Word List 01

expurgate / ?eksp?rɡe?t / 閱

v. 刪改，刪節 remove offensive parts of a piece of writing

You have to expurgate your paper in order to typeset it.

yen / jen /

n. 癮；渴望 longing; urge

I’ve always had a yen to travel around the world.

flinch / fl?nt? / 閱

v. 畏縮，退縮 hesitate; shrink

I will never flinch at difficulties.

invincible / ?n?v?ns?bl /

adj. 不可戰勝的 unconquerable

He led an army of invincible strength.

antiquated ■ / ??nt?kwe?t?d / 閱

adj. 陳舊的，過時的 old-fashioned; obsolete

Some laws are antiquated and should be abolished.

deft / deft / 閱

adj. 靈巧的，熟練的，機敏的 neat; skillful

She was knitting with deft fingers.

divergent ■ / da??v??rd??nt /

adj. 有分歧的；分叉的 differing; deviating

Standing at the divergent paths, she didn’t know which to choose.

fitful ● / ?f?tfl /

adj. 間歇的，斷斷續續的 spasmodic; intermittent After a fitful investigation, we finally get a meaningful result.

hiatus / ha??e?t?s / 閱

n. 裂縫；間斷 gap; interruption in duration or continuity; pause

He came back to his old job after a two-year hiatus.

stint / st?nt /

n. 限制，限量；（工作）限額 supply; allotted amount; assigned portion of work v. 節約；限制 be thrifty; set limits

George reinvented himself as a cultural translator after a six-year stint as a personnel manager in Japan. // She had to stint herself on chocolate in order to keep slim.

infuriate / ?n?fj?rie?t / 閱

v. 使生氣，激怒 enrage; anger

Everyone in the room was infuriated by his arrogance.

molecule / ?mɑ?l?kju?l / 閱

n. 分子；小顆粒 the smallest particle (one or more atoms) of a substance, having all the properties of that substance

In chemistry class, the teacher told us how atoms and molecules react to form new substances.

reverent ■ / ?rev?r?nt / 閱

adj. 尊敬的，虔誠的 respectful; worshipful

The pupils looked almost reverent when the teacher was proudly talking about his volunteer work in the disaster area.

conspicuous / k?n?sp?kju?s / 閱

adj. 明顯的，顯著的 easily seen; noticeable; striking

The monkeys were cautious when confronted with conspicuous markings.

discomposure / ?d?sk?m?po???r / 閱

n. 心亂，不安；失去平衡 agitation; loss of poise

He received this thrust without discomposure.

dissemble / d??sembl / 閱

v. 偽裝，假裝 disguise; pretend

She dissembled innocence to stay with him.

concession / k?n?se?n / 閱

n. 讓步，妥協 the act of conceding or yielding

He made major concessions to end the quarrel with his wife.

esoteric ■ / ?es??ter?k / 閱

adj. 深奧的；只有少數才懂的 hard to understand; known only to the chosen few

The theory explained in this book is too esoteric for me to understand.

antidote ■ / ??ntido?t / 閱

n. 解毒劑 medicine to counteract a poison or disease

He found a natural antidote for that poison.

unique / ju?ni?k / 閱

adj. 唯一的，獨特的 without an equal; single in kind

Only those with a unique personality and ability can succeed.

receptive / r??sept?v / 閱

adj. 善于接受的，能接納的 quick or willing to receive ideas, suggestions, etc.

If we have a receptive mind, we can achieve success more easily.

imperious / ?m?p?ri?s / 閱

adj. 專橫的；傲慢的 domineering; haughty

He always talks in an imperious voice.

intimidate ■ / ?n?t?m?de?t / 閱

v. 脅迫 frighten

The robber intimidated him into silence by the life of his son.

retrograde / ?retr?ɡre?d /

v. 倒退，退化 go backwards; degenerate adj. 后退的；惡化的

It is generally acknowledged that the revival of this fashion is a sign of retrograded civilization.

meticulous ■ / m??t?kj?l?s / 閱

adj. 小心翼翼的，極為仔細的 excessively careful; painstaking; scrupulous

My teacher was so meticulous about everything.

toxic / ?tɑ?ks?k / 閱

adj. 有毒的；中毒的 poisonous

The residents living nearby complained to the local government that large quantities of toxic waste of the factory were released into the river.

injurious / ?n?d??r?ri?s / 閱

adj. 有害的 harmful

The drought period last year was extremely injurious to these apple trees.

acerbity / ??s??rb?ti / 閱

n. 尖酸，刻薄 bitterness of speech and temper

Grandet’s acerbity to his daughter brought retribution to himself.

condone ■ / k?n?do?n / 閱

v. 寬恕，赦免 overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse

People cannot condone the use of fierce violence.

rebuttal ■ / r??b?tl / 閱

n. 辯駁，舉反證 refutation; response with contrary evidence

The defense lawyer provided evidence in rebuttal of the charge.

irreproachable ● / ??r??pro?t??bl /

adj. 無可指責的，無瑕疵的 blameless; impeccable

Everybody admired Mary for her irreproachable conduct at the office party.

economy / ??kɑ?n?mi / 閱

n. 節約，節儉 efficiency or conciseness in using something

Many schools are conducting economy activities.

agenda / ??d?end? / 閱

n. 議事日程 items of business at a meeting

There are five items on the agenda of the regular meeting.

indelible / ?n?del?bl / 閱

adj. 去不掉的，不能拭去的 not able to be erased

That travel experience left an indelible impression on me.

insubordination / ??ns??b??rd??ne??n /

n. 不順從，反抗 disobedience; rebelliousness

A soldier might lose his life at war because of insubordination.

repeal / r??pi?l / 閱

v. 廢除，撤消 revoke; annul

The government has repealed the law segregating public facilities.

tangential / t?n?d?en?l / 閱

adj. 略微有關系的；離題的 peripheral; only slightly connected; digressing

It’s meaningless to spend so much time discussing those tangential issues.

halting / ?h??lt?? / 閱

adj. 猶豫的；蹣跚的 hesitant; faltering

It seemed he was hiding something, because he was talking in a halting way.

nonchalance ■ / ?nɑ?n???lɑ?ns / 閱

n. 冷淡，漠不關心；鎮靜 indifference; lack of concern; composure

Some heroes in the movies show remarkable nonchalance in the face of danger, for example, James Bond.

bode / bo?d / 閱

v. 預示 foreshadow; portend

The good news one after another bode well for our company.

elusive ■ / i?lu?s?v / 閱

adj. 逃避的；難以表述的，難懂的 evasive; baffling; hard to grasp

The room is filled with an elusive perfume.

correlation / ?k??r??le??n / 閱

n. 相關，相互關系 mutual relationship

There is high positive correlation between smoking and cancer.

remunerative / r??mju?n?r?t?v / 閱

adj. 有報酬的，有利的 compensating; rewarding

One year after she graduated, she found her job not so remunerative and she decided to set up her own business.

statute / ?st?t?u?t / 閱

n. 法令，條例 law enacted by the legislature

According to our university’s statutes, students who escape classes more than three times will be disqualified to take the final exam.

convention / k?n?ven?n / 閱

n. 習俗，慣例 social or moral custom; established practice

It’s just a social convention that men don’t wear skirts.

nullify / ?n?l?fa? /

v. 使無效，廢除 make invalid

You have no right to nullify laws even if you are the president.

remedial / r??mi?di?l /

adj. 治療的；補救的 curative; corrective

Because my roommate Mary was poor at grammar, she decided to take a course in remedial grammar at weekends.

bemoan / b??mo?n / 閱

v. 哀嘆；為…惋惜 lament; express disapproval of

We often hear teachers bemoan the lack of respect from students.

superficial ■ / ?su?p?r?f??l / 閱

adj. 表面的，膚淺的 trivial; shallow

A foreigner’s knowledge of superficial behaviors like shaking hands or using chopsticks is not surely a sign of knowing Chinese culture.

rectify ■ / ?rekt?fa? / 閱

v. 糾正，改正 set right; correct

When they realized their mistakes, it was too late to rectify.

fabricate / ?f?br?ke?t / 閱

v. 制造；編造 build; lie

It’s illegal to fabricate evidence.

ordinance / ???rd?n?ns /

n. 法令，條例 decree

Driving without a license is a violation of a city ordinance.

incorrigible ■ / ?n?k??r?d??bl /

adj. 無可救藥的，不能被糾正的 not correctable

Smoking is an incorrigible habit.

stigmatize / ?st?ɡm?ta?z / 閱

v. 打烙印；污蔑 brand; mark as wicked

A child who is not brave enough shouldn’t be stigmatized as a coward by parents.

dwindle / ?dw?ndl / 閱

v. 縮小，減少 shrink; reduce

His fame dwindled because he was not active like before.

mediocre / ?mi?di?o?k?r / 閱

adj. 中等的，平庸的 ordinary; commonplace

The audience were disappointed because their idol gave a rather mediocre performance in this role.

xenophobia / ?zen??fo?bi? /

n. 仇外者，懼外者 fear or hatred of foreigners

Xenophobia hindered the country’s development.

wax / w?ks /

v. 變大，增大 increase; grow

The tension between the two countries waxed at an alarming rate.

emulate ■ / ?emjule?t / 閱

v. 效仿，模仿；競爭 imitate; rival

He tried his utmost to emulate his younger brother at the English course.

construe / k?n?stru? / 閱

v. 解釋 explain; interpret

How do you construe what he did?

harbor / ?hɑ?rb?r / 閱

v. 提供住所或棲息地；窩藏 provide a refuge for; hide

The criminal must have been harbored somewhere.

disband / d?s?b?nd /

v. 解散，遣散 dissolve; disperse

The government tried to disband the illegal organization.

consecrate / ?kɑ?ns?kre?t / 閱

v. 獻給 dedicate; sanctify

The priest promised God he would consecrate his life to helping the poor.

entail / ?n?te?l /

v. 要求；使必要；牽涉 require; necessitate; involve

The property of the rich family was entailed on the eldest son.

relevant / ?rel?v?nt /

adj. 相應的，相關聯的 pertinent; referring to the case in hand

The police chief ordered that all the clues directly relevant to the case be immediately searched for across the city.

ulterior / ?l?t?ri?r /

adj. 隱秘不明的，別有用心的；較遠的 unstated; hidden; more remote

He did many things just for the sake of ulterior ends.

alias / ?e?li?s / 閱

n. 別名，化名 an assumed name

The agent used Bob Jones as his alias in this mission.

retrench / r??trent? /

v. 緊縮；節約 cut down; economize

They had to retrench their expenditure on everything after the third child was born.

grouse / ɡra?s /

v. 埋怨，發牢騷 complain; fuss

He is always grousing about something.

provincial ■ / pr??v?n?l / 閱

adj. 省的；偏狹的；守舊的 pertaining to a province; limited in outlook; unsophisticated

One would be considered provincial if he had no access to the Internet.

wily / ?wa?li /

adj. 老謀深算的，狡猾的cunning; artful

The old cop is very experienced and wily.

contention / k?n?ten?n / 閱

n. 主張，論點 claim; thesis

He disproved the major contention of his opponents.

incisive ■ / ?n?sa?s?v / 閱

adj. 鋒利的，尖銳的 cutting; sharp

Be careful of the incisive edge.

reprehensible ■ / ?repr??hens?bl / 閱

adj. 應受譴責的 deserving blame

No matter what the motive, the abduction of a child is an utterly illegal and reprehensible act.

mode / mo?d / 閱

n. 時尚，風尚；方式，方法；風格 prevailing style; manner; way of doing something

He has to change his mode of attire after working.

desultory / ?des?lt??ri /

adj. 散漫的，隨便的，離題的 aimless; haphazard

The careful study of a few books is better than the desultory reading of many.

conglomeration / k?n?ɡlɑ?m??re??n /

n. 團塊，混合物 mass of material sticking together

New York is a conglomeration of peoples speaking different languages.

enterprising / ?ent?rpra?z?? / 閱

adj. 有事業的，有進取精神的 full of initiative

The enterprising young man has a promise of success.

animosity ■ / ??n??mɑ?s?ti / 閱

n. 仇恨，憎惡 active enmity

Due to border disputes, the animosity between the two countries is deepening sharply.

invulnerable / ?n?v?ln?r?bl / 閱

adj. 攻不破的，不會受傷的 incapable of injury

Misled by the heresy, she used to think she was invulnerable.

fraternize / ?fr?t?rna?z /

v. 結有深交，友善 associate in a friendly way

You would have lived a happier life if you had fraternized with the local people when you first arrived here.

dauntless / ?d??ntl?s / 閱

adj. 大膽的；不屈不撓的 bold; persevering

The goal has now been finally achieved through their dauntless efforts.

metropolis / m??trɑ?p?l?s / 閱

n. 大城市，都會 large city

There is many a metropolis in China.

dissent ■ / d??sent / 閱

v. 不同意，持異議 disagree n. 異議 disagreement

I dissented from her views.

copious / ?ko?pi?s / 閱

adj. 豐富的 plentiful

In France, a hallowed tradition demands a copious flow of red wine at weddings.

obsolete / ?ɑ?bs??li?t / 閱

adj. 不再使用的，過時的 no longer useful; outmoded; antiquated

So many digital products become obsolete almost as soon as they are made.

alleviate ■ / ??li?vie?t / 閱

v. 減輕 relieve

The doctor gave her some strong drugs to alleviate her pain.

opportune / ?ɑ?p?r?tu?n / 閱

adj. 及時的；合適的，適宜的 timely; well-chosen

I believed my arrival was very opportune.

caliber / ?k?l?b?r / 閱

n. 才干；質量 ability; quality

He was a man of caliber, and of character.

contest / ?kɑ?ntest / 閱

n. 爭辯 dispute

It is a contest between ignorance and death, or wisdom and life.

surveillance / s??r?ve?l?ns / 閱

n. 監視，監督 watching; guarding

The ferocious murderer was kept under strict surveillance by the jailers.

derogatory / d??rɑ?ɡ?t??ri / 閱

adj. 侮辱的，貶義的 expressing a low opinion

Such conduct will be derogatory to his reputation.

husband / ?h?zb?nd / 閱

v. 節約使用 use sparingly; conserve; save

The country needs to husband the fuel resources before it is too late.

oligarchy / ?ɑ?l?ɡɑ?rki /

n. 寡頭政治 government by a privileged few

The oligarchy had stunted the country’s democratic and economic development.

decelerate / ?di??sel?re?t /

v. 減速 slow down

The government has made every effort to decelerate inflation.

integrity ■ / ?n?teɡr?ti / 閱

n. 正直，誠實；完整，整體 uprightness; wholeness

I was deeply touched by his integrity.

tumult / ?tu?m?lt / 閱

n. 吵鬧，騷動 commotion; riot; noise

His mind was in a tumult because of the entrance exam.

fallacious ■ / f??le???s / 閱

adj. 謬誤的；誤導的 false; misleading

We cannot accept the conclusion because the proof was fallacious.

inhibit / ?n?h?b?t / 閱

v. 抑制，限制，阻止 restrain; retard or prevent

The fear of failure inhibited him from taking more risk.

reciprocal / r??s?pr?kl / 閱

adj. 相互的，互惠的 mutual; exchangeable; interacting

Reciprocal help and affection is highly valued in this system of value.