P300-350 Vocabulary Flashcards
Wreak
- wreak havoc/mayhem/destruction (on something)
to cause a lot of damage or problems:
These policies have wreaked havoc on the British economy. - wreak revenge/vengeance (on somebody) formal to do something unpleasant to someone to punish them for something they have done to you:
He promised to wreak vengeance on those who had betrayed him.
– Qualification
A piece of information that you add which limits the effect of something.
SYN reservation
The Spartans promised to send with a major qualification: No help would be forthcoming until a religious festival was over.
Play for time
to deliberately delay doing something, or to do it more slowly than usual, so that you have more time to decide what to do
‘I just have to make a phone call first,’ she said, playing for time.
– Station
to send someone in the military to a particular place for a period of time as part of their military duty
I was stationed overseas at the time.
– Objective
something that you are trying hard to achieve, especially in business or politics
SYN goal:
One of your first business objectives should be to get your own office.
Petition
a written request signed by a lot of people, asking someone in authority to do something or change something
petition for/against
a petition against the new road
Pension
an amount of money paid regularly by the government or company to someone who does not work any more, for example because they have reached the age when people stop working or because they are ill
At what age can you start drawing your pension?
Trample
-
to step heavily on something, so that you crush it with your feet
Land that had been trampled by cattle for 50 years was turned into a lush forest again. - to behave in a way that shows that you do not care about someone’s rights or feelings
trample on/over somebody/something
Their interests and rights had been trampled underfoot.
– Intimate adj.
PRIVATE relating to very private or personal matters:
I gave a start of astonishment. Accustomed as I was to Holmes’s curious faculties, this sudden intrusion into my most intimate thoughts was utterly inexplicable
▪ private ▪ personal ▪ secret
▪ intimate very private – used about things relating to your relationships and sexual feelings: an intimate conversation
▪ innermost [only before noun] your innermost feelings, thoughts etc are your most private ones: Counselling often encourages you to reveal your innermost thoughts.
.
– Curious
STRANGE ■strange and unusual; peculiar
*There was a curious -looking man standing outside.
Inexplicable
■unable to be explained or understood
*For some inexplicable reason, he’s decided to cancel the project.
▪ mysterious
▪ puzzling difficult to explain or understand: At first this must seem a puzzling question.
▪ baffling impossible to understand, so that you feel very confused: It was a baffling case.
▪ inexplicable formal impossible to explain: For some inexplicable reason her mind went completely blank. | Some things in life are inexplicable.
Aback
be taken aback (by something)
to be very surprised or shocked by something:
Now, Watson, confess yourself utterly taken aback, said he.
– Air n.
APPEARANCE if something or someone has an air of confidence, mystery etc, they seem confident, mysterious etc
He propped his test-tube in the rack and began to lecture with the air of a professor addressing his class.
Rest on / upon
if your eyes rest on something, you notice it and look at it
His eye rested upon a strange dancing markings.
– Particulars
the facts and details about a job, property, legal case etc
you gave me a few particulars in your letter, Mr. Hilton Cubitt, but I should be very much obliged if you would kindly go over it all again for the benefit of my friend, Dr. Watson.
Hideous
extremely unpleasant or ugly:
a hideous dress
Eyesore
something that is very ugly, especially a building surrounded by other things that are not ugly
The factory is an eyesore.
Grotesque
extremely ugly in a strange or unnatural way:
a grotesque figure with a huge head
■ extremely ugly
▪ hideous extremely ugly: His hideous face twisted into a smile. | a hideous concrete shopping centre | a hideous monster
▪ grotesque extremely ugly in a strange or unnatural way: A grotesque figure appeared out of the darkness.
▪ an eyesore (also a blot on the landscape) noun [singular] something that is so ugly that it spoils the appearance of an area: Local residents regard the new office building as an eyesore.
Be obliged if
be obliged if formal
■used to ask someone politely to do something
*I’d be obliged if you would complete and return the form as soon as possible.
Allusion
something said or written that mentions a subject, person etc indirectly
allusion to
The committee made no allusion to the former President in its report.
– Know
EXPERIENCE [transitive] to have experience of a particular feeling or situation:
I don’t think he ever knew true happiness.
But she has never known an easy hour from that moment.
Windowsill
■a shelf below a window, either inside or outside a building
*I found on one of the windowsills as number of absurd little dancing figures, like these upon paper.
– Frame
MAKE GUILTY
■to make a person seem to be guilty of a crime when they are not, by producing facts or information which are not true
*He claimed he’d been framed by the police.
Comely
a comely woman is attractive
he was a fine creature, this man of the old English soil, simple, straight, and gentle, with his great, earnest blue eyes and broad, comely face.
Boarder
a student who stays at a school during the night, as well as during the day
Lined
■(of paper) having lines printed across, or (of the skin on the face) having lines because of age
He was looking worried and depressed, with tired eyes and a lined forehead.
Take the plunge
take the plunge to decide to do something important or risky, especially after thinking about it for a long time:
We took the plunge and set up our own business.
Unsullied
not spoiled by anything
She has spoken about my old family, and out reputation in the county and out pride in our unsullied honor.
sully-soil
Chuckle
to laugh quietly:
Holmes rubbed his hands and chuckled with delight.
Revolver
a type of small gun. The bullets are in a case which turns around as you fire the gun, so that when you fire one bullet the next bullet is ready to be fired.
Pistol
a small gun you can use with one hand ⇨ handgun, revolver
Convulsive
a convulsive movement or action is sudden, violent, and impossible to control
convulsive spasm / hold me with convulsive strength
Rascal
a child who behaves badly but whom you still like
I was angry with my wife that night for having held me back when I might have caught the rascal.
Cross sb’s mind
if you say that an idea, thought etc never crossed your mind, you mean that you did not think of it
It didn’t cross her mind that she might be doing something illegal.
Inclination
a feeling that makes you want to do something
My natural inclination was to say no.
Teachers simply do not have the time or the inclination to investigate these matters.
Comrade
a friend, especially someone who shares difficult work or danger:
The moment xxx, my comrade rushed to the table, laid out all the slips of paper containing dancing men.
Gavel
a small hammer that the person in charge of a meeting, court of law, auction etc hits on a table in order to get people’s attention
Insurrection
an attempt by a large group of people within a country to take control using force and violence
SYN rebellion
The chaos on the House floor came exactly two years after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.
Insurgent
Twirl
■to (cause to) give a sudden quick turn or set of turns in a circle
The Friday after Betty Ann arrived on the scene, Susan twirled her pencil, leaned back in her desk, and waited for the best composition of the week to be read. Hers, of course.
Latent /ˈleɪtənt/
something that is latent is present but hidden, and may develop or become more noticeable in the future ⇨ dormant
latent in
The virus remains latent in the body for many years.
Impostor
■a person who pretends to be someone else in order to deceive others
*He felt like an impostor among all those intelligent people, as if he had no right to be there.
Exasperating
extremely annoying:
You have this exasperating habit of never looking at me!
Hoist
to raise, lift, or pull something up, especially using ropes:
Later in that day, the guys could come to the pool and hoist girls on their shoulder for water fights.
Handrail
■a long narrow bar of wood or metal which people can hold on to for support, especially when going up or down stairs
Flagship
the best and most important product, building etc that a company owns or produces
The firm has just opened a flagship store in Las Vegas.
– Trip
FALL (also trip up) to hit something with your foot by accident so that you fall or almost fall
SYN stumble
He tripped and fell.
Fraught
full of anxiety or worry
SYN tense
the effect of social media use on Children is a fraught area of research.
Scowl
to look at someone in an angry way ⇨ frown:
Mum scowled at him and refused to say anything.
Discern
- to notice or understand something by thinking about it carefully
discern what/where/why etc
Without more information about other aspects of the students’ lives, “it is challenging to discern how specific differences in brain development are to social media checking.” - to be able to see something by looking carefully
SYN perceive:
We could just discern a town in the distance.
Norm
- the usual or normal situation, way of doing something etc
be/become the norm
Short term contracts are now the norm with some big companies. - the norm the normal or average standard
above/below the norm
28% of children tested below the norm.
– Implication
■the effect that an action or decision will have on something else in the future
We don’t necessarily know the long-term implications yet.
Prick
■If you prick up your ears, or if your ears prick up, you suddenly begin to listen very carefully because you have heard something interesting
But there was a delay in that answering telegram, and two days of impatience followed, during which Holmes pricked up his ears at every ring of the bell.
Pedestal
the base on which a pillar or statue stands:
save that a long inscription had appeared that morning upon the pedestal of the sun-dial.
put/place somebody on a pedestal to admire someone so much that you treat them or talk about them as though they are perfect:
Women are both put on a pedestal and treated like second-class citizens.
Exclamation
a sound, word, or short sentence that you say suddenly and loudly because you are surprised, angry, or excited
exclamation of
Then suddenly sprang to his feet with an exclamation of surprise and dismay.
Haggard /ˈhæɡəd $ -ərd/
someone who looks haggard has lines on their face and dark marks around their eyes, especially because they are ill, worried, or tired:
his face was haggard with anxiety.
Despondent
extremely unhappy and without hope:
Seldom have I seen him so utterly despondent.
Melancholy /ˈmelənkəli $ -kɑːli/ adj.&n.
very sad
The music suited her melancholy mood.
formal a feeling of sadness for no particular reason ⇨ depression
But now this sudden realization of his worst fears left him in a blank melancholy.
▪ sadness ▪ unhappiness ▪ sorrow
▪ misery ▪ despair ▪ grief
▪ heartache a strong feeling of great sadness, especially because you miss someone you love: She remembered the heartache of the first Christmas spent away from her sons.
▪ depression
▪ despondency formal a feeling of being very unhappy and without hope: She felt useless, and this contributed to her despondency.
▪ melancholy literary a feeling of sadness, that you feel even though there is no particular reason for it: Modigliani expressed his melancholy through his painting.
Grove
a piece of land with trees growing on it
olive/lemon/palm etc grove
He owns an orange grove near Tel Aviv.
Discharge
SHOOT [transitive] formal to fire a gun or shoot an arrow etc:
Certainly the bullet had been discharged at very close quarters.
– Panel
■to cover or decorate with flat, usually rectangular pieces of wood, metal, cloth, etc.
*The walls of the dining hall were paneled in oak.
Paneled
covered or decorated with flat pieces of wood
panelled with/in
The old hall, oak-paneled and high-windowed had been turned into a court of investigation.
Arouse
arouse from
They had to be aroused from their sleep by the sound of an explosion, which had been followed a minute later by a second one.
Clad adj.
- wearing a particular kind of clothing
clad in
She felt hot, despite being clad only in a thin cotton dress. - snow-clad/ivy-clad etc covered in a particular thing:
an armor-clad ship
Dressing gown
a piece of clothing like a long loose coat that you wear inside the house, usually over night clothes
Hasty
- done in a hurry, especially with bad results
SYN hurried:
He soon regretted his hasty decision. - be hasty to do something too soon, without careful enough thought:
Let’s not be hasty – sit down for a moment.
Cartridge
a tube containing explosive powder and a bullet that you put in a gun
SYN shell
But there are still four cartridges in the revolver.
Window sash
■a frame with a piece of glass in it which is used to make windows and doors
– Draft
AIR cold air that moves through a room and that you can feel
SYN draught British English
Draft in the room was necessary for that.
▪ wind air moving in a current, especially strongly or quickly: A cold wind was blowing from the east. | Strong winds caused damage to many buildings.
▪ breeze a gentle pleasant wind: The trees were moving gently in the breeze. | A slight breeze ruffled her hair.
▪ draft a current of cool air which blows into a room, especially one that makes you feel uncomfortable: There’s a bit of a draught in here – can you close the door?
Splinter
- if something such as wood splinters, or if you splinter it, it breaks into thin sharp pieces
From the splintering of the wood - to separate into smaller groups or parts, or to make a group or organization do this, especially because of a disagreement
splinter into
The once-powerful Communist Party has splintered into hundreds of pieces.
Cylinder
a shape, object, or container with circular ends and long straight sides ⇨ tube:
The gases are stored in cylinders.
■ types of shapes
▪ square a shape with four straight sides that are equal in length and four angles of 90 degrees
▪ circle a round shape that is like an O
▪ semicircle half a circle
▪ triangle a shape with three straight sides and three angles
▪ rectangle a shape with four straight sides and four angles of 90 degrees
▪ oval a shape like a circle, but that is longer than it is wide
▪ cylinder an object in the shape of a tube
▪ cube a solid object with six equal square sides
▪ pyramid a shape with a square base and four triangular sides that meet in a point at the top
▪ sphere a shape like a ball
Brazen
■obvious, without any attempt to be hidden
*There were instances of brazen cheating in the exams.
Then, with a cry of satisfaction, he bent forward and picked up a little brazen cylinder.
Cross-examine
to ask someone questions about something that they have just said, to see if they are telling the truth, especially in a court of law
He broke down under cross-examination.
Consign con+sign
formal to send something somewhere, especially in order to sell it
It was consigned to Mr. Abe Slaney, Elrige’s Farm, East Ruston, Norfolk.
Cock
to lift a part of your body, or hold a part of your body at an angle:
His eyebrows always cocked upward when he was in deep conversation.
Honk
■If a goose or a car horn honks, it makes a short, loud sound.
Beckon
- [intransitive and transitive] to make a signal to someone with your hand, to show that you want them to come towards you or to follow you:
beckon (to) somebody to do something
She beckoned to the waitress to bring more wine. - [intransitive and transitive] if something such as a place or opportunity beckons, it appears so attractive that you want to have it:
I remember walking down the street of our small village, car honking, the warm lights from stores beckoning strollers to come in from the cold.
– Contraction
■a shortened form of a word or combination of words which is often used instead of the full form in spoken English
I had every reason to suppose that his Abe Slaney was an American, since Abe is an American contraction, and since a letter from America had been the starting-point of all the trouble.
Antics
behavior that seems strange, funny, silly, or annoying:
Holmes drawn his chair up to the table and spread out in front of him the various papers upon which were recorded the antics of the dancing men.
▪ behavior the way someone behaves
▪ conduct formal the way someone behaves in public or in their job – used mainly in official or legal contexts: Bates was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct (=noisy and violent).
▪ manner the way someone behaves when they are talking to or dealing with other people, which is shown in their expression, their voice etc: She had a pleasant friendly manner.
▪ demeanor the way someone looks and behaves, which shows you something about their character or feelings: She maintained a calm demeanour at all times. | Wenger’s demeanour suggested that he was not happy with the situation.
▪ antics someone’s behaviour – used when you think it is silly, funny, strange, or annoying:
Crook
a dishonest person or a criminal
The most dangerous crook in Chicago.
Swarthy
■(of a person or their skin) dark
a swarthy face/complexion
Handcuffs
a pair of metal rings joined by a chain. Handcuffs are used for holding a prisoner’s wrists together
in handcuffs
He was brought into the court in handcuffs.
Deft - dexterous
- a deft movement is skillful, and often quick:
He sketched her with quick, deft strokes. - skillful at doing something
SYN adept:
his deft chairmanship of the company
Hoarse
if you are hoarse, or if your voice is hoarse, you speak in a low rough voice, for example because your throat is sore:
you will make yourself hoarse if you shouting like this.
Clap
PUT QUICKLY
■to put a person or thing somewhere quickly or suddenly
In an instant Holmes clapped a pistol to his head and Martin slipped the handcuffs over his wrists.
Composure
■calmness and control
*I didn’t want to lose my composure in front of her.
Dog
to follow close behind someone
You dogged her and followed her and made her life a misery to her in order to induce her to abandon the husband whom she loved and respected in order to fly with you, whom she feared and hated.
Dogged
■very determined to do something, even if it is very difficult
*Her ambition and dogged determination ensured that she rose to the top of her profession.
Reparation
when you give something to someone or do something for them because you have done something wrong to them in the past
Offenders must make reparation for their crimes through community service.
Coax
to persuade someone to do something that they do not want to do by talking to them in a kind, gentle, and patient way:
I tried all I could to coax Elsie away.
Coax
to persuade someone to do something that they do not want to do by talking to them in a kind, gentle, and patient way:
I tried all I could to coax Elsie away.
