WORD

MEANING

1.magnanimous /mgnn..ms/
adjective FORMAL

very kind and generous towards an

enemy or someone you have defeated

2. snout /snat/ noun [ C ]

1. the nose and mouth which stick out

from the face of some animals
2. SLANG FOR a person's nose

EXAMPLE
Arsenal's manager was
magnanimous in victory,
and praised the losing
team.

George has an enormous

snout.

3 doyen /d.en/ , /dwaen/ noun [ C

usually singular ]

the oldest, most experienced, and often

most respected person of all the people
involved in a particular type of work

4. doyenne /den/ , /dwaen/ noun

[ C usually singular ]

the oldest, most experienced, and often

most respected woman involved in a
particular type of work

The party was held in

honour of Vivienne
Westwood, that doyenne
of British fashion.

5. encumber /nkm.b r / /-b/ verb

[ T ] FORMAL

to weigh someone or something down,

or to make it difficult for someone to do
something

Today, thankfully, women

tennis players are not
encumbered with/by
long, heavy skirts and
high-necked blouses.

6. copulate /kp.j.let/ /k.pj-/

verb [ I ] SPECIALIZED

to have sex

7. fornicate /f.n.ket/ /fr-/ verb [ I ]

to have sex with someone who you are

not married to

FORMAL

8. odious /.di.s/ /o-/ adjective

extremely unpleasant; causing and

deserving hate

an odious crime
an odious little man

9. sly /sla/ noun

on the sly
If you do something on the sly, you do it
secretly because you should not be
doing it

He drives his mother's

car on the sly while she's
at work.

10. palisade /pl.sed/ /---/ noun

[C]

a strong fence made out of wooden or

iron poles that is used to protect people
or a place from being attacked

11 tout /tat/ verb MAKE KNOWN

1. [ T ] to advertise, make known or

praise something or someone
repeatedly, especially as a way of
encouraging their sale, popularity or
development
2. [ I ] to repeatedly try to persuade
people to buy your goods or services

FORMAL

As an education minister,
she has been touting
these ideas for some
time.
He is being
widely touted as the next
leader of the Social
Democratic party.
Several
insurance companies are

now touting their

services/wares on local
radio.
2. There were hundreds
of taxis at the airport, all
touting for
business/custom.
12 swish /sw/ verb [ I or T ]

to (cause to) move quickly

through the air making a soft sound
I heard the rope swish through
the air.

The horses swished their

tails to get rid of the flies
hovering around them.

13 swish /sw/ adjective INFORMAL

fashionable or expensive

a swish hotel

14 nubile /nju.bal/ /nu-/ adjective

describes a woman who is young and

sexually attractive

Rich old men often like to

be surrounded by nubile
young women.

15 penury /pen.j.ri/ /-j r.i/ noun [ U ]

the state of being extremely poor

FORMA

16 comatose /k.m.ts/ /
ko.m.tos/ adjective

INFORMAL

17 steed /stid/ noun [ C ]

a horse which is ridden

LITERARY

very tired or in a deep sleep

because of extreme tiredness, hard
work or too much alcohol

By midnight I was
virtually comatose.

18 admonish /dmn./ /-m.n/

verb FORMAL

1. [ T ] to tell someone that they have

done something wrong
2. [ T + to infinitive ] to advise someone
to do something

19. crotch /krt/ /krt/ noun [ C ] (

ALSO crutch )

the part of your body where your legs

join at the top, or the part of trousers or
underwear which covers this area

20. penance /pen.n t s/ noun [ C or U

]

an act which shows that you feel sorry

about something that you have done,
sometimes for religious reasons

As a penance, she said

she would buy them all a
box of chocolates.
They are doing penance
for their sins.

21 pare /pe r / /per/ verb [ T often +

adv/prep ]

1. to cut away the outer layer from

something, especially a fruit or a
vegetable
2. to reduce something, especially by a
large amount

1.He was busy paring

apples in the kitchen.
Pare off any bits of the
carrots that don't look
very nice.
2. The three-hour play
has been pared
(down/back) to two

1.His mother admonished

him for eat ing too
quickly.
2.Her teacher
admonished her to work
harder for her exams.

hours.

22. stealth /stel/ noun [ U ]

movement which is quiet and careful in

order not to be seen or heard, or secret
action

These thieves operate

with terrifying stealth they can easily steal from
the pockets of
unsuspecting travellers.
It would seem that some
politicians would prefer to
use financial stealth
rather than legislation to
produce change.
The weapons had been
acquired by stealth.

23. stench /stent/ noun

1. [ C usually singular ] a strong

unpleasant smell
2. [ S ] LITERARY a bad effect that follows
an unpleasant event or situation and is
noticeable for a long time

1.the stench of rotting

fish/burning
rubber/cigarette smoke
An overpowering stench
2. For some time after the
minister's resignation, the
stench of scandal hung
over the government.

24. whiff /wf/ noun [ C usually

singular ]

1. a slight smell, carried on a current of

air
2. a whiff of sth
a slight sign of something

1.He leaned towards me

and I caught/got a whiff
of garlic. During the first
few months of pregnancy
the slightest whiff of food
cooking made my
stomach turn.
2. They regularly hold
elections without a whiff
of corruption or violence.

25 conjurer , conjuror /kn.d r. r /

/-d./ noun [ C ]

a person who performs magic to

entertain people

26 obeisance / be.s n t s/ /o -/
noun [ C or U ] FORMAL

obedience and respect, or something

you do which expresses this

One by one the noblemen

made their obeisances (=
bent at the waist) to the
Queen.

27. brook /brk/ noun [ C ]

a small stream

I could hear the sound of

a babbling brook.

28. ingratiating /ngre.i.e.t/ /-t/

adjective

describes behaviour that is intended to

make people like you

an ingratiating
smile/manner

29. lacquer /lk. r / /-/ noun [ U ]

WOOD/METAL

1. a liquid which is painted on wood or

metal and forms a hard, shiny, protective
surface when it dries

30. swoop /swup/ verb [ I ]

1. to move very quickly and easily

through the air, especially down from a
height in order to attack
2. INFORMAL to make a sudden attack on
a place or group of people in order to
surround and catch them

1.The eagle swooped

down to snatch a young
rabbit.
2. Undercover police
swooped on three
houses in Bristol at 5 a.m.
this morning.

31. pretentious /prten t .s/ adjective

DISAPPROVING

trying to appear or sound more

important or clever than you are,
especially in matters of art and literature

a pretentious art critic

The novel deals
with grand themes, but is
never heavy or
pretentious.

32 . retinue /ret..nju/ /ret. n.u/

noun [ C usually singular + sing/pl verb ]

a group of people to help who travel with

an important person to help them

The President travels with

a large retinue of aides
and bodyguards.

33. smitten /smt. n/ /smt-/

adjective [ after verb ]

having suddenly started to like or love

something or someone very much

The story's about a man

smitten with love for his
wife's cousin.
He was so
smitten by her that he
promised to move to
Argentina to be near her.

34. tumult /tju.mlt/ /tu-/ noun [ C or

U ] FORMAL

a loud noise, especially that produced

by an excited crowd, or a state of
confusion, change or uncertainty

You couldn't hear her

speak over the tumult
from the screaming fans.
From every
direction, people were
running and shouting and
falling over each other in
a tumult of confusion.
The financial
markets are in tumult.

35. celibate /sel..bt/ adjective

not having sexual activity, especially

because of making a religious promise
to do this

36. priapic /prap.k/ adjective

relating to male sexual activity and

interests

His latest film has been

condemned as the priapic
fantasies of an old man.

37. ghoulish /gu.l/ adjective

1. ugly and unpleasant, or frightening

2. DISAPPROVING connected with death
and unpleasant things

He takes a ghoulish
delight in reading about
horrific murders.

38. mend /mend/ verb [ T ] MAINLY UK

to repair something that is broken or

damaged

Could you mend this hole

in my shirt?

MAINLY DISAPPROVING

39. non sequitur /nnsek.w.t r / /

nnsek.w.t/ noun [ C ]

a statement which does not correctly

follow from the meaning of the previous
statement

40 . gobbledegook , gobbledygook /
gb.l.di.guk/ /g.bl-/ noun [ U ]

language, especially used in official

letters, forms and statements, which
seems difficult or to mean nothing
because you do not understand it

This computer manual is

complete gobbledegook.

41. pastiche /psti/ /psti/ noun

[ C or U ]

a piece of art, music, literature, etc.

which intentionally copies the style of
someone else's work or is intentionally
in various styles, or the practice of
making art in either of these ways

The film is a skilful, witty

pastiche of 'Jaws'.

42 troubadour /tru.b.d r / /-dr/

noun [ C ]

a male poet and singer who travelled

around southern France and northern
Italy between the 11th and 13th
centuries entertaining rich people

43. ecclesiastical /kli.zis.tk. l/

adjective ( ALSO ecclesiastic ) SLIGHTLY

belonging to or connected with the

Christian religion

INFORMAL DISAPPROVING

FORMAL

44. inchoate /nk.et/ /-ko -/

adjective LITERARY

only recently or partly formed, or not

completely developed or clear

She had a child's

inchoate awareness of
language.

45. peril /per. l/ noun [ C or U ]

1. great danger, or something that is

very dangerous
2. do sth at your peril
to do something that might be
very dangerous for you

I never felt that my life

was in peril.
The journey
through the mountains
was fraught with peril (=
full of dangers) .
Teenagers must
be warned about the
perils of unsafe sex. We
underestimate the
destructiveness of war at
our peril.

46. pompous /pm.ps/ /pm-/

adjective DISAPPROVING

Too serious and full of importance

He's a pompous old prig

who's totally incapable of
taking a joke.
He can sometimes
sound a bit pompous
when he talks about
acting.

47. plutocrat /plu.t .krt/ /-t-/

someone who becomes powerful

The country has long

FORMAL

noun [ C ]

because they are rich

been run by plutocrats.

48 drivel /drv. l/ noun [ U ]

nonsense or boring and unnecessary

information

You don't believe the

drivel you read in the
papers, do you?
You're talking drivel as
usual!

49. wistful /ws t .f l/ adjective

sad and thinking about something that is

impossible or in the past

a wistful smile
I thought about those
days in Spain and grew
wistful.

50. agog /gg/ /-gg/ adjective

[ after verb ]

excited; eager to know or see more

We waited agog for news.

51. assorted /s.td/ /-sr.td/

adjective

consisting of various types mixed

together

a case of assorted wines

52. prurient /pr.ri.nt/ /prr.i-/

adjective FORMAL DISAPPROVING

too interested in the details of another

person's sexual behaviour

He denied that the article

had been in any way
prurient.

53. jurisprudence /d.rspru.dn t

s/ /dr.-/ noun [ U ] SPECIALIZED

the study of law and the principles on

which law is based

54. purport /ppt/ /pprt/ verb [ T

+ to infinitive ] FORMAL

to pretend to be or to do something,
especially in a way that is not easy to
believe

They purport to represent

the wishes of the majority
of parents at the school.
The study
purports to show an
increase in the incidence
of the disease.
The tape
recording purports to be
of a conversation
between the princess and
a secret admirer.

55. conducive /kndju.sv/ /-du-/

adjective

providing the right conditions for

something good to happen or exist

Such a noisy
environment was not
conducive to a good
night's sleep.
This is a more conducive
atmosphere for studying.

56. pervade /pved/ /p-/ verb [ T ]

When qualities, characteristics or smells

pervade a place or thing, they spread
through it and are present in every part
of it

The film is a reflection of

the violence that
pervades American
culture.

DISAPPROVING

FORMAL

57. imprimatur /m.prme.t r / /-t/

noun [ S ] FORMAL

58 upheaval

/phi.v l/ noun

[ C or U ]

59 jurisprudence

/d.r

spru.dn t s/ /dr.-/ noun [ U

]

official permission to do something that

is given by a person or group in a
position of power

When he suspended the

constitution and dissolved
Congress, he had the
imprimatur of the armed
forces.

(a) great change, especially causing

or involving much difficulty, activity
or trouble

Yesterday's coup
brought further
upheaval to a country
already struggling with
famine.
It would cause a
tremendous upheaval
to install a different
computer system.

the study of law and the principles

on which law is based

SPECIALIZED

60 trenchant

adjective

/tren. t nt/

SLIGHTLY FORMAL

61 condescend

kn-/ verb

/kn.dsend/ /

USUALLY HUMOROUS

62 scurrilous

/skr..ls/ /

sk-/ adjective

FORMAL

severe, expressing strong criticism or

forceful opinions

His most trenchant

criticism is reserved
for the party leader,
whom he describes as
'the most incompetent
and ineffectual the
party has known'.
Dorothy Parker's
writing is
characterized by a
trenchant wit and
sophistication.

condescend to do sth
If you condescend to do
something, you agree to do
something which you do not
consider to be good enough for your
social position

I wonder if Michael
will condescend to visit
us?

expressing unfair or false criticism

which is likely to damage someone's
reputation

a scurrilous
remark/attack/article

63 devour

/dva r / /-va/

1. to eat something eagerly and in

large amounts so that nothing is left
2. LITERARY to destroy something
completely
3. to read books or literature quickly
and eagerly

The young cubs

hungrily devoured the
deer.
The flames quickly
devoured the building.
She's a very keen
reader - she devours
one book after another.

/rknt/ verb [ I or

to announce in public that your past

beliefs or statements were wrong and
that you no longer agree with them

After a year spent in

solitary confinement,
he publicly recanted
(his views).

verb [ T ]

64 recant

T]

FORMAL

65 conspicuous

/knspk.ju.s/ very noticeable or attracting

adjective
66 collusion

[U]

/klu. n/ noun

FORMAL

67 escrow

/es.kr/ /-kro/

noun [ U ]

SPECIALIZED

68 cohort

/k.ht/ /ko.hrt/

noun [ C + sing/pl verb ]

69 abysmal

adjective

/bz.ml/

attention, often in a way that is not

wanted

In China, her blonde

hair was conspicuous.

agreement between people to act

together secretly or illegally in order
to deceive or cheat someone

It is thought that they

worked in collusion
with the terrorist
network

an agreement between two people or

organizations in which money or
property is kept by a third person or
organization until a particular
condition is completed

The money was placed

in escrow.

1. SPECIALIZED a group of people

who share a characteristic, usually
age
2. DISAPPROVING a group of people
who support a particular person,
usually a leader
.

This study followed up

a cohort of 386
patients aged 65+ for
six months after their
discharge home.
The Mayor and his
cohorts have abused
their positions of
power
abysmal working
conditions
The food was abysmal.
The standard of the
students' work is
abysmal.

very bad

70 malaise

or U ]

/mlez/ noun [ S

FORMAL

71 ensconced

/nskn t st/ /-

skn t st/ adjective [ after

verb ]

a general feeling of being ill or

having no energy, or an
uncomfortable feeling that
something is wrong, especially with
society, and that you cannot change
the situation

They claim it is a
symptom of a deeper
and more general
malaise in society.
We were
discussing the roots of
the current economic
malaise.

positioned safely or comfortably

somewhere

The Prime Minister is

now firmly ensconced
in Downing Street with
a large majority

causing strong feelings

Animal
experimentation is a
highly emotive issue .

the difficulties of a situation,

especially one which causes urgent
demands

the exigencies of war

Economic exigency
obliged the government
to act.

LITERARY

72 emotive

/m.tv/ /-mo.t

v/ adjective

73 exigency

/ek.s.d n t .si/

noun [ C or U ]

FORMAL