TO 7-2 Flashcards
stand/turn something on its head
to make people think about something in a completely different way
ex) I’m talking revolutionary science that turns the world on its head.
flat adverb
BrE /flæt/ ; NAmE /flæt/ (flatter, no superlative)
2) (North American English flat out) (informal) in a definite and direct way
ex) I say “might” because, with revolutionary ideas, most are flat wrong, and even those that are right seldom have the impact that we want them to have.
She told me flat she would not speak to me again.
I made them a reasonable offer but they turned it down flat.
sombre adjective(British English)
(US English somber)
BrE /ˈsɒmbə(r)/ ; NAmE /ˈsɑːmbər/
2) sad and serious
synonym melancholy
ex) Ignaz Semmelweis was a somber, compulsively thorough doctor who ran two maternity clinics.
Paul was in a sombre mood.
The year ended on a sombre note.
(수술용) 메스
scalpel noun
BrE /ˈskælpəl/ ; NAmE /ˈskælpəl/
a small sharp knife used by doctors in medical operations
ex) The puzzle went unsolved until he happened to autopsy a doctor who died of an infected scalpel cut.
The surgeon made the first incision with a wide-bladed scalpel.
miasma noun
BrE /miˈæzmə/ ; NAmE /miˈæzmə/ ; BrE /maɪˈæzmə/ ; NAmE /maɪˈæzmə/ countable, usually singular, uncountable
a mass of air that is dirty and smells unpleasant
ex) But the doctors of the day thought he was crazy, because they knew, and had for hundreds of years, that odorous vapors called miasmas caused disease, not these hypothetical particles that you couldn’t see.
A miasma of stale alcohol hung around him.
(figurative) the miasma of depression
회절 (파동이 장애물이나 좁은 틈을 통과할 때 그 뒤편까지 파가 전달되는 현상이다. 이런 회절 현상은 파장이 길수록, 틈이 좁을수록 잘 일어난다. 벽을 사이에 두고 서로 이야기할 때 상대방의 모습을 볼 수는 없지만 목소리는 들을 수 있는 것은 빛은 잘 회절하지 않지만 소리는 잘 회절하기 때문이다. 빛은 소리에 비하여 파장이 훨씬 짧기 때문에 회절하지 않는다. 그러나 통과하는 틈이 아주 좁을 경우에는 빛도 회절한다. AM 전파의 주파수는 대략 1,000㎑ 정도이고 FM 전파의 주파수는 100㎒ 정도이다. 그러므로 AM 전파의 파장은 300m 정도이고 FM 전파의 파장은 3m 정도로 AM 전파의 파장이 훨씬 길다. 이것이 AM 전파가 FM 전파에 비하여 장애물의 영향을 훨씬 덜 받는 이유이다.
빛의 회절 현상 때문에 광학 현미경으로 볼 수 있는 물체의 크기에는 한계가 있다. 너무 작은 물체는 광학 현미경으로도 관측할 수 없다. 우리가 물체를 보기 위해서는 물체로부터 반사한 빛이 우리의 눈으로 들어와야만 한다. 그런데 입사하는 빛의 파장보다 물체가 작으면 빛은 물체에서 반사하는 것이 아니라 회절하여 통과해 버린다. 따라서 물체로부터 반사한 빛에 의하여 만들어지는 상이 없어진다. 또한 현미경의 구경이 작기 때문에 나타나는 회절 현상은 현미경이 맺는 상을 흐리게 한다. 따라서 현미경의 구경에 따라 대상의 세부를 상으로 판별하는 능력인 분해능(分解能)이 달라진다.
빛을 이용하는 광학 현미경이 회절 때문에 지니는 한계를 극복하기 위한 방법으로 파장이 빛보다 훨씬 짧은 전자의 물질파를 이용한다. 전자의 물질파를 이용하여 물체를 확대해 보는 기구가 전자 현미경이다. 망원경의 경우에도 회절 현상이 관측을 방해한다. 지구에서 아주 멀리 떨어져 있는 인접한(좀더 정확히 표현하면 시각이 작은) 두 별이 회절 현상에 의하여 겹쳐 보일 수도 있다. 이런 경우에는 구경이 큰 망원경으로 관찰하면 분리되어 보인다. 이 경우 구경을 크게 하는 것은 슬릿의 폭이 넓을 때 회절이 덜 일어나는 원리를 이용한 것이다.)
diffraction noun
BrE /dɪˈfrækʃn/ ; NAmE /dɪˈfrækʃn/ uncountable
the action or process of breaking up a stream of light into a series of dark or light bands or into the different colours of the spectrum
ex) The diffraction limit is kind of like when you go to a doctor’s office, you can only see so far down, no matter how good glasses you have.
fluoresce verb
/flo͝o(ə)ˈres,flôrˈes/
shine or glow brightly due to fluorescence.
ex) But one of Betzig’s friends figured out how to take a tiny molecule that was smaller than the best microscope could see and get it to light up and fluoresce.
the molecules fluoresce when excited by ultraviolet radiation
lash verb
BrE /læʃ/ ; NAmE /læʃ/
4) [transitive] lash something + adv./prep. to fasten something tightly to something else with ropes
ex) So he lashed together a microscope in his friend’s living room.
Several logs had been lashed together to make a raft.
During the storm everything on deck had to be lashed down.
glob noun
BrE /ɡlɒb/ ; NAmE /ɡlɑːb/ (informal)
a small amount of a liquid or substance in a round shape 방울
ex) For example, those green globs that you see? Those things are called clathrins.
thick globs of paint on the floor
squiggly adjective
BrE /ˈskwɪɡli/ ; NAmE /ˈskwɪɡli/
squiggly lines are drawn or written in a careless way with twists and curls in them
ex) Also, you see those little squiggly wormlike things moving around?
(원자)핵
nucleus noun
BrE /ˈnjuːkliəs/ ; NAmE /ˈnuːkliəs/ (pl. nuclei BrE /ˈnjuːkliaɪ/ ; NAmE /ˈnuːkliaɪ/ )
1) (physics) the part of an atom that contains most of its mass and that carries a positive electric charge
ex) Unfortunately, viruses also climb down those things to get into the cell nucleus to replicate themselves and make you sick
squirm verb
BrE /skwɜːm/ ; NAmE /skwɜːrm/
2) [intransitive] to feel great embarrassment or shame
ex) De Grey definitely has scientists squirming with an interesting idea: we can be immortal.
It made him squirm to think how badly he’d messed up the interview.
crackpot noun
BrE /ˈkrækpɒt/ ; NAmE /ˈkrækpɑːt/ (informal)
a person with strange or crazy ideas
ex) Now, most scientists think he’s a crackpot.
free radical noun
BrE ; NAmE (chemistry)
an atom or group of atoms that has an electron that is not part of a pair, causing it to take part easily in chemical reactions. Free radicals in the body are thought to be one of the causes of diseases such as cancer. 유리기
ex) For example, when we eat, we take in food and we metabolize it, and that throws off what we call free radicals.
rust verb
BrE /rʌst/ ; NAmE /rʌst/
[intransitive, transitive] if metal rusts or something rusts it, it becomes covered with rust
synonym corrode
ex) It’s just like, no, it’s exactly like oxygen binding to iron and making it rust. So you age because you rust out.
old rusting farming implements
Brass doesn’t rust.
The floor of the car had rusted through.
Water had got in and rusted the engine.
mitochondrial adjective
BrE /ˌmaɪtəʊˈkɒndriəl/ ; NAmE /ˌmaɪtoʊˈkɑːndriəl/ (biology)
- mitochondrion noun
BrE /ˌmaɪtəʊˈkɒndriən/ ; NAmE /ˌmaɪtoʊˈkɑːndriən/ (pl. mitochondria BrE /ˌmaɪtəʊˈkɒndriə/ ; NAmE /ˌmaɪtoʊˈkɑːndriə/ )(biology)
connected with mitochondria (= small parts found in most cells, in which the energy in food is released)
ex) For example, one of the reasons we age is that our mitochondrial DNA mutates, and we get kind of old and our cells lose energy.
mitochondrial DNA
- a small part found in most cells, in which the energy in food is released
obscurity noun
BrE /əbˈskjʊərəti/ ; NAmE /əbˈskjʊrəti/ (pl. obscurities)
1) [uncountable] the state in which somebody/something is not well known or has been forgotten
ex) I’ve got to believe, and I do believe, that there’s one of them out there who is working right now in obscurity to rock our lives, and I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to be rocked.
The actress was only 17 when she was plucked from obscurity and made a star.
He spent most of his life working in obscurity.
musculature noun
BrE /ˈmʌskjələtʃə(r)/ ; NAmE /ˈmʌskjələtʃər/ uncountable, singular
the system of muscles in the body or part of the body 근육계
ex) Unless you’re a marathon runner or swimmer, the activity of our musculature is not a big player in calorie consumption.
80대 후반이다 (80대가 훨씬 넘었다).
He is well into his 80s.
시민 운동가
civic activist
책으로 엮어 낼 계획이다.
They are planning to compile those stories into a book.
row2 noun
BrE /raʊ/ ; NAmE /raʊ/ (informal, especially British English)
1) [countable] row (about/over something) a serious disagreement between people, organizations, etc. about something
ex) A row over missile defence tests South Korea’s friendships with America and China.
A row has broken out over education.
줄다리기
tug of war noun
BrE ; NAmE [singular, uncountable]
1) a sporting event in which two teams pull at opposite ends of a rope until one team drags the other over a line on the ground
2) a situation in which two people or groups try very hard to get or keep the same thing
ex) In South Korea economic forces and security policy seem to be in a tug-of-war: commercial ties with China are ever more important, yet the country relies for its defence on an alliance with the United States.
After the divorce they became involved in an emotional tug of war over the children.
tread/walk a tightrope
to be in a difficult situation in which you do not have much freedom of action and need to be extremely careful about what you do
ex) As the Korea Times, an English-language newspaper, put it this week: “South Korea is walking a tightrope.”
The government is walking a difficult tightrope in wanting to reduce interest rates without pushing up inflation.
be at odds (with something)
to be different from something, when the two things should be the same
synonym conflict
ex) South Korea, close to both, at times finds itself at odds with one or the other.
These findings are at odds with what is going on in the rest of the country.
projectile noun
BrE /prəˈdʒektaɪl/ ; NAmE /prəˈdʒektl/ (formal or specialist)
1) an object, such as a bullet, that is fired from a gun or other weapon
ex) Last year it conducted 19 missile tests involving at least 111 projectiles.
erratic adjective
BrE /ɪˈrætɪk/ ; NAmE /ɪˈrætɪk/
(often disapproving) not happening at regular times; not following any plan or regular pattern; that you cannot rely on
synonym unpredictable
ex) But it remains the only country capable, in theory, of exerting any restraining influence on his erratic regime.
The electricity supply here is quite erratic.
She had learnt to live with his sudden changes of mood and erratic behaviour.
Mary is a gifted but erratic player (= she does not always play well).
Irrigation measures will be necessary in areas of erratic rainfall.
their increasingly erratic policy decisions
indigenous adjective
BrE /ɪnˈdɪdʒənəs/ ; NAmE /ɪnˈdɪdʒənəs/ (formal)
belonging to a particular place rather than coming to it from somewhere else
synonym native
ex) Some in South Korea advocate another system, developed indigenously.
the indigenous peoples/languages of the area
The kangaroo is indigenous to Australia.
ostensible adjective
BrE /ɒˈstensəbl/ ; NAmE /ɑːˈstensəbl/ only before noun
seeming or stated to be real or true, when this is perhaps not the case
synonym apparent
ex) Experts dismiss its ostensible worries about its purpose: the intrusiveness of the radar, and the “interoperability” of the system – i.e., the fear that it might be linked up with those already deployed in Japan and Guam, and that it might eventually even be rolled out in India, encircling China.
The ostensible reason for his absence was illness.
interoperability noun
BrE /ˌɪntərˌɒpərəˈbɪləti/ ; NAmE /ˌɪntərˌɑːpərəˈbɪləti/ uncountable
1) interoperability (between/with something) the ability of computer systems or programs to exchange information
ex) Experts dismiss its ostensible worries about its purpose: the intrusiveness of the radar, and the “interoperability” of the system – i.e., the fear that it might be linked up with those already deployed in Japan and Guam, and that it might eventually even be rolled out in India, encircling China.
This new feature should ensure greater interoperability between devices.
2) interoperability (between/with somebody/something) the ability of military equipment or groups to work together
ex) They need to achieve higher levels of interoperability with allies.
encircle verb
BrE /ɪnˈsɜːkl/ ; NAmE /ɪnˈsɜːrkl/
encircle somebody/something (formal) to surround somebody/something completely in a circle
ex) Experts dismiss its ostensible worries about its purpose: the intrusiveness of the radar, and the “interoperability” of the system – i.e., the fear that it might be linked up with those already deployed in Japan and Guam, and that it might eventually even be rolled out in India, encircling China.
Jack’s arms encircled her waist.
The island is encircled by a coral reef.
Snow covered the encircling hills.
antagonize verb
(British English also -ise)
BrE /ænˈtæɡənaɪz/ ; NAmE /ænˈtæɡənaɪz/
antagonize somebody to do something to make somebody angry with you
ex) If so, it seems to have overplayed its hand, antagonising South Korea by bullying it – just as America blundered when it tried to stop its allies joining the AIIB.
Not wishing to antagonize her further, he said no more.
overplay your hand
to spoil your chance of success by judging your position to be stronger than it really is
ex) If so, it seems to have overplayed its hand, antagonising South Korea by bullying it – just as America blundered when it tried to stop its allies joining the AIIB.
clout noun
BrE /klaʊt/ ; NAmE /klaʊt/
1) [uncountable] power and influence
political/financial clout
ex) The moral seems to be that China’s economic clout can win it commercial acquiescence, but that when it comes to arm-wrestling over matters of national security, America still has the muscle.
I knew his opinion carried a lot of clout with them.
acquiescence noun
BrE /ˌækwiˈesns/ ; NAmE /ˌækwiˈesns/ uncountable
the fact of being willing to do what somebody wants and to accept their opinions, even if you are not sure that they are right
ex) The moral seems to be that China’s economic clout can win it commercial acquiescence, but that when it comes to arm-wrestling over matters of national security, America still has the muscle.
There was general acquiescence in the UN sanctions.
유대목 동물
marsupial noun
BrE /mɑːˈsuːpiəl/ ; NAmE /mɑːrˈsuːpiəl/
any animal that carries its young in a pocket of skin (called a pouch) on the mother’s stomach. Kangaroos and koalas are marsupials.
ex) If we look across many, many different species of animals, not just us primates, but also including other mammals, birds, even marsupials like kangaroos and wombats, it turns out that there’s a relationship between how long a childhood a species has and how big their brains are compared to their bodies and how smart and flexible they are.
wombat noun
BrE /ˈwɒmbæt/ ; NAmE /ˈwɑːmbæt/
an Australian animal like a small bear, that carries its young in a pouch (= a pocket of skin) on the front of the mother’s body
ex) If we look across many, many different species of animals, not just us primates, but also including other mammals, birds, even marsupials like kangaroos and wombats, it turns out that there’s a relationship between how long a childhood a species has and how big their brains are compared to their bodies and how smart and flexible they are.
까마기과
Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs, and nutcrackers. In common English, they are known as the crow family, or, more technically, corvids. Over 120 species are described. The genus Corvus, including the jackdaws, crows, and ravens, makes up over a third of the entire family.
They are considered the most intelligent of the birds, and among the most intelligent of all animals, having demonstrated self-awareness in mirror tests (European magpies) and tool-making ability (crows, rooks)—skills until recently regarded as solely the province of humans and a few other higher mammals. Their total brain-to-body mass ratio is equal to that of great apes and cetaceans, and only slightly lower than in humans.
ex) And crows and other corvidae, ravens, rooks and so forth, are incredibly smart birds.
큰까마귀
raven noun
BrE /ˈreɪvn/ ; NAmE /ˈreɪvn/
a large bird of the crow family, with shiny black feathers and a rough unpleasant cry
ex) And crows and other corvidae, ravens, rooks and so forth, are incredibly smart birds.
A raven sat in the tree and cawed.
떼까마귀
rook noun
BrE /rʊk/ ; NAmE /rʊk/
1) a large black bird of the crow family. Rooks build their nests in groups at the tops of trees.
fledgling noun
(British English also fledgeling)
BrE /ˈfledʒlɪŋ/ ; NAmE /ˈfledʒlɪŋ/
1) a young bird that has just learnt to fly
ex) Well it turns out that the babies, the New Caledonian crow babies, are fledglings.
mastodon noun
[mǽstədɑ̀n]
1) a massive, elephantlike mammal of the genus Mammut (Mastodon), that flourished worldwide from the Miocene through the Pleistocene epochs and, in North America, into recent times, having long, curved upper tusks and, in the male, short lower tusks.
ex) So you don’t want to have the mastodon charging at you and be saying to yourself, “A slingshot or maybe a spear might work. Which would actually be better?” You want to know all that before the mastodons actually show up.
make for something
2) to help to make something possible
ex) Ms. deGuzman’s video makes for some discomfiting viewing.
Constant arguing doesn’t make for a happy marriage.
discomfit verb
BrE /dɪsˈkʌmfɪt/ ; NAmE /dɪsˈkʌmfɪt/
[often passive] discomfit somebody (literary) to make somebody feel confused or embarrassed
ex) Ms. deGuzman’s video makes for some discomfiting viewing.
He was not noticeably discomfited by the request.
muse verb
BrE /mjuːz/ ; NAmE /mjuːz/ (formal)
1) [intransitive] muse (about/on/over/upon something) to think carefully about something for a time, ignoring what is happening around you
synonym ponder
ex) I sat quietly, musing on the events of the day.
2) [transitive] + speech | muse that… to say something to yourself in a way that shows you are thinking carefully about it
ex) Ms. deGuzman mused that, like it or not, experiencing life through a four-inch screen could be the new norm.
‘I wonder why?’ she mused.
번잡스런 도시의 분주함과 소음에서 벗어나
You get away from the crowded city’s hurry and noise.
whizz verb(especially British English)
(also whiz especially in North American English)
BrE /wɪz/ ; NAmE /wɪz/ (informal)
1) [intransitive] + adv./prep. to move very quickly, making a high continuous sound
ex) Cars whiz past the camping site.
A bullet whizzed past my ear.
He whizzed down the road on his motorbike.
pristine adjective
BrE /ˈprɪstiːn/ ; NAmE /ˈprɪstiːn/
2) not developed or changed in any way; left in its original condition
synonym unspoiled
ex) You visit places of pristine beauty or historical relics.
pristine, pollution-free beaches
relic noun
BrE /ˈrelɪk/ ; NAmE /ˈrelɪk/
1) relic (of/from something) an object, a tradition, a system, etc. that has survived from the past
ex) You visit places of pristine beauty or historical relics.
The building stands as the last remaining relic of the town’s cotton industry.
Videotapes may already seem like relics of a bygone era.
The pictures on the walls were relics from the days before her marriage.
Our transportation system is a relic of the past.
quench verb
BrE /kwentʃ/ ; NAmE /kwentʃ/
1) quench your thirst to drink so that you no longer feel thirsty
synonym slake
ex) Eco-tourism does that too, but it helps you quench your intellectual thirst.
what with something
used to list the various reasons for something
ex) What with everything else going on, from Trump to Brexit to the horror in Dallas, it’s hard to focus on developments in financial markets – especially because we’re not facing any immediate crisis.
What with the cold weather and my bad leg, I haven’t been out for weeks.
speculation noun
BrE /ˌspekjuˈleɪʃn/ ; NAmE /ˌspekjuˈleɪʃn/ [uncountable, countable]
2) speculation (in something) the activity of buying and selling goods or shares in a company in the hope of making a profit, but with the risk of losing money
ex) Some commentators blame the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, accusing them of engineering “artificially low” interest rates that encourage speculation and distort the economy.
speculation in oil
pile verb
BrE /paɪl/ ; NAmE /paɪl/
3) [intransitive] + adv./prep. (informal) (of a number of people) to go somewhere quickly without order or control
ex) In some past episodes of very low government borrowing costs, the story has been one of a flight to safety: investors piling into U.S. or German bonds because they’re afraid to buy riskier assets.
The coach finally arrived and we all piled on.
Children were piling out of the school bus.
bond spread
The difference between the yields of two bonds with differing credit ratings. Most often, a corporate bond with a certain amount of risk is compared to a standard risk-free Treasury Bond. The bond spread will show the additional yield that could be earned from a bond which has a higher risk.
ex) European bond spreads, like the difference between Italian and German interest rates, have also stayed low.
capitulation noun
BrE /kəˌpɪtʃuˈleɪʃn/ ; NAmE /kəˌpɪtʃuˈleɪʃn/ [countable, uncountable]
1) capitulation (to somebody/something) the act of accepting that you have been defeated by an enemy or opponent
synonym surrender (1)
ex) So what’s going on? I think of it as the Great Capitulation.
a humiliating/shameful capitulation
yours truly
2) (informal, often humorous) I/me
ex) A number of economists – most famously Larry Summers, but also yours truly and others – have been warning for a while that the whole world may be turning Japanese.
Steve came first, Robin second, and yours truly came last.
throw in the towel
(informal) to admit that you have been defeated and stop trying
ex) Now they’ve thrown in the towel, in effect conceding that persistent weakness is the new normal.
We’re not going to throw in the towel just because we lost one game.
money talks
(saying) people who have a lot of money have more power and influence than others; used for saying that money gives you power
ex) They say that money talks; well, cheap money is speaking very clearly right now, and it’s telling us to invest in our future.
Money talks in today’s harsh economic climate.
infantry noun
BrE /ˈɪnfəntri/ ; NAmE /ˈɪnfəntri/ [countable + singular or plural verb]
soldiers who fight on foot
ex) Callaway and his men drove supply trucks because the white infantry didn’t trust them to fight.
infantry units
The infantry was/were guarding the bridge.
retrieve verb
BrE /rɪˈtriːv/ ; NAmE /rɪˈtriːv/
3) retrieve something to make a bad situation better; to get back something that was lost
ex) One day, she was given the job of retrieving a heavily armored vehicle called a Buffalo from a muddy Iraqi field.
You can only retrieve the situation by apologizing.
Employers are anxious to retrieve the investment they have made in training their employees.
turret noun
BrE /ˈtʌrət/ ; NAmE /ˈtɜːrət/
2) a small metal tower on a ship, plane or tank that can usually turn around and from which guns are fired
ex) “By the end of it,” she told me recently, “one M88 was buried in mud. All you could see was the gun turret.”
a gun turret
bleak adjective
BrE /bliːk/ ; NAmE /bliːk/ (bleaker, bleakest)
1) (of a situation) not encouraging or giving any reason to have hope
ex) The military’s record on sexual assault has been bleak.
a bleak outlook/prospect
The future looks bleak for the fishing industry.
The medical prognosis was bleak.
They faced a financially bleak Christmas.
cisgender
cissexual
cis
when someone’s gender identity is the same as the one they were assigned at birth
ex) But another reason for the lack of credit is that the leads in our war movies about Iraq and Afghanistan look exactly like the leads in our contemporary World War II films. White, straight, cisgender men.
If a doctor announces, “It’s a girl!” in the delivery room based on the child’s body and that baby grows up to identify as a woman, that person is cisgender.
Following is a list of cisgender identity privileges.
jubilant adjective
BrE /ˈdʒuːbɪlənt/ ; NAmE /ˈdʒuːbɪlənt/
feeling or showing great happiness because of a success
ex) it also looks like Representative Tammy Duckworth, the Illinois Democrat who lost both her legs in Iraq and recently drove her scooter in jubilant celebration in Chicago’s Pride Parade.
The fans were in jubilant mood after the victory.
muck noun
BrE /mʌk/ ; NAmE /mʌk/
1) waste matter from farm animals
synonym manure
ex) to spread muck on the fields
The tractors are out spreading muck.
2) (informal, especially British English) dirt or mud
ex) Can you wipe the muck off the windows?
My face and hands were covered in muck.
3) (informal, especially British English) something very unpleasant
ex) The true stories of who our soldiers really are need to be rescued from the muck of our contemporary political life.
I can’t eat this muck!
중령
lieutenant colonel noun
an officer of middle rank in the US army, US air force or British army
ex) In June, about 10 years after she rescued that Buffalo, I asked now Lieutenant Colonel McDonough to meet with me in Washington.
wouldn’t you know it
(idiomatic) Expresses dismay or annoyance, especially at bad luck or misfortune.
ex) “Turn off your air conditioning and turn on your fans” And wouldn’t you know it, they did.
Wouldn’t you know it! I left my wallet at home.
suasion noun
BrE /ˈsweɪʒn/ ; NAmE /ˈsweɪʒn/ uncountable
the act of persuading somebody to do something, as opposed to using force
synonym persuasion (1)
ex) Well, if something is inconvenient, even if we believe in it, moral suasion, financial incentives, don’t do much to move us – but social pressure, that’s powerful stuff.oral suasion
scratch the surface (of something)
to deal with, understand, or find out about only a small part of a subject or problem
ex) But we’re just one company, and this is just scratching the surface.
We left feeling that we had just scratched the surface of this fascinating country.
tickle verb
BrE /ˈtɪkl/ ; NAmE /ˈtɪkl/
3) [transitive] to amuse and interest somebody
ex) She came over to meet my young daughter, and she was tickled to learn that my daughter’s name is also Harriet.
to tickle somebody’s imagination
I was tickled to discover that we’d both done the same thing.
live to the age of…/live to be…
live to the (ripe old) age of something
to survive to a specific [advanced] age.
ex) Life expectancy for women who live to age 50 is going up around the world, but poor and middle-income countries could easily make greater gains, according to a new World Health Organization report.
Sally’s aunt lived to the ripe old age of one hundred.
Ken lived to the age of sixty-two.
cow tipping
Cow tipping is the purported activity of sneaking up on any unsuspecting or sleeping upright cow and pushing it over for entertainment. The practice of cow tipping is generally considered an urban legend, and stories of such feats viewed as tall tales. The implication that rural citizens seek such entertainment due to lack of other alternatives is viewed as a stereotype. The concept of cow-tipping apparently developed in the 1970s, though tales of animals that cannot rise if they fall has historical antecedents dating to the Roman Empire.
ex) Let’s get this out of the way: Cow tipping, at least as popularly imagined, does not exist.
clearing house noun
2) an organization that collects and exchanges information on behalf of people or other organizations
ex) YouTube, the largest clearing house of human stupidity the world has ever known – where you can watch hours of kids taking the cinnamon challenge, teens jumping off rooftops onto trampolines, or the explosive results of fireworks set off indoors – fails to deliver one single actual cow-tipping video.
ream noun
BrE /riːm/ ; NAmE /riːm/
1) reams [plural] (informal) a large quantity of writing
ex) Despite reams and reams of articles debunking the idea, cow tipping, like crop circles, continues to exist as a strange rural legend – the difference being there’s at least photographic proof of crop circles.
She wrote reams in the exam.
2) [countable] (specialist) 500 sheets of paper
Holstein noun
BrE /ˈhɒlstaɪn/ ; NAmE /ˈhoʊlstaɪn/ ; BrE /ˈhɒlstiːn/ ; NAmE /ˈhoʊlstiːn/ (North American English)
(British English Friesian)
a type of black and white cow that produces a lot of milk
ex) Part of this, of course, is that the closest many people come to a cow is seeing a Holstein along the interstate.
docile adjective
BrE /ˈdəʊsaɪl/ ; NAmE /ˈdɑːsl/
quiet and easy to control
ex) Glimpsed at 65 miles per hour, it’s possible to imagine a docile bovine easily overturned by a blacked-out college bro.
a docile child/horse
heifer noun
BrE /ˈhefə(r)/ ; NAmE /ˈhefər/
a young female cow, especially one that has not yet had a calf
ex) A 1,400-pound dairy heifer is a broad, squarely built animal – there’s a reason the adjective “beefy” exists.
square adjective
BrE /skweə(r)/ ; NAmE /skwer/
5) used to describe something that is broad or that looks solid in shape
ex) A 1,400-pound dairy heifer is a broad, squarely built animal – there’s a reason the adjective “beefy” exists.
a man of square build
beefy adjective
BrE /ˈbiːfi/ ; NAmE /ˈbiːfi/ (beefier, beefiest)(informal)
(of a person or their body) big or fat
ex) A 1,400-pound dairy heifer is a broad, squarely built animal – there’s a reason the adjective “beefy” exists.
beefy men/arms/thighs
The doctor was summoned to his bedside.
pick something↔up
1) to get information or a skill by chance rather than by making a deliberate effort
ex) One news report actually said kids as young as 5th graders are picking up the habit now.
to pick up bad habits
Here’s a tip I picked up from my mother.
She picked up Spanish when she was living in Mexico.
Where did you pick up that idea?
villainous adjective
BrE /ˈvɪlənəs/ ; NAmE /ˈvɪlənəs/ usually before noun
very evil; very unpleasant
ex) Another thing that’s really unique about “The Wizard of Oz” to me is that all of the most heroic and wise and even villainous characters are female.
co-educational adjective
informal coed
(of a school or an educational system) where girls and boys are taught together
ex) I know from my own experience that Princess Leia did not provide the adequate context that I could have used in navigating the adult world that is co-ed.
The school has now made the decision to go fully co-educational.
flunk verb
BrE /flʌŋk/ ; NAmE /flʌŋk/ (informal, especially North American English)
1) [transitive, intransitive] flunk (something) to fail an exam, a test or a course
ex) It pretty much flunks the Bechdel test.
I flunked math in second grade.
lay charges
to officially accuse someone of a crime. A more common phrase is bring charges
ex) A neighbour called the police, who supposedly checked with a prosecutor before making an arrest to ensure criminal charges could be laid.
Criminal charges will be laid tomorrow.
No charges were ever laid against her.
inconsequential adjective
BrE /ɪnˌkɒnsɪˈkwenʃl/ ; NAmE /ɪnˌkɑːnsɪˈkwenʃl/
not important or worth considering
synonym trivial
ex) Obviously, there is a serious problem here… when we put people in jail for such inconsequential acts, when we abuse the power of the police, and of course, when we completely misunderstood children’s developmental needs.
inconsequential details
inconsequential chatter
scaffolding noun
BrE /ˈskæfəldɪŋ/ ; NAmE /ˈskæfəldɪŋ/ [uncountable]
poles and boards that are joined together to make a structure for workers to stand on when they are working high up on the outside wall of a building (비계: 건축공사 때에 높은 곳에서 일할 수 있도록 설치하는 임시가설물)
ex) How exactly are children in La Porte Texas, or anywhere else for that matter, going to learn to survive in traffic if they don’t slowly have opportunities to create the psychological scaffolding they need to understand the consequences to their actions.
The statue is currently surrounded by scaffolding.
scaffolding poles
put something↔in
6) (also put something into something)
to spend a lot of time or make a lot of effort doing something
ex) A 2011 statistic says almost 40% of workers put in more than the required 8 hours a week.
She often puts in twelve hours’ work a day.
He’s putting a lot of work into improving his French.
libel noun
BrE /ˈlaɪbl/ ; NAmE /ˈlaɪbl/
[uncountable, countable] the act of printing a statement about somebody that is not true and that gives people a bad opinion of them
ex) Libel is punishable by law, but legal restraints can go only so far.
He sued the newspaper for libel.
a libel action (= a case in a court of law)
In a libel action a newspaper must prove that any comments it printed are true.
number verb
BrE /ˈnʌmbə(r)/ ; NAmE /ˈnʌmbər/
2) [intransitive] + noun to make a particular number when added together
synonym add up to
ex) Social networking service subscribers now number more than 2 billion people.
The crowd numbered more than a thousand.
We numbered 20 (= there were 20 of us in the group).
지구 반대편에
You can make friends with people half a world away.
hoverboard noun
BrE /ˈhɒvəbɔːd/ ; NAmE /ˈhʌvərbɔːrd/
1) (in science fiction stories) a short narrow board that travels above the surface of the ground, that you ride on in a standing position
ex) Sonia picked up her hoverboard, put it under her arm and trudged up three flights of stairs illuminated by stained glass to a vast room with old portraits of judges and shelves of dusty books.
The hoverboard in that movie made me really, really want to be living in the year 2015.
2) (in real life) a type of electric skateboard
ex) Now it’s 2015 and hoverboards are really here but, sadly, they don’t hover. They have wheels.
trudge verb
BrE /trʌdʒ/ ; NAmE /trʌdʒ/
[intransitive] to walk slowly or with heavy steps, because you are tired or carrying something heavy
ex) Sonia picked up her hoverboard, put it under her arm and trudged up three flights of stairs illuminated by stained glass to a vast room with old portraits of judges and shelves of dusty books.
He trudged the last two miles to the town.
The men trudged up the hill, laden with supplies.
We spent the morning trudging around the mall looking for a suitable gift.
flight noun
BrE /flaɪt/ ; NAmE /flaɪt/
5) [countable] a series of steps between two floors or levels
ex) Sonia picked up her hoverboard, put it under her arm and trudged up three flights of stairs illuminated by stained glass to a vast room with old portraits of judges and shelves of dusty books.
She fell down a flight of stairs/steps and hurt her back.
vet verb
BrE /vet/ ; NAmE /vet/
2) vet something to check the contents, quality, etc. of something carefully
synonym screen
ex) Sonia understood why all the most ambitious third-year students were hoping to get jobs at government agencies vetting the micro-directives that computers put into practice.
All reports are vetted before publication.
She insists on vetting questions prior to an interview.
All goods are carefully vetted for quality before they leave the factory.
We are introducing new security vetting procedures.
mangled adjective
BrE /ˈmæŋɡld/ ; NAmE /ˈmæŋɡld/
Add to my wordlist
1) badly damaged, especially as a result of being crushed or twisted
ex) Her injured friend was scanned and prodded; then, as she was wheeled into the operating room, screens listed procedures to be done, and one that should be delayed concerned her mangled hand.
mangled bodies/remains
inadvertently adverb
BrE /ˌɪnədˈvɜːtəntli/ ; NAmE /ˌɪnədˈvɜːrtəntli/
by accident; without intending to
synonym unintentionally
ex) She had inadvertently spoken out loud, prompting the screen she carried to display the first draft of an academic paper, written in 2015, by two professors, one at the University of Chicago, the other at the University of Toronto.
We had inadvertently left without paying the bill.
envisage verb
BrE /ɪnˈvɪzɪdʒ/ ; NAmE /ɪnˈvɪzɪdʒ/ (especially British English)
(usually North American English envision)
to imagine what will happen in the future
ex) They envisaged machines able to assemble data and produce predictive outcomes, and then distribute these everywhere, instantly, turning rules and standards upside down and replacing them with micro-directives that were more responsive to circumstances, and rational.
What level of profit do you envisage?
I can’t envisage her coping with this job.
I don’t envisage working with him again.
It is envisaged that the talks will take place in the spring.
I envisage that the work will be completed next year.
It is difficult to envisage how people will react.
leaderboard noun
a board displaying the names and current scores of the leading competitors, esp in a golf tournament
ex) Not only could it recognize the traffic signs better than any other algorithm, the leaderboard actually showed it was better than people, about twice as good as people.
take stock (of something)
to stop and think carefully about the way in which a particular situation is developing in order to decide what to do next
ex) Consequently, I have been staking stock of both my life and my budget to see how I can rearrange my schedule to maximize my time and income.
It was time to stand back and take stock of his career.
toy with something
1) to consider an idea or a plan, but not very seriously and not for a long time
synonym flirt with
ex) Lately, I have toyed with the idea of cancelling my gym membership.
I did briefly toy with the idea of living in France.
~을 기리기 위해 지어졌다.
As everyone knows, the shrine was built to commemorate the deaths of class A war criminals.
~ was built in memory of ~
shrine noun
BrE /ʃraɪn/ ; NAmE /ʃraɪn/
1) a place where people come to worship because it is connected with a holy person or event
ex) A recent survey by a Japanese newspaper showed more than half of the respondents thought it was okay for Japanese government officials to go visit the Yasukuni shrine and pay homage to the war criminals.
a shrine to the Virgin Mary
to visit the shrine of Mecca
pay homage to someone or something
to openly honor or worship someone or something.
ex) ex) A recent survey by a Japanese newspaper showed more than half of the respondents thought it was okay for Japanese government officials to go visit the Yasukuni shrine and pay homage to the war criminals.
Do you expect me to pay homage to your hero?
I refuse to pay homage to your principles.
(일본의) 평화 헌법
pacifist constitution
- pacifist adjective
BrE /ˈpæsɪfɪst/ ; NAmE /ˈpæsɪfɪst/ [usually before noun]
holding or showing the belief that war and violence are always wrong
ex) Some politicians there have also been trying to revise the country’s pacifist constitution that bans the military’s involvement in any armed conflicts.
pacifist beliefs
concerted adjective
BrE /kənˈsɜːtɪd/ ; NAmE /kənˈsɜːrtɪd/ [only before noun]
done in a planned and determined way, especially by more than one person, government, country, etc.
ex) We should rather work hard to gather strengths and make concerted efforts.
a concerted approach/attack/campaign
She has begun to make a concerted effort to find a job.
공동 대응을 하다
We should rather work hard to gather strengths and make concerted efforts.
It would be also great if the countries that suffered most during the war to form a united front in dealing with the rightist movements in Japan.
- united front
a coalition formed to oppose a force that menaces the interests of all the members
ex) They presented a united front against the enemy.
좌파 / 우파
rightist adjective
BrE /ˈraɪtɪst/ ; NAmE /ˈraɪtɪst/
supporting right-wing political parties and their ideas
synonym right-wing
ex) It would be also great if the countries that suffered most during the war to form a united front in dealing with the rightist movements in Japan.
the current rightist government
rightist songs
- leftist adjective
BrE /ˈleftɪst/ ; NAmE /ˈleftɪst/
supporting left-wing political parties and their ideas
ex) leftist groups
cool-headed adjective
calm; not showing excitement or nerves
ex) We must be more cool-headed in this.
a cool-headed assessment of the situation
Even the most cool-headed individuals can be thrown into a mild panic at the prospect of organizing a wedding.
ring off the hook
(usually used in the progressive tenses) (of a telephone) to ring many times
ex) The hotline for Internet addiction rings off the hook 24/7.
The phone has been ringing off the hook with offers of help.
dread verb
BrE /dred/ ; NAmE /dred/
to be very afraid of something; to fear that something bad is going to happen
ex) It almost seems like an invisible tug of war between kids who can’t wait to see their day come and their parents who just dread the coming of vacations.
This was the moment he had been dreading.
I dread being sick.
She dreads her husband finding out.
I dread to think what would happen if there really was a fire here.
I both hoped and dreaded that he would come.
bring something to a head, come to a head
if you bring a situation to a head or if a situation comes to a head, you are forced to deal with it quickly because it suddenly becomes very bad
ex) What makes the problem worse is that they come a year or even years after the problem started; after it comes to a head.
distraught adjective
BrE /dɪˈstrɔːt/ ; NAmE /dɪˈstrɔːt/
extremely upset and anxious so that you cannot think clearly
ex) The government had the Korea Agency Digital Opportunity & Promotion set up the Internet Addiction Prevention Counseling center, come up with counseling programs and hire 600 counselors who then listen to distraught teens free of charge.
She’s still too distraught to speak about the tragedy.
The child’s distraught parents pleaded for witnesses to contact the police.
culmination noun
BrE /ˌkʌlmɪˈneɪʃn/ ; NAmE /ˌkʌlmɪˈneɪʃn/ singular
the highest point or end of something, usually happening after a long time
ex) These two proposed mergers are the culmination of a series of deals in the health care industry that have reduced the number of insurers and caused the consolidation of hospitals and doctors’ practices everywhere.
The reforms marked the successful culmination of a long campaign.
consolidation noun
BrE /kənˌsɒlɪˈdeɪʃn/ ; NAmE /kənˌsɑːlɪˈdeɪʃn/ [uncountable]
2) (specialist) the act or process of joining things together into one or of being joined into one
ex) These two proposed mergers are the culmination of a series of deals in the health care industry that have reduced the number of insurers and caused the consolidation of hospitals and doctors’ practices everywhere.
the consolidation of Japan’s banking industry
debt consolidation
bulk up
to become bigger and heavier
ex) Every merger seems to compel another as competitors bulk up, lest they find themselves with less leverage in negotiations between insurers and providers.
After bulking up for his last film role, he’s now down to a slim 11 stone.
lest conjunction
BrE /lest/ ; NAmE /lest/ (formal or literary)
1) in order to prevent something from happening
ex) Every merger seems to compel another as competitors bulk up, lest they find themselves with less leverage in negotiations between insurers and providers.
He gripped his brother’s arm lest he be trampled by the mob.
Lest anyone should doubt my story, I have brought documents to attest to its truth.
2) used to introduce the reason for the particular emotion mentioned
synonym in case
ex) She was afraid lest she had revealed too much.
divest verb
BrE /daɪˈvest/ ; NAmE /daɪˈvest/ (formal)
2) divest yourself of something to get rid of something
ex) In exchange for the approval, InBev will have to divest SABMiller’s stake in MillerCoors, which controls about a quarter of the American beer market, and agree to alter distribution practices to make it easier for small brewers to get access to grocery stores and bars.
The company is divesting itself of some of its assets.
