Unit 10.2 & 10.3 Flashcards
pleasant
enjoyable, attractive, friendly, or easy to like:
a pleasant climate/smile/person
a pleasant day/surprise
despise
to feel a strong dislike for someone or something because you think that that person or thing is bad or has no value:
The two groups despise each other.
She despised him for the way he treated her sister.
disdain
the feeling of not liking someone or something and thinking that they do not deserve your interest or respect:
He regards the political process with disdain.
needless
completely unnecessary:
needless worrying
needless to say
as you would expect; added to, or used to introduce, a remark giving information that is expected and not surprising:
Needless to say, he’ll be off work for a while.
the turn of the century
the time when a particular century ends and another begins:
My great-grandfather was born at the turn of the last century.
give out
If a machine or part of your body gives out, it stops working:
At the end of the race his legs gave out and he collapsed on the ground.
The batteries are likely to give out soon.
outcome
a result or effect of an action, situation, etc.:
It’s too early to predict the outcome of the meeting.
fail to see/understand
used when you do not accept something:
I fail to see why you can’t work on a Saturday.
keen
very good or well developed:
a keen sense of smell
whisk
to take something or someone somewhere else suddenly and quickly:
Our coffees were whisked away before we’d even finished them.
We only had half an hour to see her before she was whisked off to some exotic location.
Her husband whisked her off to Egypt for her birthday.
exotic
unusual and exciting because of coming (or seeming to come) from far away, especially a tropical country:
exotic flowers/food/designs
spectacle
an unusual or unexpected event or situation that attracts attention, interest, or disapproval:
It was a strange spectacle to see the two former enemies shaking hands and slapping each other on the back.
We witnessed the extraordinary spectacle of an elderly lady climbing a tree to rescue her cat.
fascinated
extremely interested:
We watched fascinated as he cleaned and repaired the watch.
scorn
a very strong feeling of no respect for someone or something that you think is stupid or has no value:
She has nothing but scorn for the new generation of politicians.
Why do you always pour/heap scorn on (= criticize severely and unfairly) my suggestions?
to show scorn for someone or something:
So does he respect the press and media, or does he secretly scorn them?
You scorned all my suggestions.
to refuse advice or an offer because you are too proud:
She scorned all my offers of help.
go beet red / go as red as a beet
to have a red face because you are embarrassed:
Whenever I talked about his past life, he would go beetroot.
take a … turn
to develop in a particular way:
The battle for control of the company took an interesting turn today.
take turns
When a number of people take turns, they do the same thing one after the other:
We take turns answering the phone.
not know where/which way to turn
to not know what to do or who to ask for help:
When both her parents died, she didn’t know which way to turn.
turn of phrase
the ability to express yourself well:
She has a nice turn of phrase, which should serve her well in journalism.
not turn a hair
to not show any emotion when you are told something bad or when something bad happens:
I was expecting him to be horrified when he heard the cost but he didn’t turn a hair.
take a turn for the better/worse
to suddenly become better or worse:
Their relationship took a turn for the worse when he lost his job.
be slated
to be expected to happen in the future or to be expected to be or do something in the future:
Jeff is slated to be the next captain of the team.
The meeting is slated for (= the chosen day is) next Thursday.
scholarly
containing a serious, detailed study of a subject:
a scholarly article/book/work/journal
