C1 Advanced Vocabulary Review

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, definitions, and idioms from the C1 Advanced Student's Book, Units 1 through 12.

achieve success

to accomplish something that you planned to do or attempted to do

be an overnight success

to become successful in a very short time

costly failure

a lack of success in doing something that costs a lot of money or causes problems

daunting challenge

a task that makes you worried because you think that it will be very difficult or dangerous to do

dismal failure

a very bad performance in a task, such as a team losing $8-0$

face the formidable challenge of

to have a problem that is very impressive in size, power or skill and therefore deserving respect and often difficult to deal with

great success

the accomplishment of something to a very good degree, such as Norway winning $39$ medals at the Olympics

have a burning ambition to

to feel strongly that you want to achieve something

meet with complete failure

to lack any success in completing a task

rise to the challenge

to deal successfully with a problem or situation that is especially difficult

adapt

to change your ideas or behaviour so that you can deal with a new situation

adjust to

to get used to a new situation by changing your ideas or the way you do things

change your tune

to start saying something different about a subject or situation, or to start behaving in a different way

sweeping change

a difference that has a major effect

accurate

correct or true in every detail

hypothesis

an idea that attempts to explain something but has not yet been tested or proved to be correct

misinformation

false or incorrect information, especially when it is intended to trick someone

misleading

intended or likely to make someone believe something that is incorrect or not true

walk before you can run

doing more basic things first before trying to achieve something very difficult

cover your back

to take action to protect yourself against criticism, blame or legal problems

cut out for

possesses the right qualities or character for doing something

find common ground

to discover something that people can agree about, especially when they disagree about other things

get on like a house on fire

to become good friends very quickly and have a lot to talk to each other about

be academically gifted

to have an impressive natural ability that is related to education or learning, such as a professor earning $6$ degrees

child prodigy

a child who is extremely skilful at something that usually only adults can do, like Mozart playing songs at the age of $4$

lost my train of thought

to forget what you were thinking

immune system

the system in your body that protects you against diseases

live life on the edge

to have a life with many dangers and risks, especially because you like to behave in an extreme and unusual way

swollen glands

small organs in your body that help to remove harmful bacteria from your blood or produce needed chemicals (glands) that increase in size because of injury or illness

full refund

money that was yours that you get again, especially because you have paid too much for something or have decided you do not want it

downsize

to make a company or organization smaller by reducing the number of workers

overrule

to officially change a decision that someone else has made

arid landscape

an area of land that is beautiful to look at or has a particular type of appearance but is very dry and without many plants because of a lack of rain

intrepid voyage

a long journey, especially by boat or into space, that may be dangerous, such as the Apollo $11$ mission on July $16, 1969$

violate cultural taboos

to do something that is not allowed by a particular religion or culture

cheap and cheerful

not expensive and of reasonable quality

on the house

given to you free in a restaurant, hotel, pub or club

visible to the naked eye

able to be seen without using special instruments, despite being very small or far away

work ethic

the belief that hard work is important for developing someone's moral character

work around the clock

to work all day and all night

miraculously

extremely lucky and unexpected, such as surviving a helicopter crash with barely a scratch

undoubtedly

used for saying that something is certainly true or is accepted by everyone