Week Nineteen Flashcards
Afflict
V: If a problem or illness afflicts a person or thing, they or it suffer from it
Example:
-It is an illness that afflicts women more than men.
-a country afflicted by civil war
Megalomania
N: an unnaturally strong wish for power and control, or the belief that you are very much more important and powerful than you really are; abnormal desire for wealth and power
Profligate
Adj: spending money or using something in a way that wastes it and is not wise; wasteful
Example:
-She is well-known for her profligate spending habits.
-The profligate use of antibiotics has led to the evolution of resistant bacteria.
The treasury
N: the government department, in the UK and some other countries, that is responsible for financial matters such as spending and tax
Rampant
Adj: (of something bad) getting worse quickly and in an uncontrolled way
Example:
-rampant corruption
-Rampant inflation means that our wage increases soon become worth nothing.
-He said that he had encountered rampant prejudice in his attempts to get a job.
-Disease is rampant in the overcrowded city.
Strife
N: discord; violent or angry disagreement
Example:
-What are the prospects for overcoming the strife between the Christian minority and Muslim majority?
-20 years of civil strife have left the country’s economy in ruins.
Domestic
Adj: relating to a person’s own country
Example:
-domestic airlines/flights
-Domestic opinion had turned against the war.
Incarcerate
V: to put or keep someone in prison or in a place used as a prison
Example:
Thousands of dissidents have been interrogated or incarcerated.
Dissident
N: a person who publicly disagrees with and criticizes their government
Example:
political dissidents
Interrogate
V: to ask someone a lot of questions for a long time in order to get information, sometimes using threats or violence
Example:
Thousands of dissidents have been interrogated or imprisoned in recent weeks.
Legion
Adj: very large in number
Example:
The difficulties surrounding the court case are legion.
Bloodless
Adj: A bloodless military operation involves no deaths
Example:
The rebel soldiers seized power in a bloodless coup.
Coup
N:
1. an unexpectedly successful achievement
Example:
It was a tremendous coup for the local paper to get an exclusive interview with Prince Charles.
- a sudden illegal, often violent, taking of government power, especially by part of an army; revolution
Example:
a military coup
Singular
Adj: of an unusual quality or standard; noticeable
Example:
-It was a building of singular grace and beauty.
-He showed a singular lack of skill in painting.
Culpable
Adj: deserving to be blamed or considered responsible for something bad
Example:
The landowner could be proved culpable for starting the fire.
Obviate
V: to remove a difficulty, especially so that action to deal with it becomes unnecessary
Example:
A peaceful solution would obviate the need to send a UN military force.
Inferiority
N: the state of not being good, or not as good as someone or something else
Example:
-sense of inferiority: His ill treatment as a child had given him a strong sense of inferiority.
-Women had a position of social inferiority as compared with men
Voracious
Adj: very eager for something, especially a lot of food
Example:
-He has a voracious appetite (= he eats a lot).
-He’s a voracious reader of historical novels (= he reads a lot of them eagerly and quickly).
Amnesty
N: a decision by a government that allows political prisoners to go free; a general pardon
Example:
Most political prisoners were freed under the terms of the amnesty.
Expatriate
N: someone who does not live in their own country; an exile
Example:
A large community of expatriates has settled there.
Exonerate
V: to show or say officially that someone or something is not guilty of something; to free from guilt
Example:
-We have proof which will completely exonerate him.
-exonerate sb from sth:I do not wholly exonerate her from blame.
Tribunal
N: a special court chosen, esp. by a government or governments, to examine a particular problem
Example:
An international tribunal of judges was established to investigate alleged war crimes.
Oppressive
Adj: cruel and unfair
Example:
an oppressive government/military regime
Fiat
N: an order given by a person in authority; an official order; a decree
Example:
by fiat: No company can set industry standards by fiat.
Perceive
V: to think of something in a particular way
Example:
-The way people perceive the real world is strongly influenced by the language they speak.
-In those days, crime wasn’t even perceived as a problem.
Sincerity
N: honesty
Example:
The priest was a man of deep sincerity.
Mendacious
Adj: not telling the truth; untrue; lying
Example:
Some of these statements are misleading and some are downright mendacious.
Downright
Adj: (especially of something bad) extremely or very great
Example:
I think the way she was treated is a downright disgrace.
Look up
Phrasal verb: to become better
Example:
-I hope things will start to look up in the new year.
-Our financial situation is looking up at last.
Delibrare
V: to think or talk seriously and carefully about something
Example:
-deliberate on: The jury took five days to deliberate on the case.
-The committee has deliberated the question at great length.
Feint
N: an action taken in order to deceive someone about what you intend to do, for example in war or politics
Example:
-During the advance, the French had been kept unsure of Marlborough’s destination by feints.
-US officials now dismiss his visit as just another feint.
Astute
Adj: able to understand a situation quickly and see how to take advantage of it; sharp; shrewd
Example:
-an astute investor/businesswoman
-his astute handling of the situation
-an astute observer of human behaviour
Parsimonious
Adj: not willing to spend money or use a lot of something
Example:
-She’s too parsimonious to heat the house properly.
-I had to be a little parsimonious with the fresh thyme.
-I think that politicians are often parsimonious with the (= do not tell the complete) truth.
Pecuniary
Adj: relating to money
Example:
pecuniary interest/loss/benefit
a pecuniary matter
Slash
V: to very much reduce something, such as money or jobs
Example:
Prices have been slashed by 50 percent!
Dismantle
V: to take a machine apart or to come apart into separate pieces; to strip of covering; take apart
Example:
-She dismantled the washing machine to see what the problem was, but couldn’t put it back together again.
-The good thing about the bike is that it dismantles if you want to put it in the back of the car.
Strip
V: to remove, pull, or tear the covering or outer layer from something
Example:
-Because of the pollution, the trees are almost completely stripped of bark.
-The paintwork was so bad that we decided to strip off all the paint and start again.
Sumptuous
Adj: of high quality, and often expensive; lavish
Example:
I had never seen such a sumptuous apartment.
Incompetent
Adj: not having the ability to do something as it should be done
Example:
-an incompetent teacher/doctor
-He has described the government as corrupt and incompetent.
Underwrite
V: agree to finance
Example: The museum show was largely underwritten by a grant from the government of Sweden.
Desperate
Adj: very serious or bad
Example:
-desperate poverty
-desperate shortage: The refugees are living in camps, where there’s a desperate shortage of food/supplies.
-desperate situation:The situation is desperate - we have no food, very little water and no medical supplies.
Feast
N: a special meal with very good food or a large meal for many people
Example:
“What a feast!” she said, surveying all the dishes on the table.
a wedding feast
Fractious
Adj: tending to argue, fight, or complain, and hard to control
Example:
-fractious relationships
-the fractious nature of politics
Picket line
N: a group of people holding signs to show that they are not working and are having a disagreement with their employer
Example:
Truck drivers refused to cross the picket line.
Dedication
N: the willingness to give a lot of time and energy to something because it is important
Example:
-dedication to: He has always shown great dedication to the cause.
-She thanked the staff for their dedication and enthusiasm.
Restrictive
Adj: limiting the freedom of someone or preventing something from growing
Example:
-He is self-employed because he finds working for other people too restrictive.
-The college is not able to expand because of restrictive planning laws.
Balk
V: to be unwilling to do something or to allow something to happen; reluctant; to refuse to move
Example:
I balked at the prospect of spending four hours on a train with him.
Rationing
N: a system of limiting the amount of something that each person is allowed to have
Example:
fuel rationing
Blunt
Adj: saying what you think without trying to be polite or considering other people’s feelings; plain spoken
Example:
I’ll be blunt - that last piece of work you did was terrible.
Nostalgia
N: a feeling of pleasure and also slight sadness when you think about things that happened in the past; yearning for the past
Example:
-Some people feel nostalgia for their schooldays.
-Hearing that song again filled him with nostalgia.
-a wave (= sudden strong feeling) of nostalgia
Graft
N: the act of getting money or advantage through the dishonest use of political power and influence
Example:
-The whole government was riddle with (full of) graft, bribery, and corruption.
Rife
Adj: If something unpleasant is rife, it is very common or happens a lot; widespread
Example: Graft and corruption were rife in city government.
Tempt
V: to encourage someone to want to have or do something, esp. something wrong
Example:
I’m trying to diet – don’t tempt me with that cake!
Caustic
Adj: A caustic remark or way of speaking is hurtful, critical, or intentionally unkind; strongly critical
Example:
-caustic comments
-She’s famous in the office for her caustic wit.
Epithet
N: a word or phrase used to describe someone, often as an insult
Example:
-a racial epithet
-His stubbornness earned him the epithet “Senator No.”
Recruit
N: a new member of an organization, especially the army
Example:
-Raw recruits (= completely new soldiers) were trained for six months and then sent to the war front.
Exacerbate
V: to make something that is already bad even worse
Example:
This attack will exacerbate the already tense relations between the two communities.
Credulous
Adj: too willing to believe what you are told and so easily deceived; gullible
