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spellbinding

holding your attention completely

spellbound

​with your attention completely held by what you are listening to or watching

• a storyteller who can hold audiences spellbound

bewitch

to attract or impress somebody so much that they cannot think in a sensible way

• He was completely bewitched by her beauty.

hoot

to make a loud noise

• He had the audience hooting with laughter.

snarl

to speak in a rough, low, angry voice

• She snarled abuse at anyone who happened to walk past.

drown

1. to be louder than other sounds so that you cannot hear them

   • His words were drowned out by jeers and whistling.

belch

to let air come up noisily from your stomach and out through your mouth: ợ hơi

• He wiped his hand across his mouth, then belched loudly.

droop

1. to bend, hang, or move downwards, mainly because of being weak or tired

   • Dudley, who was so large his bottom drooped over either side of the kitchen chair

   - to become sad or depressed

   • Our spirits drooped when we heard the news.

throb

(of a part of the body) to feel a series of regular painful movements

• My feet were throbbing after the long walk home.

to beat or sound with a strong, regular rhythm

• A pulse throbbed painfully in his temple

spit

the liquid that is produced in your mouth

heave

to lift, pull or throw somebody/something very heavy with one great effort

• heave something/somebody/yourself + adv./prep. I managed to heave the trunk down the stairs.

padlock

to lock something with a padlock

• padlock something to something She always padlocked her bike to the railings.

pound

to hit something/somebody hard many times, especially in a way that makes a lot of noise

• pound away (at, against, or on something) The factory's machinery pounded away day and night.

beat rapidly

• Her heart was pounding with excitement.

fortnight

• He's had three accidents in the past fortnight.

bitter

very serious and unpleasant, with a lot of anger and hate involved

• They are locked in a bitter custody battle over their three children.

gracious

kind, polite and generous, especially to somebody of a lower social position

• Lady Caroline was gracious enough to accept our invitation.

showing the comfort and easy way of life that wealth can bring

• gracious living

simpering

to smile in a silly and annoying way

• a silly simpering girl

rapturous

expressing extreme pleasure or enthusiasm for somebody/something

• The Olympic team was given a rapturous welcome.

round on

to suddenly speak angrily to somebody and criticize or attack them

• He rounded on journalists, calling them ‘a pack of vultures’.

get in

collect: crops, fruits,..

to buy or supply of st: Remember to get in some beers

manage to do:

• We should aim to get in a few compliments at dinner

bring round to

to direct a conversation to a particular subject

slump

to sit or fall down heavily

• Exhausted, he slumped down in his chair.

terror

a feeling of extreme fear

• The very name of the enemy struck terror into their hearts.

terror-stricken

extremely frightened

• I see one more example of the influence which a determined band of assassins can exercise over a terror-stricken community

beetle

an insect, often large and black, with a hard case on its back, covering its wings

→ dung beetle : bọ phân

arch-enemy

a person’s main enemy

cunning

able to get what you want in a clever way, especially by tricking or cheating somebody

• That cunning old rogue is up to something, I'm sure.

drench

to make somebody/something completely wet

• We were caught in the storm and got drenched to the skin.

livid

extremely angry

• Dad will be livid when he finds out.

jeer

to laugh at somebody or shout rude remarks at them to show that you do not respect them]

• Gabrielle ignored the jeering and continued walking down the school steps

taunt

to try to make somebody angry or upset by saying unkind things about them, laughing at their failures, etc.

• The other kids continually taunted him about his size.

waddle

to walk with short steps, moving your body from side to side, like a duck

• A short plump man came waddling towards me.

hitch

to pull up a piece of your clothing

• She hitched up her skirt and waded into the river.

to lift yourself into a higher position, or the position mentioned

• She hitched herself into a sitting position.

get hitched

get married

• My new neighbours are my idea of an ideal couple. I’ve heard they got hitched pretty early

chuck out

1. to throw something away

   • Those old clothes can be chucked out.

   to force somebody to leave a place or a job

   • They got chucked out of a pub for being drunk and noisy.

loll

to lie, sit or stand in a lazy, relaxed way

• While he lolled around watching and eating ice-cream

mow

to cut grass, etc. using a machine or tool with a special blade (= sharp cutting edge) or blades

• I mow the lawn every week in summer.

acclaim

to praise or welcome somebody or something publicly

• This book has been widely acclaimed as a modern classic.

rise to the bait

​to react when somebody is deliberately trying to make you angry or get you interested in something

• Harry knew he shouldn’t have risen to Dudley’s bait

savage

aggressive, violent; causing great harm

• Police have over 20 new leads in the hunt for the savage killer of two young boys

manure

​the waste matter from animals that is spread over or mixed with the soil to help plants and crops grow = dung

• the best time to spread manure on the fields

gleaming

​shining brightly because of being very clean

• gleaming white teeth

mound

a large amount, a pile

• He covered the mound of rice on his plate with the sauce.

bolt

it suddenly runs away because it is frightened

• Bonnie the mare broke free and bolted.

to eat something very quickly

• He bolted down his pitiful supper

whisk

to mix liquids, eggs, etc. into a stiff, light mass, using a fork or special tool

• Whisk the egg whites until stiff.

to take somebody or something somewhere very quickly and suddenly

• The waiter whisked away the plates before we had finished.

bulging

sticking out in a rounded shape:

• She dragged her bulging suitcase up the stairs.

falter

to become weaker or less effective

• The team’s performance faltered badly after the break.

to walk or behave in a way that shows that you are not confident

• She walked up to the platform without faltering.

usher in

to be the beginning of something new or to make something new begin

• The change of management ushered in fresh ideas and policies.

usher

to take or show somebody where they should go

• We were asked to leave and ushered out of the door.

cross-eyed

having one or both eyes looking towards the nose: mắt lé

• I’m going cross-eyed, working on those handwritten texts all day.

spring up

to appear or develop quickly and/or suddenly

• Opposition groups are springing up like mushrooms.

spring

to move suddenly and with one quick movement in a particular direction

• He turned off the alarm and sprang out of bed.

speak ill of

tell bad things

shudder

to shake because you are cold or frightened, or because of a strong feeling

• Just thinking about the accident makes me shudder.

dissolve

1. biến mất, giải thể

   • The lights in the windows faded, and the house dissolved into darkness again.

2. to suddenly start laughing, crying, etc.

   • When the teacher looked up, the children dissolved into giggles.

3. hoà tan

wail

to cry or complain about st

• The cat was wailing to be let out.

wail

a long, loud, high cry expressing pain or very sad feelings; a sound similar to this

• With a wail he threw himself on the bed and buried his face in the pillow.

frantic

done quickly and with a lot of activity, but in a way that is not very well organized

• They made frantic attempts to revive him.

​unable to control your emotions because you are extremely frightened or worried about something

• Let's go back. Your parents must be getting frantic by now.

‘reverent

showing deep respect

aglow

shining with colour, warmth or happiness

• Christmas trees aglow with lights

agleam

shining brightly

• His skin was agleam with sweat.

valiant

very brave and determined

• The firefighters made valiant efforts to save them, but were beaten back by the flames.

stammer

to speak with difficulty, repeating sounds or words and often stopping, before saying things correctly

• She was barely able to stammer out a description of her attacker.

rumble

to make a long deep sound or series of sounds

• I'm so hungry my stomach's rumbling.

at sea

I'm all at sea with these new regulations.

spitting image

​to look exactly like somebody else

• She's the spitting image of her mother.

split hairs

pay attention to small details that not worthy

• It may seem like we're splitting hairs, but if we don't state the small details in the contract there will be disagreements later.

ear-splitting

of a sound) extremely loud

• The ear-splitting noise made him feel quite light-headed.

light-headed

not completely in control of your thoughts or movements; slightly faint

• He went for a hospital check-up after feeling light-headed.

splitting

if you have a splitting headache, you have a very bad pain in your head

thud

a sound like the one that is made when a heavy object hits something else

• His head hit the floor with a dull thud

• She could hear the thud of her own heartbeat sounding heavily in her ears.

grit

the courage and strength of mind that makes it possible for somebody to continue doing something difficult or unpleasant

• It takes sheer grit to stand up to a bully like that.

• At times he got discouraged, but his grit and determination kept him going.

grit your teeth

to be determined to continue to do something in a difficult or unpleasant situation

• It started to rain harder, but we gritted our teeth and carried on.

stomp

to walk, dance, or move with heavy steps

• She stomped angrily out of the office.

flat-footed

not prepared for what is going to happen

• They were caught flat-footed by the attack.

shuffle

to move from one foot to another, especially because you are bored, nervous or embarrassed

• Jenny shuffled her feet and blushed with shame.

nimble

1. able to move quickly and easily = agile

   • She was extremely nimble on her feet

     2. ​able to think, react and adapt quickly

   • The company has been outsmarted by more nimble competitors.

give sb your word

make a promise

crouch

khums nums, neps xuong

• She was crouching behind the sofa.

croak

to speak or say something with a rough low voice

• I had a sore throat and could only croak.

gloss (v)

to avoid talking about something unpleasant or embarrassing by not dealing with it in detail

• He glossed over any splits in the party.

gloss (a)

a shine on a smooth surface

• The gel gives your hair a gloss.

an attractive appearance that is only on the surface and hides what is not so attractive

• Beneath the gloss of success was a tragic private life.

a way of explaining something to make it seem more attractive or acceptable

• Difficult expressions are explained in the glosses at the bottom of the page.

rigid

very strict and difficult to change

• His rigid adherence to the rules made him unpopular.

adherence

​the fact of behaving according to a particular rule, etc., or of following a particular set of beliefs, or a fixed way of doing something

• strict adherence to the rules

adherent

a person who supports a particular set of ideas

• adherent to something Prescriptive grammarians are seen as blind adherents to outdated norms of formal usage.

prescriptive

saying exactly what must happen, especially by giving an instruction or making a rule:

• Most teachers think the government's guidelines on homework are too prescriptive.

shoo

to make somebody/something go away or to another place, especially by saying ‘shoo’ and waving your arms and hands

• He shooed the dog out of the kitchen.

flay

to remove the skin from an animal or person, usually when they are dead: lột da lột xác ( dọa để ngkhac sợ )

• Harry would flay him to within an inch of his life

to criticize somebody/yourself severely

• He flayed himself for his lack of tact.

swoop

to fly quickly and suddenly downwards, especially in order to attack somebody or something

• The aircraft swooped down over the buildings.

to visit or attack somebody or something suddenly and without warning

• Customs officers swooped on several houses last night, looking for drugs.

demonic

connected with, or like, a demon

• This was a society in which demonic possession was greatly feared.

glint

the person shows that emotion, which is usually a strong one

• Hostility glinted in his eyes.

to produce small, bright flashes of light

• The sea glinted in the moonlight.

hiss

to make a sound like a long ‘s’

• The steam escaped with a loud hissing noise.

brandish

to wave something in the air in a threatening or excited way: khua tay

• She brandished a saucepan at me, so I ran out of the kitchen.

gulp

to swallow large amounts of food or drink quickly

• He gulped down the rest of his tea and went out.

‘

bear down on

to move in a threatening way towards someone or something:

• I looked up to see the car bearing down on me.

  to press on somebody or something

• Bear down on it with all your strength so it doesn't move.

relent

to become less determined, strong, etc.

• The police will not relent in their fight against crime.

rattle

to make a series of short, loud sounds when shaking or hitting against something hard; to make something do this

• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled.

to make somebody nervous or frightened

• He was clearly rattled by the question.

soggy

wet and soft, usually in a way that is unpleasant

• I hate it when cornflakes go all soggy.

ruffle somebody's or a few feathers

1. to annoy or upset somebody or a group of people

   • The senator's speech ruffled a few feathers in the business world.

ruffle

to alter the smooth surface of something so that it is not even

• She ruffled his hair affectionately.

to make somebody annoyed, worried or upset

• He never gets ruffled, even under pressure.