English-TOEFL-Prep

inedible

adj that you cannot eat because it is of poor quality, or poisonous e.g. Uyghurs and Kazakhs were brought in hooded and shackled. The women spoke of beatings, inedible food, beds stained with urine, shit, and blood. Synonym unpalatable, revolting

deft

adj. 1. (of a person's movements) quick and showing skill 2. clever and showing skill e.g. The United States will have to manage alliances, networks, and institutions deftly to shape the environment in which China uses its growing power.

perennial

adj. 1. continueing for a very long time, happening again and again 2. (of plants) living for two years or more e.g. The perennial theme of western decline is not new, though the role of China is. Oswald Spengler opined about the decline of the West over a century ago.

gloomy

adj. 1. nearly dark, or badly lit in a way that makes you sad. 2. sad and without hope. 3. without much hope of happiness or success in the future . e.g. A few years later, Samual Hutington issued a gloomier prognosis in the Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order that "the rising of China and the increasing assertiveness of 'this biggest player in history of man' will place tremendous stress on international stability in the early twenty-first century."

filmsy

adj. badly made and not strong enough for the purpose for which it is used thin and easily torn difficult to believe weak and too easily broken difficult to believe or accept n. a thin piece of carbon paper or a copy made with it. e.g. Charities and churches are also trying to catch people that fall through the government safety net. syn. fragile, weak, delicate, insubstantial, slight, rickety, thin, poor, feeble, inadequate, tenuous, unsound

rampant

adj. existing or spreading everywhere in a way that cannot be controlled growing thickly and very fast in a way that cannot be controlled. happening in an unrestrained manner, usually so as to be regarded as a menace exhibiting ferocious behavior or fierceness of spirit. syn. unchecked, out of control, unrestrained, uncontrolled, threatening, unbridled, raging, epidemic, rambling

congruent

adj. having the same size and shap ~ (with sth) suitable for sth, appropriate in a partcular situation describe two numbers whose difference is exactly divisible by a third number. e.g. Some crop circle experts have been confused as the unside of this crop circle is not as congruent as most others. syn. corresponding, consistent, matching, compatible, similar, harmonious, harmonizing

reluctant

adj. hesitating before doing sth because you do not want to do it or because you are not sure that it is the right thing to do e.g. "Here's what I learned long before age ninety: tha tmany virtures-- like loyalty, obedience to authority, and courage--can be put forward dangerous and bad causes," he said. "Officials are reluctant to recognize that loyalty to President can, and regularly does, conflict with the higher loyalty they owe to the consitution." Syn. unwilling, unenthusiastic, disincilned, loath, indisposed, averse

stray

adj. homeless, lost, or wandering scattered, separated, or happening accidentally or randomly accidentally separated from a group v. to leave the correct course or wander away from the correct place to move away from or become separated from a flock or group to digress from the main subject, or become diverted from the main or appropriate object of attention to take an indirect course to roam or wander without a particular purpose or destination. to move or turn in a casual or abstracted or unconsciously compulsive way towards something to depart from traditional or accepted standands of behaviour to move away from a particular subject, usually without meaning to n. somebod, especially a child, who is lost. a lost or homeless domestic animal a pet that is lost or has left its home. np. electrical interference in a radio or television broadcast, causing disruption of a signal e.g. There is a long list of fly-blown metaphors which could similarly be got rid of if enough people would interest themselves in the job; and it should also be possible to laugh the 'not un-' formation out of existence, to reduce the amount of Latin and Greek in the average sentence, to drive out foreign phrases and strayed scientific words, and, in general, to make pretentiousness unfashionable. syn. lost, wander, go astray

indelible

adj. impossible to forget or remove leaving a mark that cannot be removed e.g. President Biden and Prime Minister Suga recommit themselves to an undelible Alliance, to a rules-based approach to regional and global order funded on universal values and common principles, and to coorperation with all those who share in these objectives. Syn. permanent, fixed, ineradicable, unforgettable, eunduring, ingrained

arduous

adj. involving a lot of effort and energy, especially over a period of time. very difficult to traverse, endure, or overcome e.g. If he is to become a revolutionary with an indomitable fighting spirit, he must be tempered in the arduous struggle from his youth. syn. difficult, hard, laborious, grueling, strenuous, onerous, toilsome, operose

gregarious

adj. liking to be with other people; living in groups a gregarious person enjoys being with other people gregarious animals or birds live in groups e.g. Public opinion, because of the tremendous urge to conformity in gregarious animals, is less tolerant than any system of law. syn. sociable, extrovert, convivial

soporific

adj. makinfg you want to go to sleep. e.g. The greatest, analgesic, soporific, stimulant, tranquilizer, narcotic, and to some extent even antibiotic -- in short, the closest thing to a genuine panacea -- known to medical science is work.

bewildering

adj. making you feel confused because there are too many things to choose from or because something is difficult to understand. e.g. It was such a bewildering evening that it's a bit difficult now to remember the sequence of events. Syn. confusing, puzzling, baffling, incomprehensible, perplexing, disconcerting

sophorific

adj. making you want to go to sleep dull and boring experiencing sleepiness or drawsiness n. a drug or other substance that indeces sleep. e.g. Providence, out of pity for mankind, has instilled a sophoric charm into all tedious things. syn. hypnotic, tranquilizing, narcotic, tedious, boring, interminable, monotonous, endless, dull

aforementioned

adj. mentioned before, in an ealier sentence e.g. The aforementioned distributed monitoring infrastructure has been ysed in an actual simulation platform. above-mentioned, aforesaid

timorous

adj. nervous and easily frightened e.g. Conservatism, even more timorous and narrow, disgusts the children, and drives them for a mouthful fresh air into radicalism. syn. nervous, fearful, timid, shy, bashful, reticent

stale

adj. no longer fresh and therefore unpleasant to eat. no longer fresh, something unpleasant. something that is stale has been said or done too many times before and is no longer interesting or exciting n. the urine of livestock, especially horses and cattle. e.g. The writing you allude to is a form of dissent, but it's also expressive of the need to evolve beyond what is turgid and stale in contemporary fiction. syn. decayed, sour, insipid, vapid, fusty

skew

adj. not accurate or correct ~ (towards sb/sth) directed towards a particular group, place, etc. in a way that may not be accurate or fair not straight or level e.g. This is one of many factors produce skewed statistics in many endeavors. Discriminatory bias is among those factors. But it has no monopoly Syn. slanted, twisted, crooked, askew, distorted, biased, prejudiced, partial

opaque

adj. not clear enough to see through or allow light through difficult to understand; not clear dull and without luster e.g. The window is able to switch from 100% opaque to almost completely clear in a matter of seconds, said the authors. syn. impervious, cloudy, dense, muddy, milky, misty, smoky, solid, thick, obscure, unclear, impenetrable, difficult

diffident

adj. not having much confidence in yourself; not wanting to talk about yourself. e.g. She was of a helpless, fleshy build, with a frank, open countenance and an innocent diffident manner. Syn. shy, hesitant, insecure, timid, reticent, unobstructive, self-effacing

menial

adj. not skilled or important, and often boring or badly paid n. a person with a menial job e.g. The woman who had run a grocery store could no longer operate her business, so she turned to menial labor; she also discovered that the man she wanted to marry had found another woman. Syn. unskilled, tedious

chary

adj. not willing to risk doing sth; fearing possible problems if you do sth e.g. Your woman of honour, as you call 'em, are only chary of their reputations not their persons, and 'tis scandal they would avoid, not men. e.g. wary, cautious

sciatic

adj. of the hip or of the nerve which goes from the pelvis to the thigh e.g. At ninety, Ellsberg appears to have aged well. He was avoided contracting COVID-19 thus far, and other than a longtime hearing problem and a balky sciatica condition, he's in good health.

archaic

adj. old and no longer used very old-fashioned from a much earlier or ancient period of history Syn. Although society opened up in Myanmarafter democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) came to power in 2015, archaic and colonial-era laws on censorship stayed in place, and there were also clampdowns on creative expression. Syn. old, ancient, outdated, antiqueted

outworn

adj. old-fasioned and no longer useful e.g. On the contrary, it is especially concerned with the scrapping of every word or idiom which has outworn its usefulness. syn. obsolete, outmoded, out-of-date, antiquated. archaic, ancient

affable

adj. pleasant, friendly and easy to talk to good-natured, friendly, and easy to talk to e.g. Are so reluctant to leave, left the affabel teacher, left the lovely naughty students, to leave the shadow of their own childhood! syn. genial, pleasant, friendly, sociable, jovial, easygoing, gregarious, cordial

balky

adj. refusing or failing to do what you want them to do difficult and uncooperative e.g. At ninety, Ellsberg appears to have aged well. He was avoided contracting COVID-19 thus far, and other than a longtime hearing problem and a balky sciatica condition, he's in good health.

venereal

adj. relating to diseases spread by sexual contact describes an infection or disease that is caught or transmitted through sexual intercourse. e.g. Venereal diseases continues to be a significant public health problem.

impudent

adj. rude, not shoeing respect for other people e.g. For a time, Chewbacca was a slave, toiling away for the betterment of the Empire until an impudent Imperial cadet named Han Solo freed him. We are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue, and then, when we are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the fact so as to show we were right. syn. bold, brazen, iimpertinent, insolent, rude, disrespectful, impolite, presumptuous, il-mannered, cheeky

despondent

adj. sad, without much hope extemely unhappy and discouraged. very unhappy because you do not believe that an unpleasant situation will improve e.g. Even in this very beginning of a tendency to feel despondent he threw back his head, expanded his chest, and walked as briskly as ever. syn. hopeless, low, dejected, despairing, downhearted, downcast, unhappy, sad, pessimistic, miserable, glum, discouraged

candid

adj. saying what you think openly and honestly; not hiding your thoughts a candid photograph is one that is taken without the person in it knowing that they are being photographed e.g. Reporters with Radio Free Asia called up local Chinese officials, who, accustomed to speaking with Party propagandists, were strikingly candid. Syn. honest, frank, sincere, blunt, outspoken, forthright

grandiose

adj. seeming very impressive but too large, complicated, expensive, etc. to be pratical or possible. pretentious, pompous, and imposing e.g. The rather grandiose title is somewhat embarrassing, but I think it turned out to be a very interesting book and I hope you try reading it. syn. pretentious, pompous, flamboyant, ostentious, extravagant, magnificent, lavish, splendid, impressive, stately, imposing, elaborate, ambitious, complex, impenetrable, unfathomable

flagrant

adj. shocking because it is done in a very obvious way and shows no respect for people, laws, etc. done in an obvious way that shows you do not care if you break rules or offend people e.g. A society becomes totalitarian when its structure becomes flagrantly artificial: that is, when its ruling class has lost its function but succeeds in clinging to power by force or fraud. syn. blatant, scandalous, barefaced, obvious, deliberate, brazen, unashamed, overt, open, patent, manifest, bald-faced, shameless, immodest, glaring

sardonic

adj. showing that you think that you are better than other people and do not take them seriously disdainfully or cynically mocking a sardonic smile, expression, or comment shows a lack of respect for what someone else has said or done. e.g. God was feeling sardonic the day he created the universe. So it's rather up to at least one man every few centuaries to pop up and come just as close to making him swallow his laughter as possible. syn. sardonic, scornful, ironic, sarcastic, derisive, satirical, mordent, scathing, disdaiful

partisan

adj. showing too much support for one person, group or idea, especially without considering it carefully. n. a person who strongly supports a particular leader, group or idea. a member of an armed group that is fighting secretly against enemy soldiers who have taken control of its country. e.g. As the president continued his cross-country appeals on health care reform, partisan disagreements continued to echo on Capitol Hill. syn. biased, prejudiced, opinionated, one-sided, bigotd, limited, parochial, narrow-minded n. follower, supporter, adherent, fan, member, enthusiast, devotee, sponser, backer

pliant

adj. soft and giving way to sb, especiallly in a sexual way willing to accept change; easy to influence or control e.g. Sabit recalled that mothers held in her facility were very pliant: "In order to see their children, they were willing to do everything." Syn. pliable, bendable, supple, malleable

extravagant

adj. spending a lot more money or using a lot more of sth than you can afford or than is necessary e.g. Residents were warned not to be extravagant with water, in view of the low rainfall this year costing a alot more money than you can afford or is necessary very extreme or impressive but not reasonable or practical. Syn. prolifigate, spendthrift, wasteful, excessive, prodigal, ornate

grotesque

adj. strange in a way that is unpleasant or offensive extremely ugly in a strange way that is often frightening or amusing. n. a person who is extremely ugly in a strange way, especially in a book or painting a style of art using protesque figures and designs. e.g. One of the most grotesque distortions growing out of this carelessness with the facts has been a removal of Abraham Lincoln's name and statues from various places, on grounds that he saw black people only as property. Syn. distorted, gross. monstrous, misshapen, bizarre, fantastic, incongruous, ridiculous, ludicrous, outlandish, surreal, weird

cogent

adj. strongly and clearly expressed in a way that influences what people believe forceful and convincing to the intellect and reason e.g. But if did not get cogent and effective execution, cannot turn into idea actual word, again grandiose concept also is of no help. syn. forceful, convincing, persuasive, clear, lucid, strong, coherent, sound

malleable

adj. that can be hit or pressed into different shapes easily without breaking or cracking. easily influenced or changed e.g. You are imagining that there is something called human nature which will be outraged by what we do and will turn against us. But we created human nature, Men are infinitely malleable. syn. soft, supple, flexible, bendy, pliable,ductile, plastic, impressionable, compliant, acquiescent, manipulable, biddable, persuadable

untenable

adj. that cannot be defended against attack or criticism. impossible to continue because of serious problems, opposition, or criticism. impossible to defend as fair, appropriate, or true. e.g. Seldom do people think things through foolishly. More often, they do not bother to think things through at all, so that even brainy individuals can reach untenable conclusions because their brainpower means little if it is not deployed and applied. syn. indefensible, unsustainable, weak, unsound, shaky, invalid, flawed

palpable

adj. that is noticed by the mind or the senses so intense as to be almost able to be felt physically obvious or easily observed able to be felt by the hands, especially in a medical examination. e.g. Since the Great Recession began there has been a palpable shift in power away from America and toward China. syn. tangible, intense, profound, substantial, obvious, evident, unambiguous, definite

feasible

adj. that is possible and likely to be achieved reasonable enough to be believed or accepted. e.g. In 2019, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry proposed disposing of the wastewater either by gradually releasing it into the ocean or by allowing it to evaporate. The International Atomic Energy Agency said last year that both options were "technically feasible". Syn. possible, viable, practicable, achievable, likely

ignominous

adj. that makes, or should make, you feel ashamed very embassassing, especially because of making you seem very unsuccessful or unimportant e.g. to a surprising extent the war-lords in shining armour, the apostle of martial values, tend not to die fighting when time comes. History is full of ignominous gateways by the great and famous. syn. humiliating, embarrassing, shameful, disgraceful, reprehensible, dishonourable, disreputable, , discreditable, despicable

hermetic

adj. tightly closed so that no air can escapeor enter closed and difficult to become a part of e.g. A hermetic terminal assembly is provided in the aperture including a cup-shaped housing surrounded by an annular flange. syn. airtight, enclosed, closed

ineffable

adj. too great or beautiful to describe in words unable to be expressed in words e.g. She made no answer. Her lips trembled into a smile, but the eyes remained distant and serious, as if bent on some ineffable vision. Syn. indescribable, inexpressible, unutterable, indefinable

complacent

adj. too satisfied with yourself or with a situation, so that you don not feel that any change is necessary; showing or feeling complacency eager to please too confident and relaxed because you think you can deal with something easily, eventhough this may not be true. e.g. The detective seated himself in the armchair, and puffed complacently at his cigar. Then suddenly he slapped his thigh in a paroxysm of amusement. Syn. self-satisfied, smug, content, self-righteous

yeoman

n. (in Britain in the past) a farmer who owend and worked on his land an officer in the US Navy who does mainly office work e.g. A chief petty officer taught me shorthand, which got me promoted to yeoman first class.

dwarf

n. (in stories) a creature like a small man, who has magic powers and who is usually described as living and working under the ground, especially working with metal an person extremely small person, who will never grow to normal size because of physical problem; a personsuffering from dwarfism. adj. much smaller than the normal size v. ~ sth make sth seem small or unimportant compared with sth else to make someone seem small e.g. That dwarfs intergroup disparities that many in the United States today regard as not merely strange but sinister.

transactional

n. 1. Exchange of communication in which the communicators act simultaneously; that is, encoding and decoding occur at the same time 2. relating to the process of buying or selling 3. relating to communication between people e.g. Recent events have shown an inclination toward short-term, zero-sum transactional interpretations with little attention to institutions or allies.

pundit

n. 1. a person who knows a lot about a particular subject and who often talks about it in pubic. 2. a Hindu priest or wiseman 3. (pandit) a teacher 4. (pandit) a musician with a lot of skill e.g. During the Cold War, American pundits and politicians went through several circles of belief in declinism that featured fear of the Soviet Union.

cipher

n. 1. a secret way of writing, especially one in which a set of letters of symbols id used to represent others. 2. a person or thing of no importance. 3. the first letters of sb's name combined in a design and used to mark things. v. to write a text or message in cipher to sound continuously because of a faulty valve e.g. It may be roundly asserted that human ingenuity can not concoct a cipher which human ingenuity can not resolve.

swivel

n. a device used to connect two parts of an object together, allowing one part to turn around without moving the other. v. to turn or make sth turn around a fixed central point to turn or move your body, eyes ot head around quickly to face another direction. e.g. Cranes grab boxes of the ship, lower them on to the flatbed trailers behind tractors, then swivel back to get the next box. syn. spin, rotate, revolve, pivot, turn around, twist, twirl

arthristis

n. a dicease that causes pain and swelling in one or more joints of the body. a medical condition affecting your joints where two bones meet making them very swollen and painful. Syn. stiffness, swelling, ache, pain, soreness, inflammation

ordeal

n. a difficult or unpleasant experience an extremely unpleasant experience, especially one that lasts for a long time e.g. Books that recounts ordeals are precious because an ordeal is what the most fear, and the stories that tell us how to survive them reassure about us what a human being is capable of, as we survive our own lives every day, our mysterious journeys.

pretext

n. a false reason that you give for doing sth, usually sth bad, in order to hide the real reason. an excuse e.g. Stuart Chase and others have come near to claiming that all abstract words are meaningless, and have used this as a pretext for advocating a kind of political quietism. syn. excuse, ploy, con, ruse

prognosis

n. 1. an opinion, based on medical experience, of the likely development of a decease or an illness 2. a judgement about how something is likely to develop in the future e.g. A few years later, Samual Hutington issued a gloomier prognosis in the Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order that "the rising of China and the increasing assertiveness of 'this biggest player in history of man' will place tremendous stress on international stability in the early twenty-first century." Syn. forcast

rollout

n. 1. the first public display of a new product 2. a lunch of a new product that involves gradually increasing the number of outlets where it is available to the public. e.g. Key early WikiLeaks members have fallen out with Assange, and the organization lost control over the rollout of its cable cache months ago.

shale

n. A sedimentary rock formed by the deposition of successive layers of clay. a type of soft stone that easily splits into thin flat layers e.g. The recent ShaleRevolution has transformed it from energy importer to energy exporter, and the International Energy Agency projects that North America may be self-sufficient in the coming decade.

volatility

n. Indicates how much and how quickly the value of an investment, market, or market sector changes. a measure of how readily a substance vaporizes. e.g. Some things benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility. randomness, disorder, and stressors and love adventure, risk, and uncertainty. Yet, in spite of the ubiquity of this phenomenon, there is no word for the exact opposite of fragile. Let us call it antifragile.

emigre

n. Nobles and others who had fled France, hoped to undo the Revolution and restore the Old Regime e,g, Fear permeates the émigré community. As a recent Freedom House report notes, "China conducts the most sophisticated, global, and comprehensive campaign of transnational repression in the world." Syn. immigrant

epiphany

n. a Christian festival, held on the 6 January, in memory of the time when the Magi came to see the baby Jesus at Bethlehem. a suddent intuitive leap of understanding, especially through an ordinary but striking occurrence the supposed manifestation of a divine being e.g. In Buddhism, epiphany might refer to the Buddha obtaining enlightenment under the bodhi tree, finally realizing the nature of the universe, and thus attaining Nirvana. The Zen term kensho also describes this moment, referring to the feeling attendant on realizing the answer to a koan. Syn. awakening

gull

n. a bird with long wings and usually white and grey or black feathers that lives near the sea. v. an old word meaning "to cheat or trick someone" e.g. In fact, to gull a fool seems to me an exploit worthy of a witty man.

rite

n. a ceremony performed by a particular group of people, often for religioud purposes. e.g. Every positive change - every jump to a higher level of energy and awareness - involves a rite of passage. Each time to ascend to a higher rung on the ladder of personal evolution, we must go through a period of discomfort, of initiation. I have found an exception. syn. ritual, ceremony, sacrament

conundrum

n. a confusing problem or question that is very difficult to solve a questtion, usually involving a trick with words, that you ask for fun. e.g. As Lemkin read about the case, he was struck by a conundrum: the gunman was on trial, but his victim, who had orchestrated the slaughter of more than a million people, had faced no legal reckoning. Syn. puzzle, mystery, challenge, enigma

emblem

n. a design or object that is a symbol of something such as a country or organization something that is generally accepted as a symbol of a quality, idea, or principle e.g. So in recognition of International Woman's Day, demonstrators turned the items of clothing into protest elblems, trying them to sticks and waving them as flags to challendge superstitious security forces while declaring "our htamein, our banner, our victory" in protest slogans on a day they named the Htamien Revolution. Syn. symbol, crest, insignia, motif

clip

n. a device that grips or clasps loose things together or that hold things firmly an article or a story that you cut from a newspaper or magzine and keep a container for bullets, slotted directly into an automatic firearm v. to hold loose things together, or attach one thing to another, using a clip, or be attached in this way. to cut or trim something, or cut it off, e.g. with scissors or shears to reduce the time taken to complete something, especially travelling time. e.g. Shortly before lunch, Sakamaki wrote a farewell note to his father, make a will, and cut the traditional fingernail and lock of hair for the family alter. Syn. cutting, extract, excerpt

prodigal

adj. too willing to spend money or waste time, energy or materials IDM the/a prodigal (son) a person who leaves home and wastes their money and time on a life of pleasure, but who later is sorry about this and returns home. spendthrift or extravagant to a degree bordering on recklessness n. somebody who spends money, especially money from his or her parents, wastefully somebody who leaves home and does a lort of things that people do not approve of but still receives a very friendly welcome when they return home. e.g. The difference between mercy and grace? Mercy gave the prodigal son a second chance. Grace gave him a feast. syn. wasteful, reckless, dissolute, profligate, extravagant

deject

adj. unhappy and disappointed someone who is dejected has lost all their hope or enthusicasm, especially because they have failed at something e.g. He that can heroically endure adversity will bear prosperity with equal greatest of soul; for the mind cannot be dejected by the former is not likely to be transported without the latter. syn. sad, disappointed, miserable, depressed, gloomy

reticent

adj. unwilling to tell people about things, especially about yourself or your feelings. e.g. Circles create soothing space, where even reticnt people can realize that their voice is welcom. syn. cagey, discreet, reserved, quiet, restrained, unforthcoming, tacitum, silent

makeshift

adj. used temporarily for a particular purpose because the real thing is not available, e.g. Wearing helmets, gas masks and shields, they have been hurling homemade projectiles from behind makeshift barriers made of sandbags and debris Syn improvised, provisional, rough-and-ready

all or nothing

adj. used to indicate that only complete success or obtaining everything counts, and that anything less than that has no value. e.g. She says that perfectionism is often associated with black and white, all or nothing thinking.

hackneyed

adj. used too often and therefore boring e.g. As soon as certain topics are raised, the concrete melts into the abstract and no one seems able to think of turns of speech that are not hackneyed: prose consists less and less of words chosen for the sake of their meaning, and more of phrases tacked together like the sections of a prefabricated hen-house. Syn. trite, worn-out, tired, stale, commonplace, unimaginative

grandiloquent

adj. using long or complicated words in order to impress people. e.g. Indeed, in this respect it may not differ very much from the G8, which had a habit of making grandiloquent commitments and not following up. syn. pompous, lofty, haughty, bombastic, high-flown, magniloquent, orotuned

sundry

adj. various; not important enough to be named separately IDM all and sundry everyone, not jut a few special people e.g. It is a tribute to the world-wide repute of the Nobel awards that the announcement of an award converts its recipient into an expert on all and sundry, and unleashes hordes of ravenous newsman and photographers from journals and T.V. stations around the world. syn. various, miscellaneous, assorted, varied, different, diverse, heterogeneous, divers, manifold, motley, multifarious

prodigious

adj. very large and powerful and causing surprise or admiration very impressive or amazing e.g. It is undeniably true that the F-15EX boasts a prodigious amarment siote;with its new Advanced Missile and Bomb Ejection Rack system, the fighter is capable of carrying as many as twenty-two onboard air-to-air missiles.

indigent

adj. very poor lacking the necessities of life, e.g. food, clothing, and shelter n. an improverished person e.g. After all, it is not as if the perpetrators of these shenanigans were indigent, let alone indentured slaves. Syn. poor, impoverished, destitute, impecunious, deprived, penurious

stringent

adj. very strict and must be obeyed difficult and very strictly controlled because there is not much money e.g. But, if you look back through history, you will find that Britain has had a lower murder rate than the United States for more than two centuries - and, for most of the time, the British had no more stringent gun control laws than the United States. Syn. severe, strict, rigorous, stern, harsh, tough, inflexible, rigid

incommunicado

adj. without communicating with other people, because you are not allowed to or because you don not want to e.g. Although some people were indeed released, many others have remained incommunicado. Syn. out of touch

a la carte

adj. adv. if food in a resturant is a la carte, or if you eat a la carte, you choose from a list of dishes that have seperate prices, rather than having a complete meal at a fixed price. e.g. China has not practiced full reciprocity as a market economy, and its rejection of a 2016 Hague Tribunal ruling regarding the South China Sea raised questions about whether China would treat its legal obligations a la carte.

rapture

n. a feeling of extreme pleasure and happiness a euphoric transcendent state in which somebody is overwhelmed by happiness or delight and unaware of anything else. a mystical experience in which somebody believes he or she is transported into the spiritual realm, sometimes applied to the second soming of Jesus Christ, when true believers are expected to rise up to join him in heaven. IDM be in, go into, etc. raptures (about/over sb/sth) e.g. There was on his face an expression of solemn and holy rapture, as if he were revealing to me the mysteries of his religion. syn. bliss, ecstacy, euphoria, delight, joy, elation

elation

n. a feeling of great happiness and excitement. e.g. No elation on the pestilent fae now, only white fear, for the crocodile was in dogged pursuit of him. syn. ecstacy, joy, delight, euphoria, jubilation, exultation, glee, rapture

ensign

n. a flag flown on a ship to sow which country it belongs to an officer of low rank in the US navy e.g. Only one craft survived, HA-19, along with one member of its two-man crew, Ensign Kazuo Sakamaki, who became the "Prisoner No. 1" of the United States in World War II. Syn. pennant,banner, emblem

capitulation

n. surrender or giving up of resistance a document that sets out the agreed terms of surrender an outline or summary in document form e.g. Beijing remains intent on reining in its internet and fintech giants, a broad campaign that's wiped more than $250 billion off Alibaba's valuation since October. the e-commerce giant's speedy capitulation underscores its vulnerability to further regulatory action--a far cry from just six years ago, when Alibaba openly contested one agency's censure over counterfeit goods on Taobao and eventually forced the State Administration for Industry and Commerce to backtrack on its allegations. Syn. surrender, submission, defeat

bulge

n. a musical instrument like a small trumpet, used in the army for giving signals. a creeping plant related to mint e.g. You see, he 'feels impelled' to write - feels, presumably, that he has something now to say - and yet his words, like cavalry horses answering the bulge, group themselves automatically into the familiar dreary pattern.

pseudonym

n. a name used by sb, especially a writer, instead of their real name e.g. "What me and other artists are making right now is not art," says Khine, who gave a pseudonym out of fear for his safety. Syn. alias, assumed name, pen name, nom de plume

efficacy

n. the ability of sth, especially a drug or a medical treatment, to produce the results that are wanted. e.g. The self-limiting nature of adhesive capsulities complicates the discussion of the efficacy of any treatment method method in the long term.

emancipation

n. the act or process of setting sb free or freeing sb. from restrictions the condition or fact of being set free or freed from some restriction e.g. The government doesn't dispute these figures, but it argues that they are a consequence of gender emancipation. Syn. liberation, freedom. deliverance, manumission, release

hedonism

n. the belief that pleasure id the most important thing in life a philosophical doctrine that holds that pleasure is the highest good or the source of moral values e.g. The philosophy of hedonism means little to lovers of pleasure. They have no inclination to read philosophy, or write it. syn. pleasure-seeking, high-living, intemperance, self-indulgence, profligacy, debauchery, decadence, self-satisfaction

insomnia

n. the condition of being unable to sleep a medical condition in which you have difficulty sleeping e.g. Experienced the whole night suffer from insomnia, the second day after the pain can do remedial work, must be trying to take a nap at noon. Syn. sleeplessness, wakefulness, restlessness

arson

n. the crime of deliberately setting fire to sth, especially a building the burning of a building or other property for a criminal or malicious reason e.g. The bloodshed did not stop during Aung San Suu Kyi's term: in 2017, the Tatmadaw killed at least 6.700 Rhingya people, committing mass rape and arson. incendiarism, pyromania, burning, torching, incenaration, ignition

inlet

n. a narrow strip of water that stretches into the land from the sea or a lea, or between islands an opening through which liquid, air or gas can enter a machine a piece of fabric put into the seam of a garment to make it bigger or other decoration e.g. In mid-October 1941, maneuvers around islands in the Inland Sea shifted from mid-ocean strategies to invading narrow inlets at night. Syn. cove, creek, bay, fjord

dock

n. a part of a port where ships are repaired, or where goods are put onto or taken off them a long low structure built along, or out from, the shore of a lake, river, or the ocean, used by boats to allow passengers to get on and off v. if a ship docks or you dock a ship, it sails into a harbour and stays there if two spacecraft dock, or are docked, they are joined together in space to take away part of sb's wages, etc. e.g. For a minor infraction, the guards might announce that they were docking a point; for a large one, they might say that the penalty was ten points. Synonym berth

facet

n. a particular part or aspect of sth e.g. Totalitarianism state controls every facet of human life where there are no emotions exept fear, rage, triumph and self-abasement. one of the flat sides of a jewel v. to cut facets in something, especially a gemstone Syn. apect, feature, component,part, factor

epitome

n. a perfect example of something; a highly representive example of a type, class, or characteristic. a brief summary of a piece of writing e.g. Located on the east coast of Sicily, Taormina is often described as the epitome of southern Italian beach towns. syn. essence, personification, embodiment, quintessence, archetype

stint

n. a period of time that you spend working somewhere ot doing a particular activity v. to provide or use only a small amount of sth e.g. We don't need to stint ourselves, have some more! syn. skimp, withhold, pinch, spare spell, strech,

mercantilist

n. a person believes in the economic theory that trade increases economy e.g. China's authoritarian politics and mercantilist make its economic power readily usable by the goverment.

embodiment

n. a person or thing that represents or is a typical example of an idea or a quality. a tangiblee or visible expression of an idea or quality e.g. Although the Constitution claims that Urban Land-Ownership belongs to all people, but the right has not been a specific embodiment. syn. personification, example, quintessence, incarnation, epitome, expression

perpetrator

n. a person who commits a crime or does sth that is wrong or evil e.g. But in recognition of International Woman's Day, ethnic woman's organizations have added three more demands: to end discrimination against women, achieve all rights for women's participation and decisionmaking, and hold perpetrators gender-based violence accountable. Syn. instigator

luminary

n. a person who is an expert or a great influence in a special area or activity one of the people most admired in a particular profession e.g. One luminary clock against the sky proclaimed was neither wrong or right Syn. celebrity, pundit

polymath

n. a person who knows a lot about many different subjects e.g. You could give Aristotle a tutorial. And you could thrill him to the core of his being. Aristotle was an encyclopedic polymath, an all time interllect. Yet not only you can know more tha him about the world, you also can have a deeper understanding of how everything works. Such is the privilege of living after Newton, Darwin, Einstein, Plank, Watson, Crick and their colleagues. syn.\ Renaissance man/woman, walking encyclopedia

detractor

n. a person who tries to make sb/sth seen less good or valuable by criticizing it. someone who disparages or devalues somebody or something e.g. He was fond of calling his detractor illiterate, denouncing his scientific theories as illigitimate and illusive syn. critic, decrier, attacker, knocker, cynic, heckler

bard

n. a person who writes poems e.g. The artist envies what the arties gains, the bard the rival bard's successful strains. Syn. poet, versifier, minstrel

shroud

n. a piece of cloth that a dead person's body is wrapped in before iti is buried ~ of sth a thing that covers, surrounds or hides sth v. ~ sth in sth to cover or hide sth ~ sth in sth to hide information or keep it secret and mysterious e.g. In fact, great secrecy shrouded the entire project.

rack

n. a piece of equipment, usually made of metal or wooden bars, that is used for holding things or for hanging things on. v. to walk at a fast pace, lifting each foot off the ground in turn. to cause somebody great pain or stress. e.g. Racked with guilt, Sabit asked an officer if they were really being sent to a camp. Syn. shelve, beset

drape

n. a piece of fabric used to drape over sth. a piece of cloth placed over a patient's body during an examination or operation to provide a sterile area around the part of the body that is being treated. v. to hang a piece of fabric over something so that it falls in folds around it or covers it. to cover something with a piece of fabric, usually so that the fabric hangs around it in folds. e.g. Protests draped a big portrait of Mya Thwate Thwate Khaing from a bridge in Yangon. A doctor at the hospital where she was being treated told Reuters she was not likely to survive. Syn. swathe, wrap, cover, adorn, decorate

duet

n. a piece of music for two players or singers e.g. I promised to go to a club with her last Tuesday, and I really forgot all about it. We were to have played a duet together. syn. duo, double act, twosome, couple, pair, double

quarry

n. a place where large amounts of stone, etc. are dug out of the groud. an animal or a person that is being hunted or followed. something with a square or diamond shape, e.g. a pane of glass in a latticed window v. to take stone, etc. out of a quarry. to obtain something such as facts or information by searching laboriously and carefully. e.g. A heap of loose fragments, which had fallen from above, blocked up the face of the quarry and my first employment was to clear them away. syn. excavation, extract

anchorage

n. a place where ships or boats can anchour a place where something can be fastened to something else a sourcr of stability, or a stable condition e.g. During the early hours of December 7, 1941, five midgets of the Imperial Japanese Navy waited to enter Pearl Habour, the anchorage of the US Pacific fleet. port, harbour, marina, dock,quay, wharf

barley

n. a plant grown for its grain that is used for making good, beer and whisky; the grians of its plant. a cereal plant with a long head of whiskered grains.

leniency

n. a punishment that is not as severe as it could be, same as "lenience". e.g. Yet many of the most zealous advocates of gun control laws, on both sides of the Atlantic, have also been advocates of leniency toward criminals. Syn. lenience, clemency, mercy, compassion, humanity, kindness, tolerance, indulgence, forbearance, forgiveness, mildness, moderation

respite

n. a short break or escape from sth difficult or unpleasant a short delay allowed before sth difficult or unpleasant must be done a temprorary stay of execution of a criminal e.g. A party member is expected to have no private emotions and no respites from enthusiasm. He is supposed to live in a continuous frenzy of hatrd of foreign enemies and internal traitors, triumph over victories and self-abasement before the power and wisdom of the party. Syn. interval, break, lull, ajournment, hiatus

antipathy

n. a strong feeling of dislike strong hostility or opposition toward somebody or something e.g. Green in nature is one thing, green in literature another. Nature and letters seem to have a natural antipathy, bring them together and they tear each other into pieces. syn. opposition, aversion, hostility, antagonism, hatred, dislike, ill feeling

distillate

n. a substance which is formed by distilling a liquid. a concentrated liquid produced by boiling a liquid mixture and them condending its vapor. e.g. Art is the distillate of life, the winnowed result of the experience of a people, the record of the joyous adventure of the creative spirit in us toward a higher world; a world in which all ideas, thoughts and forms are pure, beautiful, and completely clear, the world Plato held to be perfect and eternal. All works that have in them an element of joy are records of this adventure. syn. essence, tincture, concentrate, extract, distillation

gel

n. a thick substance like jelly, especially one used in products for the hair or skin a semisolid mixture of small particles of a solid in a liquid v. to work well together, to form a successful group to become clearer and more definite; to work well to become thicker and more solid; to form a gel e.g. Ideas are beginning to gel in my mind. syn. cream, lotion, balm, ointment, salve, liniment come together, take shape, congeal, thicken

nuisance

n. a thing, person or situation tha tis annoying or cause trouble or problems. behaviour by sb that annoys other people and that a court can order the person to stop e.g. When hassled by a passing Imperial Type IV probe droid, ASP-704's short temper caused him to swat the little nuisance out of the air. syn. irritation, annoyance, pest, bother, trouble, irritant

pore

n. a tiny opening in human skin, or in the skin or other outer covering of an animal, through which substances can pass a tiny opening in a leaf or stem of a plant used to absorb or release substances, e.g. in photosynthesis or respiration v. to study something carefully and thoughtfully to meditate on or think carefully about something e.g. It has rented a suite at the New York Hilton hotel, where a team of editors and reporters had been poring over the papers for at least a month, and planning a ten-part series. Syn. n. hole, aperture, opening, stoma

egoism

n. the fact of thinking that you are better or more important than anyone else. the practice of making personal welfare and interests a primary or sole concern, sometimes ar the expense of others. the ethical doctrine that the correct basis for morality is self-interest. e.g. The four great motives for writing prose are sheer egoism, esthetic enthusiasm, historical impulse, and political impulse. syn. conceit, vanity, self-importance, selfishness, egotism, arrogance, self-absorption, narcissism

ubiquity

n. the fact that somrthing seems to be everywhere or in several places at the same time; the fact that something is very common. e.g. Yet, in spite of the ubiquity of the phenomenon, there is no word for the exact opposite of fragile. Let's call it antifragile.

facade

n. the front of a building the way that sb/sth appears to be, which is different from the way sb/sth really is. e.g. Third, thanks to Qaddafi's obseeeion with a facade of direct democracy, Libya has no experience of party politics and competing interests. syn. countenance, visage, face, mien

treble

n. the high tones or part in music or a sound system a child's high voice; a boy who sings with a treble voice a musical part written for a treble voice v. to become, or to make sth, three times as much or as many e.g. Cases of food poisoning have trebled in the last two years det. three times as much or sa many e.g. Capital exenditure was treble the 2007 level adj. high in tone Syn triple, thrice

sap

n. the liquid in a plant or tree that carries food to all its parts. a stupid person that you can easily trick, or treat unfairly. a covered trench, dug to approach or get inside enemy territory. a weapon such as blackjack a watery liquid containing mineral salts, sugars, and other nutrients that circulates through the conducting tissues of a plant. v. to make sth/sb weaker, to destroy sth gradually. to dig a covered trench to approach or get inside enemy territory. to hit or knock sb out with a sap e.g. Every bit of the orleander plant is toxic, unlike the case for other plants where just the flower or sap might be poisonous. syn. juice, fluid, liquid, latex dig down, burrow, weaken, bore, tunnel, deplete, drain

analgesia

n. the loss of the ability to feel pain while still conscious medical treatment to control pain e.g. The greatest, analgesic, soporific, stimulant, tranquilizer, narcotic, and to some extent even antibiotic -- in short, the closest thing to a genuine panacea -- known to medical science is work. Syn. numbness, insensibility, insensitivity, unawareness, deadening

pogrom

n. the organized killing of large numbers of people, because of their race or religion (originally the kiling of Jews in Russia) e.g. They soon degenerated into a pogrom with the Vietnamese civilians insulted and beaten on the streets and in their homes. Syn. persecution, extermination, massacre, devastation, slaughter, holocaust, ethnic cleansing

outcrop

n. the part of a rock formation that is exposed on the surface of the ground. a rock, a group of rocks, that sticks up out of the ground. v. too stick out of the ground as an outcrop. e.g. This kind of writing is not yet universal, and outcrops of simplicity will occur here and there in the worst-written page. Syn. ridge, bluff, boulder, outlier, protrusion, protuberance, projection

rubicon

n. the point at which a decision has been taken which can no longer be changed. e.g. In August of 1969, Ellsburg crossed a personal and political Rubicon by attending an antiwar conference, near Philadelphia.

calibre

n. the quality of sth, especially a person's ability the width of the inside of a tube or gun, the width of a bullet e.g. Ultimately, the success of every enterprise depends on the calibre of its directors and the effectiveness of its board. syn. quality, capacity, talent, competence, capability, stature, diameter, gauge, magnitude, dimension

adorn

to make sth/sb look more attractive by decorating it or them with something The vast variety of his knowledge enabled him to adorn and light up every subject on which he touched. sun. decorate, embellish, ornament, beauty, prettify, gild, titivate, enhance, garnish

thwart

to prevent sb from doing what they want to do. e.g. She was thwarted in her attempt to take control of the party.

wreathe

v. ~ sth (in/ with sb) to surround or cover sth to move slowly and lightly, especially in circles to encircle, surround, or cover sth with a wreath or wreaths or a similar type of decoration e.g. the objects were hoisted onto the casing and secured in the cradles--still wreathed in their coverings.

fester

v. 1. (of a wound or cut ) to become painful or infected 2. (of bad feeling or thoughts) to become much worse because you can't deal with them successfully e.g. Its initial censorship, suppression of feedback and curtailment of international information allowed the pandemic to develop and fester.

contingency

v. A possible future event that must be prepared for or guarded against; possibility something that might possibly happen in the future, usually causing problems or making further arrangements necessary e.g. We must consider all possible contigencies. Syn. eventuality, possibility, likelihood, exigency, incident

dismay

v. a worried, sad feeling after you have received an unpleasant surprise. to make sb feel shocked and disappointed. e.g. At first, Sabit was dismayed, but, just as she had modulated her joy at the prospect of leaving, she now dampened her disappointment. The one certainty she could count on was her patience. She had become good at waiting. Synonym depress, perturb, discourage

repeal

v. if a government or other group or person with authority repeals a law, that law is no longer valid. to officially end the validity of something such as a law. n. the act of repealing something such as a law e.g. Before long, they began to hear rumors that these colleagues were planning to repeal the report. syn. cancel, revoke, annul, retract, abolish, dismantle

incur

v. if you incur sth unpleasant, you are in a situation in which you have to deal with it. if you incur costs, you have pay them to suffer something undesirable such as another person's anger or a financial loss as a result of an action to become burdened with something such as a debt to experience something unpleasant as a result of something that you have done e.g. I've already trod on dangerous ground, we're on dangerous ground right now, because of our secrets and our lies, they are practically what defines us. We the truth offends, we lie and lie until we can no longer remember it's even there, but it is still there. Every lie we tell incurs as a debt to the truth, sooner or later, that debt is paid. Syn. suffer, sustain, acquire, deserve

underwrite

v. to accept financial responsibility for an activity that you will pay for special costs of for losses it may make to accept responsibility for an insurance policy so that you will pay money in case loss or damage happens to agree to buy shares that are not bought buy the public when new shares are offered for sale. e.g. I prefer to underwrite. Simple, clear as a country creek. syn. guarantee, countersign

exasperate

v. to annoy or irritate sb very much to make someone feel extemely annoyed and impatient because things are not happening in the way that they want. e.g. The young can exasperate, of course, and frighten, and condescend, and insult, and cut you with their still unrounded edges. But they can also drag you, as you protest and scold and try to pull away, right up to the window of the future, and even push you through. syn. infuriate, madden, frustrate, annoy, irritate, incense, enrage, rile

shirk

v. to avoid doing sth you should do, especially because you are too lazy to avoid having to carry out something such as an obligation, task, or responsibility through lack of initiative, cowardice, or distaste of it. e.g. But you are not obliged to go all this trouble, you can shirk it by simply throwing your mind open and letting the ready-made phrases crowding in. Syn. evade, avoid, dodge, duck, shun

herald

v. to be a sign that sth is going to happen to say in public that sth/sb is good or important n. something that shows that sth else id going to happen soon. (in the past) a person who carried messages from a ruler somebody or something that is a forerunner of something or gives an indication of something that is going to happen. e.g. The shifting sanfs of recent global events herald the many changes that are ready to appear on your horizon. syn. messenger, crier, announcer, sign, omen, indication, portent foreshadow, presage, foreshow

exemplify

v. to be a typical example of sth e.g. His food exemplifies Italian cooking at its best v. to give an example in order to make sth clearer e.g. She exemplified each of the points she was making with an amusing anecdote Syn demonstrate, typify, represent, epitomize

predate

v. to be build or formed, or to happen, at an ealier date than sth else in the past. to put a date on something, especially a check or a contract, that is ealier than the actual date, or say that something occurred at an ealier date than it actually did. e.g. Few of the town's fine buildings predte the earthquake of 1755. syn. precede, go before, antedate, pre-exist, antecede, perlude

seethe

v. to be extrmrly angry about sth but try not to show other people how angry you are. to be full of a lot of people or animals, especially when they are all moving around. e.g. But, having lived in Shanghai, she found it hard not to seethe; she knew Han urbanites who had left the country for vacations in Malaysia, and who had used WhatsApp and V.P.N.s. Were they also infected? Synonym froth, churn

preponderate

v. to be greater in weight, strength, number, or importance than something else. e.g. By grasping the mechanisms of antifragility we can build a systematic and broad guide to nonpredictive decision making under uncertainty in business, politics, medicine, and life in general--anywhere the unknown preponderates, any situation in which there is randomness, unpredictability, opacity, or incomplete understanding of things.

avail

v. to be helpful or useful to sb. to make use of sth, especially an opportunity or offer. n. to little/no avail of little/no avail with little or no success e.g. For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail? e.g. benefit, advantage, reward, profit

adjoin

v. to be next to or joined to sth. e.g. She had found an inexpensive rental apartment, owned by an elderly Kazakh woman, in an adjoining community. Syn. attach, affix

reverberate

v. to be repeated several times as it is reflected off different surfaces. to seem to shake because of a loud noise. to have a strong effect on people for a long time or over a large area. e.g. If a war breaks out between the United States and China over Taiwan, it will change the course of history and produce after effects that reverberate for generations to come. Syn. echo, resound, vibrate, ring, resonate

subside

v. to become calmer or quiter to go back to a normal level to sink into a lower level; to sink lower into the ground e.g. With therapy, the nightmares subsided for a time, but recently they returned, in a different form. Syn. diminish, lessen, decrease, dwindle, wane, recede, collapse

clog

v. to block sth or to become blocked to block sth, such as a pipe, tube, or passage, or to become blocked, so that nothing can get through n. a shoe that is completely made of wood or one that has a thick wooden sole and a leather top sth that works against somebody as an obstacle or hindrance e.g. When the American battleships attempted to get underway and escape to the open sea, they might be crippled and clog the mouth of the harbour. zSyn. block, clog up, choke, obstruct, congest, jam

regurgitate

v. to bring food that has been swallowed back up into the mouth agian to repeat sth you have heard or read without really thinking about it or understanding it. e.g. Points could be gained by performing well on examinations, or by writing up "thought reports" that demonstrated an ability to regurgitate propaganda. Synonym reiterate, recite

revoke

v. to cancel or withdraw to officially cancel sth so that it is no longer valid. n. failure to follow suit in a card game when able to do so. e.g. Just as Sabit and the other students were to be released, her camp's management revoked its decision—because, a guard told her, an official had been dismissed for freeing people without authorization. Synonym cancel, retract, repeal, invalidate, rescind

apprehend

v. to catch sb and arrest them to understand or recognize sth to take somebody suspectes of wrongdoing into legal custody to grasp the importance, significance, or meaning of something e.g. The police are anxious to apprehend a middle-aged man believed to be armed with a shot gun. syn. catch, arrest, detain, capture

liquidate

v. to close a business and sell everything it owns in oreder to pay debts to sell something in order to get money to pay a debt to destroy or remove sb/sth that causes problems e.g. Liquidate labor, liquidate stocks, liquidate the famers, liquidate real estate. It will purge the rottenness out of the system. High costs of living and high licing will coem down. People will work harder, live a more moral life. Values will be adjusted, and enterprising people will pick up from less competent people.

persevere

v. to continue trying to do or achieve sth despite difficulties e.g. The story of Marina shows another variety of heroism. It is one thing to commit spontaneous grandiose act of courage, risk one's life for the sake of a grand cause, become a hero in battle, drink the hemlock for the sake of the philosophical death, become martyr by standing tall while being maimed by lions in Roman Coliseum. But it is much, much harder to persevere with no promise of vindication, while living the daily grind of humiliation by one's peers. Acute pain goes away, dull pain is vastly harder to bear, and vastly more heroic. Syn. persist, continue, keep on, carry on, insist, endure, proceed

axe

n. a tool with a wooden handle and a heavy metal blade, used for chopping wood, cutting down trees, etc. if sb gets the axe, they lose their job; if an institution gets the axe, it is closed or stopped, usually because of a lack of money. IDM have an axe to grind to have private reasons for being involved in sth fro argueing for a particular casue. v. to get rid of a service, system, etc. or to reduce the money spent on it by a large amount. to remove sb from their job to kill sb with an axe. e.g. But this was not an axe they heard--only a branch still hung on a withered tree, and was moved up and down by the wind. syn. cut, scale down, dismiss, hatchet, tomahawk, halberd

slate

n. a type of dark grey stone that easily splits into thin flat layers a list of the candidates in an election v. to criticize sb/sth, especially in a newspaper to plan that sth will happen at a particular time in the future. to suggest or choose sb for a job, position, etc. e.g. The camp administrators agreed, and she filled out forms for her release—discreetly, so that women who were not slated to leave would not grow agitated.

denim

n. a type of strong cotton cloth that is usually blue and is used for making clothes, especially jeans trousers/pants made from denim a durable woven cotton cloth e.g. All that denim is starting to reach the public, making its way into department stores like Macy's and Saks Fifth Avenue, as well as J.

ramification

n. a usually unintended consequence of an action, decision, or judgement that may complicate a situation or make the desired result more difficult to achieve. the process of dividing or spreading out into branches. e.g. The country is too important geo-strategically for that to happen. The U.S. and other western countries will put sanctions — but this coup and its ramifications will be an Asian story, not a western one. Syn. complication, difficulty, consequences, result, implication, corollary, effect

rivulet

n. a very small stream of water or other liquid e.g. When your thoughts, down the pen tip, drift in the champaign like refreshing rivulet, your soul seems to gallop in the wind, unfettered. syn. stream, brook, gully, creek

ardour

n. a very strong feelings of enthusiasm or love very strong feelings of admiration or determination e.g. She so vehemently wished to find a response to her own ardour that she closed her eyes to all that did not too readily show itself. syn. passion, love, enthusiasm, zeal, fervour, eagerness, devotion, dedication, commitment

simile

n. a word or phrase that compares sth to sth else, using the words like or as, for example a face like a mask or as white as snow; the use of such words and phrases e.g. Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print; Never use a long word where a short one will do; If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out; Never use the passive where you can use the active; Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of any English equivalent; Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

plethora

n. an amount that is greater than is needed or can be used e.g. the fine came with a plethora of "rectifications" that Alibaba will have to put in place--such as curtailing the practice of forcing merchants to choose between Alibaba or a competing platform--many of which the company had already pledges to establish. Syn. overabundance, excess, surfeit, glut, superfluity

obituary

n. an article about sb's life and achievements, that is printed in a newspaper soon after they have died e.g. Shortly after Sheehan's death, in January, the Times published an obituary, as well as Scott's story on the reporter's fraught relationship with Ellsberg, including Sheehan's 2015 statements questioning the whistle-blower's behavior at the time. Syn. n. tribute, obit, eulogy, epitaph adj. funerary, valedictory

insurgency

n. an attempt by a group of people to take control of their country by force e.g. But American non-involvement in colonial restoration did not last for long, particularly when it became apparent insurgencies in Indochina, Malaya, and the Philiphines, were using Chinese communist methods of revolutionary warfare.

escapade

n. an exciting adventure (often one that people think is dangerous or stupid) something exciting or adventurous that somebody does or is involved in, especially something showing recklessness or disregard for authority Syn. for its first operation, the group decided to break into the Beverly Hilld office of Ellsberg's psychiatrist, Dr. Lewis Fielding, hoping to gather material that they could use to blackmail Ellsberg or smear him. This escapade, which proved unsuccessful, amounted to a Watergate trial run. Syn. adventure, jaunt, antic

myriad

n. an extremely large number of sth adj. so many that can not be counted e.g. Amid the myriad stresses imposed by the crackdown, the region's birth rate fell by a third that year. Syn. multitude, heap

midget

n. an extremely small person, who will never grow to normal size because of a physical problem; a person suffering from dwarfism. adj. very small. miniaturized or belonging to a class smaller than the ordinary size. e.g. During the early hours of December 7, 1941, five midgets of the Imperial Japanese Navy waited to enter Pearl Habor, the anchorage of the US Pacific fleet. Syn. pigmy, miniature

euphoria

n. an extremely strong feeling of happiness and excitement that usually lasts only a short time a feeling of great joy, excitement, or well-being e.g. So, how does one reach this state of mitigated euphoria in such a way that every moment in life can be savored to the fullest. Syn. elation, ecstacy, joy, jubilation, rapture, exhilaration, bliss, exultation

ailment

n. an illness that is not very serious a mild illness or injury, especially a persistent one. e.g. It is easy to see things around us that like a measure of stressors and volatility: economic systems, your body, your nutrition (disbetes and many similar modern ailments seem to be associated with a lack of randomness in feeding and the absence of the stressor of occasional starvation), your psyche. syn. illness, sickness, disease, disorder, weakness, condition, infirmity, complaint

interdict

n. an official order from banning sb from taking part in church services, etc. e.g. Last year, the United States interdicted a thirteen-ton shipment of hair, which White House officials feared had been partly harvested at the camps. Synonym prohibit, forbid, exclude, proscribe, perclude, bar

strife

n. angry or violent disagreement between two people or groups of people trouble or difficulty of any kind e.g. Forged in the wake of strife, the Alliance has become a bedrock to each of our nations. Syn. trouble, conflict, discord, contention,dissension

grease

n. any thick oily substance, especially one that is used to make machines run smoothly e.g. Grease marks can be removed with liquid detergent. animal fat that has been made softer by cooking or heating v. to rub grease or fat on sth IDM grease sb's palm to give sb money in order to persuade them grease the wheels to help sth to happen easily and without problems, especially in business or politics Syn. fat, lard, blubber, oil

asceticism

n. austerity and self-denial, especially as a principled way of life. e.g. the essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection, that one is sometimes willing to commit sins for the sake of loyalty, that one does not push asceticism to the point where it makes friendly intercourese impossible, that one is prepared in the end to be defeated and broken up by life, which is the inevitable price of fastening one's love upon other human individuals. syn. austerity, self-decipline, self-denial, self-restraint, abstinence, simplicity, frugality, severity, plainness, strictness, rigor

delinquency

n. bad or criminal behaviour, usually of young people failure to fulfill a duty, commitment, or responsibility antisocial or illegal behaviour ot acts, especially by young people something is overdue for payment, e.g. a debt or tax e.g. A short of schools in cities leads many children to stay with relations in villages. Many Chinese complain that this fuels delinquency. syn. crime, felony, misbehaviour, wrongdoing, negligence, carelessness, recklessness, failure, irresponsibility, dereliction

frivolity

n. behaviour that is silly or amusing, especially when this is not suitable. e.g. A woman cannot live in the light of intellect. Society forbids it. Those conventional frivolities, which are called her 'duties', forbids it. Her 'domestic duties', high-sounding words, which, for the most part, are but bad habits (which has not the courage to enfranchise herself from, the strength to speak through), forbids it. syn. playfulness, gaiety, giddiness, dizziness, silliness, triviality, foolishness

drapery

n. cloth or clothing hanging in loose folds cloth and materials for sewing sold by a draper a piece of fabric used as a decorative cover or garment and usually hanging in loose elegant folds e.g. He saw as though in a mist, a balck figure kneeling and buried in a confused mass of white drapery. syn. hangings, drapes

pugnacity

n. combativeness; disposition to fight e.g. Moreover, when the government has experienced setbacks, it tends to tone down its pugnacity. syn. aggression, fierceness

humbug

n. dishonest language or behaviour that is intended to trick people. a person who is not sincere or honest a hard sweet/candy made from boiled sugar, especially one that tastes of peppermint. v. to take part in a deception or deceive somebody. to hamper or prevent somebody from working int. used to express the opinion that something is nonsense or deception. e.g. This last effort of the ming cuts out all stale or mixed images, all prefabricated phrases, needless repetitions, and humbug and vagueness generally. Syn. claptrap, gibberish, bunkum, twaddle, hogwash, deceit, deception, hypocrisy, pretence, insincerity

mirth

n. happiness, fun and the sound of people laughing e.g. Spread on a certain school way full mirth and fragrance of flower. Yes, we are very always ready to smile that day. syn. laughter, hilarity, humor, jollity, fun, merriment, glee, joy, joyfulness, cheer

predilection

n. if you have a dilection for sth, you like it very much a special liking or preference for something e.g. A predilection for aggression, coupled by witnessing bounty hunters in action, forever steered young Durge into a lifetime of violence. syn. preference, perchant, partiality

debauchery

n. immoral behaviour involving sex, alcohol or drugs unrestraied self-indulgent immoral behaviour, or an instance of it. e.g. To believe that the Almighty commited debauchery with a woman engaged to be married; and the belief of this debauchery is called faith. syn. decadence, immorality, self-indulgece

revelry

n. noisy fun, usually involving a lot of eating and drinking e.g. There was the resting of a autumn winds, a whispering breath of departed revelry: Carnival was almost over. syn. merriment, gaiety

installment

n. one of a series of sums od money paid at regular interals to settle a debt one of the parts of something that appears or is presented at intervals one of several parts of a story or article that are published at different times in a magazine or newspaper e.g. each installment og the six-part series covers one or more of these tools, with a few installments addressing enhancements to the tools. Syn part, episode, chapter, payment, portion

continent

n. one of the large land masses of the earth such as Europe, Asia or Africa the main part of the continent of Europe, not including Britain or Ireland adj. able the excercise control over utination and bowel movements restrained, especially abstaining from sexual activity Syn. landmass mainland temperance

sciatica

n. pain that follows the pathway of the sciatic nerve, caused by compression or trauma of the nerve or its roots pain in the back, hip and outer side of the leg, caused by pressure on the sciatic nerve e.g. At ninety, Ellsberg appears to have aged well. He was avoided contracting COVID-19 thus far, and other than a longtime hearing problem and a balky sciatica condition, he's in good health.

debris

n. pieces of wood, metal, brick, etc. that are left after sth has been destroyed pieces of meterial that are not wanted and rubbish/garbage that are left somewhere e.g. Wearing helmets, gas masks and shields, they have been hurling homemade projectiles from behind makeshift barriers made of sandbags and debris Syn. wreckage, rubble

opprobrium

n. severe criticism of a person, country, etc. by a large group of people. scorn, contempt, or severe criticism shame or disgrace that stems from disreputable behaviour e.g. It has raised tensions dramatically in Asia by conducting its second nuclear test, earning the opprobrium of the international community. syn. scorn, contempt, excoriation, condemnation, censure, criticism, disapproval, reproach, shame, disgrace, ignominy, humiliation, embarrassment, mortification

gravel

n. small stones, often used to make the surface of paths and roads a deposit or stratum of fragmentary sendimentary material v. to cover a surface with gravel to puzzle or confuse somebody e.g. In the silence, as she waited for his vow, they heard the sound of running feet on the gravel outside the front door of the house. syn. pebbles, grit, shingle, chippings annoy, irritate, grate, vex, chafe, bewilder, puzzle, confuse, perplex, baffle

usher

n. somebody who escorts people to their seats in a place such as a theater o r church somebody who tends the door of a court, hall, or chamber v. to escort somebody to or from a place or seat e.g. The men ushered her to a nearby police station, for further questioning. Syn. escort, accompany, sheperd, guide

counselor

n. somebody, usually a professional, who helps others with personal, social, or psychological problems. an attorney, especially one who acts for a client in trial a diplomat ranking below an ambassador or minister. a supervisor of young people at a summer camp e.g. Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers. syn. therapist

incident

n. something that happens, especially unusual or unpleasant a serious ot violent event, such as a crime, an accident or an attack a disagreement between two countries, often involving military forces. e.g. If you are refering to the incident with the dragon, I was barely involved. All I did was giving your uncle a little nudge out of the floor. e.g. event, occurrence, occasion, happening, instance, case, skirmish

boon

n. something that is very helpful and makes life easier for you something useful that brings great benefits or makes your life easier. adj. that is very helpful and makes life easier for you e.g. Progress, the growth of power, is the end and boon of liberty, without this, a man may have the name, but want the substance and spirit of freedom. syn. advantage, benefit, bonus

panacea

n. something that will solve all the problems of a particular situation. a supposed cure for all diseaces or problems. e.g. The greatest, analgesic, soporific, stimulant, tranquilizer, narcotic, and to some extent even antibiotic -- in short, the closest thing to a genuine panacea -- known to medical science is work.

concession

n. someting that you allow or do, or allow sb to have, in order to end an argument or make a situation less difficult. the act of giving sth or allowing sth, the act of conceding a reduction in an amount of money that has to be paid, a ticket that is sold at reduced price to be particular group of people. a right or an advantage that is given to a group of people an orgnizatoin, etc., especially by a government or an employer. the right to sell sth in a particular place; the place where you sell it, sometimes an area which is part of a large building or store e.g. After blowing one past deadline, the Taliban, already with operational momentum, isn't going to simply accept us breaking what amounts to another deadline -- at least without us making significant concessions that improve its position rather than ours or the host government. Syn. privilege, allowance, dispensation, reduction, yielding, conceding, compromise

censure

n. strong criticism v. ~ sb (for sth) to criticize sb severely, and often publicly, because of sth they have done to make a formal, often public statement of disapproval of something or somebody e.g. Beijing remains intent on reining in its internet and fintech giants, a broad campaign that's wiped more than $250 billion off Alibaba's valuation since October. The e-commerce giant's speedy capitulation underscores its vulnerability to further regulatory action--a far cry from just six years ago, when Alibaba openly contested one agency's censure over counterfeit goods on Taobao and eventually forced the State Administration for Industry and Commerce to backtrack on its allegations. Syn. condemn, criticize, denounce, reprimand, reproach

concoct

v. to create something by mixing or combining various ingredients in a new way, especially in cooking to think up a strory or plan, especially something imaginative, that is intended to be deceitful or misleading to invent a false explanation or false information, especially for a dishonest purpose e.g. When they learned that Ellsberg was due to be Washington in September, to receive an award from a peace group, Liddy and Hunt concocted a bizzare plan to slip LSD into his soup before he made a speech, hoping that he would become disoriented during his remarks and embarrass himself. But the couldn't procure rhe LSD in time. Syn. prepare, create, make up, devise, invent, fabricate, conceive

berate

v. to criticize or speak angrily to sb because you do don not approve of sth they have done. e.g. When they were done, he gathered their papers, tore them up, and berated the women for being dishonest, then kept them writing until dawn. Synonym rebuke, reprimand, scold, criticize

pillory

v. to criticize sb strongly in public n. a wooden frame, with holes for the head and hands, which people were locked into in the past as a punishment. e.g. Every pulpit is a pillory, in which stand a hired cuiprit, defending the justice of his own imprisonment. syn. ridicule, scorn, denounce, deride, humiliate

embroider

v. to decorate cloth with a pattern of stitches usually using coloured thread ~ sth to make a story more interesting by adding details that are not always true e.g. Immediately, Zhang texted her about an embroidered portrait that was on the wall. "Who's in the picture?" he wrote. Syn. sew, stitch

confer

v. to discuss sth with sb, in order to exchange opinions or get advice to give sb an award, a university degree or a particular honour or right to give somebody or something a status or characteristic e.g. I am deeply grateful to you not only for the honour you have conferred on me, but equally for your unfailing Swedish hospitality and friendship. syn. award, bestow, present, grant, give, discuss, talk, deliberate, consult, converse, convene, advise

leaflet

v. to distribute leaflets in a particular place or to a particular group of people n. a sheet of printed paper, usually folded, that is distributed free as part of an advertising or information campaign. e.g. In August of 1969, Ellsburg crossed a personal and political Rubicon by attending an antiwar conference, near Philadelphia. While still working for a RAND and the pantegon,he passed out antiwar leaflets. Syn. booklet, brochure, pamphlet, flier, handout, handbill

underscore

v. to draw or incise a line under something to give emphasisi or extra forces to something to emphasize something, or to show that it is important n. a line drawn or incised under something a piece of background music accompanying action or dialogue in a movie e.g. Beijing remains intent on reining in its internet and fintech giants, a broad campaign that's wiped more than $250 billion off Alibaba's valuation since October. the e-commerce giant's speedy capitulation underscores its vulnerability to further regulatory action--a far cry from just six years ago, when Alibaba openly contested one agency's censure over counterfeit goods on Taobao and eventually forced the State Administration for Industry and Commerce to backtrack on its allegations. Syn. underline, highlight, emphasize, accentuate, strss, point out

graze

v. to eat grass that is growing in a field to cut cows, sheep, etc. in a field so that they can eat the grass there. to eat small amounts of food many times during the day, often while doing other things, instead of eating three meals. to perform an activity in a desultory manner, e.g. by picking up and putting down magzines without reading much of anyone. n. a small injury where the surface of the skin has been slightly broken by rubbing against sth. e.g. The nomads are taking their camels to graze in areas where they've never been able to graze before. syn. scrach, scrape, abrasion, lesion, scuff browse, crop, nibble,rub, abrade, brush

incite

v. to encourage people to be violent or commit crimes by making them angry or excited. e.g. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the Feb.1 coup, issued the call for government workers to return to work last week, saying they had been incited by "unscrupulous persons." Syn. provoke, inflame, rouse, spur, stimulate, motivate, insitigate

incentivize

v. to encourage sb to behave in a particular way by offering them a reward e.g. Often applied to competitive ecnomic and political contexts, game theory can be valued for predicting behaviour and incentivizing decisions that improve a broder system.

entrench

v. to establish sth very firmly so that it is very diffcult to change. to defend something by surrounding it with trenches dig a trench to entrench upon or trespass on somebody esle's property or things e.g. If you entrench yourself behind strong fortifications, you compel the enemy seek a solution elsewhere. syn. cement, embed, enconce, establish, ingrain

countervail

v. to exert a counteracting power or influence against something, especially against a harmful force, idea, or influence to offset or compensate for something e.g. Barring countervailing efforts, their investments could result in a world-shaking conflict and an immense human tragedy. Syn. couteract, offset, rival

pertain

v. to exist or to apply in a particular situation or at a particular time to have relevance, reference, or a connection to something. to be appropriate or suitable e.g. I refrain from mentioning details since it pertains to diplomatic exchanges, but there is already an agreed recognition over the importance of the Taiwan Straits between Japan and the United States, which was reaffirmed on this ocassion. Syn. relate, refer to, connect to, apply to, belong to

expound

v. to explain sth by talking about it in details e.g. He expounded his views on the subject to me at great length. Syn. explain, illustrate, explicate

opine

v. to express an particular opinion, think, suppose e.g. The perennial theme of western decline is not new, though the role of China is. Oswald Spengler opined about the decline of the West over a century ago.

embody

v. to express or represent an idea or a quality to include or contain sth to give an tangible or visible form to something abstract to gather and organize a number of things into a whole to be the best possible example of a particular idea, quality, or principle, especially a good one. e.g. Human life is the same. In one instant, we are able to embody all nature, and knowledge of every level in the universe. syn. exemplify, symbolize, represent, personify, express, stand for

backslide

v. to fall back into wrong doing or bad habit after an attempt to act in a better way e.g. We now know, absent policy backsliding, that the administration aims to have all troops out of the country by September. Syn. relapse, lapse, revert, regress, slip back

tip over

v. to fall/make something fall on its side

exult

v. to feel and show that you are very excited and happy because of sth that has happened e.g. A judicious person weighs facts carefully, he would not feel dejected for bad news and exult over unpredictable auspicious. syn. revel, gloat, glory, triumph, wallow, rejoice

brawl

v. to fight noisily, especialy in a public place to make a deep loud roaring sound, especially the sound of a rushing water n. a noisy fight, especially in a public place a deep loud roaring sound, especially especially the sound of a rushing water a noisy boisterous party e.g. They tore down antiwar signs and started brawls with several of the demonstrators, but couldn't get close to Ellsberg.

seep

v. to flow slowly and in small quantities through sth into sth. to pass or escape through an opening very slowly and in small quantities if a bad feeling or idea seeps somewhere, you start to feel it or believe it. e.g. Paints seep into one another, in a watery world where the distinction between innocence and youth are blurred. syn. leak, ooze, trickle, dribble, soak, leach, percolate

deracinate

v. to force sb to leave the place or situation in which they feel comfortable to remove somebody or something from a natuaral environment, especially people from their native culture. e.g. The communism of the English intellectual is something explicable enough. It is the patriotism of the deracinated.

discard

v. to get rid of sth that you no longer want or need. ~ sth to get rid of a card that you don not want n. a person or thing that is not wanted or thrown away, especially a card in a card game. e.g. Discarding our high cards of alliances and international institutions today would be a serious mistake. Syn. throw away, abandon, dispose of, remove, get rid of, reject, cast off, dispence with, shed

divulge

v. to give sb information that is supposed to be secret to reveal information, especially information that was previously secret. e.g. Let me divulge a little-known fact that most chefs would rather I did not mention: very few of them bake their own bread. syn. reveal, disclose, let drop

hamper

v. to prevent sb from easily doing or achieving sth n. a large basket with a lid, especially one used to carry food in a box or package containing food, sent as gift a large basket that you keep your dirty clothes in until they are washed e.g. The Orcs believe that the thirst for possessing filthy lucre will do nothing but hamper them in fighting bravely. Syn. hinder, obstruct, impede, shakkle

procreate

v. to produce children or baby animals. e.g. Infatuation is nature's biological trick to guarantee that a man and a woman are thrown together long enough to procreate.

emanate

v. to produce or show sth. to come from ot come out of somebody, something, or somewhere to emit, send out, or give out something such as rays or information e.g. The finer details of the scene are deliberately abstraced while light seems to emanate from the gate itself. syn. originate, come, stem, derive, start, arise, radiate, emit, give off, give out, send out, ooze

indemnify

v. to promise to pay sb an amount of money if they suffer any damage or loss to pay sb an amount of money because of the damage or loss that they have suffered e.g. literature is the effort of man indemnify himself for the wrongs of his condition. Syn. insure, underwrite, assure, reimburse, compensate

shackle

v. to put shackles on sb ~ sb/sth to prevent sb from behaving or speaking e.g. Uyghurs and Kazakhs were brought in hooded and shackled. The women spoke of beatings, inedible food, beds stained with urine, shit, and blood. Synonym bind, restrict, impede, hamper, manacle

embrace

v. to put your arms around sb as a sign of love or friendship. ~ sth to accept an idea, a proposal, a set of beliefs, etc., especially when it is done with enthusiasm ~ sth to include sth e.g. The talks embraced a wide range of issues. Syn. hug, hold, accept, comprise, contain

detract

v. to reduce the quality, value, or importance of something by taking something away from it. e.g. If she wins, let it be with a fair and open vote that will only add to rather than detract from her legitimacy and effectiveness. e.g. diminish, lessen, reduce, undermine, weaken

allude

v. to refer to something or somebody indirectly, without giving a precise name or explicit identification. e.g. The writing you allude to is a form of dissent, but it's also expressive of the need to evolve beyond what is turgid and stale in contemporary fiction. syn. refer, mention, indicate, suggest, introduce

obliterate

v. to remove all signs of sth, either by destroying or covering it completely to erase or obscure something completely, leaving no trace to get rid of a memory, thought, or feeling from your mind e.g. Chen announced a "smashing, obliterating offensive," and vowed to "bury the corpses of terrorists and terror gangs in the vast sea of the People's War." Syn. destroy, wipe out, demolish, eliminate, eradicate, annihilate, abolish

oust

v. to remove or force somebody from an office or position to use force to remove somebody from a place to remove someone from a position of power, especially in order to take that position e.g. protesters in Myanmmer have maintained a largely peaceful resisitance to dictatorship since the coup ousted a democatically elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Syn throw out, expel, get rid of, drive out, exile, overthrow, cast out, eject, banish

expunge

v. to remove or get rid of sth, such as a name, piece of information or a memory, from a book or list, or from your mind to delete or blot out something unwanted e.g. As Sabit was transferred to their custody, the airport official told her that if there were no issues the bureau could expunge the border control, and then she could leave. Syn. wipe out, obliterste, purge, erase, delete, rub out

scrape

v. to remove sth from a surface by moving sharp and hard like a knife across it e.g. She scraped the mub off her boots to rub sth by accident so that it gets damaged or hurt e.g. The wire had scraped the skin from her fingers to make an unpleasant noise by rubbing against a hard surface; to make sth do this e.g. We could hear her scraping away at the violin n. the action or unpleasant sound of one thing rubbing roughly against another an injury or a mark caused by rubbing against sth rough e.g. She emerged from the overturned car with only a few scrapes and bruises a difficult situation that you have caused yourself e.g. He was always getting into scrapes as a boy Syn. scratch, scrub, graze, scuff, abrade, grate

rescind

v. to repeal, cancel to officially state that a law, contract, decision, etc. is no longer valid. e.g. While many executives have made the public gesture to rescind their annual paychecks, these corporate leaders are hardly in the poor house.

recant

v. to say that something you said was not true to state publicly that you no longer believe something, especially that you no longer have a religious belief or no longer support a political idea. e.g. Ricky Jackson and two other men spent 39 years in prison after being convicted of murder on the testimony of a 12 years old boy, who later recanted and siad he'd been coerced by police. Syn. take back, renounce, repudiate, disavow, retract, withdraw, deny, revokep

demur

v. to say that you do not agree with sth or that you refuse to do sth. e.g. When Sabit demurred, the officials told her that Muslim men were chauvinists—adding, with a laugh, "Han husbands dote on their wives!" Syn. object, protest, reluctant

strewn

v. to scatter something, especially carelessly or untidily to cover an area with loosely or carelessly scattered objects or material e.g. Women have used their gender to mock and shame the senior general; some have taped photos of him to sanitary pads strewn on the ground. Syn. scatter, throw, disperse, distribute, spread, cast, litter, sprinckle

evince

v. to show clearly that you have a feeling or quality e.g. The greater absurdities are, the more strongly they evince the falsity of that supposition from whence they flow. Syn. show, display, demonstrate, reveal, exhibit, manifest

vitiate

v. to spoil or reduce the effect of sth to destroy or drastically reduce the effectiveness of something, or make it invalid to make something less effective ot legally acceptable e.g. A political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. Syn. impair, mar, damage, harm

disseminate

v. to spread information, knowledge, etc. so that it reaches many people to make something such as information or knowledge available to a lot of people e.g. Nature seems to have taken a particular care to disseminate her blessings among the different regions of the world, with an eye to mutual intercouse, and traffic among mankind, that the nations of the several parts of the globe might have a kind of dependence upon one another and be united together by their common interest.

permeate

v. to spread to every part of an object or a place to affect every part of sth e.g. Fear permeates the émigré community. As a recent Freedom House report notes, "China conducts the most sophisticated, global, and comprehensive campaign of transnational repression in the world." Syn. infuse, pervade, saturate

assert

v. to state clearly and firmly that sth is true ~ oneself to behave in a confident and determined way so that other people pay attention to your opinions ~ sth to make other people recognize your right or authority to do sth, by behaving firmly and confidently ~ itself to start to have an effect e.g. Sheehan would later assert that Ellsberg agreed at the march 2nd meeting that he would give hime a full copy of the documents. Syn. declare, state, proclaim, avow, stress, affirm, profess, renounce

trample

v. to step heavily on sb/sth so that you crush or harm them/it with your feet to ignore sb's feelings or rights and treat them as if they are not important. e.g. He saw something like an attempt to trample upon the rights and independence of Scotland. syn. crush, flatten, walk on, stamp on, step on, tread on, walk over, squash

shatter

v. to suddenly break into small pieces; to make sth suddenly break into small pieces e.g. He dropped the vase and it shattered into pieces on the floor to destroy sth completely, especially sb's feelings, hopes or beliefs; to be destroyed this way e.g. Anna's self-confidence had been completely shattered to make sb feel extremely shocked and upset e.g. The unexpected death of their son shattered them. Syn. smash, break, splinter, destroy, fragment, explode, ruin, wreck, crush, demolish

chomp

v. to take big bites of food and chew steadily, noisily, and with obvious satisfication to bite something several times in a noisy way n. a big noisy bite into something the sound made by noisy energetic biting or chewing. e.g. African army ants, which attack prey in a herd effort and chomp down on any potential threats. syn. chew, munch, crunch, masticate, gnaw, grind

annex

v. to take control of a country, region, etc., especially by force. to attach something subsidiary to a larger thing to take something without permission n. a building added on another building or serving as an auxiliary building to a larger one an appendix, epilogue, or other additional meterial attached to larger document e.g. China's rapid military buildup is focused on acquiring the capabilities to conquer, or annex Taiwan. Syn. take possession of, seize, take over, capture, invade, take control of, appropriate

prattle

v. to talk a lot about unimportant things to talk in a silly, idle, or childish way n. silly, idle, or childish talk silly talk about unimportant things syn. witter, gibber, chatter, burble, jabber, babble, natter, blether, prate, blather drivel

boast

v. to talk with too much pride about sth that you have or can do to have sth that is impressive and that you can be proud of n. something that a person talks about in a very proud way, often to seem more important or clever e.g. Profit in business comes from repeat customers, customers that boast about your project or service, and that bring friends with them. Syn. brag, vaunt

apprise

v. to tell or inform sb of sth e.g. History by apprising them of the past will enable them to judge the future... It will qualify them as judges of the actions and designs of men: it will enable them to know ambition under every disguise it may assume; and knowing it, to defeat its views.

ponder

v. to think about sth carefully for a period of time e.g. THey are pondering whether the money could be better used elsewhere. Syn. consider, think about, think over, contemplate, deliberate, muse, mull over,

subvert

v. to try to destroy the authority of a political, religious, etc. system by attacking it secretly or indirectly. to try to destroy a person's belief in sth or sb. to undermine or overtrow a government or other institution. e.g. Whatever is funny is subversive, every joke is ultimately a custard pie... A dirty joke is a sort of mental rebellion. syn. undermine, overthrow, destabilize, sabotage, disrupt, topple

upend

v. to turn sb/sth upside down e.g. to what extent it si capcable of leveraging these powers to upend Western hegemony of technology is a truely fascinating question. I always attempt to chanllenge and uphend discourses that appears to be disinterestingy describing the world, but that are in fact wholly grounded in historically and culturally specific hegemonic modes of thought. Syn. turn over, tip up, tip over, topple, overturn

convolute

v. to twist or coil somethong in folds adj. to coil or fold describes petals or leaves that are rolled from the sides so that one side is wrapped around the other. e.g. And yet the longer she was confined the more convoluted her path to freedom appeared.

construe

v. to understand the meaning of a word, or an action in a particular way to analyze the syntax of a piece of text, especially text that is to be translated e.g. Police force can arrest anybody for saying anything that might be construed by anyone else as insulting. Syn. interpret, understand

stagger

v. to walk with weak unsteady steps, as if you are about to fall e.g. The injured woman staggered to her feet to shock or surprise sb very much e.g. it staggers me that the government is doing nothing about it to arrange for events that would normally happen at the same time to start or happen at different times e.g. There were so many runners that they had to stagger the start. Syn. teeter, reel, lurch, sway, totter, wobble, astound, astonish

covet

v. to want sth very much, especially sth that belongs to sb else. to have a strong desire to poseess something that belongs to someone else. e.g. The general who advances without coveting fame retreats without fearing disgrace, whose thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel if the kingdom. syn. crave, desire, hanker, long for, yearn for

relinquish

v. voluntarily cease to keep or claim; give up to renounce or surrender something to give up your power, position, or an advantage, especially when you do not want to do this. e.g. The protesters are the largest in Myanmar in more than a decade, reviving memories of almost half a century of direct army rule and spasms of bloody uprisings until the military began relinquishing some power in 2011. Syn. give up, surrender, hand over, renounce

scoff

v. ~ (at sb/sth) to talk about sb/sth in a way that makes it clear that you think they are stupid or ridiculous. ~ (sth) to eat a lot of sth quickly n. an expression of derision or scorn something or somebody that is derided or scorned e.g. Commander Mitsuo Fuchida, who led the air attack against Pearl Harbour, scoffed at the entire plan. Syn. deride, jeer, laugh at, mock, sneer

atone

v. ~ for sth. to act in a way that shows you are sorry for doing sth wrong in the past. e.g. I understand how far people will go to atone for the shit they've done. Syn. make up, compensate, redress, recompensate

perplex

v. ~ sb if sth perplexes you, it makes you confused or worried because you don not understand it. e.g. The readers continuously atrophy to have become to perplex the report a great hard nut to crack of the industry. Syn. puzzle, baffle, confuse, stun, mistify, confound, bewilder, disconcert

throttle

v. ~ sb to attack or kill sb by squeezing their throat in order to stop them from breathing n. a device that controls the amount of fuel that goes into the engine of a vehicle, for example the accelerator in a car. e.g. The Myanmar military junta has now made its plans clear: throttle the Internet with restrictions and blockages, and then use a draconian new law to selectively arrest and punish those who are conveying the news and information the military doesn't like. Syn. regulate, control, adjust, correct, curb, strangulate, suffocate, stifle, gag

heed

v. ~ sb/ sth to pay careful attention to sb's advice or warning n. serious attention paid to somebody or to something such as a warning, piece of advice, or request give/pay heed (to sb/sth) to pay careful attention to sb/sth e.g. The September date is nerve-wracking since time is a seedbed for mischief in war termination decisions, thus, advocates of withdrawl should keep the pressure on and Biden should pay great heed to the implementation process, goad foot-draggers, and try to get out ahead of schedule. Syn. pay attention to, listen to, notice

mutilate

v. ~ sb/sth to damage sb's body very severely, especially by cutting or tearing off part of it ~ sth to damage sth very badly e.g. The vietnamese reacted. On the night of September 24, a howling mob, not under Virt Mihn control, abducted, butchered, raped and mutilated dozens of French and French-Vietnamese men, woman and children. Syn. maim, injure, hurt, harm, disfigure, damage, deface, spoil, mar, dismember

shun

v. ~ sb/sth to avoid sb/sth intentionally e.g. Shunned and vulnerable, they found safety in one another. Syn. avoid, ignore

emasculate

v. ~ sb/sth to make sb/sth less powerful or less effective ~ sb to make a man feel that he has lost hismale role or qualities to remove the testicles of a male human being or animal e.g. We had enough support to put through our basic program but its opponents were sufficiently powerful to emasculate it. syn. weaken, enfeeble, undermine, enervate, unnerve

convene

v. ~ sth to arrange for people to come together for a formal meeting to come together for a formal meeting e.g. One particular provision of Magna Carta was that if the king wanted to raise new taxes on the people of England, then he needed to get the consent of the community by convening a council. The convening of such councils, known as parliaments, would come to be systematized over the course of the thirteenth century. Syn. assemble, summon, arrange, convoke

portend

v. ~ sth to be a sign or warning of sth that is going to happen in the future, especially something bad or unpleasant e.g. Some contemporary realists believe the rise of China portend a conflict that will tear the world apart similar to the sundering of Europe in 1914. e.g. foreshadow

bemoan

v. ~ sth to complain or say that you are not happy about sth e.g. Then she learned of a Kazakh detainee who had contracted TB, and in the hospital had bemoaned his inability to see his family in Kazakhstan. Syn. lament, bewail, mourn

assimilate

v. ~ sth to fully understand an idea or some information so that you are able to use it yourself to become, or allow sb to become, apart of a country or community rather than remaining in a seperate group ~ sth into/to sth to make an idea, a person's attitude, etc. fit into sth or be acceptable. e.g. It is more important to pave the way for children's desire to know than to put them on a diet of facts they are not ready to assimilate. Syn. integrate, adapt, adjust, digest, absorb

endow

v. ~ sth to give a large sum of money to a school, a colledge or another institution to provide it with an income. e.g. All men are created equal. They are endowed by their Creator with inalienabel rights, among them are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness. Syn. award, bestow, bequeath, provide, grant

espouce

v. ~ sth to give your support to a belief, policy, etc. e.g. They espouced the notion of equal opportunity for all in education. Syn. adopt, advocate, support, promote, embrace

decimate

v. ~ sth to kill large numbers of animals, plants or people in a particular area ~ sth to severely damage sth or make sth weaker to inflict so much damage on something that it is seriously reduced in effectiveness e.g. When we went into Afganistan, we need to do three things to defend and advance our national interest. We needed to desimate Al Qaeda, kill or capture Osama bin Laden, and punish Taliban for ite state support for anti-American terrorist organizations. Syn. destroy, devastate, annihilate, ruin, slaughter, lay waste, demolish

hoist

v. ~ sth to raise ie pull sth up to a higher position, often using ropes or special equipment. to increase the amount or value of sth IDM be hoist/ hoisted by/ with your own petard to be hurt or to have problems as a result of your own plans to hurt or trick others n. a piece of equipment used for lifting heavy things, or foe lifting people who cannot stand or walk a mechanical deviceor apparatus, e.g. a winch or elevator, designed for lifting people or heavy objects. e.g. the objects were hoisted onto the casing and secured in the cradles--still wreathed in their coverings.

underpin

v. ~ sth to support or form the basis of an argument, a claim, etc. ~ sth to support a wall by putting metal, concrete, etc. under it. e.g No one can know with any certainty how such a war would start, and what would follow it, but we can and should understand the drivers of conflict and the assumptions that undepin military plans and preparations for it. Syn. shore up, prop up, reinforce, support, buttress, fortify, strength, underlie, bolster

elicit

v. ~ sth (from sb) to get information or a reaction from sb, often with difficulty to bring something to light or caude something to be disclosed, especially by a process of questioning or research e.g. His mind remains razor-sharp. Questions posed to him elicit no short answers; he 's never met a tangent he's found unwelcome Syn. v. provoke, cause, produce, bring about, prompt, stimulate. extract, bring forth, educe

insulate

v. ~ sth (from/against sth) to protect sth with a material that prevents heat, sound, electricity, etc. from passing through ~ sb/sth from/against sth to protect sb/sth from unpleasant experiences or influences e.g. A classical example of this is the short circuit, insulation on wires leading to an appliance has worn through allowing the two wires to come into contact. Syn. lag, wad, shield, segregate

cede

v. ~ sth (to sb) to give sb control of sth or give them power, a right, etc., espcially unwillingly to surrender or give up something such as land, rights, or power, to anther country, group, or person e.g. Without these conditions, Ellsberg did not want to cede control of the papers by giving them to Sheehan, and he worried about extra copies being made at the newspaper, where security could be lax; the F.B.I might get a whiff of what was afoot. Syn. yield, concede, surrender, relinquish, abandon

tether

v. ~ sth (to sth) to tie an animal to a post so that it cannot move very far n. a rope or chain used to tie an animal to sth, allowing it to move around in a small area e.g. Long lines of prisoners were seen in Saigon, tethered together by wire pushed through the palms of each man's hands. Syn. tie up, tie, hitch, fasten, secure, chain

stash

v. ~ sth + adv. / prep. to store sth in a safe or secret place n. an amount of sth that is kept secretly e.g. Frustrated with the pace of Ellsberg's efforts, and wanting to limit their own legal liability in writing about the papers, Raskin and Stavins decided to give the stash that Ellsberg has given them to Sheehan, a star correspondent in Vietnam for both United Press International and the times, who was then based in Washington for the newspaper. Syn. hide, put away, put by, secrete

attribute

v. ~ sth to sth to say or believe that sth is the result of a particular thing to say or believe that sb is responsible for doing sth, especially for saying, writing ot painting sth to think of something as caused by a particular circumstance n. a quality or feature of sth/sb a symbol of someone or something e.g. So a certain system of tinkering and trial and erroe would have the attributes of antifragility. If you want to become antifragile, put yourself in the situation "loves mistake"--ti the right of "hate mistakes" by making these numerous and small in harm. We will call this process and approach the "barbell" strategy. syn. quality, characteristic, trait, property, feature, aspect, element

sift

v. ~ sth. to put flour or some other fine substance through a sieve/sifter. to examine sth. very carefully in order to decide what is important or to find sth important. ~ sth (out) from sth to seperate sth from a group of things. e.g. In Xinjiang, the Sharp Eyes surveillance program had been wired into a large computing center, but sifting through the vast amount of image data had been time-consuming and, according to state media, "required a lot of manual work." Syn. sieve, filter, seperate

hurl

v. ~ sth/sb + adv./prep. to throw sth/sb violently in a particular direction ~ abuse, accusations, insults, etc. (at sb.) to shout insults, etc. at sb e.g. Wearing helmets, gas masks and shields, they have been hurling homemade projectiles from behind makeshift barriers made of sandbags and debris Syn fling, throw, toss, chuck, heave

rebuke

v. ~sb (for sth/for doing sth) to speak severely to sb because they have done sth wrong. e.g. Smashing a long-held cultural taboo around women's clothing in Myanmar, protesters opposing the coup waved flags made of traditional skirts on the streets of cities and towns across the country on monday in an unprecedented rebuke to patriarchal norms in the Southeast Asian country. Syn. reprimand, reprove, censure, reproach, scold, admolish,criticize

complement

v. ~sth to add to sth in a way that improves it or makes it more attractive n. a thing that adds new qualities to sth in a way that improves it or makes it more attractive a set of proteins in the bloodstream that , together with antibodies, recognize and attack foreign cells such as bacteria e.g. During the early hours of December 7, 1941, five midgets of the Imperial Japanese Navy waited to enter Pearl Habour, the anchorage of the US Pacific fleet. Their mission was to complement the attack of naval aircraft in dealing a crippling blow to the American naval presence in the Pacific. e.g. complete, add, make up for, set off

glean

v. ~sth (from sb /sth) to obtain information, knowledge etc., something with difficulty and often from various different places. to go over field or area that has just been harvested and gather by hand any usable parts of the crop that remain e.g. Back in the cell, Sabit and the others consoled her, but also gently pushed for details of what the official had said, hoping to glean some insight into how the system functioned.

elicit

v. ~sth (from sb) to get informstion or a reaction from sb, often with difficulty to bring something to light or cause something to be disclosed, especially by a process of questioning or research to make someone react in the way that you want e.g. The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788- 1860) devised a quick way to elicit these looks and test for envy. Syn. provoke, cause, produce, bring about, prompt, draw out, extract, obtain, educe, bring forth

dither

v. to behave in a nervous and indicisive way to tremble or quiver, e.g. with cold to be unable to make a dicision about something n. a state of nervous agitation or indecisiveness e.g. But Fulbright dithered for months and ultimately declined to proceed. Syn. hesitate, dally, dwadle, vacillate, waver

smoulder

v. to burn slowly without a flame to be filled with a strong emotion that you do not fully express to have or show a sreong emption that is suppressed, but liable to flare up at any time. to exist in the background, liable to appear or reappear at any moment n. thick smoke from a slow-burning fire. e.g. There were things too subtle to be explained, and there were terrible to be clearly mentioned. For example, there was sex, which was always smouldering just under the surface and which suddenly blew up into a tremendous row when I was about twelve. syn. burn, smoke, glow, fume, seethe, bristle, lurk

modulate

v. to change or vary the intensity or pitch; to temper or soften; to regulate, adjust to change the quality of your voice in order to create a particular effect by making it louder, softer, lower, etc. to change from one musical key to another to affect sth so that i t becomes more regular, slower, etc. e.g. At first, Sabit was dismayed, but, just as she had modulated her joy at the prospect of leaving, she now dampened her disappointment.

dampen

v. to deaden, restrain, or repress to make sth slightly wet to make sth such as a feeling or a reaction less strong e.g. At first, Sabit was dismayed, but, just as she had modulated her joy at the prospect of leaving, she now dampened her disappointment.

enjoin

v. to direct or order; to prescribe a course of action in an authoritative way; to prohibit to command somebody to do something of action of others to forbid or command somebody to do somethong by means of legal injunction e.g. After the Times ran three stories on the papers, Nixon and his Attorney General, John Mitchell, accused the newspaper of violating the Espionage Act by releasing classified material, and they obtained a federal injunction forcing the Times to cease publication. Ellsberg. meanwhile, arranged to pass another copy of the papers to the Washington Post, which then began publishing its own stories on June 18th, but soon it, too, was enjoined from further publication. Syn. order, charge, command, instruct, bid

embark

v. to get onto a ship, to put sth onto a ship e.g. Everyone disembarked into a Chinese border station, where each passenger was called for an interview, until Sabit was waiting alone. Syn. board, get on

dangle

v. to hang or swing freely to hold sth so that it hangs or swings freely e.g. The threat of losing points was constantly dangled over the women. Synonym hang, swing, sway

invoke

v. to mention or use a law, rule, etc. as a reason for doing sth. to mention a person, a theory, an example, etc, to support your opinions or ideas, or as a reason for sth. e.g. One detainee, a member of a Christian sect called Eastern Lightning, invoked a Chinese law that guaranteed freedom of religion, declaring, "I did nothing wrong!" She was taken away, to what the women assumed was a harsher facility—a pretrial detention center or a prison. Synonym cite, quote, refer mention bring up, appeal, evoke

sunder

v. ~ sth/sb (from sth/sb) To break or force apart; to sever. e.g. Some contemporary realists believe the rise of China portend a conflict that will tear the world apart similar to the sundering of Europe in 1914.

stymie

v. to prevent sb from doing sth that they have planned or want to do; to prevent sth from happening. e.g. The elderly women, though more traditional, clearly posed no threat, but their internment would stymie the transmission of cultural knowledge to younger generations.

reprimand

v. to tell sb officially that you do not approve of them or their actions. e.g. If they ate too slowly, or not enough, they were reprimanded. The elderly women, and people with dental problems, struggled, but neither age nor ailments spared them insults. synonym. n rebuke, admonishment, warning, dressing down, scolding v. scold

proponent

~ of sth a person who supports an idea or course of action somebody who presents a will for probate e.g. Already proponents of the war in Afganistan are declaring that President Joe Biden's promise to exit fully by September 11 is a dangerous mistake. Syn. advocate, supporter, exponent, protagonist

curriculum

n. the subject that are included in a course of study or taught in a school, college, etc. e.g. In the second place, in terms of pedagogy, it expounds that the theoretical foundation of the comparative study of curriculum system.

egalitarian

adj. based on, or holding, the belief that everyone is equal and should have the same rights and opportunities supporting a social system in which everyone has equal status and the same money and opportunities e.g. Pornography is not egalitarian and gender-free. It is predicated upon the inequality of women and is the propaganda that makes that inequality sexy. For women to find passive, objectified men sexy in large enough numbers to make a pornography industry based upon such images viable, would require the reconstruction of women's sexuality into a ruling-class sexuality. In an egalitarian society objectification would not exist and therefore the particular buzz provided by pornography, the excitement of eroticised dorminance for the ruling class, would be unimaginable. syn. equalitarian

turgid

adj. boring, complicated and difficult to understand. swollen; containing more water than usual. pompous, boring, and overcomplicated using language that is complicated and difficult to understand e.g. The writing you allude to is a form of dissent, but it's also expressive of the need to evolve beyond what is turgid and stale in contemporary fiction. syn. pompous, boring, dull, pretentious, ponderous

unscrupulous

adj. careful about paying attention to every detail ~ (in sth/in doing sth) careful to be honest and do what is right e.g. Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the Feb.1 coup, issued the call for government workers to return to work last week, saying they had been incited by "unscrupulous persons." Syn. honorable, trustworthy, reliable,dependable, conscientious, rigorous, fastidious

scrupulous

adj. careful about paying attention to every detail. ~ (in sth /in doing sth) careful to be honest and do what is right e.g. A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus: What am I trying to say? What words will express it? What image or idiom will make it clearer? Is this image fresh enough to have an effect? And he will probably ask himself two more: Could I put it more shortly? Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly? e.g. meticulous, fastidious

agrarian

adj. connected with farming and the use of land or farming promoting the interests of farmers, especially by seeking a more equitable basis of land ownership. e.g. The war-ravaged country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy and with a sophisticated social welfare system. syn. agricultural, farm, land, rural

sanitary

adj. connected with keeping places clean and healthy to live in, especially by removing human waste clean; not likely to cause health problems e.g. Women have used their gender to mock and shame the senior general; some have taped photos of him to sanitary pads strewn on the ground. Syn. hygienic, clean, healthy, salibrious, wholesome, sterile

occult

adj. connected with magic powers and things that cannot be explained by reason or science relating to, involving, or characteristic of magic, witchcraft, or supernatural phenomena not visible to the naked eye, and only detectable by microscope or chemical testing not capable of being undstood by ordinary human being n. everything connected with occult practices, etc. the realm of magic, witchcraft, or supernatural phenomena v. to hide an astronomical object temporarily by moving between it and an observer, or be hidden in this way to hide something rom view or be hidden from view e.g. I'd like to browse in occult book shops if for no other reason than to refresh m y commitment to science.

municipal

adj. conneted with or belonging to a town, city or district that has its own local government. Goverment was engaged primarily un enforcing laws against murder, theft, and the like and in providing municipal services such as local police and fire protection--activities that engendered almost unanimous citizen support. syn.

greasy

adj. covered in a lot of grease or oil cooked with too much oil producing too much natural oil e.g. Your hair is so greasy, if you went for a swim in the sea, they'd think you were an oil slick. Syn. oily, fatty, slippery, slimy

mordent

adj. critical and unkind, but funny having a corrosive effect n. a substance that fixes a dye in and on textiles or leather by combining with the dye to form a stable insolute compound lake a corrosive substance used to etch treated areas on a metal plate e.g. His mordent wit appealed to his students As a dye, violet cabbage pigment was used in mulberry silk fabric dyeing experiments by direct and mordent methods. Syn. caustic, astringent, acerbic, sacastic, biting, scathing, corrosive, acid, acrid

laudable

adj. deserving to be praised or admired, even if not really successful e.g. As president Obama said in an address to the United Nations only a month or so ago, 'Laudable efforts to restrict speech can become a tool to silence critics or oppress minorities.' Syn. admirable, praisworthy, creditable, commendable, meritorious, honorable

slick

adj. done or made in a way that is clever and efficient but often does not seem to be sincere or lacks important ideas speaking very easily and smoothly but in a way that does not seem sincere done quickly and smoothly e.g. The crowd enjoyed the team's slick passing n. an area of oil that is floating on the surface of the sea a small area of sth wet and shiny v. to make hair very flat and smooth by putting oil, water, etc. on it. e.g. His hair was slicked back/down with gel Syn. polished, glossy, superficial, slimy, facile

surreptitious

adj. done secretly or quickly, in the hope that other people will not notice e.g. She sneaked a surreptitious glance at her watch e.g. furtive, secret, sneaky, sly, clandestine, stealthy, underhanded, secretive

inadvertent

adj. done unintentionally or without thinking. failing to pay enough attention or take enough care. e.g. The writer either has a meaning and cannot express it, or he advertently says something else, or he is almost indifferent as to whether his words mean anything or not. Syn. unintentional, careless, unintended, involuntary, unplanned, accidental

abashed

adj. embarrased and ashamed because of sth that you have done. e.g. Thirty years later, according to Ellsberg, Raskin confessed that he had deceived him, saying that he felt "abashed and guilty" about it. Syn. embarrassed, ashamed, mortified, disconcerted, dismayed

tendentious

adj. expressing a strong opinion that people are likely to disagree with written or spoken with personal bias in order to promote a cause or support a viewpoint expressing a strong personal opinion, attitude, or intention that other people are likely to argue with. e.g. Gun control zealots' choice of Britain for comparison with the United States has been wholly tendentious, not only because it ignored the history of the two countries, but also because it ignored other countries with stronger gun control laws than the United States, such as Russia, Brazil and Mexico. All of these countries have higher murder rates than the United States. Syn. provocative, opinionated, biased, partisan, subjective, argumentive, prejudiced, one-sided, questionable, doutful, partial

abysmal

adj. extremely bad or of a very low standard e.g. We find ourselves facing the horror of what has always been Achilles heel of the left wing: its abysmal ignorance of economic science. Syn. terrible, awful, dreadful, horrible, appalling, bad

ethereal

adj. extremely delicate and light; seeming to belong to another, more spiritual, world very delicate or highly refined very light, airy, or insubstantial e.g. And yet there was something ethereal about her, an alien ness that showed in her cobalt eyes. Syn. delicate, insubstantial, airy, light

ravenous

adj. extremely hungry very great e.g. It is a tribute to the world-wide repute of the Nobel awards that the announcement of an award converts its recipient into an expert on all and sundry, and unleashes hordes of ravenous newsman and photographers from journals and T.V. stations around the world. syn. hungry, famished, starving, greedy, voracious, rapacious, ravening, predatory, gluttonous, insatiable

obnoxious

adj. extremely unpleasant, especially in a way that offends people e.g. Although the law under discussion has been on the statue book for over 25 years, it is indicative of a culture that has taken hold of programmes of successive governments that with the reasonable and well- intended ambition to contain obnoxious elements in society, has create a society of an extraordinary authoritarian and controlling nature. It is what you might call the new intolerance, a new but intense desire to gag uncomfortable voices of dissent. Syn. loathsome, hateful, horrible, insufferable, intolerable, detestable, unbearable, abhorrent, abominable, despicable, repugnant, repellent, offensive, unpleasant

equitable

adj. fair and reasonable, treating everyone in an equal way e.g. Japan will continue careful and full preparation in order to realize the Tokyo games this summer, in order to ensure equitable access to vaccines for COVID-19. fair, reasonable, evenhanded, impartial, just, unbiased, rightful

renowned

adj. famous and respected. well known or famous, especially for a skill or expertise e.g. Gunshots could be heard near the square as rhe sun set; a tree and building adjacent to the renowned National Museum caught on fire. syn. famous, well-known, celebrated, notorious, prominent, popular, distinguished, legendary

indignant

adj. feeling or showing anger and surprise because you think that you have been treated unfairly e.g. She was very indignant at the way she had been treated. Syn. angry, furious, vexed, irate, outraged. incensed, annoyed

aghast

adj. filled with horror and surprise when you see or hear sth e.g. Still, Sabit was aghast that she could provoke such fear, just by existing. "I cried a lot that day," she recalled. "I was like a virus." Syn. horrified, amazed, shocked, stunned, astounded, appalled

pristine

adj. fresh and clean, as if new not developed or changed in anyway; left in its original condition e.g. At the border, Sabit could see the Kazakh steppe: wind-strewn grass among patches of snow. Behind it was a mountain range, wild and pristine. Syn. immaculate, pure, unsullied, primeval

verdant

adj. fresh and green e.g. And then, within minutes, the isolated, verdant mountains above China's most famous panda reserve exploded as if hit by a megaton bomb. syn. green, lush, luxuriant, fertile, leafy

ebullient

adj. full of confidence, energy and good humuor e.g. One of the greatest gift mny father gave me - unintentionally - was witnessing the courage with whichhe bore adversity. We had a lot of rollercoaster life with some really challenging financial periods. He was always unshaken, completely tranquil, the same ebullient, laughing, jovial man. Syn. jovial, enthusiastic, lively, cheerful, happy, bright, bouncy, jolly

virid

adj. green or virdent e.g. The virid woodlands of spring.

concomitant

adj. happening at the same tome as sth else, especially because one thing is related to or causes the other n. a thing that happens at the same timeas sth else e.g. While freely conceding that the societs regime exhibits certain features which the humanitarian may be inclined to deplore, we must, I think, agree that a certain curtailment of the right to political opposition is an unavoidable concomitant of transitional periods, and that the rigors which the Russian people have been called upon to undergo have been amply justified in the sphere of concrete achivement. Syn. simutaneous, parallel, concurrent, coexistent, contemporaneous

incorrigible

adj. having abd habits which can not be changed or improved impossible or very difficult to correct ot reform n. somebody or something that is impossible or very difficult to correct or reform e.g. It gives me great pleasure indeed to see the stubbornness of an incorrigible nonconformist warmly acclaimed. syn. irredeemble, habitual, inveterate, dyed-in-the-wool, persistent, incurable, hopeless

porous

adj. having many small holes that allow water or air to pass through slowly. e.g. Ina world where borders are becoming more porous to everything from drugs to infectious deseases to cyber terrorism, we must use our soft power attraction to develop and cultivate networks and institutions capable of addressing these untraditional challenges. Syn. holey, permeable, leaky, spongy, absorbent

fervent

adj. having or showing very strong and sincere feelings about sth. showing ardent or extemely passionate enthusiasm glowing as a result of intense heat e.g. Kissinger told Nixon that "Daniel Ellsberg is the most dangerous man in America," and said, "He must be stopped at all costs. We've got to get him." Nixon fervently agreed.

virtually

adv. almost or very nearly, so that any slight difference is not important by the use of computer software that makes something to exist; using virtual reality technology e.g. Virtually all students will be exempt from the tax. syn. almost, nearly, close to, in effect, effectively, essentially, fundamentally, to all intents and purposes, practically.

hitherto

adv. untill now, until the particular time you are talking about e.g. Our tenacy in the Aegean has hitherto caused the enemy to divert considerable forces in attempting to turn us out. syn. until now, until then, till now, previously, thus far, so far, yet, up till now.

appeal

n. a formal request to court or to sb in authority fro a judgement or a decision to be changed. a quality that makes sb/sth attractive or interesting an urgent and deeply felt request for money, help or information, especially made by a charity or by the police v. to make a formal request to a court or to sb in authority for a judgement or a decision to be changed to attract or interest sb to make a serious and urgent request e.g. And as, even if, as Lord Dear says, you know, the freedom to be inoffensive is no freedom at all. The appeal of this word in this clause will be only a small step, but it will, I hope, be a critical one, in which should be a longer term project to pause and slowly rewind a creeping culture of censoriousness. It is a small skirmish in the battle, in my opinion, to deal with what Sir Salman Rushdle refers to as the 'outrage industry' -- self-appointed arbiters of the public good, encouraging media stoked outrage, to which the police feel under terrible pressure to react. Syn. request, plead, petition, attract, fascinate, charm

requisition

n. a formal, official written request or demand for sth v. ~ sth to officially demand the use of building, vehicle, etc., especially during a war or an emergency e.g. Labour was forcibly requisitioned and harshly treated, resulting a mass flight of coolies and a consequent shortage of carriers to take provisions and ammunition to the fighting units. Syn. demand, apply for, commandeer, seize, request

flock

n. a group of sheep, goas or birds of the same type a large group of people, especially of the same type the group of people who regularly attend the church of a particular priest, etc. e.g. They came in flocks to see the procession v. to go or gather together somewhere in large numbers e.g. Thousands of people flocked to the beach this weekend Syn. gaher, collect, congregate, assemble, cluster, herd

cache

n. a hidden store of things such as weapons, a part of a computer's momory that stores copies if data that is often needed while a program is running. This data can be accessed very quickly. v. ~ sth to store things in a secret place, especially weapons. ~ sth to store data in a cache e.g. Keep in mind that this kind of cache will not be cluster aware in case of a fail over; this is sometimes an acceptable trade-off. Syn. v. hide, secrete, accumulate, collect n. hoard, accumulation, store, reserve, collection

moor

n. a high open area of land that is not used for farming, especially an area covered with rough glass and heather v. to attach a boat, ship, etc. to a fixed object or to the land with a rope, or anchor it. e.g. The five midget submarines were to be launched off the coast of Oahu where they were to quietly enter Pearl Harbour, nagtive around Ford Island counterclockwise, and strike the U.S. battleships moored in the shallow water of the habour. Syn. tie, fix, attach, fasten heath, moorland

appraisal

n. a judgement of the value, performance or nature of sb/sth a meeting in which an employee discuss with their manager how well they have been doing their job; the system of holding such meetings e.g. She was honest in her appraisal of her team's chances Syn. assessment, evaluation, judgement

barge

n. a large boat with a flat bottom, used for carrying goods and people on canals and rivers. v. to move in an awkward way, pushing people out of the way or crashing into them. to transport freight by barge e.g. After we secured, a barge came alongside each submarine. Syn. rush, push, charge, elbow, burst

rumen

n. a large first chamber of a ruminant animal's stomach in which microorganisms break down plant cellulose beforethe food is returned to the mouth as cud for additional chewing. e.g. The first two, known as the rumen, are essentially vast incubation chambers teeming with bacteria and protozoa.

pillar

n. a large round stone, metal or wooden post that is used to support a bridge, the roof of a building, etc., especially when it is also decorative ~ of sth a mass of sth that is shaped like a pillar ~ of sth a strong supporter of sth; an important member of sth ~ of sth a person who has a lot of a particular quality a basic part or feature of a system, organization, belief, etc. a mainstay of an orgnization or society e.g. This partnership has three pillars: frist, Paris Agreement implemention and achiecvement of the 2030 targets/ nationally determined contributions(NDCs); second, clean energy technology development, deployment, and innovation; and third, efforts to support decarbonization in other countries, especially in the Indo-Pacific. Syn. support, column, prop, mast, stake, mainstay, stalwart

monolith

n. a large single vertical blocks of stone, especially one that was shaped into a column by people living in ancient times, and that may have has some religious meaning. a single, very large organization, etc. that is very slow to change and not interested in individual people. e.g. Global warming is forcing ice shelves to calve, producing icebergs like this monolith jutting into the waters of the Antarctic Penisula. syn. standing stone, megalith, pillar, column, stele

far cry

n. a long way in distance or chcaracter e.g. Beijing remains intent on reining in its internet and fintech giants, a broad campaign that's wiped more than $250 billion off Alibaba's valuation since October. the e-commerce giant's speedy capitulation underscores its vulnerability to further regulatory action--a far cry from just six years ago, when Alibaba openly contested one agency's censure over counterfeit goods on Taobao and eventually forced the State Administration for Industry and Commerce to backtrack on its allegations. Syn. difference

amnesia

n. a medical condition in which sb partly or completely loses their memory e.g. let's not suffer from a national amnesia that causes us to forget who and what we are.

conclave

n. a meeting to discuss sth in private; the peopel at this meeting. e.g. An officer at the camp told Sabit that the arrests were intended to maintain stability before the Two Sessions, a major political conclave in Beijing.

junta

n. a military government that has taken power by force a group of military officers that governs a country, usually without having been elected e.g. On March 25, Myanmer's Civil Disobedience MOvement was nominated for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize--and just weaks ago, protesters were using creativity, humor and the arts to inspire solidarity and mock the junta. Syn military government, martial law, dictatorship, cabal, clique

skirmish

n. a short fight between small groups of soldiers, etc., especially one that is not planned. a short argument, especially between political opponents v. to take part in a short fight or argument e.g. And as, even if, as Lord Dear says, you know, the freedom to be inoffensive is no freedom at all. The appeal of this word in this clause will be only a small step, but it will, I hope, be a critical one, in which should be a longer term project to pause and slowly rewind a creeping culture of censoriousness. It is a small skirmish in the battle, in my opinion, to deal with what Sir Salman Rushdie refers to as the 'outrage industry' -- self-appointed arbiters of the public good, encouraging media stoked outrage, to which the police feel under terrible pressure to react. Syn. v. clash, scuffle, tussle n. brawl, conflict, encounter

reciprocity

n. a situation in which two people, countries, etc., provide the same help or advantages to each other e.g. Although clumsily handled, the Donald Trump adminidtration was correct to punish fro cyber theft of intellectual property, coerced intellectual property transfer, and unfair trade practices such as subsidized credit to state-owned enterprices. Reciprocity needs to be enforced.

paucity

n. a small amount of sth, less than enough of sth a small amount of something that is not eough e.g. Theater really gets damaged when there is a paucity of good criticism around. Syn. dearth, scarcity, rareness, scantiness, lack, rarity, scarceness

scrap

n. a small piece of sth, especially paper, cloth, etc. e.g. She scribble his phone number on a scrap of paper small amount of sth e.g. It won't make a scrap of difference food left after a meal Give the scraps to the dog v. to cancel or get rid of sth that is no longer pratical or useful e.g. They had been forced to scrap plans for a new school building to fight with sb The bigger boys started scrapping Syn. abondon, scuffle

community

n. a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage. a locality inhabited by such a group. a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists:the business community;the community of scholars;diversity within a college community; London's Jewish and Muslim communities. a group of associated nations sharing common interests or a common heritage:the community of Western Europe. Ecclesiastical. a group of men or women leading a common life according to a rule. Ecology. an assemblage of interacting populations occupying a given area. e.g. By January, 2019, Sabit understood that this kind of attention was causing her uncle's community anxiety. Syn. correspondence, likeness

tax break

n. a special advantage or reduction in taxes that the government gives to particular people or organizations e.g. There should not be one new dimein tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires as long as millions of children inAmerica are hungry, uneducated and without coverage.

oblivion

n. a state in ehich you are not aware of what is happening around you, usually because you are unconcious or asleep the state in which sb/sth has been forgotten and is no longer famous or important a state in which sth has been completely destroyed e.g. The process of mass media deception has to be concious, or it would not be carried out with precision, but it also has to be unconcious, or it would bring with it a feeling of falsity and hence of guilt... To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it comes t necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies all this is indespensibly necesary. syn. forgetfulness, unconciousness, stupor, insensibility, obscurity, extinction, nothingness

trance

n. a state in which sb seems to be asleep but is aware of what is said to them, for example if they are hypnotized a state in which you are thinking so much about sth that you do not notice what is happening around you a type of electronic dance music with hypnotic rhythms and sounds. a state of rapture or exaltation in which somebody loses consciousness a hypnotic or cataleptic state v. to put somebody in a trance e.g. It's like a hypnotist put everyone from Seattle into a collective trance. You are getting sleepy, when you wake up you will want to live only in a Craftsman house, the year won't matter to you, all that will matter is that the walls will be thick, the windows tiny, the rooms dark, the cellings low, and it will be poorly situated on the lot. Syn. dream, daze, spell, stupor, reverie, daydream, sleep, abstraction

frenzy

n. a state of great activity and strong emotion that is often violent or frightening and not under control a burst of energetic activity e.g. A party member is expected to have no private emotions and no respites from enthusiasm. He is supposed to live in a continuous frenzy of hatred of foreign enemies and internal traitors, triumph over victories and self-abasement before the power and wisdom of the party. Syn. fury, rage, agitation, tumult

reverie

n. a state of thinking about pleasant things, almost as though you are dreaming pleasant thoughts that makes you forget what you are doing or what is happening around you e.g. Later, she captured these reveries in a poem, written in Mandarin, which ends: Night watch I turn toward the darkness and Its wanton torment Of the feeble poplar. Syn. daydream, trance, musing, contemplation

rein

n. a strap, or each half half of a strap, by which a horse is controlled by its rider or by the driver of a coach or cart is pulling any means of guiding, controlling, or restraining somebody or something v. to guide, control, or restrain somebody or something check or pull with reins np. a harness that fits around the body of very young a child, with straps attached by means of which the child can be controlled and guided, especially when out walking. e.g. Beijing remains intent on reining in its internet and fintech giants, a broad campaign that's wiped more than $250 billion off Alibaba's valuation since October. the e-commerce giant's speedy capitulation underscores its vulnerability to further regulatory action--a far cry from just six years ago, when Alibaba openly contested one agency's censure over counterfeit goods on Taobao and eventually forced the State Administration for Industry and Commerce to backtrack on its allegations. Syn. bridle, restrain, harness, leash

salvage

n. the rescue of property or goods from destruction or loss, e.g. because of a floofd or fire the rescue of a ship, its cargo, or crew from loss at sea. something that has been saved from destruction or loss something that would otherwise be destroyed or discarded but is recycled or put to further use compensation to volunteers who help in the rescure of ships, property, or goods from destruction or loss money from the sale of property or goods that have been salvaged v. to save used, damaged, or rejected goods for recycling or further use to save sometinfg of worth or merit from a stuation or event that is otherwise a failure to save a ship, cargo, crew, or other property or goods from destruction or loss to succeed in achieving something in a situation or action that has been a failure. e.g. To begin with, it has nothing to do with archaism, with the salvaging of obsolete words and turns of speech, or with the setting-up of a 'standard English' which must never a be departed from. syn. save, recover, rescue, retrieve

prestige

n. the respect and admiration that sb/sth has because of their social position, or what they have done adj. that brings respect and admiration, important admired because it looks inportant and expensive e.g. MIlitary theorists in the PLA write that, sooner or later, the attack will be ordered and the island invaded and turned into a giant base for projecting China's strength and prestige across the region. Syn. respect, stature, esteem, reputation, cachet, fame

onus

n. the responsibility for sth the blame of something e.g. Ellsburg had initially planned to give copies of the papers to a U.S. senator, who he hoped would hold hearings and thereby shift the onus of release from him. Syn. responsibility, burden, obligation, duty

suffrage

n. the right to vote in political elections a short prayer on behalf of somebody, especially a prayer said as part of a Christian litany e.g. Our march to freedom is not irreversible. We must not allow fear to stand in our way. Universal suffrage on a common voters; roll in a united, democratic and non-racial South Africa is the only way to peace and racial harmony.

composure

n. the state of being calm and in control of your feelings or behaviour e.g. Then, her composure regained, she was ready to set off to search for any intruders who might still be lurking in her flat Syn. equanimity, calm, serenity, tranquility, poise

apex

n. the top pr highest part of sth that ends in a point the most important or sccessful partof something e.g. There is always a moment in the pyramid of our lives when the apex is reached. e.g. top, peak, summit, climax, zenith, head

anaesthesia

n. the use of aneasthetic during medical operations the state of being unable to feel anything, especially pain e.g. to be equipped for conflict, according to Phillips, requies "self-anaesthesia", which he sees as a dominant motif in post-war British life.

pelvis

n. the wide curvedd set of bones at the bottom of the body that the legs and spine are connected to the strong basin-shaped ring of bone near the bottom of the spine formed by the hip bones on the front and sides, and the triangular sacrum on the back.

enormity

n. the ~ of sth the very great size, effect, etc. of sth; the fact of srth being very serious a very serious crime used to mean the extremely large size of something, although some people consider this to be incorrect the fact that something is morally wrong, or the degree to which it is morally wrong e.g. They could be made to accept the most flagrant violations of reality, bcause they never fully grasped the enormity of what was demanded of them, and were not sufficiently interested in public events to notice what was happening. syn. horror, monstrousness, wickedness, flagrancy, atrosity, abomination, evil

exigency

n. urgency, pressure; urgent demand, pressing need; an emergency an urgent need or demand that you must deal with e.g. But the administration's own foot-dragging rather than any exigencies on the ground got them to this dangerous point. Syn. demand, need, emergency, necessity, pressure, requirement, constraint

injunction

n. v. an official order given by a court which demands tha sth must or must be done a warning or an order from sb in authority e.g. After the Times ran three stories on the papers, Nixon and his Attorney General, John Mitchell, accused the newspaper of violating the Espionage Act by releasing classified material, and they obtained a federal injunction forcing the Times to cease publication. Syn. ban, order, sanction, command, embargo, restriction

panorama

n. wide unobstructed view of an area; a complete survey of a subject; a continuously passing or changing scene;a range or spectrum e.g. While on duty, Sabit often gazed through the small caged window and took in the nighttime view: a garden, a poplar tree, and then Kuytun's urban panorama—the city's glowing lights, the cars tracing lines on a highway, reminding her of her old life. Syn. vista, landscape, prospect

grievance

n. ~ (against sb) something tant you think is unfair and that you complain or protest about. a feeling that you have been treated in an unfair way e.g. At the heart of that indoctrination is a sense of grievance and victimhood when others have better outcomes -- which are called "privileges" and never called "achievements," regardless of what the actual facts are. Syn. complaint, protest, criticism, objection, gripe, grumble, injustice, infringement, unfairness, tribulation

secession

n. ~ (from sth) the fact of an area or group becoming independent from the country or larger group that it belongs to the withdral from the Union of 11 Southern States in 1860-1861 that led to the formation of the confederacy and the beginning of the American Civil War e.g. Taiwan secessionist and the US are leaving the Chinese mainland and the PLA with no choise but to enhance war preparedness in case of Taiwan secessionism.

gait

n. manner of walking e.g. As capabilities increased, so did the need for processing: at first, the surveillance systems could track only the movement of crowds, according to a former Chinese official; later, the technology could assess a person's gait, even her facial expressions. Syn. walk, pace, manner, style, posture

tribute

n. ~ (to sb) an act, a statement or a gift that is intended to show your respect or admiration, especially for a dead person ~ to sth/sb showing the good effects or influence of sth/sb (especially in the past) money given by one country or ruler to another, especially in return for protection or for not being attacked someting that you do, say, or build to show that you respect and admire someone or something. e.g. Suppose Mrs. X wants to honor her husband, Mr. X. Would she, or anyone else, regard it as much of an honor to have the ABC Manufacturing enterprice (which may be Mr. X's real monument and contribution to social welfare) name a newly built factory for him? On the other hand, if Mrs. X finances a library or other building named for Mr. X at a university, or a named professorship or scholarship, that will be regarded as a real tribute to Mr. X. It will be regarded precisely because it renders a public service. e.g. compliment, mark of respect, honour, praise, esteem, accolade, homage,

infraction

n. a breaking of a law or obligation an act of breaking a rule or law e.g. The threat of losing points was constantly dangled over the women. For a minor infraction, the guards might announce that they were docking a point; for a large one, they might say that the penalty was ten points.

angst

n. a feeling of anxiety and worry about a situation, or about your life a strong feeling of worry about what you should do, how you should behave, or what will happen in the future. Syn. Angst as an inevitable result of nihilism, it correspond to the origin form and nature of nihilism. Syn. anguish, torment, anxiety, trouble

adherent

n. a follower, supporter; a person who supports a political party or set of ideas adj. attached, sticking to able to stick firmly to a surface or an object e.g. Another was an adherent of Falun Gong; she was so terrified that she had attempted suicide by jumping out of a third-floor window.

conduite

n. a pipe, channel, or tube which liquid, gas or electrical wire can pass through a person, an orgnization or a country that is used to pass things or information to other people or places. e.g. A heavy silence fell over the building, as minders—the detainees' conduits for news—became cautious about what they said. Synonym outlet

respite

n. a short period of rest or relief from something difficult or unpleasant a short delay allowed before sth difficult or unpleasant must be done. e.g. The preparations offered a respite from the language classes, and the pageants gave them a chance to prove their "transformation" and perhaps be set free. Synonym interval, break, relief, hiatus

strand

n. a single thin piece of thread, wire, hair, etc. one of the different parts of an idea, a plan, a story, etc. the land along the edge of the sea or ocean, or of a lake or river. v. ~ sb to leave sb in a plae from which they have no way of leaving. ~ sth to make a boat, fish, whale, etc. be left on land an unable to return to water. e.g. Over the months, she had convinced herself that she would be able to commemorate the anniversary of her father's death with her family, in the Kazakh tradition. But a year had passed, and she was still stranded. Synonym v. maroon, trap n. thread, filament

bombast

n. words which sound important but have little meaning, used to impress people. e.g. Bombast notwithstanding, the small size of seismic signals from the tests of both countries has cast doubt on the declared explosive yields. syn. pomposity, verboseness, affection, grandiloquence

omission

n. ~ (from sth) the act of not including sb/sth or not doing sth; the fact of not being included or done a thing that has not been included or done e.g. Shortly after Sheehan's death, in January, the Times published an obituary, as well as Scott's story on the reporter's fraught relationship with Ellsberg, including Sheehan's 2015 statements questioning the whistle-blower's behavior at the time. It did not include any comment from Ellsberg himself. The omission subjected the Times to criticism for not following the journalisti convension of allowing the subject of a story to repsond to disparaging remarks.

discharge

v. to give sb official permission to leave a place or job; to make sb leave a job ~ from prison/court to allow sb to leave prison or court gas/liquid when a gas or a liquid dsicharges or is discharged, or sb discharges it, it flows somewhere to fire a weapon or missile, or be fired to cancel or annul a court order n. ~ of liquid/gas the action of releasing a substance such as a liquid or gas; a substance that comes out from inside somewhere. ~ from hospital/job the act of officially allowing sb, or of telling sb, to leave somewhere, especially sb in a hospital or the army. ~ of duty the act of performing a task or a duty or of paying money that is owed. e.g. My observation is that whenever one person is found adequate to the discharge of a duty.. It is worse executed by two persons, and scarcely done at all if three or more are employed therein. syn. emission, flow, secretion, excretion, seepage, release, expulsion, ejection

enfranchise

v. to give sb the right to vote in an election to set somebody free, especially from slavery formerly, to grant politcal representation to a town or city. e.g. A woman cannot live in the light of intellect. Society forbids it. Those conventional frivolities, which are called her 'duties', forbids it. Her 'domestic duties', high-sounding words, which, for the most part, are but bad habits (which has not the courage to enfranchise herself from, the strength to speak through), forbids it. syn. empower, emancipate, liberate, naturalize

contribute

v. to give sth, especially money or goods, to help sb/sth ~ (to sth) to be one of the causes of sth to increase, improve or add to sth to write things for a newspaper, magazine, or a radio or television programme; to speak during a meeting or conversation, especially to give your opinion. to be part of a group or an activity and help it to be successful e.g. We saw that antifragility in biology works thanks to layers. This rivalry between suborganisms contribute to evolution: cells within our bodies compete; within the cells, proteins compete, all the way through. syn. donate, pay, underwrite, subsideze, weigh in, influence

distribute

v. to give things to a large number of people; to share sth between a number of people ~ sth to send goods to shop/stores and businesses to so that they can be sold ~ sth to spread sth, or different parts of sth, over an area. e.g. But, it turned out, there was nothing was nothing serious, a flawless estate, of couse debt-free, conservative, fairly distributed. There were some founds to discreetly provide to a woman likely to be a prostitute, for whom Tony had some antifragile obsessive love, of course helped by the fact that she was both older and much less attractive than Tony's wife, that sort of thing, so nothing serious. syn. mete out, deal out, hand out, dole out, share out, allocate, give out, issue, dispense, allot, , circulate, spread, disperse, disseminate, scatter

backtrack

v. to go back along the same route that you just come along To change an ealier statement, opinion or promise because of pressure from sb/sth e.g. Beijing remains intent on reining in its internet and fintech giants, a broad campaign that's wiped more than $250 billion off Alibaba's valuation since October. the e-commerce giant's speedy capitulation underscores its vulnerability to further regulatory action--a far cry from just six years ago, when Alibaba openly contested one agency's censure over counterfeit goods on Taobao and eventually forced the State Administration for Industry and Commerce to backtrack on its allegations. Syn. turn back, backpedal, retract

undulate

v. to go or move gently up and down like waves, e.g. Come lovely and soothing death, undulate round the world, serenely arriving, arriving, in the day, in the night, to all, to each. Sooner or later, delicate death. syn. fluctuate

stink

v. to have a strong, unpleasant smell to seem very bad, unpleasant or dishonest to be dispicably corrupt or dishonest n. a very unpleasant smell a lot of trouble and anger about sth e.g. Suck the stink-worsening moisture out of canvas shoes by sprinkling a little salt inside them and then wiping it out. syn. reek, smell, hum, pong, whiff, niff fuss, scandal, uproar, rumpus, unpleasant odor, stench, commotion

abet

v. to help or encourage sb to do sth immoral or illegal to assist somebody to do something, especially something illegal e.g. The law should not be aiding and abetting this new intolerance. Free speech can only suffer if the law prevents us from dealing with its consequeces. Syn. aid, assist, back up, connive, encourage, incite, support

envison

v. to imagien what a situation will be like in the future, especially a situation you intend to work towards. to envisage to form a mental picture of something, typically something that may occur or be possible in the future. e.g. They envision an equal society, free of poverty and disease. syn. imagine, envisage, foresee, predict, visualize, see, picture

accrete

v. to increase in size, or increase the size of something, especially by accumulation or the growing together of separate things e.g. Some balck holes, such as these aorund which galaxies are believed to accrete, formed just after the beginning of the universe.

proliferate

v. to increase rapidly in number or amount to multiply cells in the process of reproducing new cells, offspring, or parts, as in the budding of plants, or be multiplied this way. e.g. We intend to strengthen deterence to maitain peace and stability in the region and will work together and with others to address the danger asociated with North Korea's nuclear and missile program, includning the risk of proliferation. Syn. mutiply, thrive, flourish, boom, procreate

cull

v. to kill a particular number of animals of a group in order to prevent the group from getting too large. to collect somethng such as information from different places. n. the act of killing some animals (usually the weakest ones) of a group in order to prevent the group from getting too large. e.g. Since the first case of the disease was confirmed in November the country was embarked on a mass cull. Syn. reject, scrap, discard, second remove, get rid of, cast off, pick, select

discern

v. to know, recognize or understand sth, especially sth that is not obvious to see or hear sth, but not very clearly e.g. There can be no doubt that in our civilization poetry is by far the most discredited of the arts, the only art, indeed, in which the average man refuses to discern any value. syn. make out, notice, see, perceive, discover, understand, distinguish, fathom, be aware of, tell the difference, recognize, differentiate

pervert

v. to lead somebody or something away from what is considered good, normal, or proper to misinterpret or distort something such as a piece of text. to use something incorrectely or improperly. to bring something into a state regarded as morally inferior or reprehensible to affect something good or right in a negative way so that it becomes bad or wrong to influence someone to behave sexually in a way that is considered to be wrong or not normal n. somebody whose sexual behavior is considered unacceptably deviant an insulting word for someone whose sexual behavior you consider to be wrong or not normal. e.g. A writer who stopped to think what he was saying would be aware of this, and would avoid perverting the original phrase. Syn. deprave, corrupt, debauch, lead astray, spoil, warp, distort, misinterpret, twist, garble

dilute

v. to make a liquid weaker by adding water or another liquid to it to make sth weaker or less effective adj. made weaker by adding water or another substance e.g. To dilute the will to win is to destroy the purpose of the game. There is no substitute for victory. syn. adulterate, attenuate, mitigate, reduce, temper, thin, water down, weaken

howl

v. to make a long, loud cry ~ (in/with sth) to make a loud cry when you are in pain, angry, amused, etc. to blow hard and make a long sound ~ sth to say sth loudly and angrily n. a long loud cry made by a dog, wolf, etc. a loud cry something that you are in pain, angry, amused, etc. a long sound made when the wind is blowing strongly. e.g. The vietnamese reacted. On the night of September 24, a howling mob, not under Virt Mihn control, abducted, butchered, raped and mutilated dozens of French and French-Vietnamese men, woman and children. Syn. wail, yowl, scream, shriek, whine

tantalize

v. to make a person or an animal want sth that they cannot have or do to tease or torment somebody by letting the person see, but not have, something that desirable to make someone feell excited by shoeing or offering them somethinf that they want, often with no intention of giving it to them. e.g. Science fiction writers and computer scientists tantalize us with visions of artificial intelligence: computers that think for themselves. syn. tease, entice, torment, torture, tempt, provoke, frustrate, wind up

rattle

v. to make a series of short loud sounds when hitting against something hard; to make th do this to make series of short loud sounds as it moves somewhere to make sb nervous or frightened rattle sb's cage to annoy sb n. a series of short loud sounds made when hard objects hit agianst each other a baby's toy that makes a series of short loud sounds when it is shaken a wooden object that is held in one hand and makes a series of short loud sounds when you spin it round, used for example, by people watching a sports game. e.g. Frome the kitchen came a rattling of cups and saucers. Syn. shake, clatter, bang, jangle

rewind

v. to make a tape in a cassette player, etc. go backwards to wind something such as video or audio tape back onto its original spool or back to an ealier point to return to an earlier point in a conversation or activity. n. the process or function of rewinding something e.g. She said an advantage of the Internet is that students can stop the lecture and rewind when they do not understand something. Syn. wind back, reverse

embolden

v. to make sb feel braver or more confident ~ sth to make a piece of text appear in bolde print e.g. French humiliation at the hands of the Japanese emboldened Indochinese nationalists, most of them communists-led, to begain series of insurrections agaist french rule. Syn. encourage, hearten, buoy up, bolster, inspire

enervate

v. to make sb feel weak and tired to weaken somebody's physical, mental, or moral vitality e.g. The end of the republic is to enervate and to weaken all other bodies so as to increase its own body. syn. weaken, debilitate, drain, fatigue, exhaust, undermine, weary, wear out, deplete, devitalize, enfeeble, tire

protract

v. to make something last longer to extend ot lengthen a body part the plot lines and draw them using a scale and protracor e.g. Delay always breeds danger; and to protract a a great design is often to ruin it.

glamorize

v. to make sth bad appear attractive or exciting. to make something seem more interesting, romantic, or glamorous that it really is e.g. There is no need to glamorize one body type and slam another. We need to stop this absurd hatred towards bodies for being different size. It doesn't help anyone and it's getting old. syn. romanticize, idealize, exaggerate, embelish, dress up, decorate, adorn

elucidate

v. to make sth clearer by explaining it more fully e.g. Warner's method was that used previously by organic chemists to elucidate the structures of substituted benzenes, namely isomer counting. Syn. clarify, explain, explicate, illuminate, interpret

allay

v. to make sth, especially a feeling, less strong to calm a strong such as anger, or diminish ad set at rest somebody's fears or suspicions e.g. Xi Jinping had compared separatism and radical Islam to a disease, and officials often invoked medicine when they sought to allay concerns about the camps. Syn. dispel, calm, alleviate, assuage, relieve magitate

shunt

v. to move a train or a coach/car of a train from one track to another to move sb/sth to a different place, especially a less important one. n. a road accident in which one vehicle crashes into the back of another a small tube put in your body in a medical opreration to allow the blood or other fluid to flow from one place to another e.g. Finally, visa in hand, she flew to Zurich, then on to Warsaw. After standing in three different lines to have her papers inspected, she found herself shunted to the gray office of a gray-skinned bureucrat in a gray suit exactly matching to rest of the decor. syn. shove, push, shift, propel, jolt

cringe

v. to move back and/or away from sb because you are afraid to feel very embarrassed and uncomfortable about sth e.g. She almost makes you cringe watching her, you think: stop kissing Helen, stop touching her all the time, because Helen never reciprocates. Syn. recoil, wince, flinch, cower

induce

v. to persuade or influence sb to do sth e.g. Nothing would induce mw to take the job. to cause sth to make a woman start gicing birth to her baby by giving her special drugs Syn. persuade, encourage, tempt, convince, prompt, provoke

feign

v. to pretend taht you have a particular feeling or that you are ill/sick, tired, etc. e.g. The camp administrators, however, returned her to the cell, arguing that she had been feigning illness. Syn. pretend sham

Thucydides Trap

when a rising power causes fear in an established power which escalates toward war Invoking the history of Peloponnesian War which was caused by the rise in power of Athens and the fear it created in Sparta.