Thẻ ghi nhớ: NEC - Vocab C2 (1)

limber

flexible, able to bend and move easily (mềm dẻo)

ossify

become fixed, rigid and unable to change (cứng nhắc, bảo thủ)

ex: Years of easy success had ... the company's thinking and it never faced up to the challenge of the new technology.

incidental

not essential; minor

+ to

incidental expenses

chi phí phát sinh

abortive

unsuccessful = fruitless = futile

tortuous

uốn lượn, quanh co

unbending

rigid = inflexible

jaunty

happy and confident

= upbeat = breezy

plaintive

expressing sorrow (bi thương, ai oán)

comatose

hôn mê, lờ đờ

scourge of

a person or thing that causes trouble or suffering

~ curse

weedy

thin and physically weak in appearance

~ scrawny

wispy

(for example of hair) mỏng manh, lưa thưa, mảnh mai

burly

lực lưỡng, cường tráng

cryptic

mysterious and difficult to understand

truculent

aggressive and eager to argue a lot

amiable

friendly, good-natured (dễ mến; thân thiện)

vacuous

not showing purpose, meaning, or intelligence; empty (trống rỗng, rỗng tuếch, ngớ ngẩn)

ex: The politician's ... speech left the audience unimpressed.

hollow

(of situations, feelings, or words) without value, or not true or sincere (rỗng, trống không)

ex: It was something of a ... victory - she won the case, but lost all her savings in legal fees.

astringent

clever but unkind or criticize someone

=> ..... criticism/wit

treacly

too pleasant or kind, or expressing feelings of love in a false way (sến súa, ngọt như mật)

syrupy

ngọt ngào, sướt mướt

garish

showy, too brightly coloured (chói lọi, lòe loẹt)

~ flamboyant

bifurcate

(of roads, river, branches, etc.) to divide into two parts

rangy

tall and thin with long limbs

podgy

mập mạp, tròn trĩnh

dumpy

short and fat

trough

cái máng

đáy => hit a .... of

apogee

the most successful, popular, or powerful point (đỉnh cao, thời kỳ hoàng kim)

guardedy

thận trọng, dè dặt

= cagily

evasively

một cách tránh né

dispirited

lacking in spirit

~ deflated ~ crestfallen

lackluster

without energy and effort (mờ nhạt, kém nổi bật, thiếu sức sống)

histrionic

overly dramatic, theatrical (kiểu cách, lố lăng)

~ melodramatic

mercurial

tâm trạng thất thường

~ erratic

stolid

calm and not showing emotion or excitement

patrimony

gia sản

withered

dry and decaying (khô héo)

luscious

ngon ngọt, mọng nước

germane to

relevant, material, important to

untrammelled

not limited by rules or any other controlling influence

hem in

surround someone or something and restrict their movement

fetter

to keep someone within limits or stop them from making progress (trói buộc, kìm hãm, giam giữ)

ex: He felt .... by a nine-to-five office existence.

toadying

a lot of praise and artificially pleasant behaviour towards someone in authority, in an effort to get some advantage (nịnh hót, nịnh bợ)

self-respecting

tự trọng

plain-dealing

thẳng thắn, minh bạch, sòng phẳng

fulminate

to express strong and angry criticism

enervate

to make someone feel weak and without energy

stupefy

to stun, baffle, or amaze

to tire or bore someone so much that the person cannot think or do anything

acrimonious

angry and bitter

~ astringent

unassailable

unable to be attacked, questioned, or defeated

blare

inh ỏi, oang oang

sibilant

a s or sh sound