phone 6 Flashcards
revolt
C2 [ I ] If a large number of people revolt, they refuse to be controlled or ruled, and take action against authority, often violent action:
The people revolted against foreign rule and established their own government.
to take violent action against authority, or to refuse to be controlled or ruled:
Californians may be ready to revolt against broad cuts in government services.
2) C2 [ T ] to make someone feel unpleasantly shocked or disgusted:
We were revolted by the dirt and mess in her house.
It revolts me to know that the world spends so much money on arms when millions are dying of hunger.
blow/tout your own trumpet/horn
to tell everyone proudly about your achievements
Despite a unique record of achievement is recent years, he can never be accused of blowing his own trumpet.
* For too long we Christians have heard the modern world blowing its own trumpet.
* Most were reluctant, defensive, or simply hesitant to blow their own trumpet.
* I don’t want to blow my own trumpet, but it was me who came up with the idea for the project in the first place.
* I don’t like to blow my own trumpet but My Better Half could eat it to a band playing.
* But he could also blow his own trumpet like Satchmo on pay per note.
rap
a statement accusing someone of a crime, or the punishment that someone is given for a crime:
He always said he was jailed on a bum rap (= false accusation).
The police caught him, but somehow he managed to beat the rap (= escape punishment).
I’m not going to take the rap for you (= be punished for something you did).
to criticize someone, especially officially:
The headline read “Judge raps police”.
The new show got a bum/bad rap (= was severely criticized) in all the papers.
untapped
If a supply of something valuable is untapped, it is not yet used or taken advantage of:
untapped assets/resources/markets/talent
The country’s forests are largely untapped resources.
if the supply of something valuable is untapped, it has not started to be used:
There is a wealth of untapped demand for their products.
He sees a huge untapped market for cutting-edge green exports.
The Gulf of Guinea has some of the world’s greatest untapped oil reserves.
untapped potential/resources/sources
doctrine
a belief or set of beliefs, especially political or religious ones, that are taught and accepted by a particular group:
Christian doctrine
The president said he would not go against sound military doctrine.
Fungus
any of various types of organisms that get their food from decaying material or other living things:
Mushrooms and mould are fungi.
Fungus can be poisonous.
coating
a layer of a particular substance that covers a surface:
a thick coating of chocolate
The goggles have a laser-protection coating.
disperse
to spread across or move away over a large area, or to make something do this:
When the rain came down the crowds started to disperse.
Police dispersed the crowd that had gathered.
zealous
enthusiastic and eager:
a zealous supporter of the government’s policies
morbid
too interested in unpleasant subjects, especially death:
a morbid fascination with death
relating to or caused by disease:
She had to have gastric bypass surgery to avoid dying from morbid obesity.
Pathological anatomy (or morbid anatomy) is the study of diseased organs.
evocative
making you remember or imagine something pleasant:
evocative music
a sound evocative of the sea
exalt
formal to raise someone to a higher rank or more powerful position
old use to praise someone a lot
He felt an exalted sense of power now that he was in line to run the company.
secrete
formal to put something in a place where it is unlikely to be found:
He was arrested at the airport with a kilo of heroin secreted in his clothing.
succinctly
in a way that expresses what needs to be said clearly and without unnecessary words:
I thought she expressed her feelings most succinctly at the meeting.
Start with a subject line that succinctly sums up your request.
pragmatism
the quality of dealing with a problem in a sensible way that suits the conditions that really exist, rather than following fixed theories, ideas, or rules:
The council has operated much more effectively since pragmatism replaced political dogma.
miscellany
a mixture of different things:
The museum houses a fascinating miscellany of nautical treasures.
experience that goes past normal limits, or the ability to achieve this:
Many of his novels and stories are concerned with intellectual and spiritual transcendence.
She felt a blissful sense of transcendence and freedom from pain and fear.
transcendent power/beauty/love
He describes seeing Pelé play football as one of the transcendent moments of his life.
exasperate
to cause anger or extreme annoyance in someone:
His assistant’s carelessness is exasperating him.
pronounce on/upon something
to give a judgment or opinion about something:
I’d rather not go pronouncing on a subject that I know so little about.
preclude
to prevent something or make it impossible, or prevent someone from doing something:
His contract precludes him from discussing his work with anyone outside the company.
The fact that your application was not successful this time does not preclude the possibility of you applying again next time.
memento
an object that you keep to remember a person, place, or event:
I kept a seashell as a memento of our holiday.
aversion
(a person or thing that causes) a feeling of strong dislike or of not wishing to do something:
I felt an instant aversion to his parents.
She has a deep aversion to getting up in the morning.
Greed is my pet aversion (= the thing I dislike most of all).
subservient
willing to do what other people want, or considering your wishes as less important than those of other people:
Women were expected to adopt a subservient role/position.
His other interests were subservient to his compelling passion for art.
revitalize
to give new life, energy, activity, or success to something:
Japanese investment has revitalized this part of Britain.
not able to exist or work with another person or thing because of basic differences:
When we started living together we realized how incompatible we were - our interests were so different.
Maintaining quality is incompatible with increasing output.
Any new video system that is incompatible with existing ones has little chance of success.
2) able to exist, live, or work successfully with something or someone else:
It was when we started living together that we found we just weren’t compatible.
Such policies are not compatible with democratic government.
Are their two blood groups compatible (= can blood from one person be given to the other person)?
exile
sent away from your own country, town, etc., especially for political reasons:
the exiled king
The exiled minister is now living in India.
The king went into exile because of the political situation in his country.
The deposed leaders are currently in exile in the neighbouring country.
haven
a safe or peaceful place:
The garden was a haven from the noise and bustle of the city.
They wanted to provide safe havens for the refugees.
Endorse
C2 to make a public statement of your approval or support for something or someone:
The Council is expected to endorse the committee’s recommendations.
formal I fully endorse (= agree with) everything the Chairperson has said.
volatile
likely to change suddenly and unexpectedly, especially by getting worse:
Food and fuel prices are very volatile in a war situation.
The situation was made more volatile by the fact that people had been drinking a lot of alcohol.
2) likely to change emotional state very suddenly, especially by becoming angry:
He had a volatile temper and couldn’t have been easy to live with.
She is volatile and unreliable.
frugal
careful when using money or food, or (of a meal) cheap or small in amount:
a frugal lifestyle
a frugal meal of bread and soup
rabble
a large, noisy, uncontrolled group of people:
The defeated army returned home as a demoralized rabble.
He views his opponents as a mindless rabble.
2) people of a low social position:
Her speech stirred the emotions of the rabble.
delegate
C1 a person chosen or elected by a group to speak, vote, etc. for them, especially at a meeting:
Delegates have voted in favour of the motion.
Each union elects several delegates to the annual conference.
smackdown
an occasion when two people, companies, etc. compete with each other in order to win or achieve something :
Early episodes suggest that his actions will lead to the mother of all smackdowns, with no clear winner.
The situation became a full-blown smackdown between three federal agencies - Homeland Security, State Department, and the Department of Defense.
A smartphone smack-down is brewing.
2) a big and definite defeat :
have you not learned by now that smugness will get you nothing so quick as a karmic smackdown?
Does the fact that Connor received a smack-down mean he will back off?
3) an occasion when someone refuses to accept something in a very definite way:
The Republicans’ across-the-board smackdown of the motion indicated the party’s unity, he said.
Human rights and civil liberties groups see this decision as a long overdue presidential smack-down that recognizes the basic right of everybody in the United States to due process.
brew
If you brew tea or coffee, you add boiling water to it to make a hot drink, and if it brews, it gradually develops flavour in the container in which it was made:
[ + two objects ] He brewed us some coffee./He brewed some coffee for us.
transcend
to go further, rise above, or be more important or better than something, especially a limit:
The best films are those which transcend national or cultural barriers.
The underlying message of the film is that love transcends everything else.
convulse
to (cause to) shake violently with sudden uncontrolled movements:
to convulse with pain
A racking cough convulsed her whole body.
The audience convulsed with laughter.
ambient
(especially of environmental conditions) existing in the surrounding area:
ambient conditions/lighting/noise/temperature
interweave
to twist together or combine two or more things so that they cannot be separated easily:
She has created an intriguing story by skilfully interweaving fictional and historical events.
sluggish
moving or operating more slowly than usual and with less energy or power:
A heavy lunch makes me sluggish in the afternoon.
Something is wrong with the car - the engine feels sluggish.
The housing market has been very sluggish these past few years.
fragrant
C2 with a pleasant smell:
fragrant flowers
The sauce itself was light, fragrant and slightly sweet.
Repel
to force someone or something to stop moving towards you or attacking you:
It is not true that eating garlic repels mosquitoes.
The defenders repelled the attack without losing any men.
2) (of a material) to not allow a substance to be absorbed into it:
This coat has a special surface that repels moisture.
The sprays contain a water repelling ingredient known as a fluoropolymer.
exude
If you exude love, confidence, pain, etc. you show that you have a lot of that feeling:
She just exudes confidence.
2) to produce a smell or liquid substance from inside:
Some trees exude from their bark a sap that repels insect parasites.
toss
C2 [ T usually + adv/prep ] to throw something carelessly:
He glanced at the letter and then tossed it into the bin.
The bull tossed him up into the air.
[ + two objects ] Andrew tossed him the ball.
If you toss your hair or a part of your body you move it up and back suddenly:
She tossed her head in annoyance.
She tossed back her hair.
toss and turn C2 [ I ]
to move about from side to side or turn a lot in bed, especially because you cannot sleep:
I was tossing and turning all night.
prance
to walk in an energetic way and with more movement than necessary:
It’s pathetic to see 50-year-old rock stars prancing around on stage as if they were still teenagers.
She pranced into the office and demanded to speak to the manager.
gush
to flow or send out quickly and in large amounts:
Oil gushed (out) from the hole in the tanker.
Blood was gushing from his nose.
Her arm gushed blood where the knife had gone in.
2) to express a positive feeling, especially praise, in such a strong way that it does not sound sincere:
[ + speech ] “You’re just so talented!” she gushed.
folksy
having a traditional, simple artistic or musical style, or pretending to have such a style:
The book has a certain folksy charm.
2) very friendly and informal in style:
His folksy personality sets the tone for the show.
drawl
a slow way of speaking in which the vowel sounds are made longer and words are not separated clearly:
a southern/Texan/mid-Atlantic drawl
cackle
to make the loud, unpleasant sound of a chicken:
The hens cackled in alarm.
disapproving to laugh in a loud, high voice:
A group of women were cackling in a corner.
a cackling witch
compulsive
C2 doing something a lot and unable to stop doing it:
a compulsive liar/thief/eater
compulsive gambling
a compulsive eating disorder
C2 If a film, play, sports event, book, etc. is compulsive, it is so interesting or exciting that you do not want to stop watching or reading it:
I always find programmes about hospitals compulsive viewing.
Her latest book is compulsive reading/a compulsive read.
snobby
like a snob (= a person who respects and likes only people who are of a high social class, or a person who has extremely high standards and is not satisfied by the things that ordinary people like):
My friends who live in the city are snobby about the suburbs.
There was a very snobby attitude towards exams at the school.
She is snobbier than she likes to admit.
hostile
C1 unfriendly and not liking something:
a hostile crowd
The president had a hostile reception in Ohio this morning.
endure
B2 [ T ] to suffer something difficult, unpleasant, or painful:
We had to endure a nine-hour delay at the airport.
She’s already had to endure three painful operations on her leg.
