Vocabulary 03/2026

very harmful or evil, often in a way that you do not notice easily

pernicious /pəˈnɪʃəs/

the pernicious effects of poverty

the media’s pernicious influence

a parent who takes an overprotective or excessive interest in the life of their child

helicopter parent/parenting

if a situation is conducive to something such as work, rest etc, it provides conditions that make it easy for you to work etc

be conducive to something

an environment conducive to learning

to treat st as if it is not important or not a problem

shrug st off

Before I read this, I used to take things to heart way too much, but now I can just shrug it off.

have a lot of force or a great effect

pack a punch

His speech packed quite a punch.

to use the knowledge and information you have in order to understand something or form an opinion about it

deduce

From her son’s age, I deduced that her husband must be at least 60.

a tendency to behave in a particular way or suffer from a particular illness

predisposition to/towards: khuynh hướng đối với

ex: But what can the new genetic science tell us about genetic predispositions towards certain kinds of behaviour?

chăn nuôi gia súc

livestock farming

cao huyết áp

hypertension

mất an ninh lương thực

food insecurity

hồi sinh ngành công nghiệp

resuscitate the industry

giải phẫu học

physical anatomy /əˈnætəmi/

tạo sân chơi công bằng

level the playing field

đất chăn thả

grazing land

To dominate or have the advantage: chiếm thế thượng phong

hold the upper hand

ex: After hours of fierce negotiations, the president gained/got/had the upperhand.

to win something/beat someone very easily

win/beat st/sb hands down

She won the debate hands down.

The last time we played tennis he beat me hands down.

to gradually become less and less or smaller and smaller

dwindle (away)

The elephant population is dwindling.

His money had dwindled away.

phương châm

maxim/saying

biện pháp tài chính

fiscal measures: biện pháp tài chính

quyền nghỉ phép năm (annual leave)

VACATION ENTITLEMENT

a disease that spreads quickly and kills a lot of people = plague: dịch bệnh

pestilence /ˈpestələns/

hoại tử

gangrene /ˈɡæŋɡriːn/

mối quan tâm quá mức

overbearing concern

thuế tiêu thụ đặc biệt

excise duty/tax /ˈeksaɪz/

excise duty on tobacco

impose a high excise tax on

to eat something quickly because you are very hungry

devour

to read something quickly and eagerly, or watch something with great interest

devour

Kandel devours novels and magazines.

greedy eater

glutton

I had a second helping and would have taken a third except that I

didn’t want to be considered a glutton.

delicious; juicy and sweet

luscious /ˈlʌʃəs/

 to make someone ill and weak

debilitate /dɪˈbɪlɪteɪt/

He was debilitated by his illness

A decadent person or group has low moral standards

decadent (suy đồi)

Pop music was condemned as decadent and crude (thô thiển)

offensive or rude, especially in a sexual way = vulgar

crude

crude pictures 

His language was often crude.

không thể xoá được (hình xăm)

indelible

old and in bad condition

decrepit /dɪˈkrepɪt/

The buildings were in a decrepit state.

decrepit wooden benches

weak and can easily be damaged or broken

 flimsy

the evidence was too flimsy

someone who is frail is weak and thin because they are old or ill

frail

frail elderly people

mentally/physically frail

 the country’s frail economy (=fragile)