week 4

Question 1

alacrity /əˈlækrəti/ (n)

Answer 1

(n) great willingness or enthusiasm

Ex: They accepted the offer with alacrity.
Ex: The waiter moved with alacrity because he perceived they were big tippers.

Question 2

disdain /dɪsˈdeɪn/(n)

Answer 2

(n) CONTEMPT - the feeling that sb/sth is not good enough to deserve your respect or attention

Ex: When the curtain came down, the critic’s face registered the disdain she felt for the lackluster play

Question 3

belligerent /bəˈlɪdʒərənt/ (a)

Answer 3

(a) HOSTILE/ unfriendly and aggressive

Ex: His belligerent manner caused him to lose one friend after another

Question 4

bolster /ˈboʊlstər/ (v)

Answer 4

(v) STRENGTHEN, to improve something or make it stronger
- to bolster somebody’s confidence/courage/morale

Ex: The delayed-response task has helped to bolster the idea that the prefrontal cortex is important for holding info for brief periods of time.

Question 5

feint /feɪnt/ (n)

Answer 5

(n) false attack/ (especially in sport) a movement that is intended to make your opponent think you are going to do one thing when you are really going to do something else
ex: That intrepid battler laid the hapless Mullins low with an adroit feint and an uppercut.

Question 6

throw down the gauntlet /ˈɡɔːntlət/ (I)

Answer 6

gauntlet (n) a metal glove worn as part of a suit of armour by soldiers in the Middle Ages
(I) TO CHALLENGE SOMEONE

Ex: The principal of our rival school threw down the gauntlet, and we had no choice but to accept the challenge.

Question 7

impudent /ˈɪmpjədənt/ (a)

Answer 7

(a) rude, not showing respect for other people

Ex: an impudent young fellow

Question 8

pugnacious /pʌɡˈneɪʃəs/ (a)

Answer 8

(a) BELLICOSE /ˈbelɪkoʊz/ showing or having a desire to argue/fight

Ex: The pugnacious K.O. Mullins demanded a rematch

Question 9

scoff /skɑːf/ (v)

Answer 9

(v) to SNEER AT=MOCK (v) show no respect for sb//sth by expressing on your face or the way you speak

Ex: I don’t understand modern art, but I neither loathe nor scoff at it.
Ex: The manager openly scoffed at Mullins and belittled his fighting ability.

Question 10

promulgate /ˈprɑːmlɡeɪt/ (v)

Answer 10

(v) to make known officially

Ex: We implored the faculty advisor to promulgate the requirements for the presidency of the club.

Question 11

brash /bræʃ/ (a)

Answer 11

(a) IMPUDENT/ confident in an aggressive way

Ex: When the champ’s manager saw the brash announcement, he accosted Mullins, who was surrounded by a throng of newsmen.

Question 12

belittle /bɪˈlɪtl/(v)

Answer 12

(v) to make seem less important

Ex: The manager openly scoffed at Mullins and belittled his fighting ability.

Question 13

Feeling no pain (I)

Answer 13

(I) numbed by the use of alcohol or drugs

Ex: Although the party had just begun, after his first drink he was feeling no pain

Question 14

tangible /ˈtændʒəbl/(a)

Answer 14

(a) having actual form, that can be clearly seen to exist

Ex: Mr.Dixon belittled our request for tangible proof of his loyalty.
Ex: We cannot accept his findings without tangible evidence.

Question 15

laceration /ˌlæsəˈreɪʃn/(n)

Answer 15

(n) a cut to the skin or flesh made with something sharp, jagged wound

Ex: The medic reached into his kit to find a bandage for the ugly laceration

Question 16

castigate /ˈkæstɪɡeɪt/ (v)

Answer 16

(v) to criticize somebody/something/yourself severely, to correct by punishing

Ex: The kindly foreman was too reticent to openly castigate the clumsy new worker

Question 17

sordid /ˈsɔːrdɪd/(a)

Answer 17

(a) immoral, dishonest

Ex: Stories of their sordid youth poured forth from the unhappy felons
Ex: The judge castigated Mullins for the sordid incident

Question 18

octogenarian /ˌɑːktədʒəˈneriən/ (n)

Answer 18

(n) a person in his or her eighties

Ex: When the 22-year-old woman announced her engagement to the octogenarian, the public suspected it to be a publicity stunt.

Question 19

a publicity stunt /pʌbˈlɪsəti//stʌnt/

Answer 19

stunt (n) something that is done in order to attract people’s attention

Ex: When the 22-year-old woman announced her engagement to the octogenarian, the public suspected it to be a publicity stunt.

Question 20

Hobson’s choice (I)

Answer 20

(I) to have no real choice at all

Ex: Despite three candidates’ names on the ballot, the similarity of their unpopular positions on controversial issues left voters with a Hobson’s choice

Question 21

solace /ˈsɑːləs/ (v)

Answer 21

(v) COMFORT, easing of grief

Ex: He sought solace in whiskey
Ex: In trying to offer solace to the deceased’s wife, the reporter inadvertently made the situation worse

Question 22

aspirant /ˈæspərənt/ /əˈspaɪərənt/ (n)

Answer 22

(n) candidate, striver, applicant/ a person with a strong desire to achieve a position of importance or to win a competition

Ex: The publisher scoffed at the reports that he was an aspirant for the job of Secretary of State

Question 23

dregs (n) /dreɡz/

Answer 23

(n) the worst and most useless parts of something

Ex: the dregs of society
Ex: At the bottom of the beautiful wine bottle, only the dregs remained

Question 24

frenzy /ˈfrenzi/(n)

Answer 24

(n) a state of great activity and strong emotion that is often violent or frightening and not under control

Ex: The speaker worked the crowd up into a frenzy
Ex: Vigilant censors protect the public from listening to frenzy language on televison

Question 25

scurrilous /ˈskɜːrələs/(a)

Answer 25

(a) very rude and insulting, and intended to damage somebody’s reputation

Ex: He would work himself into an alcoholic frenzy in which he would trumpet scurrilous attacks on the champ, the old manager, and the judge.

Question 26

rule the roost (I)

Answer 26

(I) to be in charge, to be master
(a roost in a perch where domestic birds can sleep)

Ex: Although he is a lowly private in the army, at home he rules the roost