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bury the hatchet

to stop an argument and become friends again: Can't you two just bury the hatchet?

angst

strong worry and unhappiness, especially about personal problems: All my children went through a period of late-adolescent angst.

angsty

often worried or unhappy, especially about personal problems: an angsty teenage boy

kook

a strange person

perpetuate

to cause something to continue: Increasing the supply of weapons will only perpetuate the violence and anarchy. The aim of the association is to perpetuate the skills of traditional furniture design.

scuttle

to move quickly, with small, short steps, especially in order to escape: A crab scuttled away under a rock as we passed. The children scuttled off as soon as the principal appeared.

snarky

criticizing someone in an annoyed way and trying to hurt their feelings: There was some idiot at the back of the room making snarky comments.

swirl

to move quickly with a twisting, circular movement, or to make something do this: The fog swirled thickly around us./ ideas or stories about somebody or something swirl, they are often heard but may not be based on fact

insipid

not having a strong taste or character, or having no interest or energy: a pale insipid wine He's an insipid old bore. Why anyone buys music with such insipid lyrics is a mystery.

disdain

to feel disdain for someone or something: The older musicians disdain the new, rock-influenced music./disdain to do something formal to refuse to do something because you feel you are too important to do it

void of

without; lacking in: He's completely void of charm as far as I can see.

void (n/adj)

having no legal authority and therefore unacceptable: The lawyers declared the contract (null and) void./a large hole or empty space

void

a feeling of unhappiness because someone or something is missing: They tried to describe their attempts to fill the void left by their son's death.

no good deed goes unpunished

is a sardonic commentary on the frequency with which acts of kindness backfire on those who offer them

sardonic

humorous in an unkind way that shows you do not respect someone or something: a sardonic smile/look/comment

appendage

something that exists as a smaller and less important part of something larger: The committee is a mere appendage of the council and has no power of its own. The organism has small leaf-like appendages.

purgatory

the place where the spirits of dead people go and suffer for the evil acts

rickety

in bad condition and therefore weak and likely to break: Careful! That chair's a bit rickety. She slowly climbed the rickety wooden steps.

velocity

the speed at which an object is traveling: Light travels at the highest achievable velocity in the universe. He always used high velocity lead bullets in his rifle.

propel

to push or move something somewhere, often with a lot of force: a rocket propelled through space The Kon-Tiki sailed across the Pacific Ocean propelled by wind power.

propel someone into/to/towards something

to cause someone to do an activity or be in a situation: The movie propelled him to international stardom.

forge

to make an illegal copy of something /to make or produce something, especially with some difficulty: The accident forged a close bond between the two families. She forged a new career for herself as a singer.

errand

a short trip either to take a message or to take or collect something: I'll meet you at six, I have some errands to do/run first.

liquidate

to cause a business to close, so that its assets can be sold to pay its debts/to kill someone

mercurial

changing suddenly and often: a mercurial temperament She was entertaining but unpredictable, with mercurial mood swings./intelligent, enthusiastic, and quick: a mercurial mind/wit

berate

to criticize someone in an angry manner: His mother berated him for making a mess.

rebuke

to speak angrily to someone because you disapprove of what they have said or done: I was rebuked by my manager for being late. The Justice Department publicly rebuked him over a leaked memorandum

memorandum

a short written report prepared specially for a person or group of people that contains information about a particular matter: Michael Davis has prepared a memorandum outlining our need for an additional warehouse.

folly (n)

the fact of being stupid, or a stupid action, idea, etc.: She said that the idea was folly. [+ to infinitive ] It would be folly for the country to become involved in the war.

clunky

heavy and solid in an ugly way: The clunky handsets looked old-fashioned as soon as they were launched. He wore a clunky gold ring./awkward or badly done

antics

funny, silly, or strange behavior: But the rock star, whose stage antics used to include smashing guitars, is older and wiser now.

interlude

a short period when a situation or activity is different from what comes before and after it: After a brief interlude working as an architect, he went traveling. The musical interludes don't really fit in with the rest of the play.

boisterous (rambunctious)

noisy, energetic, and rough: boisterous children a boisterous game

limerick

a humorous poem with five lines

tardy

slow or late in happening or arriving: Any child who is tardy getting to school must have a note from a parent.

perplex

to confuse and worry someone slightly by being difficult to understand or solve: The disease has continued to perplex doctors. Synonyms baffle flummox informal

gregarious

(of people) liking to be with other people: Emma's a gregarious, outgoing sort of person.

nothing ventured, nothing gained

You have to take a risk in order to get something good.

dissect

to examine or consider something in detail: He's the kind of person who watches a movie and then dissects it for hours./to cut open something

patronizing

speaking or behaving toward someone as if they are stupid or not important: It's that patronizing tone of hers that I can't bear.

the-nitty-gritty

the basic facts of a situation: Let's get down to the nitty-gritty - how much will it cost?

change/shift/switch gears

to change the position of the gears to make a vehicle go faster or more slowly to suddenly do something in a different way: The first half is a comedy, but then the movie shifts gears.

acronym

an abbreviation consisting of the first letters of each word in the name of something, pronounced as a word: AIDS is an acronym for "Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome."

moot

to suggest something for discussion: The idea was first mooted as long ago as the 1840s. His name was mooted as a possible successor.

draught

draught

infamous (notorious)

famous for something considered bad: The list included the infamous George Drake, a double murderer. He's infamous for his bigoted sense of humor.

gauge (US also gage)

to calculate an amount, especially by using a measuring device: Use a thermometer to gauge the temperature. make a judgment It's difficult to gauge how they'll react.

sap

to make someone weaker or take away strength or an important quality from someone, especially over a long period of time: Constant criticism saps you of your confidence. Taking care of her dying mother had sapped all her energy.

drain

remove liquid, to make someone very tired: The long trip completely drained me./to reduce or cause something to reduce: The long war had drained the resources of both countries.

great minds think alike

said to someone just after you have discovered that they have had the same idea as you

trial and tribulations

troubles and events that cause suffering: the trials and tribulations of marriage

overrun

to continue past an intended limit, especially a finishing time or a cost: My evening class overran by ten minutes./ unwanted people or things overrun, they fill a place quickly and in large numbers

flabbergasted (flabbergast)

to shock someone, usually by telling that person something they were not expecting: He was flabbergasted when we told him how cheap it was.

boggle

to (cause something or someone to) have difficulty imagining or understanding something: My mind boggles at the amount of money they spend on food.

socket

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prong

one of two or more long, sharp points on an object, especially a fork, electric plug etc

ambivalent (ambiguous)

having two opposing feelings at the same time, or being uncertain about how you feel: I felt very ambivalent about leaving home. He has fairly ambivalent feelings toward his father. an ambivalent attitude to exercise

equivocal

not clear and seeming to have two opposing meanings, or confusing and able to be understood in two different ways: His words to the press were deliberately equivocal - he didn't deny the reports but neither did he confirm them.

caripricious

changing mood or behavior suddenly and unexpectedly: a capricious child He was a cruel and capricious tyrant.(impulsive)

whimsical

unusual and strange in a way that might be funny or annoying: a whimsical tale Despite his kindly, sometimes whimsical air, he was a shrewd observer of people.

esoteric

very unusual and understood or liked by only a small number of people, especially those with special knowledge: He has an esoteric collection of old toys and games. disapproving or humorous She has a somewhat esoteric taste in clothes.

exoteric

intended or suitable for people generally, not only for some people

flippant

not serious about a serious subject, in an attempt to be funny or to appear smart: a flippant remark/attitude It's easy to be flippant, but we have a serious problem to deal with here. I think she just thought I was being flippant.

grandiose

larger and containing more detail than necessary, or intended to seem important or great: grandiose plans/designs/ideas for making money

histrionic (melodramatic)

very emotional and energetic, but not sincere or without real meaning: a histrionic outburst She put on a histrionic display of grief at the funeral.

incongruous

unusual or different from what is around or from what is generally happening: The new computer looked incongruous in the dark book-filled library. It seems incongruous to have a woman as the editor of a men's magazine.

juxtapose

to put things that are not similar next to each other to compare or contrast: The exhibition juxtaposes Picasso's early drawings with some of his later works

laud

to praise

laudable

deserving praise

pernicious

having a very harmful effect or influence: The cuts in government funding have had a pernicious effect on local health services.

quixotic

having or showing ideas that are different and unusual but not practical or likely to succeed: This is a vast, exciting and some say quixotic project.

resplendent

having a very bright or beautiful appearance: the queen's resplendent purple robes I saw Anna at the other end of the room, resplendent in a red cocktail dress.

subservient

willing to do what other people want, or considering your wishes as less important than those of other people: Women were expected to adopt a subservient role/position. His other interests were subservient to his compelling passion for art.

slavish

obeying completely and having no original thoughts or ideas: a slavish devotion to duty a slavish translation

servile

too eager to serve and please someone else in a way that shows you do not have much respect for yourself: As a waiter you want to be pleasant to people without appearing totally servile.

vicarious

experienced as a result of watching, listening to, or reading about the activities of other people, rather than by doing the activities yourself: She took vicarious pleasure in her friend's achievements.

advocate

to publicly support or suggest an idea, development, or way of doing something: [+ -ing verb ] She advocates taking a more long-term view. He advocates the return of capital punishment.

amplify

to make something louder: amplified music/guitar formal to increase the size or effect of something: A funeral can amplify the feelings of regret and loss for the relatives.

corroborate

to add proof to an account, statement, idea, etc. with new information: Recent research seems to corroborate his theory.

decipher

to discover the meaning of something written badly or in a difficult or hidden way: Can you decipher the writing on this envelope?

efface

to remove something intentionally: The whole country had tried to efface the memory of the old dictatorship.

exacerbate

to make something that is already bad even worse: This attack will exacerbate the already tense relations between the two communities.

extrapolate

to guess or think about what might happen using information that is already known: You can't really extrapolate a trend from such a small sample.

facilitate

facito make something possible or easier: The new ramp will facilitate the entry of wheelchairs. The current structure does not facilitate efficient work flow. litate

galvanize

to cause someone to suddenly take action, especially by shocking or exciting them in some way: Western charities were galvanized by TV pictures of starving people. The prospect of his mother coming to stay galvanized him into action and he started

mitigate

to make something less harmful, unpleasant, or bad: It is unclear how to mitigate the effects of tourism on the island.

squint

to partly close your eyes in order to see more clearly: The sun was shining straight in her eyes and made her squint.

insidious

(of something unpleasant or dangerous) gradually and secretly causing harm: Cancer is an insidious disease.