phone 2

Question 1

stuffed

Answer 1

stuffed adjective (FULL)

A stuffed animal or bird is filled with special material so that it keeps the shape it had when it was alive:
a collection of stuffed birds

[ after verb ] informal (of a person) having eaten enough or too much:
“No more for me thanks - I’m stuffed.”

Question 2

outpost

Answer 2

a place, especially a small group of buildings or a town, that represents the authority or business interests of a government or company that is far away:

a police/military/colonial outpost

a rare example of something that is disappearing:

Free jazz has been described as the last outpost of modernism.

Question 3

nestle

Answer 3

to rest yourself or part of your body in a warm, comfortable, and protected position:

She nestled (her head) against his shoulder.

to be in, or put something in, a protected position, with bigger things around it:

Bregenz is a pretty Austrian town that nestles between the Alps and Lake Constance.

Question 4

sneaky

Answer 4

doing things in a secret and unfair way:
a sneaky plan

UK used to describe something you do, eat, or drink especially when you do it without telling anyone or when you should not really do it:
She snuck out for a sneaky cigarette.
There’s always the temptation to take a sneaky peek at the presents under the Christmas tree.

Question 5

infuriate

Answer 5

infuriate

to make someone extremely angry:
His sexist attitude infuriates me.

Question 6

buzzing

Answer 6

to make a continuous, low sound such as the one a bee makes:
I can hear an insect buzzing.
My phone buzzed at five in the morning and woke me.

2) to move around quickly or with a lot of energy:
Reporters were buzzing around, trying to get the full story.
From here you can see cars buzzing along the motorway.

3) (of a person or their mind) to be thinking about many different things at the same time:
I had so many questions - my head was buzzing.
My mind was buzzing and I just couldn’t get to sleep.
Karina’s on great form. She’s buzzing with new ideas and projects.
His mind buzzed with all the possibilities that lay before him.

4) to talk in an excited way about something:
Everyone was buzzing about how cool this place was.
Political bloggers buzzed over this unexpected turn of events.
Her latest movie has got everyone buzzing.
be buzzing

informal to be very excited and happy or energetic:
It’s all going really well for me here. I’m buzzing!

Question 7

insidious

Answer 7

(of something unpleasant or dangerous) gradually and secretly causing harm:
High blood pressure is an insidious condition which has few symptoms.

His negative attitude slowly and insidiously spoiled the atmosphere around the office.

Cancer is an insidious disease.

Question 8

gull

Answer 8

someone who is easily tricked or cheated:
What a gull I’ve been!
Surely he’s not such a gull that he would believe her ridiculous story.

to trick or cheat someone:
She was gulled by a smooth-talking con man.
They gulled him into buying something he didn’t want or need.

Question 9

discernment.

Answer 9

the ability to judge people and things well:
It’s clear that you are a person of discernment.

Question 10

discrete

Answer 10

clearly separate or different in shape or form:
These small companies now have their own discrete identity.

Question 11

assimilate

Answer 11

to become part of a group, country, society, etc., or to make someone or something become part of a group, country, society, etc.:
The European Union should remain flexible enough to assimilate more countries quickly.
You shouldn’t expect immigrants to assimilate into an alien culture immediately.

Question 12

hard sell

Answer 12

something that is difficult to get people to do or try:
A job in teaching can be a hard sell to young people who want to earn money.
the hard sell

The hard sell is a way of trying to get someone to buy or do something by being very forceful:
When I told him I didn’t think the car was right for me, he tried the hard sell on me.

Question 13

extravagant

Answer 13

C2 spending too much money, or using too much of something:
the extravagant lifestyle of a movie star
It was very extravagant of you to buy strawberries out of season.

Question 14

giggle

Answer 14

C2 to laugh repeatedly in a quiet but uncontrolled way, often at something silly or rude or when you are nervous:
Stop that giggling in the back row!

Question 15

flit

Answer 15

to fly or move quickly and lightly:
In the fading light we saw bats flitting around/about in the garden.
figurative She’s always flitting from one thing to another (= changing her activities).

to appear or exist suddenly and for a short time in someone’s mind or on their face:
A ghost of a smile flitted across his face.

Question 16

cerebrum

Answer 16

relating to the brain or the cerebrum:
He suffered a cerebral haemorrhage.
The patients frequently had a history of disease leading to cerebral damage.

formal demanding or involving careful thinking and mental effort rather than feelings:
She makes cerebral films that deal with important social issues.
Chess is cerebral; video games are visceral.

formal intelligent and serious, and enjoying serious thought rather than emotion:
His problem wasn’t his policies; it was his personality. He was simply too cerebral and too out of touch with Middle America.

Question 17

hyperbolic

Answer 17

hyperbolic adjective (SPEECH)
Add to word list
formal relating to a way of speaking or writing that makes someone or something sound bigger, better, more, etc., than they are:
hyperbolic rhetoric
He wrote in very hyperbolic terms.

Question 18

overreach

Answer 18

to fail by trying to achieve, spend, or do more than you can manage:
The housing meltdown hurt high-risk borrowers who overreached.
In the flush of success, he overreached.
Don’t go too far and overreach yourself.
Companies that overreach themselves soon find themselves in debt.

to make a bigger claim than is reasonable:
Those doing sound science don’t overreach, knowing that their methodology will be replicated and their results tested.

to do more than your authority allows:
Some officials charged that the investigators had overreached their authority.
It was a warning to the Florida court not to overreach its powers.

Question 19

drag

Answer 19

C2 [ T + adv/prep ] to make someone go somewhere they do not want to go:
She had to drag her kids away from the toys.
I really had to drag myself out of bed this morning.

C2 [ I ] If something such as a film or performance drags, it seems to go slowly because it is boring:
The first half of the movie was interesting but the second half dragged (on).

Question 20

discard

Answer 20

to throw something away or get rid of it because you no longer want or need it:
Discarded food containers and bottles littered the streets.

Cut the melon in half and discard the seeds.
He makes toys from things people discard.

Question 21

outlandish

Answer 21

strange and unusual and difficult to accept or like:
an outlandish hairstyle/outfit

Question 22

eccentric

Answer 22

strange or unusual, sometimes in a humorous way:
eccentric behaviour
eccentric clothes

Question 23

humanize

Answer 23

to make something less unpleasant and more suitable for people:
Steps are being taken to humanize the prison.

to show that someone has the qualities, weaknesses, etc. that are typical of a human, in a way that makes you more likely to feel sympathy for them:
The film tries to humanize the gang members, who show touches of tenderness despite their ruthless exploits.

Question 24

oral

Answer 24

B2 spoken and not written:
an oral agreement/exam

Question 25

unduly

Answer 25

more than is necessary, acceptable, or reasonable:
There’s no need to be unduly pessimistic about the situation.
He believes this approach would unduly harm the nation’s economy.

Question 26

concur

Answer 26

to agree or have the same opinion:
The new report concurs with previous findings.
[ + that ] The board concurred that the editor should have full control over editorial matters.
[ + speech ] “I think you’re absolutely right,” concurred Chris.

Question 27

conjecture

Answer 27

a guess about something based on how it seems and not on proof:
There’s been a lot of conjecture in the media recently about the marriage.

Question 28

awe

Answer 28

a feeling of great respect sometimes mixed with fear or surprise:

I’ve always held musicians in awe.

As children we were rather in awe of our grandfather.

You can’t help but stand in awe of (= respect greatly and fear slightly) powerful people.

Question 29

opulence

Answer 29

he quality of being expensive and luxurious:
He says living in such opulence makes him uneasy.
She stared around her in awe at the sheer opulence of the room.

Question 30

revel in something

Answer 30

to get great pleasure from a situation or an activity:
She’s revelling in her newly found freedom.
He revelled in his role as team manager.

Question 31

reveler

Answer 31

someone who dances, drinks, sings, etc. at a party or in public, especially in a noisy way:
On New Year’s Eve, thousands of revelers fill Times Square.
The statue was damaged by drunken revelers.

Question 32

abode

Answer 32

the place where someone lives:

humble abode humorous Welcome to my humble abode!

no fixed abode UK formal The defendant is of no fixed abode (= has no permanent home).

Despite being called The Cottage, their estate was the largest abode in the county.

Question 33

undercurrent

Answer 33

an emotion, belief, or characteristic of a situation that is hidden and usually negative or dangerous but that has some effect:
undercurrents of racism/anxiety/violence
Beneath the smooth surface of political life, there are powerful and dangerous undercurrents.

Question 34

emanate

Answer 34

to express a quality or feeling through the way that you look and behave:
Her face emanated sadness.

2) to come from or out of:
[ I always + adv/prep ] Angry voices emanated from the next room.

Question 35

jubilant

Answer 35

feeling or expressing great happiness, especially because of a success:
The fans were jubilant at/about/over their team’s victory.

Question 36

vantage point

Answer 36

a place, especially a high place, that provides a good, clear view of an area:
From our lofty vantage point, we could see the city spread out below us.

2) vintage

produced in the past, and typical of the period in which it was made:
a vintage plane
a vintage comic book

Question 37

lavish

Answer 37

C2 large in quantity and expensive or impressive:
lavish gifts/promises/praise
lavish spending
lavish banquets
The evening was a lavish affair with glorious food and an endless supply of champagne.
The lavish production makes this musical truly memorable.

2) very generous:
The critics were lavish in their praise for the paintings.

Question 38

introspect

Answer 38

to examine and consider your own ideas, thoughts, and feelings:
Sometimes we need to introspect about our own motives.

Question 39

embark

Answer 39

to go onto a ship:
We embarked at Liverpool for New York.

2) to start something new or important:
We’re embarking upon a new project later this year.

Question 40

contemplating

Answer 40

C2 to spend time considering a possible future action, or to consider one particular thing for a long time in a serious and quiet way:
[ + -ing verb ] I’m contemplating going abroad for a year.
They were contemplating a move to California.
It’s too awful/horrific/dangerous to contemplate.

Question 41

muse

Answer 41

to think about something carefully and for a long time:
I began to muse about/on the possibility of starting my own business.

Question 42

ponder

Answer 42

to think carefully about something, especially for a noticeable length of time:
She sat back for a minute to ponder her next move in the game.

Question 43

unwavering

Answer 43

never moving or looking away from something:
She met his unwavering stare.

Question 44

scarlet

Answer 44

bright red:
scarlet berries
He went scarlet with shame.

Question 45

furtive

Answer 45

(of people) behaving secretly and often dishonestly, or (of actions) done secretly and often dishonestly:

I saw him cast a furtive glance at the woman at the table to his right.

He made one or two furtive phone calls.

There was something furtive about his behaviour and I immediately felt suspicious.

Question 46

germinate

Answer 46

to (cause a seed to) start growing:
The beans will only germinate if the temperature is warm enough.

Question 47

anon

Answer 47

soon or in the near future:
See you anon.

Question 48

albeit

Answer 48

C2 although:
The evening was very pleasant, albeit a little quiet.
He tried, albeit without success.

Question 49

posit

Answer 49

to suggest something as a basic fact or principle from which a further idea is formed or developed:
[ + that ] If we posit that wage rises cause inflation, it follows that we should try to minimize them.

Question 50

laden

Answer 50

carrying or holding a lot of something:
He always comes back from France laden with presents for everyone.
The table, as always, was laden with food.

Question 51

in the light of something

Answer 51

idiom UK (US in light of sth)
Add to word list
C1 because of:
In the light of recent incidents, we are asking our customers to take particular care of their personal belongings.