|
| tablet |
n. slab or panel with words cut or written on it, esp one fixed to a wall as a memorial , |
| tacit |
adj. understoodwithout being put into words; implied |
| taciturn |
adj. saying very little; uncommunicative ; |
| tact |
n. skill at not offending people or at gaining goodwill by saying or doing the right thing |
| tactful |
adj. having or showing tact |
| tactile |
adj. of or using the sense of touch |
| taint |
n. trace of some bad quality or decay or infection |
| takeoff |
|
| talisman |
n. object that is thought to bring good luck, eg a ring or locket |
| talon |
n. claw, esp of a bird of prey |
| tan |
v. convert (animal skin) into leather by treating it with tannic acid, etc |
| tangential |
peripheral; only slightly connected; digressing |
| tangible |
adj. that can be perceived by touch |
| tanner |
n. person who tans skins to make leather |
| tantalize |
to tease or torment by or as if by presenting something desirable to the view but continually keeping it out of reach |
| tantamount |
adj. ~ to sth equal in effect to sth; as good as sth |
| tantrum |
n. outburst of bad temper, esp in a child |
| taper |
n. length of wax-covered thread like a very thin candle burned to give light or to light other candles, etc |
| tarantula |
n. any of several types of large spider, many of them hairy and some of them poisonous , |
| tardy |
adj. (fml ) slow to act, move or happen |
| tarnish |
v. lose its brightness by being exposed to air or damp |
| tarry |
v. (arch or rhet ) delay in coming to or going from a place; linger |
| tart |
adj. sharp-tasting; acid |
| tatter |
to make or become ragged or worn to shreds |
| taunt |
v. ~ sb try to provoke sb with scornful or critical remarks; jeer at sb |
| taut |
adj. tightly stretched; not slack |
| tautological |
tautologous / tR |
| tawdry |
adj. showy or gaudy but without real value |
| tawny |
adj. brownish-yellow |
| taxonomist |
one who study the general principles of scientific classification |
| tedium |
n. tediousness; boredom |
| teetotalism |
the principle or practice of complete abstinence from alcoholic drinks |
| temerity |
n. audacity; rashness |
| temper |
n. state of the mind as regards anger or calmness |
| temperament |
n. person's nature as it affects the way he thinks, feels and behaves |
| temperate |
adj. behaving with temperance(1); showing self-control |
| tempestuous |
adj. stormy; violently agitated; turbulent |
| tempo |
n. speed or rhythm of a piece of music |
| temporal |
adj. of worldly affairs, ie not spiritual; secular |
| temporize |
avoid committing oneself; gain time |
| tenacious |
adj. sticking or clinging firmly together or to an object |
| tenacity |
firmness; persistency; adhesiveness |
| tenancy |
use of land or buildings as a tenant(1) |
| tenant |
n. person who pays rent to a landlord for the use of a room, a building, land, etc |
| tend |
v. take care of or look after |
| tendentious |
adj. (of a speech, a piece of writing, etc) aimed at helping a cause; not impartial |
| tender |
adj. easily damaged or hurt; delicate |
| tenet |
n. principle; belief; doctrine |
| tensile |
adj. of tension |
| tension |
n. state or degree of stretching or being stretched |
| tentative |
adj. done, said, etc to test sth; hesitant or exploratory; not definite or decisive |
| tenuous |
adj. thin; slender |
| tenure |
n. holding of office or land or other property, etc , |
| tepid |
adj. lukewarm |
| terminal |
adj. of the last stage in a fatal disease |
| terminate |
v. come to an end or bring (sth) to an end |
| termination |
n. point at which or way in which sth ends |
| terminology |
n. technical terms of a particular subject |
| terminus |
n. station at the end of a railway line |
| terrestrial |
adj. of or living on land |
| terse |
adj. using few words; concise; curt |
| tertiary |
adj. third in order, rank, importance, etc; next after secondary |
| tessellated |
adj. made from small flat pieces of stone of various colours arranged in a pattern |
| testator |
n. person who has made a will4(4) |
| testy |
adj. easily annoyed; irritable |
| tether |
n. rope or chain by which an animal is fastened while it is grazing |
| thematic |
adj. of or related to a theme |
| theocracy |
n. system of government by priests or a priestly class in which the laws of the State are believed to be the laws of God |
| theoretical |
adj. concerned with the theory of a subject |
| therapeutic |
adj. of the art of healing or the curing of disease |
| thermal |
adj. ofheat |
| thesis |
n. statement or theory put forward and supported by arguments |
| thespian |
adj. of acting or the theatre |
| thrall |
slave; bondage |
| thrash |
v. beat with a stick or whip, esp as a punishment |
| threadbare |
adj. worn thin; shabby |
| threat |
n. expression of one's intention to punish or harm sb, esp if he does not obey |
| thresh |
v. beat out or separate from husks of wheat, etc using a machine or (esp formerly) an implement held in the hand |
| thrifty |
adj. showing thrift; economical ; |
| thrive |
v. ~ (on sth) grow or develop well and vigorously; prosper |
| throb |
v. ~ (with sth) (of the heart, pulse, etc) beat, esp faster or stronger thanusual |
| throes |
n. severe pains |
| throng |
n. crowded mass of people or things |
| throttle |
v. seize by the throat and stop him breathing; choke; strangle |
| thwart |
v. prevent doing what he intends; oppose (a plan, etc) successfully |
| tickle |
v. touch or stroke lightly, esp at sensitive parts, so as to cause a slight tingling sensation, often with twitching movements and laughter |
| tightwad |
excessively frugal person; miser |
| tiller |
n. person who tills |
| tiltable |
|
| timbre |
n. characteristicquality of sound produced by a particular voice or instrument |
| timid |
adj. easily frightened; shy |
| timidity |
timidness ns |
| timorous |
adj. timid |
| tinge |
v. ~ sth colour sth slightly |
| tint |
n. shade or variety of a colour |
| tipple |
v. be in the habit of drinking alcoholic drinks, esp too often or too much |
| tirade |
n. long angry speech of criticism or accusation |
| titanic |
adj. gigantic; immense |
| tithe |
n. one tenth of the annual produce of a farm, etc formerly paid as a tax to support the clergy and the church |
| titillate |
v. stimulate or excite (sb), esp sexually |
| title |
n. name of a book, poem, picture, etc , |
| titter |
n. short nervous laugh |
| titular |
adj. having a certain title( |
| toady |
n. person who flatters another or treats him with excessive respect in the hope of gain or advantage |
| toga |
n. loose outer garment worn by men in ancient Rome |
| toil |
v. ~ away (at/over sth) work long or hard |
| token |
n. sign, symbol or evidence of sth |
| toll |
n. money paid for the use of a road, bridge, harbour, etc , |
| tome |
n. large heavy book, esp a scholarly or serious one , |
| tonic |
n. medicine that gives strength or energy, taken after illness or when tired |
| tonsure |
n. shaving the top or all of the head of a person about to become a priest ormonk |
| topography |
n. features of a place or district, esp the position of its rivers, mountains, roads, buildings, etc |
| topple |
v. ~ (over) be unsteady and fall |
| torpedo |
n. tube-shaped explosive underwater missile launched against ships by submarines, aircraft or surface ships |
| torpor |
n. torpid condition |
| torque |
n. twisting force causing rotation in machinery |
| torrent |
n. violently rushing stream of water, lava, etc |
| torrid |
adj. very hot and dry |
| torso |
n. main part of the human body, not including the head, arms and legs; trunk |
| tortuous |
adj. full of twists and turns |
| toss |
v. ~ sth (to sb) throw sth lightly or carelessly or easily |
| totem |
n. natural object, esp an animal, considered by N American Indians as the emblem of a clan or family |
| totter |
v. walk or move unsteadily; stagger |
| touching |
adj. arousing pity or sympathy |
| touchstone |
stone used to test the fineness of gold alloys; criterion |
| touchy |
adj. easily offended |
| tout |
v. ~ try to get people to buy (one's goods or services), esp in an annoyingly insistent way |
| toxic |
adj. poisonous |
| tract |
n. large stretch or area of land |
| tractable |
adj. easily guided, handled or controlled; docile ; |
| traduce |
v. saydamaging untrue things about (sb/sth); slander or defame; |
| trajectory |
n. curved path of sth that has been fired, hit or thrown into the air, eg a missile |
| tramp |
v. walk with heavy or noisy steps |
| trample |
v. ~ sth/sb (down) tread heavily on sth/sb so as to cause damage or destruction |
| trance |
n. sleep-like state, caused eg by being hypnotized |
| tranquillity |
n. tranquil condition |
| transcend |
v. be or go beyond the range of (human experience, belief, powers of description, etc) |
| transcendent |
adj. extremely great; supreme |
| transcendental |
adjgoing beyond the limits of humanknowledge, experience or reason, esp in a mystical or religious way |
| transcribe |
v. ~ sth copy sth in writing |
| transgression |
n. transgressing |
| transient |
adj. lasting for only a short time; brief; fleeting |
| transition |
n. ~ (to sth) (instance of) changing from one state or condition to another |
| transitory |
adj. lasting for only a short time; transient |
| translucent |
adj. allowinglight to pass through but not transparent |
| transmute |
v. ~sth change sth (into sth completely different) |
| transparent |
adj. allowinglight to pass through so that objects behind can be seen clearly |
| transpire |
v. (of an event, a secret, etc) become known |
| transport |
v. ~ sth/sb (to...) take sth/sb from one place to another in a vehicle |
| transpose |
v. cause to change places |
| trappings |
n. outward signs of prestige, wealth, etc |
| traumatic |
adj. of or causing trauma |
| travail |
n. painful effort |
| traverse |
v. travel, lie or extendacross |
| travesty |
n. ~ absurd imitation of or inferior substitute for sth |
| tread |
v. ~ (on, etc sth/sb) set one's foot down; walk or step |
| treasure |
n. gold, silver, jewels, etc |
| treatise |
n. ~ long written work dealing systematically with one subject |
| trek |
n. long hard journey, esp on foot |
| tremor |
n. slight shaking or trembling |
| tremulous |
adj. tremblingfrom nervousness or weakness |
| trenchant |
adj. strongly and effectively expressed; penetrating |
| trepidation |
n. great worry or fear about sth unpleasant that may happen |
| tribulation |
n. (sad event, accident, illness, etc that causes) great trouble or suffering |
| tribunal |
n. group of officials with the authority to settle certain types of dispute |
| tribune |
Any champion of the rights and liberties of the people: often used as the name for a newspaper. |
| tribute |
n. action, statement or gift that is meant to show one's respect or admiration |
| trickle |
v. flow in a thin stream |
| trickster |
n. person who tricks or cheats people; swindler ; |
| trident |
n. spear with three points |
| trifle |
n. thing, question or activity that has little value or importance |
| trifling |
adj. unimportant; trivial |
| trigger |
n. lever that releases a spring, esp so as to fire a gun |
| trilogy |
n. group of three related works, esp three novels or operas |
| trim |
v. make (sth) neat or smooth by cutting away irregular parts |
| trinket |
n. small ornament, piece of jewellery, etc of little value |
| trite |
adj. not new or original, because often used; hackneyed; commonplace , |
| trivia |
n. unimportant things, details or pieces of information |
| troth |
n. (idm ) plight one's troth |
| trough |
n. long narrow open box for animals to feed or drink from |
| truculence |
agressiveness; ferocity |
| truism |
n. statement that is obviouslytrue, esp one that does not say anything important, eg Nothing lasts for ever , |
| truncate |
v. shorten by cutting off the top or end |
| trunk |
n. main stem of a tree, from which the branches grow . |
| tryst |
meeting |
| tumid |
adj. (of parts of the body) swollen |
| tumult |
n. disturbance or confusion, esp of a large mass of people |
| tundra |
n. vast flat treeless Arctic regions of Europe, Asia and N America where the subsoil is permanently frozen |
| turbid |
adj. (of liquids) opaque or muddy; not clear |
| turbulence |
n. unrest or disturbance |
| tureen |
n. deep dish with a lid from which soup, vegetables, etc are served at table |
| turgid |
adj. (of language, style, etc) pompous and difficult to follow; boring |
| turmoil |
n. great disturbance, agitation or confusion |
| turncoat |
n. person who changes from one side, party, etc to another |
| turpitude |
n. state or quality of being wicked; depravity ; |
| tutelage |
n. protection of and authority over a person, country, etc; guardianship |
| tutelary |
adj. acting as a guardian or protector |
| tycoon |
n. wealthy and powerful businessman or industrialist; magnate |
| typhoon |
n. violent tropical hurricane that occurs in the western Pacific |
| tyranny |
n. cruel, unjust or oppressive use of power or authority |
| tyro |
beginner; novice |
