TC_SE_practice_words_2 Flashcards
run-of-the-mill
(adj) ordinary and not special or exciting in any way:
example: He gave a fairly run-of-the-mill speech.
prolix
using too many words and therefore boring or difficult to read or listen to:
example: The author’s prolix style has done nothing to encourage sales of the book.
refuge
(noun) (a place that gives) protection or shelter from danger, trouble, unhappiness, etc.:
example: The climbers slept in a mountain refuge.
adroit
(adj) very skilful and quick in the way you think or move:
example: an adroit reaction/answer/movement of the hand
anti-imperialist
(adj) opposed to the idea of one country ruling or having a lot of power or influence over another country:
example: He relied on populist anti-imperialist rhetoric.
impetus
(noun) something that encourages a particular activity or makes that activity more energetic or effective:
example: The recent publicity surrounding homelessness has given (a) fresh impetus to the cause.
concoct
(verb) If you concoct an excuse or explanation, you invent one that is not true.
example:Mr Ferguson said the prisoner concocted the story to get a lighter sentence.
(verb) If you concoct something, especially something unusual, you make it by mixing several things together.
example: …a specially concocted massage oil.
lucidity
(adj) Lucid writing or speech is clear and easy to understand.
example: …a lucid account of the history of mankind.
(adj) If someone is lucid, they are thinking clearly again after a period of illness or confusion.
example: He wasn’t very lucid, he didn’t quite know where he was.
murky
(adj) dark and dirty or difficult to see through:
example: The river was brown and murky after the storm.
redemption
(noun) be beyond/past redemption
to be too bad to be improved or saved by anyone:
example: He believed passionately that no human was beyond redemption.
debacle
noun: a complete failure, especially because of bad planning and organization:
example: The collapse of the company was described as the greatest financial debacle in US history.
cloying
adjective: You use cloying to describe something that you find unpleasant because it is much too sweet, or too sentimental.
example: Her cheap, cloying scent enveloped him.
hidebound
adjective: (disapproving) having fixed opinions and ways of doing things and not willing to change or be influenced, especially by new or modern ideas
example: The men are hidebound and reactionary.
frown
verb: When someone frowns, their eyebrows become drawn together, because they are annoyed, worried, or puzzled, or because they are concentrating.
example: Nancy shook her head, frowning.
contend
verb: to compete in order to win something:
example: There are three world-class tennis players contending for this title.
verb: to say that something is true or is a fact:
example: The lawyer contended (that) her client had never been near the scene of the crime.
scuffle
noun: a short and sudden fight, especially one involving a small number of people:
example: Two police officers were injured in scuffles with demonstrators at Sunday’s protest.
prudent
adj: careful and avoiding risks:
example: It’s always prudent to read a contract carefully before signing it.
technocrat
noun: an expert in science or technology who has a lot of power in or influence with the government or industry:
example: We believe there is a danger in policy-makers blindly trusting the technocrats.
retrospect
noun: (in retrospect)-> thinking now about something in the past:
example: In retrospect, I think my marriage was doomed from the beginning.
harpsichord
noun: a musical instrument similar to a piano. It was played especially in the 17th and 18th centuries.
conception
noun: A conception of something is an idea that you have of it in your mind.
example: My conception of a garden was based on gardens I had visited in England.
noun: Conception is the forming of an idea for something in your mind.
example: The other fundamental consideration in the conception of a plan is function.
noun: Conception is the process in which a woman ‘s egg is fertilized and she becomes pregnant.
example: Six weeks after conception your baby is the size of your little fingernail.
locale
noun: an area or place, especially one where something special happens, such as the action in a book or film:
example: The book’s locale is a coastal town in the summer of 1958.
record executive
A record executive is a high-ranking professional in the music industry who oversees the business aspects of a record label. They are responsible for signing artists, managing music production, marketing, and ensuring profitability.
sacrosanct
adj: If you describe something as sacrosanct, you consider it to be special and are unwilling to see it criticized or change
example: Freedom of the press is sacrosanct
virtuous
adj: having good moral qualities and behaviour:
example: He described them as virtuous and hard-working people.
condescension
noun: (disapproving) behaviour that shows you think you are more important or more intelligent than other people:
example: She answered him with such haughty condescension that his face went white.
precursor
noun: something that happened or existed before another thing, especially if it either developed into it or had an influence on it:
example: Sulphur dioxide is the main precursor of acid rain.
virtuosity
noun: the quality of being extremely skilled at something:
example: The technical virtuosity of the paintings is such that you can almost smell the flowers.
cowardice
noun: the behaviour of someone who is not at all brave and tries to avoid danger:
example: You can accuse me of cowardice, but I still wouldn’t fight in a war.
impaired
adj: Something that is impaired is less effective than it should be, or is damaged:
example: She suffers from impaired vision/hearing.
dismissal
noun:
When an employee is dismissed from their job, you can refer to their dismissal.
example: …Mr Low’s dismissal from his post at the head of the commission.
noun: Dismissal of something means deciding or saying that it is not important.
example: …their high-handed dismissal of public opinion.
approbation
noun: approval or agreement, often given by an official group:
example: The council has finally indicated its approbation of the plans.
draftsmanship
noun: the ability to draw well
ascertain
verb: to discover something:
example: The police have so far been unable to ascertain the cause of the explosion.
verb: to make certain of something:
example: I ascertained that no one could overhear us before I told Otto the news.
alleviate
verb: to make something bad such as pain or problems less severe:
example: The drugs did nothing to alleviate her pain/suffering.
ordeal
noun: If you describe an experience or situation as an ordeal, you think it is difficult and unpleasant.
example: …the painful ordeal of the last eight months.
unscathed
adj: without injuries or damage being caused:
example: Her husband died in the accident but she, amazingly, escaped unscathed.
impugn
verb: to cause people to doubt someone’s character, qualities, or reputation by criticizing them:
example: Are you impugning my competence as a professional designer?
sully
verb: to spoil something that is pure or someone’s perfect reputation:
example: His reputation, he said, had been unfairly sullied by half-truths and innuendos.
verb: to make something dirty:
example: No speck of dirt had ever sullied his hands.
assimilate
verb:When people such as immigrants assimilate into a community or when that community assimilates them, they become an accepted part of it.
example:There is every sign that new Asian-Americans are just as willing to assimilate.
verb:If you assimilate new ideas, techniques, or information, you learn them or adopt them.
example: I was speechless, still trying to assimilate the enormity of what he’d told me.
provision(s)
noun: the act of providing something:
example: Of course there’s provision in the plan for population increase.
provisions-> supplies of food and other necessary things:
example: provisions for the journey
metamorphosis
noun: a complete change
example: Under the new editor, the magazine has undergone a metamorphosis.
inquisitive
adj: wanting to discover as much as you can about things, sometimes in a way that annoys people:
example:
- an inquisitive child
- an inquisitive mind
intelligibility
noun: (of speech and writing) the quality of being possible to understand:
example:
Foreign accented speech may affect intelligibility.
censorious
adj: often criticizing other people:
example: his censorious attitude to those who do not share his opinions
discredit
verb: to cause people to stop respecting someone or believing in an idea or person:
example:
- Evidence of links with drug dealers has discredited the mayor.
- discredited theories
venture
noun: a new activity, usually in business, that involves risk or uncertainty:
example: She advised us to look abroad for more lucrative business ventures.
verb: to risk going somewhere or doing something that might be dangerous or unpleasant, or to risk saying something that might be criticized:
example: She rarely ventured outside, except when she went to stock up on groceries.
undercut
verb: to charge less than a competitor:
example: Big supermarkets can undercut all rivals, especially small family-owned shops.
verb: to damage something or to make it fail:
example: He suspected it was an attempt to undercut his authority.
relegate
verb: to put someone or something into a lower or less important rank or position:
example: She resigned when she was relegated to a desk job.
reform
verb: to make an improvement, especially by changing a person’s behaviour or the structure of something:
example: Who will reform our unfair electoral system?
noun: an improvement, especially in a person’s behaviour or in the structure of something:
example: Some reforms of/to the system will be necessary.
