WORD MEANING EXAMPLE

1.magnanimous /mægˈnæn.ɪ.məs/ very kind and generous towards an Arsenal's manager was
adjective FORMAL enemy or someone you have defeated magnanimous in victory,
and praised the losing
team.

2. snout /snaʊt/ noun [ C ] 1. the nose and mouth which stick out
from the face of some animals George has an enormous
2. SLANG FOR a person's nose snout.

3 doyen /ˈdɔɪ.en/ , /dwaɪˈen/ noun [ C the oldest, most experienced, and often
usually singular ] most respected person of all the people
involved in a particular type of work

4. doyenne /dɔɪˈen/ , /dwaɪˈen/ noun the oldest, most experienced, and often The party was held in
[ C usually singular ] most respected woman involved in a honour of Vivienne
particular type of work Westwood, that doyenne
of British fashion.

5. encumber /ɪnˈkʌm.bə r / /-bɚ/ verb to weigh someone or something down,
[ T ] FORMAL 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 /ˈkɒp.jʊ.leɪt/ /ˈkɑː.pjə-/ verb to have sex

[ I ] SPECIALIZED

7. fornicate /ˈfɔː.nɪ.keɪt/ /ˈfɔːr-/ verb [ I ] to have sex with someone who you are
FORMAL not married to

8. odious /ˈəʊ.di.əs/ /ˈoʊ-/ adjective extremely unpleasant; causing and an odious crime
FORMAL deserving hate an odious little man

9. sly /slaɪ/ noun on the sly He drives his mother's car

If you do something on the sly, you do it on the sly while she's at
secretly because you should not be work.
doing it

10. palisade /ˌpæl.ɪˈseɪd/ /ˈ---/ 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 /taʊt/ verb MAKE KNOWN 1. [ T ] to advertise, make known or As an education minister,
praise something or someone she has been touting
repeatedly, especially as a way of these ideas for some
encouraging their sale, popularity or time.
development He is being
2. [ I ] to repeatedly try to persuade widely touted as the next
people to buy your goods or services 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

12 swish /swɪʃ/ verb [ I or T ]
13 swish /swɪʃ/ adjective INFORMAL
14 nubile /ˈnjuː.baɪl/ /ˈnuː-/ adjective
15 penury /ˈpen.jʊ.ri/ /-jʊr.i/ noun [ U ]
FORMA
16 comatose /ˈkəʊ.mə.təʊs/
/ˈkoʊ.mə.toʊs/ adjective
17 steed /stiːd/ noun [ C ] LITERARY
18 admonish /ədˈmɒn.ɪʃ/ /-ˈmɑː.nɪʃ/
verb FORMAL
19. crotch /krɒtʃ/ /krɑːtʃ/ noun [ C ] (
ALSO crutch )
20. penance /ˈpen.ən t  s/ noun [ C or U
] about something that you have done,
21 pare /peə r / /per/ verb [ T often +
adv/prep ]
22. stealth /stelθ/ noun [ U ]
business/custom.
to (cause to) move quickly The horses swished their
through the air making a soft sound tails to get rid of the flies
I heard the rope swish through hovering around them.
the air.
fashionable or expensive a swish hotel
describes a woman who is young and Rich old men often like to
sexually attractive be surrounded by nubile
young women.
the state of being extremely poor
INFORMAL very tired or in a deep sleep By midnight I was
because of extreme tiredness, hard virtually comatose.
work or too much alcohol
a horse which is ridden
1. [ T ] to tell someone that they have 1.His mother admonished
done something wrong him for eat ing too
2. [ T + to infinitive ] to advise someone quickly.
to do something 2.Her teacher
admonished her to work
harder for her exams.
the part of your body where your legs
join at the top, or the part of trousers or
underwear which covers this area
an act which shows that you feel sorry As a penance, she said
she would buy them all a
sometimes for religious reasons box of chocolates.
They are doing penance
for their sins.
1. to cut away the outer layer from 1.He was busy paring
something, especially a fruit or a apples in the kitchen.
vegetable Pare off any bits of the
2. to reduce something, especially by a carrots that don't look
large amount very nice.
2. The three-hour play
has been pared
(down/back) to two
hours.
movement which is quiet and careful in These thieves operate
order not to be seen or heard, or secret with terrifying stealth -
action 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 /stentʃ/ noun 1. [ C usually singular ] a strong 1.the stench of rotting
unpleasant smell fish/burning
2. [ S ] LITERARY a bad effect that follows rubber/cigarette smoke
an unpleasant event or situation and is An overpowering stench
noticeable for a long time 2. For some time after the
minister's resignation, the
stench of scandal hung
over the government.

24. whiff /wɪf/ noun [ C usually 1. a slight smell, carried on a current of 1.He leaned towards me
singular ] air and I caught/got a whiff
2. a whiff of sth of garlic. During the first
a slight sign of something 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 /ˈkʌn.dʒ ə r.ə r / a person who performs magic to

/-dʒɚ.ɚ/ noun [ C ] entertain people

26 obeisance /ə ʊ  ˈbeɪ.s ə n t  s/ /oʊ-/ obedience and respect, or something One by one the noblemen
noun [ C or U ] FORMAL you do which expresses this made their obeisances (=
bent at the waist) to the
Queen.

27. brook /brʊk/ noun [ C ] a small stream I could hear the sound of
a babbling brook.

28. ingratiating /ɪnˈgreɪ.ʃiː.eɪ.tɪŋ/ /-t ̬ɪŋ/ describes behaviour that is intended to an ingratiating

adjective make people like you smile/manner

29. lacquer /ˈlæk.ə r / /-ɚ/ noun [ U ] 1. a liquid which is painted on wood or

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

30. swoop /swuːp/ verb [ I ] 1. to move very quickly and easily 1.The eagle swooped
through the air, especially down from a down to snatch a young
height in order to attack rabbit.
2. INFORMAL to make a sudden attack on 2. Undercover police
a place or group of people in order to swooped on three
surround and catch them houses in Bristol at 5 a.m.
this morning.

31. pretentious /prɪˈten t  .ʃəs/ adjective
DISAPPROVING
trying to appear or sound more a pretentious art critic
important or clever than you are, The novel deals
especially in matters of art and literature with grand themes, but is
never heavy or
pretentious.

32 . retinue /ˈret.ɪ.njuː/ /ˈret ̬. ə n.uː/ a group of people to help who travel with The President travels with
noun [ C usually singular + sing/pl verb ] an important person to help them a large retinue of aides
and bodyguards.

33. smitten /ˈsmɪt. ə n/ /ˈsmɪt ̬-/ having suddenly started to like or love The story's about a man
adjective [ after verb ]
34. tumult /ˈtjuː.mʌlt/ /ˈtuː-/ noun [ C or
U ] FORMAL
35. celibate /ˈsel.ɪ.bət/ adjective
36. priapic /praɪˈæp.ɪk/ adjective
MAINLY DISAPPROVING
37. ghoulish /ˈguː.lɪʃ/ adjective
38. mend /mend/ verb [ T ] MAINLY UK
39. non sequitur /ˌnɒnˈsek.wɪ.tə r /
/ˌnɑːnˈsek.wɪ.t ̬ɚ/ noun [ C ]
40 . gobbledegook , gobbledygook
/ˈgɒb.l ̩.di.guːk/ /ˈgɑː.bl ̩-/ noun [ U ]
INFORMAL DISAPPROVING
41. pastiche /pæsˈtiːʃ/ /pɑːˈstiːʃ/ noun
[ C or U ]
42 troubadour /ˈtruː.bə.dɔː r / /-dɔːr/
noun [ C ]
43. ecclesiastical /ɪˌkliː.ziˈæs.tɪk. ə l/
adjective ( ALSO ecclesiastic ) SLIGHTLY
FORMAL
44. inchoate /ɪnˈkəʊ.eɪt/ /-ˈkoʊ-/
adjective LITERARY
something or someone very much
a loud noise, especially that produced
by an excited crowd, or a state of
confusion, change or uncertainty
not having sexual activity, especially
because of making a religious promise
to do this
relating to male sexual activity and
interests
1. ugly and unpleasant, or frightening
2. DISAPPROVING connected with death
and unpleasant things
to repair something that is broken or
damaged
a statement which does not correctly
follow from the meaning of the previous
statement
language, especially used in official
letters, forms and statements, which
seems difficult or to mean nothing
because you do not understand it
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
a male poet and singer who travelled
around southern France and northern
Italy between the 11th and 13th
centuries entertaining rich people
belonging to or connected with the
Christian religion
only recently or partly formed, or not
completely developed or clear
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.
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.
His latest film has been
condemned as the priapic
fantasies of an old man.
He takes a ghoulish
delight in reading about
horrific murders.
Could you mend this hole
in my shirt?
This computer manual is
complete gobbledegook.
The film is a skilful, witty
pastiche of 'Jaws'.
She had a child's
inchoate awareness of
 language.

45. peril /ˈper. ə l/ noun [ C or U ] 1. great danger, or something that is I never felt that my life
FORMAL very dangerous was in peril.
2. do sth at your peril The journey
to do something that might be through the mountains
very dangerous for you 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 /ˈpɒm.pəs/ /ˈpɑːm-/ Too serious and full of importance He's a pompous old prig
adjective DISAPPROVING who's totally incapable of
taking a joke.
He can sometimes
sound a bit pompous
when he talks about
acting.

47. plutocrat /ˈpluː.tə ʊ  .kræt/ /-t ̬ə-/ someone who becomes powerful The country has long
noun [ C ] because they are rich been run by plutocrats.

48 drivel /ˈdrɪv. ə l/ noun [ U ] nonsense or boring and unnecessary You don't believe the
DISAPPROVING information drivel you read in the
papers, do you?
You're talking drivel as
usual!

49. wistful /ˈwɪs t  .f ə l/ adjective sad and thinking about something that is a wistful smile
impossible or in the past I thought about those
days in Spain and grew
wistful.

50. agog /əˈgɒg/ /-ˈgɑːg/ adjective excited; eager to know or see more We waited agog for news.
[ after verb ]

51. assorted /əˈsɔː.tɪd/ /-ˈsɔːr.t ̬ɪd/ consisting of various types mixed a case of assorted wines
adjective together

52. prurient /ˈprʊə.ri.ənt/ /ˈprʊr.i-/ too interested in the details of another He denied that the article
adjective FORMAL DISAPPROVING person's sexual behaviour had been in any way
prurient.

53. jurisprudence /ˌdʒʊə.rɪˈspruː.dən t   the study of law and the principles on

s/ /ˌdʒʊr.ɪ-/ noun [ U ] SPECIALIZED which law is based

54. purport /pəˈpɔːt/ /pɝːˈpɔːrt/ 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 /kənˈdjuː.sɪv/ /-ˈduː-/ providing the right conditions for Such a noisy
adjective something good to happen or exist environment was not
conducive to a good
night's sleep.
This is a more conducive
atmosphere for studying.

56. pervade /pəˈveɪd/ /pɚ-/ verb [ T ] When qualities, characteristics or smells The film is a reflection of
FORMAL pervade a place or thing, they spread the violence that
through it and are present in every part pervades American
of it culture.

57. imprimatur /ˌɪm.prɪˈmeɪ.tə r / /-t ̬ɚ/ official permission to do something that When he suspended the
noun [ S ] FORMAL is given by a person or group in a constitution and dissolved
position of power Congress, he had the
imprimatur of the armed
forces.

58 upheaval /ʌpˈhiː.v ə l/ noun (a) great change, especially causing Yesterday's coup
or involving much difficulty, activity brought further
[ C or U ]
or trouble upheaval to a country
already struggling with
famine.
It would cause a
tremendous upheaval
to install a different
computer system.

59 jurisprudence /ˌdʒʊə.rɪ the study of law and the principles on

which law is based
ˈspruː.dən t  s/ /ˌdʒʊr.ɪ-/ noun [ U ]
SPECIALIZED

60 trenchant /ˈtren. t  ʃənt/ severe, expressing strong criticism or His most trenchant
forceful opinions criticism is reserved
adjective SLIGHTLY FORMAL
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.
61 condescend /ˌkɒn.dɪˈsend/ condescend to do sth I wonder if Michael
If you condescend to do will condescend to visit
/ˌkɑːn-/ verb USUALLY HUMOROUS something, you agree to do us?
something which you do not consider
to be good enough for your social
position

62 scurrilous /ˈskʌr.ɪ.ləs/ /ˈskɝː-/ expressing unfair or false criticism a scurrilous

which is likely to damage someone's remark/attack/article
adjective FORMAL
reputation

63 devour /dɪˈvaʊə r / /-ˈvaʊɚ/ 1. to eat something eagerly and in The young cubs
large amounts so that nothing is left hungrily devoured the
verb [ T ]
2. LITERARY to destroy something deer.
completely The flames quickly
3. to read books or literature quickly devoured the building.
and eagerly She's a very keen
reader - she devours
one book after another.

64 recant /rɪˈkænt/ verb [ I or T ] to announce in public that your past After a year spent in
beliefs or statements were wrong and solitary confinement,
FORMAL
that you no longer agree with them he publicly recanted
(his views).

65 conspicuous /kənˈspɪk.ju.əs/ very noticeable or attracting In China, her blonde

attention, often in a way that is not hair was conspicuous.
adjective
wanted

66 collusion /kəˈluː.ʒ ə n/ noun agreement between people to act It is thought that they
together secretly or illegally in order worked in collusion
[U] FORMAL
to deceive or cheat someone with the terrorist
network

67 escrow /ˈes.krəʊ/ /-kroʊ/ an agreement between two people or The money was placed
organizations in which money or in escrow.
noun [ U ] SPECIALIZED
property is kept by a third person or
organization until a particular
condition is completed

68 cohort /ˈkəʊ.hɔːt/ /ˈkoʊ.hɔːrt/ 1. SPECIALIZED a group of people This study followed up

who share a characteristic, usually a cohort of 386
noun [ C + sing/pl verb ]
age patients aged 65+ for
2. DISAPPROVING a group of people six months after their
who support a particular person, discharge home.
usually a leader The Mayor and his
. cohorts have abused
their positions of
power
69 abysmal /əˈbɪz.məl/ adjective very bad abysmal working
conditions
The food was abysmal.
The standard of the
students' work is
abysmal.

70 malaise /mælˈeɪz/ noun [ S or a general feeling of being ill or They claim it is a

having no energy, or an symptom of a deeper
U] FORMAL
uncomfortable feeling that something and more general
is wrong, especially with society, and malaise in society.
that you cannot change the situation We were
discussing the roots of
the current economic
malaise.

71 ensconced /ɪnˈskɒn t  st/ /- positioned safely or comfortably The Prime Minister is

somewhere now firmly ensconced
ˈskɑːn t  st/ adjective [ after verb ] in Downing Street with
LITERARY a large majority

72 emotive /ɪˈməʊ.tɪv/ /-ˈmoʊ.t ̬ causing strong feelings Animal

experimentation is a
ɪv/ adjective highly emotive issue .

73 exigency /ˈek.sɪ.dʒ ə n t  .si/ the difficulties of a situation, the exigencies of war

especially one which causes urgent Economic exigency
noun [ C or U ] FORMAL
demands obliged the government
to act.