Word List 9

touchdown /?t?t?da?n/

【釋】n. (飛機)著陸(時間)

【例】What is the plane’s speed at touchdown?

【釋】n. (橄欖球)觸地得分

hasten /?he?sn/

【釋】v. 加快 (be quick to do something)

【例】His death was hastened by alcohol abuse.

【近】accelerate, rush

【反】brake, decelerate

【釋】v. 催促

【例】Father hastened our going.

resonate /?rez?ne?t/

【釋】v. 回響 (produce, increase or fill with sound)

【例】The deep sounds of the bassoon resonated through the concert hall.

【近】echo, reverberate

【釋】v. 引起共鳴 (evoke emotions)

【釋】v. 共振

【形】resonance, resonant

improvise /??mpr?va?z/

【釋】v. 即興創作、表演 (create and perform without preparation)

【例】Good jazz musicians know how to improvise.

【近】ad-lib, extemporize

【釋】v. 臨時湊合做 (make something from whatever is available)

【例】I wasn’t expecting guests, so I had to improvise a meal with what I had in my refrigerator.

【形】improvisational, improviser

paramount /?p?r?ma?nt/

【釋】adj. 最重要的 (the most important; supreme)

【例】Maintaining the secrecy of the agreement is of paramount importance.

【近】cardinal, predominant

myriad /?m?ri?d/

【釋】n. 無數，極大數量 (a very large number of something)

【例】And now myriads of bars and hotels are opening up along the coast.

【近】multitude, number, quantity, scores

latitude /?l?t?tu?d/

【釋】n. 緯度

【例】Madrid and New York City are on nearly the same latitude.

【反】longitude

【釋】n. (言論、行為等的)自由度

【例】The judge has wide latitude to reject evidence for the trial.

ridicule /?r?d?kju?l/

【釋】v./n. 嘲弄 (make fun of sb. in an unkind way)

【例】She didn’t show anyone her artwork for fear of ridicule.

【近】mock, deride, taunt

【形】ridiculous

feminism /?fem?n?z?m/

【釋】n. 女權主義

【例】a longtime advocacy of feminism

【形】feminist

perimeter /p??r?m?t?r/

【釋】n. 周長 (a closed line bounding a plane area)

【釋】n. 邊界，邊緣

【例】soldiers guarding the perimeter of the camp

【近】circumference, boundary

courageous /k??re?d??s/

【釋】adj. 勇敢的

【例】She was a courageous woman who wasn’t afraid to support unpopular causes.

【近】brave, fearless

【形】courage

transient /?tr?n?nt/

【釋】adj. 短暫的 (of a short time; brief)

【例】transient beauty

【近】temporary, fleeting

【反】permanent, timeless

【釋】adj. 路過的

【例】transient visitors

clog /klɑ?ɡ/

【釋】v./n. 阻塞 (plug)

【例】There’s a clog in the kitchen sink.

【近】obstruct, block

fortify /?f??rt?fa?/

【釋】v. 增強 (make strong)

【例】fortified by a hearty meal

【近】strengthen

【釋】v. 鼓勵

【例】He took a deep breath to fortify himself before stepping onto the stage.

【釋】v. 設防加固(以防備進攻)

【例】fortify a city against attack

【形】fortification

additive /??d?t?v/

【釋】adj. 增加的 (of, relating to, or characterized by addition)

【例】Certain drugs have additive effects when taken in conjunction with each other that one doesn’t see when any one is used alone.

【釋】n. 添加劑

【形】addition

insulate /??ns?le?t/

【釋】v. 絕緣，隔熱 (prevent heat from passing through)

【例】You can insulate a house against heat loss by having the windows double-glazed.

【近】wrap, encase

【形】insulation, insulator

analogous /??n?l?ɡ?s/

【釋】adj. 類似的 (similar in some way)

【例】Bad-mouthing your sister is analogous to slapping her in the face.

【近】akin, similar, parallel

【形】analogy

overshadow /?o?v?r???do?/

【釋】v. 給…蒙上陰影 (tower above and cast a shadow over)

【例】The whole country was overshadowed at the news of President Lincoln’s death.

【釋】v. 使…黯然失色 (appear much more prominent or important than)

【例】The pitcher’s outstanding performance should not overshadow the achievements of the rest of the team.

【釋】v. 遮蔽

【例】Large trees overshadow the yard and darken the house for much of the day.

【近】dim, obscure

visionary /?v???neri/

【釋】adj. 有遠見的 (having or showing clear ideas about what should happen or be done in the future)

【例】a visionary leader

【釋】adj. 幻想的，不切實際的 (incapable of being realized or achieved)

【例】a visionary scheme

【近】quixotic, unreal

【形】vision

plumb /pl?m/

【釋】adj. 垂直的 (vertical)

【例】He set the board plumb.

【近】vertical

【釋】v. 探究

【例】plumb the book’s complexities

【近】fathom

【釋】v. 鋪設水管

agitate /??d??te?t/

【釋】v. 使…激動 (disturb, excite, or anger)

【例】If I talk about the problem with him it just agitates him even more.

【釋】v. 煽動 (try to get people to support or oppose something)

【例】Some members of the union have been agitating for a strike.

【近】upset, rattle

【形】agitation

cosmic /?kɑ?zm?k/

【釋】adj. 宇宙的 (relating to the universe or outer space)

【釋】adj. 廣闊的

【例】This was disaster on a cosmic scale.

【近】vast, immense

【形】cosmos

wane /we?n/

【釋】v. 衰退，減弱 (diminish)

【例】Interest in this issue has continued to wane.

【近】abate, ebb, subside

【釋】n. 月虧

【例】The moon waxes and then wanes.

【反】wax

repress /r??pres/

【釋】v. 壓抑，抑制 (try not to have or show an emotion, a feeling, etc.)

【例】He could hardly repress his tears.

【近】suppress, subdue

【形】repression

endow /?n?da?/

【釋】v. 捐贈 (bestow)

【例】The millionaire endowed a scholarship.

【近】finance, gift

【釋】v. 天生具有 (have a particular desirable ability, characteristic, or possession by birth)

【例】Humans are endowed with reason.

【形】endowment

incompetent /?n?kɑ?mp?t?nt/

【釋】adj. 不勝任的，無能力的 (lacking the qualities needed for effective action)

【例】He is too incompetent to be trusted with such an important responsibility.

【近】incapable, unqualified

submerge /s?b?m??rd?/

【釋】v. 淹沒 (put under water)

【例】The town was submerged by the flood.

【近】inundate, overwhelm

【反】surface

encyclopedia /?n?sa?kl??pi?di?/

【釋】n. 百科全書

numb /n?m/

【釋】adj. 失去知覺的，麻木的 (deprived of the power of sensation)

【例】It was so cold that my fingers went numb.

【近】paralyzed, torpid

extravagant /?k?str?v?ɡ?nt/

【釋】adj. 揮霍的；昂貴的 (lacking restraint in spending money or using resources)

【例】an extravagant use of natural resources

【近】wasteful, prodigal

【反】thrifty, frugal

agreeable /??ɡri??bl/

【釋】adj. 討人喜歡的，怡人的 (pleasing to the mind or senses)

【例】an agreeable young man

【近】fine, palatable

pessimistic /?pes??m?st?k/

【釋】adj. 悲觀的 (tending to see the worst aspect of things)

【例】a pessimistic view of human nature

【近】downbeat, defeatist

【反】optimistic, rosy

【形】pessimism

outspoken /a?t?spo?k?n/

【釋】adj. 坦率的 (frank in stating one’s opinions)

【例】his outspoken advocacy of gun control

【近】direct, candid

petal /?petl/

【釋】n. 花瓣

bland /bl?nd/

【釋】adj. 乏味的 (not interesting or exciting)

【例】bland stories with little plot or action

【近】dull

【釋】adj. 清淡的 (lacking strong flavor)

【例】The vegetable soup was rather bland.

【近】tasteless

toxin /?tɑ?ks?n/

【釋】n. 毒素 (an antigenic poison or venom)

【近】poison, bane

【形】toxic

impoverish /?m?pɑ?v?r??/

【釋】v. 使貧窮；使枯竭 (make somebody poor; make something worse in quality)

【例】Intensive cultivation has impoverished the soil.

【近】deplete, bankrupt, drain

【反】enrich

gracious /?ɡre???s/

【釋】adj. 親切的；仁慈的 (showing kindness and good manners)

【例】a gracious host

【近】kind, graceful, urbane

thaw /θ??/

【釋】v. 融化，融解 (melt)

【例】The sun will soon thaw the snow and ice.

【近】defrost, fuse

【反】freeze

explanatory /?k?spl?n?t??ri/

【釋】【釋】adj. 起解作用的 (serving to explain)

【例】explanatory notes

【近】elucidative, expository

【形】explain

pivotal /?p?v?tl/

【釋】adj. 關鍵的 (central and important)

【例】She is at a pivotal point in her career.

【近】vital, critical, key

sterile /?ster?l/

【釋】adj. 貧瘠的 (clean and free from dirt and bacteria)

【例】a sterile arid region

【釋】adj. 不育的 (incapable of producing offspring)

【例】a sterile hybrid

【近】infertile, barren, fruitless

【反】fertile, fruitful

【釋】adj. 無菌的

【例】a sterile syringe

overhear /?o?v?r?h?r/

【釋】v. 無意中聽到 (hear (someone or something) without meaning to or without the knowledge of the speaker)

【例】We talked quietly so as not to be overheard.

【近】eavesdrop

tidal /?ta?dl/

【釋】adj. 潮汐的 (of the tide)

【例】tidal cycles

【形】tide

deplete /d??pli?t/

【釋】v. 消耗 (exhaust)

【例】Activities such as logging and mining deplete our natural resources.

【近】drain, devour

【反】renew, replace

【形】depletion

culprit /?k?lpr?t/

【釋】n. 犯人，罪犯 (a person who has committed a crime or done something wrong)

【例】The police eventually located the culprits.

【近】criminal, miscreant

vigor /?v?ɡ?r/

【釋】n. 活力，精力 (active bodily or mental strength or force)

【例】She was picked to lead the volunteer group because of her vigor and enthusiasm.

【近】energy, verve, vitality

【釋】n. 氣魄 (intensity of action or effect)

【例】She defended her beliefs with great vigor.

【形】vigorous

constellation /?kɑ?nst??le??n/

【釋】n. 星座

【釋】n. 群集

【例】The patient presented a constellation of symptoms.

neutralize /?nu?tr?la?z/

【釋】v. 使無效，抵消 (stop something from having any effect)

【例】The soldiers tried to neutralize the attack by dividing the invading army.

【近】counteract, annul

【釋】v. 中和

【例】This medicine neutralizes stomach acids.

【形】neutral

deduce /d??du?s/

【釋】v. 推斷 (arrive at (a fact or a conclusion) by reasoning)

【例】deduce from observation

【近】conclude, infer, gather

【形】deduction

negligible /?neɡl?d??bl/

【釋】adj. 可忽略不計的 (so small or unimportant as to be not worth considering)

【例】The price difference was negligible.

【近】inconsequential, insignificant

【形】neglect

burrow /?b??ro?/

【釋】n. 洞穴；藏身處 (a hole in the ground)

【例】The chipmunk retreated to its burrow to have its babies.

【近】den, hole, lair

sparse /spɑ?rs/

【釋】adj. 稀疏的 (thinly distributed)

【例】Vegetation becomes sparse higher up the mountains.

【近】scarce, meager, scant

【反】dense

converse /k?n?v??rs/

【釋】adj. 相反的，逆向的 (opposite or reverse)

【例】One must also consider the converse case.

【釋】v. 交談，談話 (have a conversation)

【例】At home we often converse in Spanish.

【形】conversation

recourse /?ri?k??rs/

【釋】n. 求助；手段 (a source of help in a difficult situation)

【例】It enabled its members to settle their differences without recourse to war.

【近】expedient, resort

disarm /d?s?ɑ?rm/

【釋】v. 繳…的械 (take a weapon or weapons away from)

【例】We will agree to disarming troops and leaving their weapons at military positions.

【近】disable

【釋】v. 消除(某人)的怒氣 (cause to feel less angry, hostile, or critical towards)

【例】She did her best to disarm her critics.

【形】disarmament

dissolution /?d?s??lu??n/

【釋】n. 解除；解散 (closing down or dismissal)

【例】the dissolution of the marriage

【近】bifurcation, partition, schism

【釋】n. 溶解

【例】dissolution of kidney stones

【形】dissolve

cosmopolitan /?kɑ?zm??pɑ?l?t?n/

【釋】adj. 世界性的 (containing people from different countries, and influenced by their culture)

【例】It’s one of the country’s most cosmopolitan cities.

【近】international

engender /?n?d?end?r/

【釋】v. 使產生，造成 (produce)

【例】The issue has engendered a considerable amount of debate.

【近】give rise to, beget

formative /?f??rm?t?v/

【釋】adj. 有助發展的

【例】a formative influence

【近】constructive

【形】form

primate /?pra?me?t/

【釋】n. 靈長目動物

rectangular /rek?t??ɡj?l?r/

【形】【釋】n./adj. 長方(的)

furnace /?f??rn?s/

【釋】n. 火爐，熔爐

hallmark /?h??lmɑ?rk/

【釋】n. 特點 (distinctive feature)

【例】Humor is one of the hallmarks of her style.

【釋】n. (金銀上的)標記證明

【近】symbol

devour /d??va??r/

【釋】v. 吞食，狼吞虎咽地吃 (eat quickly and eagerly)

【例】The lions devoured their prey.

【釋】v. 急切地讀

【例】She devoured every golf magazine she could find.

perish /?per??/

【釋】v. 死亡；枯萎 (die)

【例】Many ancient languages have perished over time.

【近】demise, expire

【形】perishable

prolific /pr??l?f?k/

【釋】adj. 多產的 (producing a great number of something)

【例】He was probably the most prolific songwriter of his generation.

【近】productive

【反】barren, sterile

carnival /?kɑ?rn?vl/

【釋】n. 狂歡節，嘉年華

【例】There is a carnival atmosphere in the office.

【近】celebration, fair

enrichment /?n?r?t?m?nt/

【釋】n. 豐富，充實 (the act of improving the quality of something, often by adding something to it)

【例】the enrichment of society

【釋】n. 富集，濃縮 (concentration)

【例】biological enrichment

【近】abundance

【形】enrich

obstruct /?b?str?kt/

【釋】v. 阻礙 (be or get in the way of)

【例】A large tree obstructed the road.

【近】hobble, impede

【反】facilitate

【形】obstruction

retard /r??tɑ?rd/

【釋】v. 減緩，妨礙 (slow)

【例】The problems have retarded the progress of the program.

【近】delay, slacken

【反】accelerate

【釋】n. 笨蛋，智障 (a stupid or mentally slow person)

【形】retarded

asteroid /??st?r??d/

【釋】n. 小行星 (a small rocky body orbiting the sun)

【例】Most asteroids are found between Mars and Jupiter.

feasibility /?fi?z??b?l?ti/

【釋】n. 可行性 (being doable)

【例】Practice has proved the feasibility of this instrument.

【近】possibility, potential

【形】feasible

intrude /?n?tru?d/

【釋】v. 闖入，侵入 (go somewhere where you are not wanted or are not supposed to be)

【例】Reporters constantly intruded into the couple’s private life.

【近】encroach

【形】intrusion

paraphrase /?p?r?fre?z/

【釋】n./v. 意譯 (express what somebody has said or written using different words to make it easier to understand)

【例】This is just a paraphrase of what he said, not an exact quote.

conformity /k?n?f??rm?ti/

【釋】n. 遵守；一致 (behavior or actions that follow the accepted rules of society)

【例】conformity to social custom

【近】compliance

【形】conform

chronological /?krɑ?n??lɑ?d??kl/

【釋】adj. 按年代順序排列的 (arranged in or according to the order of time)

【例】His art is displayed in roughly chrono-logical order.

【近】chronologic

seep /si?p/

【釋】v. 滲出 (flow or leak slowly)

【例】Water seeped in through a crack.

【近】ooze, trickle

distill /d??st?l/

【釋】v. 蒸餾

【例】They distill the whiskey from malted barley.

【近】purify, refine, filter

requisite /?rekw?z?t/

【釋】adj. 必要的 (necessary)

【例】This new CD is the requisite album of the year for classical music lovers.

【近】indispensable, integral

【反】dispensable

opaque /o??pe?k/

【釋】adj. 不透明的 (not transparent)

【例】an opaque lens

【釋】adj. 晦澀難懂的 (difficult to understand)

【例】I find her poetry rather opaque.

【近】ambiguous, inscrutable

【反】transparent, clear

engulf /?n?ɡ?lf/

【釋】v. 吞沒；吞食 (flow over)

【例】The town was engulfed by the flood.

【近】inundate, swamp, overwhelm

dignify /?d?ɡn?fa?/

【釋】v. 使顯貴，抬高…的身價 (make sth. seem worthy and impressive)

【例】I won’t dignify his abuse by reacting to it.

【近】distinguish, grace

【形】dignity

shroud /?ra?d/

【釋】v. 掩蓋 (cover)

【例】Visitors have complained about the scaffolding that shrouds half the castle.

【近】cloak, mantle

intruder /?n?tru?d?r/

【釋】n. 入侵者

【形】intrude

camouflage /?k?m?flɑ??/

【釋】n./v. 偽裝 (hide; disguise)

【例】The rabbit’s white fur acts as a camouflage in the snow.

【近】disguise, facade

intersect /??nt?r?sekt/

【釋】v. 橫穿，貫穿 (divide something by passing across it)

【例】a landscape of small fields intersected by hedges and streams

【釋】v. 相交

【例】Line A intersects with line B.

【近】cross

barren /?b?r?n/

【釋】adj. 貧瘠的 (unable to sustain life)

【例】barren deserts

【近】infertile, fruitless

【反】fertile, fruitful

【釋】adj. 不育的

【釋】adj. 沉悶無趣的

【例】a barren routine

shun /??n/

【釋】v. 避開 (avoid; reject)

【例】She was shunned by her family when she remarried.

【近】avoid, evade

colonize /?kɑ?l?na?z/

【釋】v. 殖民 (establish colony in)

【例】The area was colonized in the 18th century.

【近】settle, populate

【釋】v. 大批生長 (establish itself in an area)

【例】The slopes are colonized by flowering plants.

【形】colony

refute /r??fju?t/

【釋】v. 駁斥 (disprove)

【例】refute an argument

【近】rebut, challenge

permeate /?p??rmie?t/

【釋】v. 滲透，彌漫 (spread through something)

【例】The table has a plastic coating which prevents liquids from permeating into the wood beneath.

【近】infiltrate

mania /?me?ni?/

【釋】n. 狂熱 (an excessive enthusiasm or desire)

【例】The article describes the religious mania which is sweeping the US.

【近】frenzy, obsession

【形】maniac

integer /??nt?d??r/

【釋】n. 整數

nourish /?n??r??/

【釋】v. 養育 (provide with food or other sub-stances)

【例】Vitamins are added to the shampoo to nourish the hair.

【近】nurture, cultivate

fauna /?f??n?/

【釋】n. 動物群

【例】studying the diverse fauna of the island

shady /??e?di/

【釋】adj. 成蔭的 (giving or providing shade)

【釋】adj. 名聲不好的，見不得人的 (seeming to be dishonest or illegal)

【例】I don’t trust him. He seems like a pretty shady character.

【近】disreputable

【形】shade

synchronize /?s??kr?na?z/

【釋】v. 同步 (occur at the same time)

【例】The show was designed so that the lights synchronized with the music.

【近】concur, coincide

aquatic /??kw?t?k/

【釋】adj. 水生的 (growing, living, or done in water)

【例】The pond is small but can support many aquatic plants and fish.

【近】marine

hardy /?hɑ?rdi/

【釋】adj. 強壯的 (strong and able to survive difficult conditions and bad weather)

【例】a hardy young man

【近】robust

【反】delicate