phone 3

Question 1

Ironically

Answer 1

C2 in a way that is interesting, strange, or funny because of being very different from what you would expect:
Ironically, these technological tools that were supposed to liberate us have left us working longer hours than ever.

in a way that suggests you mean the opposite of what you are saying, or are not serious:
The tone of the novel is ironically comic.
She smiled ironically.

Question 2

avian

Answer 2

Add to word list
of or relating to birds

Responses of an avian community to rain forest degradation.

Question 3

spearhead

Answer 3

to lead something such as an attack or a course of action:
British troops spearheaded the invasion.
Joe Walker will be spearheading our new marketing initiative.

Question 4

preordain

Answer 4

(especially of a power thought to be greater than ordinary people) to decide or fix what will happen in a way that cannot be changed or controlled:
[ + to infinitive ] Illness and suffering seemed (to be) preordained to be her lot.
His life seems to have followed a preordained path/direction.

If our fate is preordained (in our genes or in the stars), then implicitly it cannot be undone.

Question 5

postmodernism

Answer 5

a style of art, writing, music, theatre, and especially architecture popular in the West in the 1980s and 90s, that includes features from several different periods in the past or from the present and past

Question 6

discourse

Answer 6

the use of language to communicate in speech or writing, or an example of this:
Ellipsis is a characteristic feature of spoken discourse.
They may have difficulty in retrieving words and organizing a complex discourse.

discussion or debate (= formal or political argument), or an example of this:
On social media, angry and aggressive voices seem to dominate the discourse.
These ideas have been part of the public discourse for years.

a speech or piece of writing about a particular, usually serious, subject:
She gave a discourse on the nature of life after death.
The essay was a discourse on the country’s future energy needs.

Question 7

grounded

Answer 7

Someone who is grounded makes good decisions and does not say or do stupid things:
He’s very grounded even though he has so much money.

Question 8

concurrent

Answer 8

happening or existing at the same time:
The judge imposed concurrent sentences totalling 14 years for the attacks on the girls.

Question 9

concur

Answer 9

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 10

staunchly

Answer 10

strongly:
staunchly loyal/independent

Question 11

taut (lean)

Answer 11

tight or completely stretched:
a taut rope
He kept his eyes on the road ahead, his face taut with concentration.

Her body is lean, taut, athletic.

Question 12

lean toward sth

Answer 12

to be interested in something and be likely to do a particular activity:
He said he was leaning toward entering the race for governor.

Question 13

burgeoning

Answer 13

developing quickly:
The company hoped to profit from the burgeoning communications industry.

Question 14

disarmament

Answer 14

the act of taking away or giving up weapons:
She said she supported nuclear disarmament.
the disarmament of the militia

2) armament
the process of increasing the number and strength of a country’s weapons:
As the country prepares for war, more and more money is being spent on armament.

Question 15

hail

Answer 15

C2 [ T ] formal to call someone in order to attract their attention:
Shall we hail a taxi?
I tried to hail her from across the room.

2) doll (weather)

3) to come from or to have been born in a particular place:
Joe originally hails from Toronto.

4) to praise a person or an achievement by comparing them to someone or something very good:
She’s been hailed as one of the best young dancers today.
The film was hailed as a masterpiece in its day.

Question 16

the belief that war is wrong, and, therefore, that to fight in a war is wrong

Answer 16

the belief that war is wrong, and, therefore, that to fight in a war is wrong

Einstein was an ardent pacifist who promoted the cause of world peace.

Question 17

ardent

Answer 17

showing strong feelings:
an ardent supporter of Manchester United
an ardent feminist

Question 18

dichotomy

Answer 18

a difference between two completely opposite ideas or things:
There is often a dichotomy between what politicians say and what they do.

Question 19

duality

Answer 19

the state of combining two different things:
His poems reveal the duality of his nature, the joy and hope, the fear and despair.

Question 20

underpin

Answer 20

support, strength, or the basic structure of something:
After a while, we found ourselves questioning the spiritual and philosophical underpinning of the American way of life.
He has the capacity to understand the theoretical underpinnings that affect action.

2) to give support, strength, or a basic structure to something:
He presented data to underpin his argument.
Gradually the laws that underpinned (= formed part of the basic structure of) apartheid were abolished.
When restoring the building, the first priority was to underpin the exterior walls by adding wooden supports along the foundations.

Question 21

dismissal

Answer 21

the situation in which an employer officially makes someone leave their job:
unfair/wrongful dismissal

2) a decision that something or someone is not important and not worth considering:
The lawyer is seeking a dismissal of the charges against his client.

Question 22

a person who is not trained in or does not have a detailed knowledge of a particular subject:
The book is supposed to be the layman’s guide to home repair.

Answer 22

a person who is not trained in or does not have a detailed knowledge of a particular subject:
The book is supposed to be the layman’s guide to home repair.

Question 23

foible

Answer 23

a strange habit or characteristic that is seen as not important and not harming anyone:
We all have our little foibles.

Question 24

idiosyncrasy

Answer 24

a strange or unusual habit, way of behaving, or feature that someone or something has:
She often cracks her knuckles when she’s speaking - it’s one of her little idiosyncrasies.
One of the idiosyncrasies of this printer is that you can’t stop it once it has started.

Question 25

intertwine

Answer 25

to twist or be twisted together, or to be connected so as to be difficult to separate:
The town’s prosperity is inextricably intertwined with the fortunes of the factory.
The trees’ branches intertwined to form a dark roof over the path.

Question 26

inextricable

Answer 26

unable to be separated, released, or escaped from:
In the case of King Arthur, legend and truth are often inextricable.

Question 27

consensus

Answer 27

C2 a generally accepted opinion or decision among a group of people:
The general consensus in the office is that he can’t do his job.
Could we reach a consensus on this matter? Let’s take a vote.

Question 28

underplay

Answer 28

to make something such as a dangerous situation seem less important or dangerous than it really is:
While not wanting to underplay the seriousness of the situation, I have to say that it is not as bad as people seem to think.

Question 29

compelling

Answer 29

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.

Question 30

gravitate

Answer 30

to be attracted to or move toward something:

People tend to gravitate to the beaches here.

Susie always gravitates towards the older children in her playgroup.

Question 31

bolster

Answer 31

o support or improve something or make it stronger:
More money is needed to bolster the industry.
She tried to bolster my confidence/morale (= encourage me and make me feel stronger) by telling me that I had a special talent.
They need to do something to bolster their image.

Question 32

beacon

Answer 32

a light or fire in a place that is easy to see, such as on the top of a hill, that acts as a warning or signal:
As part of the centenary celebrations a chain of beacons was lit across the region.
The tower had a flashing beacon that people could see from miles away.

a device that sends out a radio signal to show the position of something such as a ship, aircraft, etc.:
A plane’s transponder is a beacon that transmits an identifying code.
Planes fly along air corridors marked by ground-based radio beacons.

a good example that gives people hope or encouragement:
She was a beacon of hope in troubled times.
He said Britain could become a beacon to the rest of the world.

Question 33

patron

Answer 33

a person or group that supports an activity or organization, especially by giving money:
The Princess Royal is a well-known patron of several charities.

Question 34

sprightly

Answer 34

(especially of old people) energetic and in good health:
He’s a sprightly old man of 75.

Question 35

cloak

Answer 35

a loose outer piece of clothing without sleeves, that fastens at the neck, and is worn instead of a coat

something that hides, covers, or keeps something else secret:
The restaurant he owned was just a cloak for (= hid) his drug-dealing activities.
They left the house under cloak of darkness.

Question 36

Annotate

Answer 36

to add a short explanation or opinion to a text or image:
Annotated editions of Shakespeare’s plays help readers to understand old words.
an annotated bibliography/manuscript/edition
His great-granddaughter has painstakingly transcribed and annotated his wartime diaries.
The students annotate their photos, saying why they are relevant.

Question 37

congregation

Answer 37

a group of people who have come together in a religious building for worship and prayer:
The Imam asked the congregation to kneel.

Question 38

abreast

Answer 38

used to say that two or more people are next to each other and moving in the same direction:
We were running/swimming two abreast.
The motorcyclist came abreast of her car and shouted abuse at her.

keep abreast of something

to make sure you know all the most recent facts about a subject or situation:
I try to keep abreast of any developments.
Staying abreast of new software releases takes lots of time.

Question 39

slander

Answer 39

a false spoken statement about someone that damages their reputation, or the making of such a statement:
The doctor is suing his partner for slander.
She regarded his comment as a slander on her good reputation.

Question 40

libel

Answer 40

a piece of writing that contains bad and false things about a person:
She threatened to sue the magazine for libel.

Question 41

deduce

Answer 41

to reach an answer or a decision by thinking carefully about the known facts:
We cannot deduce very much from these figures.
[ + that ] The police have deduced that he must have left his apartment yesterday evening.

Question 42

bemoan

Answer 42

to complain or express sadness about something:
Researchers at universities are always bemoaning their lack of funds.

Question 43

bewail

Answer 43

to express great sadness or disappointment about something:
He bewailed his misfortune and the loss of his most treasured possessions.

Question 44

deplore

Answer 44

formal

to say or think that something is very bad:
We deeply deplore the loss of life.
He said that he deplored all violence.
UK The attitude of the Minister is to be deplored (= is very bad).

Question 45

pilgrimage

Answer 45

a special journey made by a pilgrim:
Muslims try to make a pilgrimage/go on a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life.

a visit to a place that is considered special, where you go to show your respect:
For many fans, the national stadium is a place of pilgrimage.

Question 46

bemuse

Answer 46

to confuse someone:
The instructions completely bewildered me.

2) to slightly confuse someone:
Her answer bemused us all.

Question 47

implicate

Answer 47

to show that someone is involved in a crime or partly responsible for something bad that has happened:
Have they any evidence to implicate him in the robbery?

Question 48

embody

Answer 48

C2 to represent a quality or an idea exactly:
She embodied good sportsmanship on the playing field.

to include as part of something:
Kennett embodied in one man an unusual range of science, music, and religion.

to have and show particular qualities or ideas; represent:
Arthur Ashe embodied the ideals of good sportsmanship.

Question 49

unleash

Answer 49

to suddenly release a violent force that cannot be controlled:
At worst, nuclear war could be unleashed.
Rachel’s arrival on the scene had unleashed passions in him that he could scarcely control.

2) to let happen or begin something powerful that, once begun, cannot be controlled:
The vice president unleashed a furious attack on leading Democratic representatives in Congress.

Question 50

implicit

Answer 50

C2 suggested but not communicated directly:
He interpreted her comments as an implicit criticism of the government.
Implicit in the poem’s closing lines are the poet’s own religious doubts.

felt by someone or influencing them without them being aware of it:
The experiment was designed to measure implicit racial bias.
Egalitarian intentions are not enough to protect against the effect of implicit attitudes.

2) implicit adjective (COMPLETE)

complete and without any doubts:
All her life she had implicit faith in socialism.
implicit trust/obedience

Question 51

palpitate

Answer 51

(of the heart) to beat very fast and in a way that is not regular:
My heart was palpitating with fear.