phone 8

Question 1

impetus

Answer 1

something that encourages a particular activity or makes that activity more energetic or effective:

(a) fresh impetus The recent publicity surrounding
homelessness has given (a) fresh impetus to the cause.

Often the impetus for change in education has had to come from outside the school establishment.

Question 2

vivacious

Answer 2

A vivacious person, especially a woman or girl, is attractively energetic and enthusiastic:

He brought along his wife, a vivacious blonde, some 20 years his junior.

Question 3

vicious

Answer 3

C2
Vicious people or actions show an intention or wish to hurt someone or something very badly:

a vicious thug
a vicious dog
The police said that this was one of the most vicious attacks they’d ever seen.
He gave her a vicious look.

Question 4

confiscate

Answer 4

take a possession away from someone when you have the right to do so, usually as a punishment and often for a limited period, after which it is returned to the owner:
Miss Edwards confiscated my phone!
His passport was confiscated by the police to prevent him from leaving the country.

Question 5

nonchalant

Answer 5

behaving in a calm manner, often in a way that suggests you are not interested or do not care:
a nonchalant manner/shrug

Question 6

diabolical

Answer 6

extremely bad or shocking:
Conditions in the prison were diabolical.
His driving is diabolical!

Question 7

diffident

Answer 7

shy and not confident of your abilities:
a diffident manner
You shouldn’t be so diffident about your achievements - you’ve done really well!

Question 8

ruminate

Answer 8

to think carefully and for a long period about something:
She ruminated for weeks about whether to tell him or not.

Question 9

obtrusive

Answer 9

too noticeable:
The logo was still visible but less obtrusive this time in beige.
The soldiers were in civilian clothes, to make their presence less obtrusive

Question 10

obstructive

Answer 10

trying to stop someone from doing something by causing problems for them:
We’d have made a decision by now if Jean hadn’t been so obstructive.

Question 11

outlook

Answer 11

the likely future situation:
The outlook for the economy is bleak.
The outlook for today is cloudy and dry at first with showers later.

Question 12

bleak

Answer 12

C2
If a place is bleak, it is empty, and not welcoming or attractive:
The house stands on a bleak, windswept hilltop.

Question 13

mesmerize

Answer 13

to have someone’s attention completely so that they cannot think of anything else:
I was completely mesmerized by the performance.

Question 14

induct

Answer 14

to introduce someone formally or with a special ceremony to an organization or group, or to beliefs or ideas:
be inducted into Li Xiannian was inducted into the Politburo in 1956.

Question 15

bloat

Answer 15

to swell up, or to make someone or something swollen:
If I eat it, my stomach bloats up.

Question 16

allege

Answer 16

C2
to say that someone has done something illegal or wrong without giving proof:

[ + (that) ] The two men allege (that) the police forced them to make false confessions
.
[ + to infinitive ] She is alleged to have been at the centre of an international drug ring.

[ + that ] It was alleged that Johnson had struck Mr Rahim on the head.

Question 17

Devious

Answer 17

Devious people or plans and methods are dishonest, often in a complicated way, but often also clever and successful:
You have to be devious if you’re going to succeed in business.
a devious scheme

Question 18

impersonate

Answer 18

to intentionally copy another person’s characteristics, such as their behaviour, speech, appearance, or expressions, especially to make people laugh:
She’s the woman who impersonates all the celebrities on TV.

to attempt to deceive someone by pretending that you are another person:
He was fined for impersonating a police officer.

Question 19

summit

Answer 19

C2
an important formal meeting between leaders of governments from two or more countries:
a summit meeting
World leaders will meet next week for their annual economic summit.

Question 20

void

Answer 20

a large hole or empty space:
She stood at the edge of the chasm and stared into the void.
Before Einstein, space was regarded as a formless void.

[ S ]
a feeling of unhappiness because someone or something is missing:
fill the void left They tried to describe their attempts to fill the void left by their son’s death.

a large hole or empty space:
She stood at the edge of the chasm and stared into the void.
Before Einstein, space was regarded as a formless void.

[ S ]
a feeling of unhappiness because someone or something is missing:
fill the void left They tried to describe their attempts to fill the void left by their son’s death.
SMART Vocabulary:

Question 21

ascribe

Answer 21

to believe or say that something is caused by something else:
To what do you ascribe your phenomenal success?

Question 22

bestow

Answer 22

to give something as an honour or present:
The George Cross is a decoration that is bestowed upon/on British civilians for acts of great bravery.

Question 23

concession

Answer 23

something that is allowed or given up, often in order to end a disagreement, or the act of allowing or giving this:
Both sides involved in the conflict made some concessions in yesterday’s talks.
He stated firmly that no concessions will be made to the terrorists.
See
concede (ADMIT)

[ U ]
the act of admitting defeat:
The former president’s concession came even before all the votes had been counted.
a concession speech

something that is allowed or given up, often in order to end a disagreement, or the act of allowing or giving this:
Both sides involved in the conflict made some concessions in yesterday’s talks.
He stated firmly that no concessions will be made to the terrorists.
See
concede (ADMIT)

[ U ]
the act of admitting defeat:
The former president’s concession came even before all the votes had been counted.
a concession speech

Question 24

transfix

Answer 24

to make a person or animal unable to move or stop looking at something because they are so interested, surprised, or frightened:

The conference delegates were transfixed by her speech.

Question 25

lingering

Answer 25

lasting a long time:
She gave him a long, lingering kiss.
She says she stopped seeing him, but I still have lingering doubts.
The defeat ends any lingering hopes she might have had of winning the championship.

to take a long time to leave or disappear:

After the play had finished, we lingered for a while in the bar hoping to catch sight of the actors.

The smell from the fire still lingered days later.
It’s impossible to forget such horrific events - they linger (on) in the memory forever.

Question 26

egalitarian

Answer 26

egalitarian

believing that all people are equally important and should have the same rights and opportunities in life:
an egalitarian society
The party’s principles are basically egalitarian.

Question 27

banal

Answer 27

boring, ordinary, and not original:

He just sat there making banal remarks all evening.
banal pop songs

Question 28

vulgar

Answer 28

not suitable, simple, dignified or beautiful; not in the style preferred by the upper classes of society:

a vulgar patterned shirt
Isn’t it rather vulgar to talk about how much money you earn?
humorous I’ve no idea how much the clothes cost because there was nothing so vulgar as a price tag in evidence.

Question 29

protrude

Answer 29

to stick out from or through something:
A rotting branch protruded from the swamp like a ghostly arm.
protruding ears/teeth

Question 30

probe

Answer 30

to try to discover information that other people do not want you to know, by asking questions carefully and not directly:
The interviewer probed deep into her private life.
Detectives questioned him for hours, probing for any inconsistencies in his story.
The article probes (= tries to describe and explain) the mysteries of nationalism in modern Europe.

to examine something with a tool, especially in order to find something that is hidden:
They probed in/into the mud with a special drill.

Question 31

homophobia

Answer 31

harmful or unfair things a person does based on a fear or dislike of gay people or queer people (= people who do not fit a society’s traditional ideas about gender or sexuality):
Her aunt’s homophobia made it difficult for her to be out at family gatherings.
Critics of the comedian’s new, shocking material accused him of homophobia and sexism.
I had to fight my own internalized homophobia that told me I should be ashamed to be queer.

policies, behaviours, rules, etc. that result in a continued unfair advantage to straight people (= men who are attracted to women and women who are attracted to men) and unfair or harmful treatment of gay people or queer people (= people who do not fit a society’s traditional ideas about gender or sexuality):
The suit alleges that institutionalized homophobia within the school often leads to discrimination against gay and lesbian teachers.
The pledge, signed by several film studios, was an attempt to address the homophobia that was an ingrained part of the casting of lead actors.

Question 32

misogynist

Answer 32

a man who hates women or believes that men are much better than women

Question 33

bashfulness

Answer 33

the quality of being very shy or easily embarrassed:
Their son was well behaved, but his bashfulness worried his parents.
When she starts to sing, any trace of bashfulness disappears.

Question 34

sabotage

Answer 34

to damage or destroy equipment, weapons, or buildings in order to prevent the success of an enemy or competitor:
The rebels had tried to sabotage the oil pipeline.

to intentionally prevent the success of a plan or action:
This was a deliberate attempt to sabotage the ceasefire.

Question 35

antagonisms

Answer 35

hate, extreme unfriendliness, or active opposition to someone:
There’s a history of antagonism between the two teams.
the antagonism towards neighbouring states
the historic antagonisms between the countries of western Europe

Question 36

repress

Answer 36

to not allow something, especially feelings, to be expressed:
He repressed a sudden desire to cry.

to control what people do, especially by using force

Question 37

peculiar

Answer 37

unusual and strange, sometimes in an unpleasant way:
She has the most peculiar ideas.
What a peculiar smell!
It’s peculiar that they didn’t tell us they were going away.
UK The video on road accidents made me feel rather peculiar (= ill).

Question 38

give in

Answer 38

to finally agree to what someone wants, after refusing for a period of time:
He nagged me so much for a new bike that eventually I gave in.
The government cannot be seen as giving in to terrorists’ demands.

Question 39

nag

Answer 39

to criticize or complain often in an annoying way, especially in order to try and make someone do something:

[ + obj + to infinitive ] My mum’s always nagging me to get my hair cut.

If you stop nagging at me, I might actually do it.

I’m always nagging him about his diet.

Question 40

exasperating

Answer 40

to cause anger or extreme annoyance in someone:
His assistant’s carelessness is exasperating him.

Question 41

proscribe

Answer 41

(of a government or other authority) to not allow something:

Torture and summary execution of political prisoners are proscribed by international law.

The Athletics Federation has banned the runner from future races for using proscribed drugs.

Question 42

barbaric

Answer 42

extremely cruel and unpleasant:
She found the idea of killing animals for pleasure barbaric.
barbaric acts of violence

Question 43

toddle

Answer 43

(especially of a young child) to walk with short steps, trying to keep the body balanced:
I watched my two-year-old nephew toddling around after his puppy.

UK informal
to walk somewhere:
I’m just toddling off/round to the shops.

Question 44

indoctrinate

Answer 44

to often repeat an idea or belief to someone until they accept it without criticism or question:
indoctrinate someone in something Some parents were critical of attempts to indoctrinate children in green ideology.

They have been indoctrinated by television to believe that violence is normal.

Question 45

appease

Answer 45

to prevent further disagreement or fighting by letting the opposing side have something that they want:
He was a crucial ally who the country needed to appease.
They were given a small pay rise but this was not enough to appease them.
She claimed that the government had only changed the law in order to appease their critics.

Question 46

well versed

Answer 46

knowing a lot about something:
He was well versed in modern history.

Question 47

squeeze

Answer 47

to press something firmly, especially from all sides in order to change its shape, reduce its size, or remove liquid from it:

Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into the bowl.

As she waited to go into the exam, he squeezed her hand (= pressed it affectionately with his hand) and wished her good luck.

Once he had finished cleaning the floor, he squeezed the cloth out.

He reloaded the gun, took aim, and then squeezed (= pulled back) the trigger.

figurative The studio is using all sorts of marketing tricks to squeeze as much profit from the movie as they can.

Question 48

appraisal

Answer 48

the act of examining someone or something in order to judge their qualities, success, or needs:

The newspaper gave an editorial appraisal of the government’s achievements of the past year.

Question 49

proceed

Answer 49

C1
to continue as planned:
His lawyers have decided not to proceed with the case.
Preparations for the festival are now proceeding smoothly.
proceed to do something

C2
to do something after you have done something else:
She sat down and proceeded to tell me about her skiing holiday.

Question 50

racy

Answer 50

exciting and slightly shocking, especially because of relating to or suggesting sex:
a racy story
a racy style
a racy advertisement
racy swimwear
She is trying to create a racier image for herself.

Question 51

unanimous

Answer 51

C2
If a group of people are unanimous, they all agree about one particular matter or vote the same way, and if a decision or judgment is unanimous, it is formed or supported by everyone in a group:
The jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty after a short deliberation.
After a lengthy discussion we reached a unanimous decision on the proposal.
The new format has unanimous support.