Essential and Less Common Vocabulary Flashcards

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering essential and less common terms, ranging from environmental science to idioms and metaphors.

rip through

move through an area while destroying it

bear down

approach something in a threatening way

unbearable

too horrible to put up with

genuinely

truly

all-time low

the lowest point recorded

a dopamine hit

a rush of excitement/ happy feelings

mind-blowing

shocking

gospel

literal: the 4 books in the bible detailing the life of Jesus - figurative: a set of core principles/ the complete truth of something

champion

staunch supporter

treaty

agreement

initiative

action plan

panacea

a solution for all problems

blanket bog/ blanket mire

large areas of peatland (a simplistic definition but it’ll do)

boggy

wet and muddy

anaerobic

existing without oxygen

aerobic

existing with oxygen

members of the cabinet

people in the panel of advisors to the president

don’t get me wrong

don’t misunderstand me

have sth against

to hold a hostile view towards someone/ something

outdoorsy

like to be outdoors

silver bullet

a magical solution to a complicated problem (literal: silver bullets supposedly kill werewolves)

simplistic

too simple-minded

discourse

conversation or debate

enormously

tremendously, considerably

cautionary tale

an incident that serves as a warning

sequester

take away

saplings

young trees

tax breaks

opportunities for someone to pay less tax

high-profile

famous

tracts of land

large areas of land

streaked (surface)

covered with long, thin marks

be dotted with

have a number of things scattered across an area (ex: the neighborhood is dotted with coffee shops and boutiques)

soggy

wet and soft (think the texture of bread soaked in milk)

saturated

completely soaked, containing a lot of water

powerhouse

a powerful force of something (ex: economic powerhouse)

surface (v)

to appear

waft

(of a smell) pass gently through the air

tear sth up

destroy sth

sprout up

to start growing

plantations

places where trees are grown densely

predators

animals that hunt on other

testify

speak in court

egregious

obviously bad

conservationist

people who work to protect the planet

chip away at sth

slowly damage/ erode something

incentivize

give sb a reason to do sth

swaths of sth

long areas of sth

dynamics

the internal forces within a system or community that influence how it operates

carbon dynamics

The biogeochemical cycle of carbon ($C$) in the earth system (Oxford Bibliographies)

mainstream

popular, ubiquitous

carbon sink

anything that absorbs more carbon than it emits (e.g. trees, ocean, soil, etc.)

labor away

work hard

obscure

unknown

academia

community of scholars

resonate

inspire strong emotions

degrade

worsen

gobble up

swallow up

ranching

raising cattle on large tracts of land

cathartic

soothing

claustrophobic

scared of tight spaces

warden

a person in charge of enforcing the rules of a place (e.g. prison warden, warden of nature reserve, etc.)

haul

drag

mitigate

make better

be rooted in

based on, originating from

connote

suggest (a meaning)