MCQ 03

embezzle (v)

to secretly take money that is in your care or that belongs to an organization or business you work for

vindictive (adj)

having or showing a wish to harm someone because you think that they harmed you; unwilling to forgive

inauspicious (adj)

showing signs that something will not be successful or positive

conducive (adj)

providing the right conditions for something good to happen or exist

a brown study (idiom)

 a mood in which you are very involved in your own thoughts and not paying attention to anything else

chew the cud (idiom)

to think slowly and carefully about something

cudgel your brains (idiom)

 to think very hard or try to remember something you have forgotten

obsequious (adj)

too eager to praise or obey someone

elate (v)

to make someone feel extremely happy and excited, especially because something good has happened or been achieved

sedentary (adj)

involving little exercise or physical activity

reminiscent (adj)

making you remember a particular person, event, or thing (of someone/something)

narcissistic (adj)

having too much interest in and admiration for yourself

give someone pause (idiom)

to cause someone to stop and think about what they were doing or intending to do

have your business, sensible, etc. head on (idiom)

used for saying that you are considering something from a particular way of thinking

in the cold light of day (idiom)

if you think about something in the cold light of day, you think about it clearly and calmly, without the emotions you had at the time it happened, and you often feel sorry or ashamed about it

put your thinking cap on (idiom)

to think seriously about something

irascible (adj)

made angry easily

rack your brain (idiom)

to think very hard

still waters run deep (idiom)

said about a person who says little, but who might in fact know a lot

strain at a gnat (and swallow a camel) (idiom)

to worry or think too much about something that is not important, often forgetting about something that is much more important

weigh your words (idiom)

to carefully think about everything you are going to say before you say it

weasel out (of something) (phrasal verb)

to avoid doing something that you have agreed to do, especially by being dishonest

wriggle off the hook (idiom)

if someone wriggles off the hook, they avoid a responsibility

flinch from something/doing something (phrasal verb)

to avoid doing something that you consider unpleasant or painful

under false pretenses (phrasal verb)

if you do something under false pretenses, you lie about who you are, what you are doing, or what you intend to do, in order to get something

innocuous (adj)

completely harmless (= causing no harm)

unflappable (adj)

not likely to get worried, nervous, or angry even in difficult situations

astute (adj)

able to understand a situation quickly and see how to take advantage of it

elucidate (v)

to explain something or make something clear

ameliorate (v)

to make a bad or unpleasant situation better

extemporization (n)

a performance that an actor, musician, etc. Has not prepared or planned, or the act of performing in this way

recalcitrance (n)

the quality of being determined not to do what other people, especially people in authority, want or expect to be done

pontificate (v)

to speak or write and give your opinion about something as if you knew everything about it and as if only your opinion was correct

amalgamate (v)

 to join or unite to form a larger organization or group, or to make separate organizations do this

all that glitters is not gold (idiom)

said about something that seems to be good on the surface, but might not be when you look at it more closely

be without foundation (phrase)

to be untrue

be a matter of record (idiom)

if a fact is a matter of record, it is generally known to be true

have a/the ring of truth (idiom)

to seem to be true

hold water (idiom)

 if a reason, argument, or explanation holds water, it is true

circumvent (v)

to avoid something, especially cleverly or illegally

coerce (v)

to persuade someone forcefully to do something that they are unwilling to do

in all but name (idiom)

existing as a fact but not officially described that way

in anger (idiom)

if you do something in anger, you do it in a real or important situation as it is intended to be done, rather than just learning or hearing about it

break the mold (idiom)

to be new and different

a breath of fresh air (idiom)

someone or something that is new and different and makes everything seem more exciting

a fine line (idiom)

if you say that there is a fine line between one thing and another, you mean that they are very similar. You often say this when one thing is acceptable and the other is not

a whole new ballgame (idiom)

a completely different situation, often one that is difficult or that you know little about

a world of difference (idiom)

if there is a world of difference between two people or things, they are very different

borderline case (noun)

a situation, person, or thing that could belong to either of two types or groups, so it is difficult to say which type or group they belong to

how the other half lives (idiom)

something people say when they see or hear about the lives of people who are richer than them