P201-250 Vocabulary Flashcards
Officious
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.
Prone
likely to do something or suffer from something, especially something bad or harmful
Some plants are very prone to disease.
Afoul
run/fall afoul of sth/sb
■to experience problems, punishment or harm because you do not obey a rule or disagree with a powerful organization, group or person
*He was fifteen when he first ran afoul of the law.
Mar
to make something less attractive or enjoyable
SYN spoil
Their wedding was marred by the death of Jenny’s mother a week earlier.
Crawl
to move along on your hands and knees with your body close to the ground
crawl along/across etc
The baby crawled across the floor.
Precipitate
to make something serious happen suddenly or more quickly than was expected
SYN hasten:
The tech-heavy NASDAQ is down by almost a third, after poor third-quarter earnings precipitated yet another sell-off.
Precipitate somebody into something
to force someone or something into a particular state or condition:
The drug treatment precipitated him into a depression.
Solder
a soft metal that is melted in order to join together pieces of metal so that they stick together when it cools and becomes hard again
Snowflake
a small soft flat piece of frozen water that falls as snow
Municipal
relating to or belonging to the government of a town or city
such fields include transport, power and municipal utilities.
Wither
if plants wither, they become drier and smaller and start to die
The rest of flowers then withers away.
Nostalgic
if you feel nostalgic about a time in the past, you feel happy when you remember it, and in some ways you wish that things had not changed:
Seeing those old school photographs has made me feel quite nostalgic.
Delineate
- to describe or draw something carefully so that people can understand it:
The document delineates your rights and your obligations. - to make the borders between two areas very clear:
The boundaries of these areas should be clearly delineated.
Dissuade
to persuade someone not to do something
OPP persuade
dissuade somebody from (doing) something
a campaign to dissuade young people from smoking
Tremulous
If a person’s voice or a part of their body is tremulous, it is shaking slightly
In a tremulous voice she whispered: “Who are you people?”
Appease
to make someone less angry or stop them from attacking you by giving them what they want:
They attempted to appease international opposition by promising to hold talks.
Extort
to illegally force someone to give you something, especially money, by threatening them ⇨ blackmail
It extorted the protection money from the people it lords over.
Crest
- the top or highest point of something such as a hill or a wave
crest of
It took us over an hour to reach the crest of the hill. - a special picture that is used as a sign of a family, town, school, or organization ⇨ coat of arms
school/family crest
Arthritis
a disease that causes the joints of your body to become swollen and very painful
Acting
acting manager/head teacher/director etc someone who does an important job while the usual person is not there, or until a new person is chosen for the job
Upswing
an improvement or increase in the level of something
We also know the upswing in the job growth this year has come in industries with higher wages.
Delinquency
illegal or immoral behaviour or actions, especially by young people:
the ever-rising statistics of delinquency and crime / juvenile delinquency
– Concur
to happen at the same time
Wealthy and happiness do not always concur.
Mischief
bad behaviour, especially by children, that causes trouble or damage, but no serious harm
They’ve got enough toys to keep them out of mischief for a while.
Lateral
relating to the sides of an object or to sideways movement
lateral movement
Eradicate
to completely get rid of something such as a disease or a social problem
We can eradicate this disease from the world.
Recede
- if something you can see or hear recedes, it gets further and further away until it disappears
recede into
footsteps receding into the distance - if a memory, feeling, or possibility recedes, it gradually goes away:
The pain in his head gradually receded.
Patron
someone who supports the activities of an organization, for example by giving money:
a patron of the arts
Wit
the ability to say things that are clever and amusing:
Her sharp wit had them all smiling.
Marble
a type of hard rock that becomes smooth when it is polished, and is used for making buildings, statues etc
Edifice
a building, especially a large one:
Their head office was an imposing edifice.
▪ building ▪ property
▪ premises the buildings and land that a shop, restaurant, company etc uses: You are not allowed to drink alcohol on the premises. | The bread is baked on the premises.
▪ complex a group of buildings, or a large building with many parts, used for a particular purpose: The town has one of the best leisure complexes in the country. | a luxury apartment complex
▪ development a group of new buildings that have all been planned and built together on the same piece of land: a new housing development | a huge industrial development
▪ Facility a place or building used for a particular activity or industry: a research facility on campus
▪ edifice a large building, especially one that is tall and impressive - a very formal use: Their head office was an imposing edifice.
▪ structure something that has been made to stand upright - used especially when talking about buildings: The stone arch is one of the town’s oldest existing structures. | an immense barn-like structure
Facilities
facilities [plural] rooms, equipment, or services that are provided for a particular purpose
The hotel has its own pool and leisure facilities.
Premises
the buildings and land that a shop, restaurant, company etc uses:
Schools may earn extra money by renting out their premises.
Perishable
food that is perishable is likely to decay quickly:
perishable goods such as butter, milk, fruit and fish
Inception
the beginning of an organization or official activity
Since its inception in 1968, the company has been at the forefront of computer development.
Germ
a very small living thing that can make you ill ⇨ bacteria
Put disinfectant down the toilet to kill any germs.
Succumb
- to stop opposing someone or something that is stronger than you, and allow them to take control
SYN give in
succumb to
Succumbing to pressure from the chemical industry, Governor Blakely amended the regulations. - if you succumb to an illness, you become very ill or die of it
succumb to
About 400,000 Americans succumb each year to smoking-related illnesses.
Hypocritical
behaving in a way that is different from what you claim to believe – used to show disapproval
OPP sincere
It’s hypocritical of these universities to call their football players student-athletes.
Interface
■to communicate with someone, especially in a work-related situation
We use email to interface with our customers.
Advisory
an official warning or notice that gives information about a dangerous situation:
The State Department issues travel advisories about conditions overseas.
▪ warning ▪ caution ▪ alert
▪ advisory
▪ caveat a warning that something may not be completely true, effective etc. Also used when pointing out that it is important to remember something
Fuse
-
to join together physically, or to make things join together, and become a single thing
The egg and sperm fuse together as one cell. - to combine different qualities, ideas, or things, or to be combined
SYN merge:
We intend to fuse the companies into a single organization.
Jumble
a lot of different things mixed together in an untidy way, without any order
a jumble of old toys
to mix things together in an untidy way, without any order
The photographs were all jumbled up.
▪ mix ▪ combine ▪ blend
▪ fuse
▪ jumble
Veto
a refusal to give official permission for something, or the right to refuse to give such permission
The head teacher has the right of veto over management-board decisions.
Scent
- [countable] a pleasant smell that something has
SYN fragrance
a yellow rose with a lovely scent -
throw/put somebody off the scent to give someone false information to prevent them from catching you or discovering something:
Was he trying to put me off the scent because I had come too close to the truth?
v. 2. written to suddenly think that something is going to happen or exists:
We scented danger and decided to leave.
Consort
to spend time with someone that other people do not approve of:
a man who regularly consorted with prostitutes
Foremost
the best or most important
SYN leading, top:
one of the country’s foremost authorities on chemical warfare
Apprise
to tell or give someone information about something
SYN inform
The district chairman was fully apprised of all the details.
Clasp
a small metal object for fastening a bag, belt, piece of jewellery etc
Close the clasp
Commonplace
happening or existing in many places, and therefore not special or unusual:
Car thefts are commonplace in this part of town.
Incense
a substance that has a pleasant smell when you burn it:
a church filled with the smell of incense
Sow
to do something that will cause a bad situation in the future
repressive laws that are sowing the seeds of future conflicts
sow doubt/confusion/dissatisfaction etc
an attempt to sow doubt among the jury members
Pulp
a very soft substance that is almost liquid, made by crushing plants, wood, vegetables etc:
Mash the bananas to a pulp
Sultry
weather that is sultry is hot with air that feels wet
SYN humid:
you will keep your shrimp or deviled eggs safe to eat through a sultry afternoon.
Dictate
- to tell someone exactly what they must do or how they must behave
dictate to
The media cannot be allowed to dictate to the government. - to control or influence something
SYN determine
Funds dictate what we can do.
Skim
- to remove something from the surface of a liquid, especially floating fat, solids, or oil
skim something off/from something
After simmering the meat, skim the fat from the surface. - to read something quickly to find the main facts or ideas in it
SYN scan
Julie skimmed the sports page. - to move along quickly over a surface, never touching it or not touching it often:
the ball skimmed across the grass and stopped against the wall.
Startle
to make someone suddenly surprised or slightly shocked
Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.
Fling
- THROW SOMETHING to throw something somewhere using a lot of force
fling something into something
People cheered and flung their hats into the air. - MOVE SOMETHING to throw or move something roughly and carelessly
When a baby startled, he/she will fling his or her limbers out and then quickly retract them.
Curfew
a rule that everyone must stay at home between particular times, usually at night, especially during a war or a period of political trouble
*a midnight curfew
– Intern
to put someone in prison without charging them with a crime, for political reasons or during a war ⇨ internee, internment
he was interned as an enemy alien at the outbreak of the second world war.
Opaque
- opaque glass or liquid is difficult to see through and often thick
OPP transparent:
a shower with an opaque glass door - formal difficult to understand
SYN obscure:
Chinese supply chains are complicated and opaque, which can make it difficult to trace certain individual products from Xinjiang to the United states.
Sluggish
moving or reacting more slowly than normal
Economic recovery has so far been sluggish.
▪ slow
▪ gradual
▪ sluggish
– Root
SEARCH to search for something by moving things around
root through/in/amongst something (for something)
Leila rooted through her handbag for a pen.
Bundle
a group of things such as papers, clothes, or sticks that are fastened or tied together
Bundles of newspaper
Incisor
one of the sharp teeth at the front of the mouth which cut food when you bite into it
Synthetic
produced by combining different artificial substances, rather than being naturally produced
OPP natural:
synthetic chemicals
Hub
the central and most important part of an area, system, activity etc, which all the other parts are connected to
SYN center hub of
the commercial hub of the region
Smirk
to smile in an unpleasant way that shows that you are pleased by someone else’s bad luck or think you are better than other people
The boys tried not to smirk
Scrap [not=scrape]
- PAPER/CLOTH [countable] a small piece of paper, cloth etc
scrap of
He wrote his address on a scrap of paper. - FOOD scraps [plural] pieces of food that are left after you have finished eating:
My mother fed the dog on scraps to save money. - FIGHT [countable] informal a short fight or argument:
He’s always getting into scraps with other dogs. - [transitive] to decide not to use a plan or system because it is not practical:
We believe that car tax should be scrapped. - [transitive] to get rid of an old machine, vehicle etc, and use its parts in some other way:
Two aircraft carriers are being scrapped this year.
Till
to prepare land for growing crops
SYN cultivate
Straw
the dried yellow stems of crops such as wheat , used as food for animals or as a layer on the ground for animals to lie on, and for making traditional objects
Frenzy n.
■(an example of) uncontrolled and excited behavior or emotion, which is sometimes violent
*There was a frenzy of activity on the financial markets yesterday.
Trifle
■a matter or object of little value or importance
You don’t have to worry about these trifles.
Hail
to describe someone or something as being very good
hail somebody/something as something
Lang’s first film was immediately hailed as a masterpiece.
Adept
good at something that needs care and skill
SYN skillful
she’s very adept at dealing with the media.
Abridged
an abridged book, play etc has been made shorter but keeps its basic structure and meaning:
The abridged edition was published in 1988.
Elm
a type of large tree with broad leaves, or the wood from this tree