English vocabulary in use (64 - 75 unknown)

unwieldy

difficult to handle - abstract and physical thing (unwieldy system, object)

cumbersome

difficult to handle - often used for machines and equipment (a cumbersome weapon, process)

lumbering

heavy movement - physical things (a lumbering truck, bear)

congealed

become thick and solid

dilute it

water it out

impervious (to)

liquid can not pass through

jet black

intensely black (hair, eyes)

crimson

strong deep red

mousy

a light, not very interesting brown, used only about hair

ruby (deep red), emerald (bright green), amber (yellowy orange), coral (orangey pink), sapphire (deep blue), jade (dark green)

mauve

pale purple

I dashed into the classroom to pick up my books

going very quickly on foot

I raced/tore to the station and just made it in time for the last train

going somewhere very quickly on foot or in a vehicle

nip and pop

going a short distance quickly

dart

a quick, sudden movement

zip and whizz

vehicles going quickly

bolt

fast movement over a short distance, running away from something (the thieves bolted when the alarm went off)

career

something is moving rapidly and is out of control

scamper, scurry, scuttle

small, rapid steps (often to describe the way a small animal runs)

plunge, plummet

a downward movement (mainly used metaphorically)

rocket, soar

a fast upward movement

slump, tumble

rapid downward movement (in a financial context)

crawl, creep

intransitive verbs emphasising that the movement is slow (often used metaphorically)

totter

a fairly slow movement, particularly unsteady

sidle

to walk anxiously and nervously

dawdle

to move more slowly than is necessary, or to waste time

affinity

closeness, similarity; feeling that different thing/people have much in common

akin to

similar in spirit/feel

use analogy

see similarities that help us understand something

tantamount to

the equivalent of (normally used in negative contexts)

interchangeable

so similar that they could be exchanged one for the other

disparate

used for different types within a group, but emphasises separation and difference

comparative

when comparing different things (comparative silence/freedom/comfort)

a snag, hitch, glitch

fairly small difficulties

a pitfall

an unexpected difficulty (often used in the plural)

ordeal

a situation where a difficult choice has to be made between two, sometimes unpleasant, alternatives

abstruse

difficult to understand (theory, argument, philosopher)

arduous

difficult, tiring, needing much effort (climb, task, journey)

convoluted

unreasonably long and hard to follow (explanation, sentences, theory)

gruelling

extremely tiring and difficult (journey, work, match, expedition)

obstructive

causing deliberate difficulties (person, measure, behaviour)

wayward

changeable, selfish and/or hard to control (behaviour, child, person

to slog (your guts out) / to grind / to graft / to flog yourself to death

to work hard

in a fix / in a spot / in a hole / up against it / up to your neck

in a difficult situation

there’s every likelihood

it is very probable

determined/anxious/eager/keen/resolved to do whatever I can to help

revised upwards

changed to a higher number

aggregate

total, (aggregated - added up all the different amounts)

blip

temporary change

GDP expenditure

Gross Domestic Product: the total amount that a country produces, the amount of money spent on something

discrepancy between

difference between two things that should be the same

ballpark figure

guess believed to be accurate

projected figures

planned figures

conservative

cautious

accede

accept, but often associated with initial unwillingness (the factory owner acceded to the workers demands)

acquiesce

permit something to happen, but often associated with a degree or secrecy or conspiracy

assent

agree to something, often associated with plans, proposals, ideas (the shareholders assented to the takeover)

condone

approve or allow something which most people consider to be wrong (the judge condoned the use of reasonable force)

countenance

consider giving assent or permission, often used in negative contexts (no government would ever countenance abolishing taxes altogether)

endorse

give official approval to something

given carte blanche

complete freedom to do whatever they think necessary

bar

officially exclude, forbid someone access to something

clamp down

use your full power to prevent or limit something (the government has decided to clamp down on illegal immigration)

outlaw

make something illegal

veto

to use your official power to forbid

this is just not on!

not acceptable

remonstrate with somebody / remonstrate about something

complain to someone / complain about something

find fault (with)

criticise or complain about even small mistakes

grumble (about)

complain in a quiet but angry way

gripe (about)

to complain continuously

grouse (about)

to complain, usually often

whinge (about)

complain persistently

sincere, heartfelt - apology

good, perfect, lame, flimsy, weak, convincing, detailed, phoney - excuse, explanation

cast-iron, convincing, perfect phoney

alibi

flimsy, false

pretext (pretended reason for doing something rather than real reason)

remorse

feeling of guilt or regret

acquitted

declared not guilty (acquittal)

posthumous pardon

official forgiveness after someone’s death for crimes they were unjustly convicted for

exonerated

declared someone to be free of blame

reprieve

official order stopping or delaying punishment

treaty

written agreement between two or more countries

armistice

agreement to stop war while peace discussions take place

truce

agreement between two enemies to stop fighting for a period of time

accord

official agreement, especially between countries

ceasefire

agreement to stop fighting in order to allow discussions about peace

she paid her staff compliments

he was only fishing for a compliment

take it as a compliment

a back-handed compliment and a double-edged compliment are ones that appear to be both positive and negative

give praise

widely/highly praised, praised to the skies, to sing someone’s/something’s praises, to shower/heap praise on someone/something

to damn someone with faint praise is to praise with such a lack of enthusiasm that you give the impression of actually having rather negative feelings

pay tribute to

praise (formal)

extol the virtues/benefits of

praise highly (formal)

be the toast of

be admired for some recent achievement

earn/win plaudits

get positive comments (formal)

laudable, laud, laudatory

praise highly in official situations (formal)

to flatter, to make up to, to crawl, to suck up to, to lick someone’s boots

praising someone for your own benefit

smarmy, slimy or a crawler

someone who praises someone for their own benefit (informal)