Phrasal Verb Flashcards
Make it up to
to do something to repay someone if you upset them
Sorry if I didn’t come to your house, I promise I’ll make it up to you.
Strike out
to hit violently or criticize somebody/something
In his interview he struck out at his critics.
Wind up
to find yourself in a particular place or situation
I don’t want to partake in a brawl, or else I’ll wind up in jail.
Wear off
to gradually disappear or stop
His interest in the subject starts to wear off.
Pull up
(vehicle or driver) to stop
He pulled me up telling me to fight him on a busy highway.
Crop up
to appear unexpectedly/suddenly
I need to go. Something cropped up at my work.
Iron out
to get rid of/ to remove
• They’re ironing out redundant items in the inventory.
• Too many big words and unnecessary phrases. Try to edit it and iron out what I marked.
• There are lots of things to iron out so I’d better start now, so that I don’t have anything to do tomorrow.
Pack in
to stop doing something
I liked learning about geography, but I eventually packed in.
Take up
to start
I took up learning animation.
Ache for
to desire strongly/ to long for
I ache for more Playstation games.
Drag on
to last longer than necessary
This meeting has dragged on for 5 hours.
Do away with
to remove, stop, abolish (usually talking about obligations: law, rule, tax, restriction, etc.)
I think it’s time to do away with face masks for vaccinated people.
It set me back
it costs a lot of money
• It set me back a lot of money
• This item set me back ten thousand blood echoes.
Slip up
to make mistakes
It’s totally okay to slip up on your first try.
Take away
to remove
I can’t do what I say I’ll do. If only I can take away my procrastination.
Put off
to postpone
- Every so often, I put off my learning schedule just to do what I really want.
- The school put off the examination day to Friday.
- His birthday is on wednesday but he puts the celebration off on friday so his friends can attend.
to cause someone to lose interest, sometimes because of what they said or did
- His date seems to have been put off by his monotone voice.
- Making mistakes makes him put off trying.
- I used to be put off by her cackles.
to distract or disturb the concentration of someone
- His friends were making funny gestures to put him off during recitation.
- Cut it off, kid! Don’t put your mother off at work.
- The clamors outside put him off doing homework.
Cut down on
to reduce
I stare at the screen for a long period of time. I need to cut down on my screentime.
Pull off
to succeed in doing something difficult
• You seldom see a person who can pull that off.
• I thought we were going to lose the match but, luckily, we were able to pull it off.
• That’s impossible. Nobody can pull that off.
Talk out
to discuss something thoroughly in order to make a decision, solve a problem, etc.
• We need to talk out the issue before anything else.
• The two intellectuals have talked out the issues about equality.
• Whatever the problem is, we can talk it out.
Churn out
to produce something quickly and in large amounts
• To my surprise, he’s able to churn out false information in just two minutes.
• The investigators are striving to locate the scammers that churn out spurious documents.
• This channel churns out propaganda videos every three hours.
Mouth off
to talk or complain loudly about something
• People would mouth off on social media but they’ll be reasonable in the end.
• A song that mouths off about the fans who get upset at their new style.
• They love mouthing off at everything and everyone.
Come away
come away (from something)
to become separated from something
• The car door came away from the car.
• The plaster has started to come away from the wall.
• The protester’s slogan comes away from the handle for shaking it too much.
Come away with
come away with (something)
to leave a place with a particular feeling or impression
• You should tag along so you can come away with a possible solution to your problem.
• They are hoping for them to come away with valuable information after the trip to the Netherlands.
• After watching the gameplay demo, all they can come away with is whether the game is real footage or not.
Revel in
to enjoy something very much
• They seem to revel in travelling the country that they forget the real reason they went there.
• He revels in breaking the promises he made.
• The kid reveled in all the gifts he received.
Wean off
wean somebody off/from something
to make someone gradually stop doing or using something
• He tried to wean his friend off smoking.
• By learning the negative effects of too much screentime, I weaned myself off using the phone for long periods of time.
• The family managed to wean the father off drinking too much alcohol.
Ascribe to
to consider that something is caused by a particular thing or person
• He ascribed his brother’s resentment on him to his laziness.
• She ascribes her boyfriend’s annoyance to her unfaithfulness.
• They ascribed their defeat to one of their teammates.
Pounce on
to quickly notice something that someone has said or done, especially in order to criticize it
• I knew, I somehow felt, that you’re going to be the first one to pounce on my remark.
• He immediately pounced on her actions.
• After the law was passed, the opposition pounced on and spread lies in order to create paroxysm of trepidation and hate.
Ram into
to hit against something or to make something hit against something with force
ram into something | ram something into something
• He’s been pondering how he will tell his dad what happened after ramming his car into a wall.
• He accidentally rammed the shopping cart into another’s cart.
• Their getaway vehicle rammed into a tree, severely injuring the criminals.
Peter out
to gradually become smaller, quieter, etc. and then end
• I’m sure the number of his supporters hasn’t been the same as before and petering out.
• I hate it when a conversation starts to peter out.
• The town peters out into a gloomy place.
Tamper with
to make changes to something without permission, especially in order to damage it
• Somebody must’ve tampered with my account.
• My account password was tampered with, and I haven’t got my account returned.
• It seems that our project has been tampered with by some scornful individual.
Rub off
(of qualities, habits, or behavior etc) to develop the person’s character after you spend time with them
rub off (on/onto somebody)
• His passion for playing guitar has rubbed off on me.
• I hope some of his artistic skills rub off on me.
• His friend’s habit of exercising every morning and a healthy diet has begun to rub off on him.
Chime in
to join or interrupt a conversation with an opinion or remark
• When I heard them discussing the problem, I had to chime in with my solution.
• “This game is very easy.” I said.
“ No sweat!” He chimed in.
• He overheard the two folks talking about the latest news in their town, so he chimed in.
Emanate from
v. to come from something or somewhere
• They heard a thud that emanated from the ceiling.
• The cold wind emanated from the door ajar.
• A terrifying screech of a woman emanating from the locked, disused room of the apartment.
Talk into/out
to persuade someone to do/not to do something
talk somebody into/out of something
talk somebody into/out of doing something
• She’d like to go on a date with him but her parents talked her out of it, for they have an inkling that he may do something bad to her.
• They talked him into joining the group.
• I talked myself into believing that this is an ideal decision to make.
Tip off
to warn or give information about something that has happened or is going to happen
tip somebody off (about something)
- The police were tipped off about a commotion near the market.
- These peculiar, sudden changes in her behavior weren’t enough to tip him off that she’d been scheming.
- Two are arrested after someone tipped the police off about the robbery.
Stave off
to prevent something from affecting you for a period of time; to delay something
- They had managed to stave off the catastrophe.
- The company was able to stave off bankruptcy for another few years.
- They’re going to find supplies to stave off hunger for a few weeks.
Derive from
to get something from something
- The abusive parents derive pleasure from punishing their children.
- He derives excitement from seeing his crush.
- People could derive happiness in life from knowing your purpose.
Ferret out
to discover information or to find someone or something by searching thoroughly, asking lots of questions, etc.
ferret somebody/something out
- Talking to him makes him uncomfortable because he seems to ask very specific questions as if to ferret out something that could be useful for him.
- First I have to ferret out the ways to get over this horrific situation.
- They go from house to house to ferret out a missing person who has been missing since June.
Water down
to make something less strong, less intense, or less effective
- You should’ve watered down your essay; the teacher might think you’re being impudent.
- He has to water down his comment, so as to make it less provocative.
- The proposal handed to him have to be watered down.
Plunge into
to experience or make someone or something experience something unpleasant
- The circumstances have combined to plunge both of them into emotional crisis.
- After the lengthy war, the country has plunged into severe economic crisis.
- A decision that has plunged him into great distress.
