuing as usual or as expected:
The accident brought widespread disruption on the roads.
It would cause a tremendous disruption to our work schedule to install a different computer system.
law-abiding
Someone who is law-abiding obeys the law:
Such actions against law-abiding citizens will not be tolerated.
compelling
If a reason, argument, etc. is compelling, it makes you believe it or accept it because it is so strong:
compelling evidence
It’s a fairly compelling argument for going.
reluctant, reluctantly
(reluctant) not willing to do something and therefore slow to do it:
I was having such a good time I was reluctant to leave.
Many parents feel reluctant to talk openly with their children.
She persuaded her reluctant husband to take a trip to Florida with her.
benchmark
used as a standard when comparing other things (punto de referencia) // to measure the quality of something by comparing it with something else of an accepted standard:
His reports said that all schools should be benchmarked against the best. / I don’t have anything to benchmark it against.
unnerving
troubling, making someone feel less confident and slightly frightened:
Meeting a twin brother I didn’t know I had was an unnerving experience. I find spiders unnerving.
thrust
the main idea, subject, or opinion that is discussed or written about:
The main thrust of her argument was that women are compromised by the demands of childcare.
drawback
a disadvantage or the negative part of a situation:
One of the drawbacks of living with someone is having to share a bathroom.
adumbrate
to give only the main facts and not the details about something, especially something that will happen in the future:
The project’s objectives were adumbrated in the report.
affable /ˈæf.ə.bəl/
(down-to earth) friendly and easy to talk to:
He struck me as an affable sort of a man.
She was quite affable at the meeting.
affectation
behaviour or speech that is not sincere:
She has so many little affectations.
His manner reeks of affectation.
peril, perilous
great danger, or something that is very dangerous:
I never felt that my life was in peril.
extremely dangerous:
The country roads are quite perilous.
deceit, deceitful, deceitfully, deceitfulness
(an act of) keeping the truth hidden, especially to get an advantage:
The story is about theft, fraud, and deceit on an incredible scale.
straightforward (adj.)
easy to understand or simple:
Just follow the signs to Bradford - it’s very straightforward.
devoid (be devoid of sth)
to lack or be without something that is necessary or usual:
Their apartment is devoid of all comforts. He seems to be devoid of compassion.
self-evident (adj.)
clear or obvious without needing any proof or explanation:
Solutions which seem self-evident to humans are often beyond the grasp of computers.
inventiveness
the quality of showing or having new and original ideas:
Her performance was full of wit and inventiveness.
In his best stories his sheer inventiveness is a treat.
well-endowed (adj.) /ˌwel ɪnˈdaʊd/
having a lot of something, especially money or possessions:
The city is well endowed with modern medical facilities.
[ before noun ] It is a very well-endowed college.
insightful (adj.)
showing a clear and usually original understanding of a complicated problem or situation:
She has written an insightful account of the modern art world.
He was, of course, very funny and insightful.
tenacious (adj.)
holding tightly onto something, or keeping an opinion in a determined way:
The baby took my finger in its tenacious little fist.
There has been tenacious local opposition to the new airport.
self-deprecation
the quality of trying to make yourself, your abilities, or your achievements seem less important:
She was unconcerned by fame and modest to the point of self-deprecation.
ingenuity, ingenious, ingenuously
someone’s ability to think of clever new ways of doing something:
I was impressed by the ingenuity and energy of the contestants.
deem, to be deemed
to consider or judge something in a particular way: Perhaps most especially if your child is deemed “different” by other people in society.
poignant (adj.) /ˈpɔɪ.njənt/
causing or having a very sharp feeling of sadness:
The photograph awakens poignant memories of happier days.
It is especially poignant that he died on the day before the wedding.
urging (noun)
the act of strongly advising or encouraging someone to do a particular thing:
With their dad’s urging, the girls started playing tennis at a young age.
It was only because of Michele’s urgings that he sold the house.
ragged (adj.)
untidy, (of clothes) torn and not in good condition:
The children were wearing dirty, ragged clothes.
sheepish, sheepishly, sheepishness
embarrassed because you know that you have done something wrong or silly:
She gave me a sheepish smile and apologized.
wager (noun)
bet, an amount of money that you risk in the hope of winning more, by trying to guess something uncertain, or the agreement that you make to take this risk:
She put a cash wager of £50 on the race.
He tried to eat 50 hard-boiled eggs, for a wager.
frightfully
very:
I’m frightfully sorry about the noise last night.
slumber (noun)
sleep:
I fell into a gentle slumber.
I didn’t want to rouse you from your slumbers.
slumber party
frenzy (noun)
uncontrolled and excited behaviour or emotion that is sometimes violent: In a frenzy of rage she hit him.
The audience worked/whipped themselves into a frenzy as they waited for her to come on stage.
There was a frenzy of activity in the financial markets yesterday.
In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts.
enact (v.), enactment (noun)
to put something into action, especially to make something law:
A package of economic sanctions is to be enacted against the country.
officious (adj.), officiously, officiousness
too eager to tell people what to do and having too high an opinion of your own importance:
He’s an officious little man and widely disliked in the company.
oppressive (adj.), oppression, oppressor
cruel and unfair
big-headed (adj.), bighead (noun)
thinking that you are more important or more intelligent than you really are:
She’s so bigheaded!
outlaw (v.)
to make something illegal or unacceptable:
The new law will outlaw smoking in public places.
ravenous (adj.)
very hungry, starving
weary (adj.), wearily, weariness
very tired or bored, especially because you have been doing something for a long time
flamboyant, flamboyantly, flamboyance
behaving in a confident or exciting way that makes people notice you
flamboyant style/character/personality
outrageous, outrageously, outrage
very shocking and extremely unfair or offensive
albeit /ɔːlˈbiːɪt/ (formal conjunction)
used to add information that reduces the force or importance of what you have just said SYN although
flawless, flawlessly
having no mistakes or marks, or not lacking anything SYN perfect
appalling /əˈpɔːlɪŋ/, appallingly
very unpleasant and shocking SYN terrible
heart-wrenching, heart-wrenchingly
causing great sadness or sympathy:
These are heart-wrenching decisions.
Having to spend so much time away from home is heart-wrenching.
hapless, haplessly
unlucky and usually unhappy:
Many children are hapless victims of this war.
detrimental (adj.) detriment (noun)
causing harm or damage:
These chemicals have a detrimental effect/impact on the environment.
blasé (adj.)
bored or not very interested:
How could she be so blasé about her victory?
thwart, thwarted
to stop something from happening or someone from doing something:
Our holiday plans were thwarted by the airline pilots’ strike
sulk, sulkiness, sulkily, sulked, sulking
to be silent and refuse to smile or be pleasant to people because you are angry about something that they have done:
He’s sulking in his room because I wouldn’t let him have any more chocolate.
dabble
to take a slight and not very serious interest in a subject, or try a particular activity for a short period:
He first dabbled in politics when he was at law school.
She dabbled with drugs at university.
ill-equipped (adj.)
without the ability, qualities, or equipment to do something: He seems to me ill-equipped to cope with the responsibility.
Some kids leave school ill-equipped for adult life.
parrot-fashion
If you learn or repeat a piece of text parrot-fashion, you learn or repeat the exact words, usually without understanding them.
hackneyed (adj.)
A hackneyed phrase or idea has been said or used so often that it has become boring and has no meaning:
The plot of the film is just a hackneyed boy-meets-girl scenario.
gratuitous, gratuitously, gratuitousness (adj.)
(of something such as bad behaviour) not necessary, or with no cause:
A lot of viewers complained that there was too much gratuitous sex and violence in the film.
engrossing (adj.)
very interesting and needing all your attention:
an engrossing book/story
I found the movie completely engrossing from beginning to end. (thrilled, gripped)
absorbing (adj.)
Something that is absorbing is very interesting and keeps your attention:
I read her last novel and found it very absorbing. (absorbing, gripping, engrossing)
cutting-edge (adj.)
very modern, and with all the newest features:
cutting-edge companies/designs/products
hundrum (adj.)
having no excitement, interest, or new and different events:
We lead such a humdrum life/existence.
