Preclude (vt) to prevent something from
happening or somebody from doing
something, to make something impossible
Orchestrate (vt) to organize a complicated
plan or event very carefully and secretly;
ex. A carefully orchestrated publicity
campaign syn: stage-manage; to arrange
a piece of music in parts so that it can be
played by an orchestra; n. orchestration
Flip side (of/to something) different and
less welcome aspect of an idea, argument
or action
Spineless adj. weak and easily frightened
Marginalize vt. to make somebody feel as
if they are not important and cannot
influence decisions or events; to put
somebody in a position in which they have
no power; (n) marginalization, (adj)
marginalized
Dauntless adj. not easily frightened or
stopped from doing something difficult;
adj. daunting, vt. daunt (usually passive)
Daunt vt (usu passive) to make somebody
feel nervous and less confident about doing
something; adj. daunting - intimidating
Caveat n. a warning that particular things
need to be considered before something
can be done ex. Any discussion on legal
action must be preceded by a caveat on
costs.
Staggering adj. so great, shocking or
surprising that it is difficult to believe;
staggeringly
Coquette n. (often disapproving) a woman
who behaves in a way that is intended to
attract men, ad. Coquettish
Tippler n. someone who drinks alcohol;
tipple to drink alcohol
Dejected adj. unhappy and disappointed;
n. dejection
Conceit n. too much pride in yourself and
what you do; adj. conceited
Spite n. a feeling of wanting to hurt or
upset sb; ex. he said it out of spite; also in
spite of something; vt. to deliberately
annoy or upset sb; adj. spiteful
In spite of oneself doing sth although you
did not intend to do it
Retort v. to reply quickly to a comment, in
an angry, offended or humorous way; also
noun
Peevish adj. easily annoyed by
unimportant things; bad-tempered,
peevishly
Yonder (old use) that is over there, ex.
lets rest under yonder tree
Immensity n. the large size of sth; adj.
immense extremely large or great
Unadulterated adj. (usu. before noun)
complete and total ex. unadulterated
pleasure; not mixed with other substances
Adulterate vt. (often passive, sth with sth)
to make food or drink less pure by adding
other substance to it; adulteration
Cow vt. (usu passive) to frighten somebody
in order to make them obey you
Hapless adj. (only before noun, formal)
not lucky, unfortunate
Hurtle vi. (+ adv/prep) to move very fast
in a particular direction
Slip-up n. a careless mistake
Primeval adj. (usu before noun) from the
earliest period of the history of the world,
very ancient
Risqu adj. of performance, comment,
joke, etc. a little shocking because it is
about sex
Let alone used after a statement to
emphasize that because the first thing is
not true or possible, the next thing cannot
be true or possible either
Constrain vt. to force somebody to do
something or behave in a particular way.
(often passive) to restrict or limit sb/sth
Constrained adj. force or too controlled
Constraint n. a thing that limits or restricts
sth or ones freedom to do something, ex.
constraints of/on sth; strict control over
the way you behave or allowed to behave
Listless adj. having no energy or
enthusiasm; listlessly, listlessness
Highfalutin adj. (informal) trying to be
serious or important but in a way that
often appears silly and unnecessary, ex.
highfalutin language
Rarefied adj. (disapproving) understood or
experienced by only a very few or small
group of people who share a particular
area of knowledge or activity; (of air)
containing less oxygen than usual
Emulate vt. (formal) to try to do sth as
well as sb else because you admire them,
n. emulation
Adamant adj. determined not to change
your mind or to be persuaded about sth,
adamantly
Trickle vi/vt. to flow or make sth flow
slowly in a thin stream; to go or make sth
go somewhere slowly or gradually
Rejoinder n. (formal) a quick angry or
humorous answer or reply (+ to/for sth)
Esoteric adj. (formal) likely to be
understood by a few people with special
knowledge or interest
Pompous adj. (disapproving) showing that
you think you are more important than
other people especially by using long and
formal words; pomposity, pompously
Wayward adj. difficult to control, ex. a
wayward child; not socially acceptable,
waywardness
Paradigm n. (technical/formal) a typical
example or pattern of something; a theory
or group of ideas about how something
should be done, made or thought about
Dispensary n. a place in a hospital, shop,
store, etc. where medicines are prepared
for patients
Rattle someones cage make somebody
feel annoyed or angry usually deliberately
Take someone aback (usu. passive)
shock, surprise or disconcert someone
As easy/simple as ABC extremely easy
and straightforward
Aid and abet help and encourage
somebody to do something wrong, esp.
crime
In aid of in support of; for the purpose of
Above board honest, not secret
Across the board applying to all
An accident waiting to happen a
potentially disastrous situation usually
caused by negligent or faulty procedures
Accidentally on purpose apparently by
accident but in fact intentionally
Give a good/bad account of yourself to
make a favorable impression through your
performances and actions
Achilles heel a persons only vulnerable
spot; a serious weakness
Acid test situation or event which finally
proves whether something is good or bad,
true or false, etc.
Act your age behave in a manner
appropriate for your age and not to
someone much younger
Act of God an instance of uncontrollable
natural forces in operation
Clean up your act to behave in a more
acceptable manner
A hard/tough act to follow an
achievement or performance which sets a
standard difficult for others to measure up
to
Do a disappearing act to go away without
being seen esp. when someone is looking
for you
Man of action a man whose life is
characterized by physical activity or deeds
rather than by words
Add fuel to the fire/flames (of a person
or circumstance) make a situation or
conflict become more intense esp. by
provocative comments
Add insult to injury do or say something
that makes a bad or displeasing situation
even worse
Cast (cut) someone adrift leave someone
in a boat or craft which has nothing to
secure or guide it; abandon or isolate
someone
Take advantage of something make
good use of the opportunities offered by
sth; exploit or make unfair use of sth for
your own benefit; (of a man) seduce esp. a
sexually inexperience person
Nemesis n. a punishment or defeat that is
deserved and cannot be avoided
Ableism n. unfair treatment of disabled
people by giving jobs or other advantages
to able-bodied people
Able-bodied adj. physically healthy, fit and
strong in contrast to somebody who is
weak or disabled
Neocolonialism n. the use of economic or
political pressure by powerful countries to
control or influence other countries
Neologism n. a new word or expression or
a new meaning of word
Neurotic adj. caused or suffering from
Neurosis; not behaving in a reasonable
way, because you are worried about
something
Neurosis n. a mental illness in which a
person suffers strong feelings of fear and
worry; any strong fear or worry
Demean vt. (demean oneself) to do
something that makes people have less
respect for you; to make people have less
respect for sb/sth; adj. demeaning
Deliberate adj. done on purpose rather
than by accident; done slowly and
carefully; vi/vt. To think carefully about
sth, usually before making a decision (with
or without on something)
Disconcert vt. to make sb. feel anxious,
confused or embarrassed
Turnaround n. a situation in which sth
changes from bad to good; a complete
change in sbs opinion, behavior, etc
Contravene vt (formal) to do sth that is
not allowed by a law or rule; n.
contravention
Suppress vt. (disapproving) to put an end,
often by force, to a group or an activity
that is believed to threaten authority; to
prevent something from being published or
made known; to prevent yourself from
having or expressing a feeling or an
 emotion; to prevent something from
growing, developing or continuing
Entice (vt. + adv/p) to persuade somebody
or something to do something, usu. by
offering them something; enticement (n)
Ghastly adj. (of an event) very frightening
and unpleasant, because it involves pain,
death, etc, horrible; (of an experience or
situation) very bad or unpleasant; (of a
person or thing) that you find unpleasant
and dislike very much
Wimp n. a person who is not strong, brave
or confident; adj. wimpy or wimpish
Go Haywire to stop working correctly or
become out of control
Phony adj. (phoney) not real or true; false
and trying to trick people; also n.
(informal) a person who is not honest or
sincere; a thing that is not real or true
Cognitive adj. (usu before noun)
connected with mental processes of
understanding
Cognition n. the process by which
knowledge and understanding is developed
ion the mind
Ravishing adj. extremely beautiful,
gorgeous; adv. ravishingly
Flatulence n. an uncomfortable feeling
caused by having too much gas in the
stomach
Yank (vi/vt) to pull sth/sb hard, quickly,
and suddenly; also noun
Thaw vi. (thaw out) to melt or turn back
into water (of ice or snow); (of weather) to
become warm enough to melt snow and
ice; (thaw sth out) to become, or let frozen
food become soft or liquid ready for
cooking; to become or mke sth become a
normal temperature after being very cold;
to become more friendly and less formal
Trigger-happy (informal and disapproving)
too willing and quick to use violence,
especially with guns
Vis--vis in relation to, in comparison with
Abhor vt. (formal) to hate something, for
example a way of behaving or thinking,
especially for moral reasons
Quandary n. the state of not being able to
decide what to do in a difficult situation
Puny adj. small and weak; not very
impressive ex. puny efforts
Cashed up adj. (informal) very rich
Cash desk n. a place in a shop/store where
you pay for goods that you have bought
Cash flow n. the movement of money into
and out of a business as goods are bought
and sold
Cash register n. a machine used in
shops/stores, restaurants, etc. that has a
drawer for keeping money in, and that
shows and records the amount of money
received for each thing that is sold
Cash-starved adj. without enough money,
usu because another organization, such as
the government, has failed to provide it
Cash-strapped adj. without enough money
Sance n. a meeting at which people try to
make contact with and talk to the spirits of
dead people
Persecute vt. To treat sb in a cruel and
unfair way, esp because of their race,
religion or political beliefs; n. persecution
Wishful thinking the belief that sth you
want to happen is happen happening or
will, although tis is actually not true or very
unlikely
Wishbone a v-shaped bone between the
neck and breast of a chicken, duck etc.
Psychedelic adj. (of drugs) causing the
user to see and hear things that are not
there or that do not exist; (of art, music,
clothes, etc.) having bright colors, strange
sounds, etc. like those that are
experienced when taking psychedelic drugs
Catch n. (informal) a hidden difficulty or
disadvantage; ex. Whats the catch?
Unspeakable adj. (literary usu.
disapproving) that cannot be described in
words, usu. because it is so bad
Asexual adj. (technical) not involving sex,
not having sexual organs; not having
sexual qualities, not interested in sex; adv.
asexually
Asperity n. (formal) the fact of being rough
or severe, especially in a way you speak to
or treat sb.
Battle-hardened adj. (of soldiers) having
experience of war and therefore effective
at fighting battles
Battlefield n. a place where battle is being
fought or has been fought; a subject that
people feel strongly about and argue about
Battlements a low wall around the top of
the castle with spaces in it that people
inside could shoot through
Battle-scarred adj. a person or place
which has been in war or fight and shows
the signs of injury and damage
Battleship a very large ship used in war,
with big guns and heavy armor
Invaluable adj. extremely useful, ex.
Invaluable information
Abomination n. (formal) a thing that
causes disgust and hatred, or is considered
extremely offensive
Sneak (vi + adv/p) to go somewhere
secretly, trying to avoid being seen; vt. To
do sth or take sb/sth somewhere secretly,
often without permission; vi (on sb to sb)
(oldf, disapproving) to tell an adult that
another child has done sth wrong, esp in
order to cause trouble
Sneak up (on sb/sth) to move towards sb
very quietly so that they do not see or hear
you until you reach them
Flout vt. To show that you have no respect
for a law, esp. by openly not obeying it,
ex. Flout the law/authority/convention
Diaspora n (formal) the movement of the
Jewish people away from their own country
to live and work in other countries; the
movement of people from any nation or
group away from their own country
Heart-rending adj. (usu before noun)
causing feelings of great sadness
Blithe adj. (usu before noun)
(disapproving) showing that you do not
care or are not anxious about what you are
doing; ex. Blithe disregard for the rules,
adv. blithely
Brothel n. a house where people pay to
have sex with prostitutes
Pittance n. a very small amount of money
that sb receives, for example as a wage,
and that is hardly enough to live on
Mortuary n. a room or building, for
example a part of a hospital, in which dead
bodies are kept before they are buried or
cremated (funeral parlor)
Guise n. a way in which sb/sth appears,
often in a way that is different from usual
or that hides the truth about them/it;
under the guise of sth
Winnow out (winnow sb/sth out of sth)
(formal) to remove people or things from a
group so that only the best ones are left
Bout n. a short period of great activity; a
short period where there is a lot of a
particular thing, usu something unpleasant,
ex. A drinking bout, (also bout of sth); an
attack or period of illness, ex. A severe
bout of flu/coughing, occasional bouts of
depression
Apologia n. (formal) a formal written
defense of your own or sb elses actions or
opinions
Apoplectic adj. very angry
Grounding n. (+ in sth) the teaching of the
basic parts of the subject, ex. A good
grounding in grammar; the act of keeping
the plane on the ground or a ship in a pot
esp. because it is not in a good enough
condition to travel
Survey n. a general study, view or
description of sth; an examination of the
condition of a house, etc. before buying it;
the act of examining and recording the
measurements, features, etc. of an area of
land in order to make a map or plan of it;
an investigation of the opinions, behavior,
etc. of a particular group of people usu
done by asking questions
Append vt. (sth to sth) (formal) to add to
the end of a piece of writing
Oracle n. (ancient Greece) a place where
people could go to ask the gods for advice
or information about the future; the priest
or priestess through whom the gods were
thought to give their message, that advice
or information; a person or book that gives
valuable advice or information
Judgement (judgment) the ability to make
sensible decisions after carefully
considering the best thing to do; an
opinion formed about something or the act
of making it; the decision of the court or a
judge; (on sth) something bad that
happens to sb that is thought to be a
punishment from God
Sit in judgment on/over/upon sb to
decide whether sbs behavior is right or
wrong, esp when you have no right to do
this
Vagaries n. (formal) changes in sb/sth that
are difficult to predict or control
Fend (fend for oneself) to take care of
yourself without help from anyone else;
(fend sb/sth off) to defend or protect
yourself from sb/sth that is attacking you
or to protect yourself from difficult
questions, criticisms etc. by avoiding them
Overwhelm vt. (often passive) to have
such strong emotional effect on sb that is
difficult for them to resist or know how to
react; to defeat sb completely; to give too
much of a thing to a person; to be so bad
or so great that a person cannot deal with
it
Detest vt. To hate somebody very much
(not used in progressive tenses); n.
detestation
Boggle vi. (+ at) (informal) to be slow to
do or accept something because of shock
or surprise
Something boggles the mind/the mind
boggles at it (idiom) so unusual that
people find it hard to imagine or accept
Pantheon n. (technical) all the gods of a
nation or people; (formal) a group of
people who are famous within a particular
area or activity; a temple, built in honor of
all the gods of a nation; a building in which
 dead bodies of famous people of a nation
are buried or honored
Inferno n. a very large dangerous fire that
is out of control, ex. A blazing/raging
inferno
Regenerate vt. To make an area,
institution, etc. develop or grow strong
again; vi/vt to grow or make sth grow
again, n. regeneration, adj. regenerative
Rightful (adj) (only before noun) (formal)
that is correct, right or legal, adv.
Rightfully
Rationalism n. a belief that all behavior,
opinions, etc. should be based on reason
rather than on emotions or religious beliefs

Rational adj. (of behavior, ideas, etc)

based on reason rather than emotions; (of
a person) able to think clearly and make
decisions based on reason rather than
emotions
Glimpse vt. To see sb/sth for a moment,
but not very clearly; vt. To start to
understand sth; also noun a look at
sb/sth for a very short time, a sort
experience of sth that helps you to
understand it
Staccato adj. (music) with each note
played separately in order to produce
short, sharp sounds; with short, sharp
sounds
Teeter vi. To stand or move in an unsteady
way so that you look as if you are going to
fall
Teeter on the brink of sth to be very
close to a very unpleasant or dangerous
situation
Bling n. (informal) expensive shiny jewelry
and bright fashionable clothes worn in
order to attract attention to yourself, also
adj.
Jittery adj. (informal) anxious and nervous