Word List 4

apt /?pt/

【釋】adj. 傾向于的 (likely or having a natural tendency to do something)

【近】liable

【反】unlikely

【釋】adj. 合適的 (exactly suitable, appropriate)

【例】an apt reply

【近】suitable, fitting, appropriate

【反】inappropriate

【釋】adj. 迅速學(xué)習(xí)或領(lǐng)會(huì)的 (quick to learn or understand)

【例】an apt student

plight /pla?t/

【釋】n. 困境 (a dangerous, difficult situation)

【例】We must direct our efforts toward relieving the plight of children living in poverty.

【近】trouble, difficulty, extremity

anguish /???ɡw??/

【釋】n. 極度痛苦 (a feeling of great physical or emotional pain)

【例】The rejection filled him with anguish.

【近】agony, pain, torment, torture

【反】happiness

sentimental /?sent??mentl/

【釋】adj. 情感的；深情的 (connected with emotions, rather than reason)

【例】The ring was of great sentimental value.

【釋】adj. 多愁善感的

【例】The film is too sentimental.

【近】mawkish, nostalgic

provocative /pr??vɑ?k?t?v/

【釋】adj. 撩人的 (sexually suggestive)

【近】sexy, seductive

【釋】adj. 引起爭(zhēng)議的，挑釁的 (causing contro-versy)

【例】He has made a string of outspoken and sometimes provocative speeches in recent years.

【近】annoying, irritating

ethnicity /eθ?n?s?ti/

【釋】n. 種族特點(diǎn)；種族淵源

parachute /?p?r??u?t/

【釋】n. 降落傘

【釋】v. 傘投，空降；突然派到

【例】An old crony of the CEO was controversially parachuted into the job.

lament /l??ment/

【釋】n./v. (表達(dá))悲痛，痛惜 (express sorrow or regret)

【例】a young mother’s lament for the death of her son

Some older people lament the loss of close local communities.

【近】moan, mourn, grieve

【反】celebrate, rejoice

【釋】n. 悲歌，挽歌 (a song or poem expressing deep grief or mourning)

prominence /?prɑ?m?n?ns/

【釋】n. 顯赫；顯眼 (the state of being important or famous)

【例】The commission gave the case a prominence which it might otherwise have escaped.

【近】fame, celebrity, eminence

【形】prominent

anecdote /??n?kdo?t/

【釋】n. 軼事

【例】Joe kept us entertained with anecdotes about his friends.

【近】story, tale

【形】anecdotal

usher /????r/

【釋】v. 迎接，引座 (lead someone politely somewhere)

【例】Inspector Malley ushered us into his office.

【近】accompany, guide

【釋】n. 傳遞員，領(lǐng)座員

subdue /s?b?du?/

【釋】v. 克制，抑制

【例】She managed to subdue an instinct to applaud.

【近】restrain

【釋】v. 征服，制服 (bring (a country or people) under control by force)

【例】Charles went on a campaign to subdue the Saxons.

【近】conquer, defeat

lavish /?l?v??/

【釋】adj. 奢華的；豐富的 (large in amount, or impressive, and usually costing a lot of money)

【例】a lavish dinner/lifestyle/garden

【近】sumptuous, luxurious, expensive, fancy

【反】meager, frugal

【釋】v. 慷慨地將…給予某人 (give or bestow in abundance)

【例】They lavished attention on their children.

bolster /?bo?lst?r/

【釋】n. 墊枕

【釋】v. 支持 (back up)

【例】Britain is free to adopt policies to bolster its economy.

【近】strengthen, reinforce, boost, fortify

【反】undermine

bewilder /b??w?ld?r/

【釋】v. 使迷惑 (make someone feel confused)

【例】Too much choice just bewilders you.

【近】perplex, puzzle, confuse

【形】bewildering, bewilderment

disgrace /d?s?ɡre?s/

【釋】n. 羞恥；丟臉的事 (loss of reputation or respect)

【例】Hawkins described the team’s perfor-mance as a disgrace.

【近】shame, degradation

【反】credit

【釋】v. 使…蒙受恥辱

【例】She has disgraced herself by behaving this way.

pertain /p?r?te?n/

【釋】v. 有關(guān)；從屬 (be appropriate, related, or applicable)

【例】His remark did not pertain to the question.

【近】concern, relate to, relevant to

solicit /s??l?s?t/

【釋】v. 懇求；征集 (ask for or try to obtain)

【例】May I solicit your advice on a matter of some importance?

【近】ask for, request, seek, apply for

【形】solicitous

prophet /?prɑ?f?t/

【釋】n. 先知 (a person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God)

【形】prophetic, prophecy

stipulate /?st?pjule?t/

【釋】v. 規(guī)定

【例】The document stipulates certain condi-tions.

【近】specify, set down

【形】stipulation

navigation /?n?v??ɡe??n/

【釋】n. 導(dǎo)航 (plotting of course)

【例】Columbus corrected his westward course by celestial navigation.

affinity /??f?n?ti/

【釋】n. 類同

【例】the semantic affinity between the two words

【近】similarity

【釋】n. 喜愛

【例】her affinity with animals and birds

【近】empathy, sympathy

【反】aversion, dislike

【釋】n. 密切關(guān)系

mend /mend/

【釋】v. 縫補(bǔ)；改進(jìn) (repair (something that is broken or damaged))

【例】These socks need to be mended.

【近】repair, fix, stitch

【反】break

【釋】n. 修補(bǔ)處 (the part of something that has been repaired)

exquisite /?k?skw?z?t/

【釋】adj. 姣好的；精致的 (extremely beautiful and, typically, delicate)

【例】an exquisite hand-painted vase from China

【近】beautiful, lovely, elegant

reckless /?rekl?s/

【釋】adj. 魯莽的

【例】reckless driving

【近】rash, careless, thoughtless, hasty

【反】careful

allegiance /??li?d??ns/

【釋】n. 忠誠(chéng)

【例】FBI demands its employees to pledge absolute allegiance to this bureau.

【近】loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity, obedience

【反】disloyalty, treachery

zoom /zu?m/

【釋】v. 疾行，急速上升

【例】A lone car zoomed across the desert road.

【近】speed, rush

【釋】n. 變焦攝影

【例】Disclosed is freely varifocal glasses, which comprises zoom lenses and a focusing device.

deduct /d??d?kt/

【釋】v. 扣除

【例】We’ll deduct ten percent from the total.

【近】subtract

【反】add

【形】deduction

scrutinize /?skru?t?na?z/

【釋】v. 仔細(xì)檢查 (examine closely)

【例】It has become necessary for us to scrutinize the behavior of our staff toward the customers.

【近】examine, inspect

transcend /tr?n?send/

【釋】v. 超越 (go beyond the range or limits of)

【例】Such matters transcend human understanding.

【近】surpass, exceed, beat

churn /t???rn/

【釋】v. 攪拌，攪動(dòng)；翻騰

【例】Mae churned the milk.

【近】stir, toss

【釋】n. (制黃油的)攪乳器

hype /ha?p/

【釋】n./v. 不實(shí)宣傳，大肆宣傳

【例】Her work relies on hype and headlines.

【近】publicity, publicize, advertise

underscore /??nd?r?sk??r/

【釋】v. 突出 (emphasize)

【例】The Labor Department figures underscore the shaky state of the economic recovery.

【釋】v. 在…下面劃線 (draw a line or lines underneath to call attention to)

【例】He heavily underscored his note to Shelley.

climax /?kla?m?ks/

【釋】n./v. (達(dá)到)高潮 (the most intense, exciting, or important point of something)

【例】the exciting climax of the tournament

【近】peak, height

【釋】n. 群落演替的最終成熟形態(tài) (the final stage in a succession in a given environment, at which a plant community reaches a state of equilibrium)

【近】community

syndicate /?s?nd?k?t/

【釋】n. 企業(yè)聯(lián)合；財(cái)團(tuán)；辛迪加(私人和企業(yè)聯(lián)合組織)

【釋】v. 聯(lián)合成辛迪加；組成企業(yè)聯(lián)合組織

monumental /?mɑ?nju?mentl/

【釋】adj. 極大的

【例】It had been a monumental blunder to give him the assignment.

【近】huge, great, enormous, gigantic

【釋】adj. 意義深遠(yuǎn)的

【例】a monumental achievement

augment /??ɡ?ment/

【釋】v. 加強(qiáng) (make (something) greater by adding to it)

【例】He augments his income by teaching in the evening.

【近】increase, build up

【反】decrease

【形】augmented

thump /θ?mp/

【釋】n./v. 重?fù)簦恢負(fù)袈?(a heavy blow with a person’s fist)

【例】He was thumped by another child at school.

【近】hit, strike, beat, pound, punch

acquaint /??kwe?nt/

【釋】v. 使了解 (give someone information about something)

【例】We aim to acquaint policy makers with some of these issues.

【近】familiar with, inform of, advise of, brief on

【形】acquaintance

mingle /?m??ɡl/

【釋】v. 使混合；混合 (mix or cause to mix together)

【例】Leave the dessert overnight for the flavors to mingle.

【近】mix, blend

【反】separate, part

benign /b??na?n/

【釋】adj. 良性的 (having little or no detrimental effect)

【例】They enjoyed an especially benign climate.

【近】kind, friendly, warm

【反】hostile, harsh, unhealthy, unfavorable

weld /weld/

【釋】v. 焊接；統(tǒng)一，團(tuán)結(jié)

【例】The handle is then welded to the top of the box.

【近】fuse, bond, stick, seal, melt

tentative /?tent?t?v/

【釋】adj. 暫定的；猶豫不決的 (not certain or fixed)

【例】Political leaders have reached a tentative agreement to hold a preparatory confe-rence next month.

【近】preliminary, conjectural, experimental, provisional

【反】definite, confident

relic /?rel?k/

【釋】n. 遺跡，廢墟 (something from the past)

【例】Germany’s asylum law is a relic of an era in European history that has passed.

【近】remains, vestige

nostalgia /n??st?ld??/

【釋】n. 懷舊；懷舊之情

【例】a strong feeling of nostalgia

【形】nostalgic

alleviate /??li?vie?t/

【釋】v. 減輕 (make less severe)

【例】Their energies were focused on the alleviation of the refugee’s misery.

【近】reduce, ease, relieve

【反】aggravate

glossy /?ɡlɑ?si/

【釋】adj. 有光澤的；光滑的 (shiny and smooth)

【例】glossy black hair

【近】shiny, lustrous

【釋】adj. 用亮光紙印刷的

【例】a glossy magazine

【形】gloss

obstruction /?b?str?k?n/

【釋】n. 妨礙；阻礙

【例】Wealthy property owners have created one obstruction after another to undermine the low-income housing project.

【近】obstacle, barrier

【釋】n. 堵塞，障礙

【例】Walkers could proceed with the minimum of obstruction.

purport /p?r?p??rt/

【釋】n./v. 意圖；打算 (the meaning or substance of something)

【例】Many theories purport to explain growth in terms of a single cause.

huddle /?h?dl/

【釋】v. 擠成一團(tuán) (nestle closely)

【例】The survivors spent the night huddled around bonfires.

【近】crowd, cluster, gather, bunch

【釋】v. (暗中)碰頭 (gather together to discuss something quietly or secretly)

【例】Mrs Clinton was huddled with advisers at her headquarters.

【釋】n. 擠在一起的一群人或東西 (a small group of people or things that are standing very close together or lying on top of each other)

【例】We lay there: a huddle of bodies, gasping for air.

baffle /?b?fl/

【釋】v. 使困惑 (totally bewilder or perplex)

【例】An apple tree producing square fruit is baffling experts.

【近】perplex, puzzle, bewilder, confuse

【釋】n. 隔板，擋板

tedious /?ti?di?s/

【釋】adj. 單調(diào)乏味的 (too long, slow, or dull)

【例】a tedious job

【近】boring, dull

【反】exciting

aggravate /??ɡr?ve?t/

【釋】v. 加重 (make (a problem, injury, or offense) worse or more serious)

【例】Stress and lack of sleep can aggravate the situation.

【釋】v. 激怒，惹惱 (annoy someone, especially deliberately)

【例】What aggravates you most about this country?

【近】exasperate, irritate, bother, provoke

amenity /??men?ti/

【釋】n. 便利設(shè)施 (a desirable or useful facility of a building or place)

【例】The hotel amenities include health clubs, conference facilities, and banqueting rooms.

【釋】n. 禮儀 (manners)

【例】The amenity of his manners won him many friends.

【釋】n. (環(huán)境等的)舒適 (a feature that makes a place pleasant, comfortable, or easy to live in)

【例】He immediately noticed the amenity of his new surroundings.

【近】comfort

precursor /pri??k??rs?r/

【釋】n. 先驅(qū)，前導(dǎo) (a person or thing that comes before another of the same kind)

【例】He said that the deal should not be seen as a precursor to a merger.

【近】forerunner

cerebral /s??ri?br?l/

【釋】adj. 理智的

【例】His poetry is highly cerebral.

【近】intellectual

【反】emotional

【釋】n. 大腦的 (of the cerebrum of the brain)

lexicon /?leks?k?n/

【釋】n. 全部詞匯 (a language user’s knowledge of words)

【例】Chocolate equals sin in most people’s lexicon.

【近】dictionary, glossary

provisional /pr??v???nl/

【釋】adj. 暫時(shí)性的 (arranged or existing for the present, possibly to be changed later)

【例】If you have never held a driving license before, you should apply for a provisional license.

【近】temporary

【反】permanent

emulate /?emjule?t/

【釋】v. 效仿，模仿 (match or surpass (a person or achievement), typically by imitation)

【例】They tried to emulate Lucy’s performance.

【近】imitate, copy

hymn /h?m/

【釋】n. 圣歌 (a religious song or poem)

【近】praise, anthem

rhetorical /r??t??r?kl/

【釋】adj. 修辭的

【例】rhetorical figures

【釋】adj. 雄辯的 (intended to persuade or impress)

【例】His rhetorical speech called out a response in the heart of every man.

【近】persuasive

prudent /?pru?dnt/

【釋】adj. 精明的，深謀遠(yuǎn)慮的 (acting with or showing care and thought for the future)

【近】wise, foresighted

【反】reckless

herald /?her?ld/

【釋】n./v. 預(yù)示 (be a sign that something is about to happen)

【例】Their discovery could herald a cure for some forms of impotence.

【近】sign, indication

【釋】n./v. 傳令(官)；宣告(人) (a person who announces important news)

【例】Tonight’s clash between Real Madrid and Arsenal is being heralded as the match of the season.

【近】messenger, announcer

afflict /??fl?kt/

【釋】v. 使痛苦 (cause pain or suffering to)

【例】More and more children are afflicted by allergies.

【近】trouble, burden

【形】affliction

succumb /s??k?m/

【釋】v. 屈服 (fail to resist)

【例】First they said no, but eventually they succumbed.

【近】yield, submit, surrender

【反】resist, withstand

【釋】v. 不治而死 (die, especially from a disease or injury)

【例】He remembered the pain of watching his mother succumb to cancer.

pilgrim /?p?lɡr?m/

【釋】n. 朝圣者

【近】palmer

thwart /θw??rt/

【釋】v. 挫敗，使受挫 (hinder or prevent)

【近】frustrate

【釋】n. 獨(dú)木舟的橫梁

assimilate /??s?m?le?t/

【釋】v. 吸收，使同化 (take in (information, ideas, or culture) and understand fully)

【例】His family tried to assimilate into the white and Hispanic communities.

【近】absorb, soak up

【形】assimilation

hilarious /h??leri?s/

【釋】adj. 極有趣的，滑稽的 (extremely amusing)

【例】He had a fund of hilarious tales on the subject.

【近】funny, humorous, comic

protagonist /pr??t?ɡ?n?st/

【釋】n. 主角

【例】a leading protagonist of the conservation movement

【近】heroine

harass /?h?r?s/

【釋】v. 不斷騷擾；煩擾 (keep annoying or upsetting someone)

【例】The men were trying to harass the terrified refugees.

【近】hound, plague, torment, bother

confide /k?n?fa?d/

【釋】v. 吐露 (tell someone about a secret or private matter while trusting them not to repeat it to others)

【例】He confided to me that he felt like he was being punished.

【近】reveal, disclose

retrospect /?retr?spekt/

【釋】n. 回顧；追憶

【例】In retrospect, we should never have allowed that to happen.

【近】review, reflection

unleash /?n?li??/

【釋】v. 解開；釋放 (suddenly let a strong force, emotion, etc. be felt or have an effect)

【例】unleash the forces of nuclear power

【近】loose, release

relentless /r??lentl?s/

【釋】adj. 不間斷的 (oppressively constant; incessant)

【例】He seems to be under relentless pressure at work.

【近】persistent, constant, continual, continuous

【形】relent

determinant /d??t??rm?n?nt/

【釋】adj. 決定性的(因素)

【例】Pure force of will was the main determinant of his success.

jeopardize /?d?ep?rda?z/

【釋】v. 危及 (put into a situation in which there is a danger of loss)

【例】They were accused of jeopardizing the health of their children.

【近】threaten, endanger

filthy /?f?lθi/

【釋】adj. 骯臟的 (disgustingly dirty)

【例】a filthy hospital with no sanitation

【近】dirty, unwashed

【釋】adj. 淫穢的

【例】filthy language

【近】obscene, coarse

topple /?tɑ?pl/

【釋】v. 倒下，跌倒 (overbalance or become unsteady and fall slowly)

【例】She toppled over when I touched her.

【近】fall, tumble

【釋】v. 推倒，推翻，顛覆 (make someone lose their position of power or authority)

【例】Disagreement had threatened to topple the government.

【近】overturn, upset

peril /?per?l/

【釋】n. 危險(xiǎn)；危害 (serious and immediate danger)

【例】Jensen feared that his life was in peril.

【近】danger, risk, hazard, menace, threat

【形】perilous

ordeal /??r?di?l/

【釋】n. 磨難；嚴(yán)酷的考驗(yàn) (a painful or horrific experience)

【例】The hostages spoke openly about the terrible ordeal they had been through.

【近】trial, torture, torment

construe /k?n?stru?/

【釋】v. 把…理解為，認(rèn)為 (understand the meaning of something in a particular way)

【例】He may construe the approach as a hostile act.

【近】interpret, understand, take

renovation /?ren??ve??n/

【釋】n. 翻新，整修

【例】The museum was closed for renovation.

【近】restoration, rehabilitation, repair

mundane /m?n?de?n/

【釋】adj. 普通的，平凡的 (lacking interest or excitement)

【例】It was hard to return to mundane matters after such excitement.

【近】dull, boring, tedious, monotonous, tiresome, routine, ordinary

【反】extraordinary, imaginative, spiritual

versatile /?v??rs?tl/

【釋】adj. 多用途的；通用的 (with many uses)

【例】Eggs are easy to cook and are an extremely versatile food.

【近】adaptable, flexible, multifaceted

【形】versatility

contentious /k?n?ten??s/

【釋】adj. 有爭(zhēng)議的 (causing or likely to cause an argument)

【例】Abortion is a highly contentious issue.

【近】controversial, debatable

brink /br??k/

【釋】n. 邊緣

【例】Their economy is teetering on the brink of collapse.

【近】edge, verge, margin, border

cliche /kli???e?/

【釋】n. 陳詞濫調(diào) (a trite or obvious remark)

【近】platitude

astound /??sta?nd/

【釋】v. 使震驚 (fill with puzzled wonder)

【例】The magician will astound you with his latest tricks.

【近】amaze, astonish, stagger, surprise

【形】astounding

myriad /?m?ri?d/

【釋】n./adj. 無數(shù)(的)，大量(的) (a very large number of something)

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

【近】multitude, quantity

seduce /s??du?s/

【釋】v. 引誘，誘惑 (persuade someone to do sth. by making it seem very attractive)

【例】Seduced by the prospect of bigger profits, the company expanded too rapidly.

【近】lure

【形】seductive

salvage /?s?lv?d?/

【釋】n./v. 搶救；挽回

【例】He tried to salvage his reputation.

【近】rescue

【釋】n./v. 回收利用

【近】recycle

incompatible /??nk?m?p?t?bl/

【釋】adj. 有沖突的 (not in harmony)

【例】She and her husband are incompatible.

【近】irreconcilable, at odds with

【釋】adj. 不兼容的，互斥的 (inconsistent with)

【例】His theory was incompatible with that of his predecessor.

【近】unsuited, inconsistent with

dangle /?d??ɡl/

【釋】v. 懸蕩 (hang or swing loosely)

【例】They were dangling their legs over the water.

【近】swing, sway

【形】dangling

symmetry /?s?m?tri/

【釋】n. 對(duì)稱性 (the exact match in size and shape between two parts or sides of something)

【例】the incredible beauty and symmetry of a snowflake

【釋】n. 相等 (the quality of being very similar or equal)

【例】The superpowers pledged to maintain symmetry in their arms shipments.

【近】balance

conglomerate /k?n?ɡlɑ?m?r?t/

【釋】n. 企業(yè)集團(tuán) (a large company formed by joining together different firms)

【例】Legend Holdings is a large investment conglomerate partly owned by the Chinese government.

【釋】n. 混合物 (a compound of various things)

melancholy /?mel?nkɑ?li/

【釋】n. 憂傷 (sadness or depression of the spirits)

【釋】adj. 悲傷的，憂郁的

【近】mournful, gloomy, miserable, wretched, dismal

【反】cheerful

insulate /??ns?le?t/

【釋】v. 使絕緣；使隔熱 (prevent heat, sound, electricity, etc. from passing through)

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

【近】wrap, encase

【形】insulation, insulator

breathtaking /?breθte?k??/

【釋】adj. 驚人的 (astonishing or awe-inspiring in quality)

【例】The scene was one of breathtaking beauty.

【近】spectacular, magnificent, sensational

placebo /pl??si?bo?/

【釋】n. 安慰劑；使人寬慰的東西