phone 13 Flashcards
meager
(of amounts or numbers) very small or not enough:
a meager salary
The prisoners existed on a meager diet.
beleaguer
to cause a lot of problems or difficulties for someone:
We have issues in our community that continue to plague and beleaguer us.
to surround someone in order to attack them:
They were beleaguered by enemy armies.
disposed
be disposed to do something
Add to word list
C2
to be willing or likely to do something:
After all the trouble she put me to, I didn’t feel disposed to help her.
to have a specific feeling or opinion about someone or something:
We were always well disposed toward my uncle (= We liked him).
bound
B2 [ after verb ]
certain or extremely likely to happen:
[ + to infinitive ] You’re bound to forget people’s names occasionally.
You’re bound to feel nervous about your interview.
to be seriously intending to do something:
They are bound and determined to build their own house someday.
having a moral or legal duty to do something:
The company is bound by a special agreement to involve the union in important decisions.
duty-bound She feels duty-bound to tell him everything.
tied with rope, cord, string, etc.:
They left Jack, bound hand and foot, and guarded by one man.
His long brown braid bounced between his shoulders, and moisture formed and froze on the bound hair.
(of a book) having a cover made of paper, leather, or other material:
The book was bound in shiny green leather.
The archivist says the new documents are contained in a single bound volume.
going in a particular direction or towards a particular end result:
bound for She was on a plane bound for Moscow when she got sick.
These two young musicians are bound for international success.
At long last, I was homeward bound.
to mark or form the limits of:
be bounded by The town is bounded on one side by a river.
a quick, long jump:
With one bound the dog was over the fence.
minions
a person who is not important and who has to do what another person of higher rank orders them to do:
He sent one of his minions to do something about it.
platitudinous
boring and having no meaning because of being said so many times before:
The speech was long and rather platitudinous.
After a few moments more of this platitudinous chat we bowed and went on our way.
maelstrom
a situation in which there is great confusion, violence, and destruction:
The country is gradually being sucked into the maelstrom of civil war.
frivolous
behaving in a silly way and not taking anything seriously:
I think he sees her as a frivolous young woman.
I’m sorry to be so frivolous.
barn
C2
a large building on a farm in which animals or hay (= dried grass) and grain are kept
dignified
controlled, serious, and calm, and therefore deserving respect:
a tall, dignified woman
He has maintained a dignified silence about the rumours.
The defeated candidate gave a dignified speech in which he congratulated his rival.
to cause something to be respected and considered important when that is not deserved:
I’m not even going to dignify that stupid question with an answer.
auriferous
containing gold:
auriferous clay
corpulent
fat:
a corpulent gentleman
atrocious
of very bad quality:
an atrocious film/piece of acting
The weather has been atrocious all week.
Conditions in the prison were atrocious.
ferocious
frightening and violent:
a ferocious dog
a ferocious battle
She’s got a ferocious (= very bad) temper.
The president came in for some ferocious criticism.
stotious
unable to speak or act in the usual way because of having had too much alcohol:
Get him to his bed - he’s stotious.
“There’s nothing else for it; I’m going to get stocious,” he said.
patronize
to speak to or behave towards someone as if they are stupid or not important:
Stop patronizing me - I understand the play as well as you do.
capricious
changing mood or behaviour suddenly and unexpectedly:
a capricious child
He was a cruel and capricious tyrant.
avaricious
disapproving
showing an extremely strong wish to get or keep money or possessions:
The idea is to shift the bad debts of the avaricious and the greedy onto the shoulders of middle-class people.
She turned out to be a crafty and avaricious politician.
acquisitive
often disapproving
eager to own and collect things:
We live in an acquisitive society that views success primarily in terms of material possessions.
covetous
wanting to have something too much, especially something that belongs to someone else:
I can’t help casting covetous looks at my neighbour’s new Porsche.
malediction
words that are intended to bring bad luck to someone or that express the hope that someone will have bad luck:
He left, muttering maledictions against them.
subsist
to get enough food or money to stay alive, but no more:
The prisoners were subsisting on a diet of bread and water.
buoy
to prevent someone or something from sinking:
The very salty water buoyed her (up) as she swam.
buoy verb (MAKE HAPPIER)
to make someone feel happier or more confident about a situation:
She was buoyed (up) by the warm reception her audience gave her.
able to float:
Cork is light and buoyant.
happy and confident:
After reading the letter he was in a buoyant mood.
successful or making a profit:
The housing market remains buoyant.
frail
weak or unhealthy, or easily damaged, broken, or harmed:
a frail old lady
I last saw him just last week and thought how old and frail he looked.
the country’s frail economy
ostracize
to avoid someone intentionally, or to prevent someone from taking part in the activities of a group:
His colleagues ostracized him after he criticized the company in public.
vegetate
to live in a way that has no physical and mental activity:
Are our kids spending too much time vegetating in front of the TV?
cumbersome
awkward because of being large, heavy, or not effective:
cumbersome equipment
cumbersome bureaucracy
difficult to do or manage and taking a lot of time and effort:
Critics say that the process for amending the Constitution is cumbersome, but others defend it.
squire
in the past in England, a man who owned most of the land around a village
UK old-fashioned informal
used as a friendly form of address by one man to another who might be of a higher social class:
“I don’t know if all my luggage is going to fit in the back of the taxi.” “Don’t worry, squire, I’ll get it in.”
to take someone places:
Skinner uses the plane to squire around bureaucrats
chaise
a carriage (= a road vehicle pulled by horses that was used in the past) for two people:
She stepped down from the chaise and looked around her.
He helped her into a chaise and four (= pulled by four horses) that was waiting outside the house.
shrubs
a large plant with a rounded shape formed from many small branches growing either directly from the ground or from a hard stem, grown in gardens:
She planted some roses and other flowering shrubs.
sponge
to get money, food, etc. from other people, especially in order to live without working:
sponging off the state
to rub something or someone with a wet sponge or cloth, especially to clean it, him, or her:
Most food stains will come off if you sponge the material with a little detergent.
The doctor told me to sponge Erik down with cold water in order to lower his temperature.
coalesce
If two or more things coalesce, they come or grow together to form one thing or system.
to combine into a single group or thing:
[ I ] The theory is that galaxies coalesced from smaller groupings of stars.
the process in which speech sounds are joined together because someone is talking fast
orientation
the particular things that a person prefers, believes, thinks, or usually does:
We employ people without regard to their political orientation.
the fact of someone being sexually or romantically attracted to people of a particular gender, or more than one gender:
He is not legally required to disclose his orientation to his employer.
Anti-discrimination laws include race, sex, gender, orientation, disability, and military status as protected classes.
orientation noun [U] (AIMS)
the particular interests, activities, or aims of an organization or business:
the company’s new eco-friendly orientation
zeitgeist
the general set of ideas, beliefs, feelings, etc. that is typical of a particular period in history
Put in the contemporary context, this change also mirrored the overall rebellious zeitgeist of civil society, which was beginning to witness protests over many issues
topography
the physical appearance of the natural features of an area of land, especially the shape of its surface
the natural features of land, esp. the shape of its surface, or the science of mapping those features:
Volcanoes have sculpted the topography of the island.
cajole
to persuade someone to do something they might not want to do, by pleasant talk and (sometimes false) promises:
He really knows how to cajole people into doing what he wants.
I managed to cajole her out of leaving too early.
The most effective technique is to cajole rather than to threaten.
to try to persuade someone to do something by saying things that please the person or make the person feel important:
She is constantly cajoling her fellow citizens to adopt modern ideas and methods.
coax
to persuade someone gently to do something or go somewhere, by being kind and patient, or by appearing to be:
Perhaps you could coax your father into taking you to the station.
A mother was coaxing her reluctant child into the water.
a coaxing voice
to manage to get something to do something, or something to happen, by being very patient and taking great care:
Stem cells are coaxed to grow into a variety of cells to be injected into patients.
She coaxed the plane in for the landing.
inveigle
to persuade someone to do something in a clever and dishonest way, when they do not want to do it:
Her son tried to inveigle her into giving him the money for a car.
wheedle
to try to persuade someone to do something or give you something by praising them or being intentionally charming:
She’s one of those children who can wheedle you into giving her anything she wants.
She wasn’t invited, but somehow she managed to wheedle her way in.
I tried different approaches - I wheedled, threatened, demanded, cajoled.
to try to persuade someone to do something or to give you something by using your charm and by repeatedly asking in a way that would make refusal embarrassing:
[ T always + adv/prep ] He wasn’t going to tell me but I wheedled it out of him.
purloin
to steal something:
I was using a pen that I’d purloined from the office.
lacerate
to cut or tear something, especially flesh:
The sharp branches lacerated my bare arms.
He was seen pushing the man into a wall, lacerating his chin.
literary
to cause someone great emotional pain:
To think of his own friends betraying him lacerated him.
Their cruel laughter lacerated my heart.
to criticize someone or attack them with words in a very powerful way:
Critics have lacerated the press for getting the facts wrong in this case.
As a political cartoonist, he likes to lacerate the pompous and the powerful.
contrite
feeling very sorry and guilty for something bad that you have done:
a contrite apology/expression
rueful
feeling sorry and wishing that something had not happened:
He turned away with a rueful laugh.
acoustic
relating to sound or hearing:
The microphone converts acoustic waves to electrical signals for transmission.
used to refer to a musical instrument that is not made louder by electrical equipment:
an acoustic guitar
subjugate
to treat yourself, your wishes, or your beliefs as being less important than other people or their wishes or beliefs:
She subjugated herself to her mother’s needs.
Reporters must subjugate personal political convictions to their professional commitment to balance.
to defeat people or a country and rule them in a way that allows them no freedom
suppression
the act of ending something by force:
brutal police suppression of the riots
the act of preventing something from being seen or expressed or from operating:
the suppression of free speech
the illegal suppression of evidence
lunacy
stupid behaviour that will have bad results:
It would be lunacy to try to climb the mountain in this weather.
It was sheer lunacy spending all that money.
old-fashioned
mental illness
leniency
treatment in which someone is punished or judged less strongly or severely than would be expected:
The defending lawyer asked for leniency on the grounds of her client’s youth.
But for the leniency of the referee, the player would have been sent off.
C2
not as severe or strong in punishment or judgment as would be expected:
They believe that judges are too lenient with terrorist suspects.
In view of the quantity of drugs involved, 16 years was the most lenient sentence (= punishment) the judge could impose.
turpitude
evil:
acts/crimes of moral turpitude
depravity
the state of being morally bad, or an action that is morally bad
invert
to turn something so its top is at the bottom or put something in the opposite order or position:
Invert the cake onto a wire rack and let it cool.
