Very advanced adjectives

grounded

Someone who is ______ makes good decisions and does not say or do stupid things

• He's very ______ even though he has so much money.

ironclad

very certain and unlikely to be changed

• ______ rules

egregious

extremely bad in a way that is very noticeable

• It was an ______ error for a statesman to show such ignorance.

Synonyms:

- flagrant

- glaring

- gross

affable

friendly and easy to talk to

• He struck me as an ______ sort of a man.

• She was quite ______ at the meeting.

Synonyms:

- amiable

- cordial

formal

- genial

nonchalant

behaving in a calm manner, often in a way that suggests you are not interested or do not care

• a ______ manner/shrug

Synonyms:

- carefree

- careless (NO WORRY) literary

- casual

- happy-go-lucky

conducive

providing the right conditions for something good to happen or exist

• Such a noisy environment was not ______ to a good night's sleep.

• A quiet room is a more ______ atmosphere for studying."

ostensible

appearing or claiming to be one thing when it is really something else

• Their ______ goal was to clean up government corruption, but their real aim was to unseat the government.

Synonym:

- seeming formal

stringent

having a very severe effect, or being extremely limiting

• The most ______ laws in the world are useless unless there is the will to enforce them.

• We need to introduce more ______ security measures such as identity cards.

• ______ safety regulations were introduced after the accident.

*finance & [economics - specialized]

involving not enough money being available for borrowing as a result of firm controls on the amount of money in an economy*

• Already low living standards have been worsened by ______ economic reforms.

giddy

feeling silly, happy, and excited and showing this in your behaviour

• She was ______ with excitement."

inconspicuous

not easily or quickly noticed or seen, or not attracting attention

• This type of bird is very ______ because of its dull feathers.

• At parties, he always stands in a corner and tries to look ______.

Opposite:

- conspicuous

up-to-the-minute

modern

• ______ fashion

containing all the most recent information

• ______ news

most recent; containing the most recent information

• Now we're going live to our reporter in Washington for ______ news on the crisis.

Synonyms:

- latest

- up to date

facile

A ______ remark or theory is too simple and has not been thought about enough

• a ______ explanation

• We must avoid ______ recriminations about who was to blame.

arduous

difficult, needing a lot of effort and energy

• an ______ climb/task/journey

Synonyms:

- backbreaking

- gruelling mainly UK

- laborious

stodgy

UK ______ food is heavy and unhealthy, sometimes in an unpleasant way

• I've been eating too many ______ puddings.

boring, serious, and formal

• Neither company has succeeded in shedding its ______ image.

• Younger consumers, it is said, regard their products as ______ and unfashionable.

formidable

C2 causing you to have fear or respect for something or someone because that thing or person is large, powerful, or difficult

• a ______ obstacle/task

• a ______ adversary/enemy/opponent

• a ______ intellect

• disapproving the director and his ______ wife

humdrum

having no excitement, interest, or new and different events

• We lead such a ______ life/existence.

• Most of the work is fairly ______.

Synonyms:

- ordinary

- unglamorous

benevolent

kind and helpful

• He was a ______ old man and wouldn't hurt a fly.

giving money or help to people or organizations that need it

• a ______ organization

Synonym:

- charitable

aloof

not friendly or willing to take part in things

• She seemed rather ______ when in fact she was just shy.

Synonyms:

- detached (WITHOUT EMOTION)

- distant (NOT FRIENDLY)

- forbidding

- offhand

- offish UK

- remote

(NOT FRIENDLY)

- standoffish informal disapproving

- unapproachable

not interested or involved, usually because you do not approve of what is happening

• Whatever is happening in the office, she always remains ______.

• She kept herself ______ from her husband's business.

industrious

C2 An ______ person works hard

• an ______ worker

• She's extremely competent and ______.

retiring

formal - unwilling to be noticed or to be with other people

• to be shy and ______

tenacious

holding tightly onto something, or keeping an opinion in a determined way

• The baby took my finger in its ______ little fist.

• There has been ______ local opposition to the new airport.

Synonyms:

- dogged

- pertinacious formal

gregarious

(of people) liking to be with other people

• Emma's a ______, outgoing sort of person.

See also:

- sociable approving

exasperated

annoyed, especially because you can do nothing to solve a problem

• He's becoming increasingly ______ with the situation.

Synonyms:

- browned off UK old-fashioned informal

- cheesed off UK informal"

feckless

weak in character and lacking determination

• He was portrayed as a ______ drunk."

omnipotent

having unlimited power and able to do anything

• How can a loving, ______ God permit disease, war and suffering?"

assiduous

showing hard work, care, and attention to detail

• ______ research/efforts

• an ______ student

• The government has been ______ in the fight against inflation.

Synonym:

- sedulous formal

unassailable

in such a strong position that you cannot be defeated

• This win has given the team an ______ lead.

• The president looked ______ with over 60 percent of the vote.

impossible to doubt or argue with

• ______ logic

• The conclusions were ______.

impossible to attack

• an ______ fortress

ubiquitous

seeming to be everywhere

• Leather is very much in fashion this season, as is the ______ denim.

• The Swedes are not alone in finding their language under pressure from the ______ spread of English.

• The mobile phone, that most ______ of consumer-electronic appliances, is about to enter a new age.

Synonym:

- omnipresent formal"

inadvertently

in a way that is not intentional

• He ______ deleted the file.

• I ______ ended up on the wrong street.

rife

If something unpleasant is ______, it is very common or happens a lot

• Dysentery and malaria are ______ in the refugee camps.

▶ ______ with sth

full of something unpleasant

• The office was ______ with rumours.

precarious

in a dangerous state because of not being safe or not being held in place firmly

• The lorry was lodged in a very ______ way, with its front wheels hanging over the cliff.

A ______ situation is likely to get worse

• Many borrowers now find themselves caught in a ______ financial position.

unfathomable

impossible to understand

• For some ______ reason they built the toilet next to the kitchen."

delinquent

a person, usually young, who behaves in a way that is illegal or not acceptable to most people

• juvenile ______s

illegal or not acceptable, or behaving in a way that is illegal or not acceptable

• They are carrying out research on the causes of ______ behaviour among young people.

• ______ teenagers

insurmountable

(especially of a problem or a difficulty) so great that it cannot be dealt with successfully

• ______ difficulties

• This small country is faced with an ______ debt.

salient

The ______ facts about something or qualities of something are the most important things about them

• She began to summarize the ______ features/points of the proposal.

• The article presented the ______ facts of the dispute clearly and concisely.

hackneyed

A ______ phrase or idea has been said or used so often that it has become boring and has no meaning

• The plot of the film is just a ______ boy-meets-girl scenario.

Synonyms:

- clichéd

- commonplace

- shopworn US

- stock

- threadbare

- timeworn

- tired

- trite disapproving

atrocious

of very bad quality

• an ______ film/piece of acting

• The weather has been ______ all week.

• Conditions in the prison were ______.

Synonyms:

- abominable

- abysmal (BAD)

- awful (BAD)

- dire mainly UK informal

- dreadful (LOW QUALITY) mainly UK

- frightful old-fashioned informal

- grim (WITHOUT HOPE)

- horrendous

- horrible

- horrid old-fashioned informal

- terrible (UNPLEASANT)

violent and shocking

• an ______ crime

riveting

extremely interesting

• It was a ______ story.

Synonyms:

- absorbing

- engrossing

- fascinating

- gripping