Vocabulary

Question 1

Callous

Answer 1

(n): not caring about other people’s feelings or suffering
SYN = cruel, unfeeling

e.g. a callous killer/attitude/act

Question 2

Perpetrate

Answer 2

(v): (formal) to commit a crime or do sth wrong or evil

e.g. to perpetrate a crime/fraud/massacre
violence perpetrated against women and children

Question 3

Neurotic

Answer 3

(adj) : not behaving in a reasonable, calm way, because you are worried about sth
e. g. She became neurotic about keeping the house clean.

Question 4

Denigrate

Answer 4

(v) : (formal) to criticize sb/sth unfairly; to say sb/sth does not have any value or is not important
e. g. I didn’t intend to denigrate her achievements

Question 5

Patsy

Answer 5

(n): a weak person who is easily cheated or tricked, or who is forced to take the blame for sth that sb else has done wrong

Question 6

Audit

Answer 6

(n) : 1. an official examination of business and financial records to see that they are true and correct
2. an official examination of the quality or standard of sth
(v) : 1. to officially examine the financial accounts of a company
2. to attend a course at college or university but without taking any exams or receiving credit

e.g. an annual audit - a tax audit

Question 7

Loathe

Answer 7

(v): to dislike sb/sth very much
= detest

e.g. I loathe modern art

Question 8

Rudderless

Answer 8

(adj): (formal) with nobody in control; not knowing what to do

Question 9

Half mast

Answer 9

(n): flown at the middle of the mast as a sign of respect for a person who has just died

Question 10

Hindsight

Answer 10

(n): the understanding that you have of a situation only after it has happened and that means you would have done things in a different way
!= foresight

e. g. 1. what looks obvious in hindsight was not at all obvious at the time
2. it is easy to criticize with the benefit of hindsight

Question 11

Alimony

Answer 11

(n): the money that a court orders sb to pay regularly to their former wife or husband when the marriage is ended

SIMILAR WORDS: maintenance - palimony

Question 12

Bric-a-brac

Answer 12

(n): ornaments and other small decorative objects of little values

Question 13

Ordain

Answer 13

(v) : to order or command sth; to decide sth in advance

e. g. fate has ordained that they would never meet again.

Question 14

Delineate

Answer 14

(v) : to describe, draw or explain sth in detail

e. g. the ship’s route is clearly delineated on the map.

Question 15

Recollection

Answer 15

(n) : 1. the ability to remember sth; the act of remembering sth
2. a thing that you remember from past

Question 16

Bestow

Answer 16

(v) : to give sth to sb, especially to show how much they are respected
e. g. it was a title bestowed upon him by the king.

Question 17

Derogatory

Answer 17

(adj): showing a critical attitude toward sb
SYN = insulting

e.g. derogatory remarks/comments.

Question 18

Confiscate

Answer 18

(v) : to officially take sth away from sb, especially as a punishment
e. g. Their land was confiscated after the war.

Question 19

Insatiable

Answer 19

(adj): always wanting more of sth; not able to be satisfied

Question 20

Flabbergasted

Answer 20

(adj): extremely surprised or shocked

SYN = astonished, astounded

Question 21

Astounded

Answer 21

(adj): very surprised or shocked by sth because it seems very unlikely

Question 22

Mystify

Answer 22

(v): to make sb confused because they do not understand sth

SYN = baffle, bamboozle, confound

Question 23

Dumbfounded

Answer 23

(adj) : unable to speak because of surprise

e. g. the news left her dumbfounded

Question 24

Dumbfound

Answer 24

(v): to surprise or shock sb so much that they are unable to speak

Question 25

Ambivalent

Answer 25

(adj): having or showing both good and bad feelings about sb/sth

Question 26

Croak

Answer 26

(v): to die

Question 27

Contingency

Answer 27

(n): an event that may or may not happen.
SYN = possibility
Contingency plan: plans for what to do if a particular event happens or does not happen

Question 28

Sulk

Answer 28

(v) : to look angry and refuse to speak or smile because you want people to know that you are upset about sth
e. g. he went off to sulk in his room.

Question 29

Slob

Answer 29

(n) : a person who is lazy and dirty or untidy
(v) : slob around; to spend time being lazy and doing nothing

e.g. get out of bed, you fat slob

Question 30

Hooch

Answer 30

(n): strong alcoholic drink, especially one that been made illegally

Question 31

Fond

Answer 31

(adj) : 1. feeling affection for sb, especially sb you have known for a long time
2. finding sth peasant or enjoyable, especially sth you have liked or enjoyed for a long time

e.g. over the years, I have grown quite fond of her

Question 32

Pathological

Answer 32

(adj) : not reasonable or sensible; impossible to control

e. g. pathological fear/hatred/violence

Question 33

Sordid

Answer 33

(adj) : 1. immoral or dishonest
2. very dirty and unpleasant

e. g. 1. people living in sordid condition
2. it was a shock to discover the truth about his sordid past

Question 34

Schmuck

Answer 34

(n): (informal) a stupid person

Question 35

Shtick

Answer 35

(n) : 1. a style of humour that is typical of a particular performer
2. a particular ability that sb has

Question 36

Snip

Answer 36

(v) : to cut sth with scissors using short quick strokes

e. g. snip a tiny hole in the paper

Question 37

Sleazy

Answer 37

(adj) : (informal) 1. (of a place) dirty, unpleasant and not socially acceptable, especially because sex is involved
2. (of people) immoral and unpleasant

e.g. a sleazy reporter

Question 38

Spew

Answer 38

(v) : 1. to flow out quickly, or to make sth flow out quickly. in large amounts
2. (BRE, informal) to vomit

e. g. 1. flames spewed from the aircraft’s engine
2. she spewed out the entire meal

Question 39

Sullen

Answer 39

(adj) : bad-tempered and not speaking, either on a particular occasion or because it is part of your character
e. g. she gave him a sullen glare

Question 40

Patter

Answer 40

(n): fast continuous talk by sb who is trying to sell you sth or entertain you
patter(v)

Question 41

Debauchery

Answer 41

(n): immoral behaviour involving sex, alcohol or drugs

Question 42

Rage

Answer 42

(n): a feeling o violent anger that is difficult to control
rage (v)
e.g. 1. he flies into a rage if you even mention the subject
2. to be shaking/trembling/speechless with rage

Question 43

Harry

Answer 43

(v): 1. to annoy or upset sb by continuously asking them questions or for sth
2. to make repeated attacks on an enemy
= harass

Question 44

Culpable

Answer 44

(adj): responsible and deserving blame for having done sth wrong

Question 45

Demeaning

Answer 45

(adj): putting sb in a position that does not give them the respect that they should have
= humiliating
demean = degrade

Question 46

Condescend

Answer 46

(v) : 1. to do sth that you think it is below your social or professional position to do = deign
2. to behave towards sb as though you are more important and more intelligent than they are

e. g. 1. we had to wait almost an hour before he condescended to see us
2. when giving a talk, be careful not to condescend to your audience

Question 47

Escapade

Answer 47

(n) : an exciting adventure (often one that people think is dangerous or stupid)
e. g. Isabel’s latest romantic escapade

Question 48

Oaf

Answer 48

(n): a stupid, unpleasant or awkward person, especially a man
oafish (adj)
e.g. mind that cup, you clumsy oaf!

Question 49

Concubine

Answer 49

(n): a woman who lives with a man, often in addition to his wife or wives, but who is less important than they are

Question 50

Cherish

Answer 50

(v) : (formal) 1. to love sb/sth very much and want to protect them or it
2. to keep an idea, a hope or a pleasant feeling in your mind for a long time

e. g. 1. children need to be cherished
2. cherish the memory of those days in Paris

Question 51

Excrement

Answer 51

(n) : (formal) solid waste matter that is passed from the body through the bowels = faeces
e. g. the pollution of drinking water by untreated human excrement

Question 52

Loiter

Answer 52

(v) : to stand or wait somewhere especially with no obvious reason = hang around
e. g. teenagers were loitering in the street outside