Vocabulary: Batch 22

• to move past or through something

  She passed the store on her way home.

1. good enough but not excellent

   His French is passable.

2. able to be traveled through

   The road is barely passable after the storm.

• a neat pile of things

  A stack of books sat on the floor.

• to put things in a pile

  Stack the plates by the sink.

1. to put something together with something else

   Add the eggs and stir.

2. to calculate a total

   Add the numbers in the left column.

• the process of adding numbers or things together

  The children practiced addition and subtraction.

• to contain something as part of a whole

  The price includes breakfast.

• the act of including someone or something

  The policy promotes inclusion.

• including everyone or everything

  The club tries to be inclusive.

• to express sorrow or regret about something

  Critics lamented the loss of the old theater.

• an expression of sorrow

  The poem is a lament for a lost city.

• very disappointing or regrettable

  The report revealed a lamentable lack of planning.

1. likely to suffer from or do something

   This road is prone to flooding.

2. lying flat with the front of the body down

   The patient lay prone on the table.

American spelling.

• a small interesting piece of information or food

  She shared a tidbit about the director.

British spelling of tidbit.

• a small interesting piece of information or food

  The article includes a few historical titbits.

• to fill something again

  Please refill the water pitcher.

• a replacement supply of something

  She ordered a refill for the printer ink.

• to search or study deeply

  The article delves into the history of the dispute.

• a feeling that something bad is going to happen

  A sense of foreboding hung over the meeting.

• suggesting that something bad will happen

  Dark clouds gave the sky a foreboding look.

• forming or belonging to the base or lowest level

  The doctor measured her basal metabolic rate.

• the ground over which a river flows

  The river bed was dry by late summer.

• the area of land drained by a river and its tributaries

  The flood affected the entire river basin.

• the area along the edge of a river

  They walked along the riverside after dinner.

• the bottom surface of a lake

  Drought exposed the cracked lakebed.

• to cause severe and widespread damage

  Wildfires ravaged the region.

• an act of severe destruction

  The ravage of war left villages empty.

• the damaging effects of something over time

  The ruins show the ravages of neglect.

• severely damaged; devastated

  He looked at the ravaged landscape.

1. to send something in a different direction

   Police diverted traffic away from the crash.

2. to distract someone's attention

   The joke diverted attention from the awkward pause.

• to stop resisting and accept defeat or control by someone else

  The soldiers surrendered at dawn.

• the act of giving up or yielding

  The treaty required immediate surrender.

• difficult and requiring a lot of effort

  The rescue team began an arduous climb.

Usually spelled lineup in American English.

• a list or arrangement of people or things for an event

  The festival announced its line-up.

• not found, explained, or included in a count

  Three passengers were still unaccounted for.

• a place to sit, especially one designed for one person

  She took the seat by the window.

• to have seats for a certain number of people

  The stadium seats forty thousand people.

• to remove someone from a position of power

  The challenger tried to unseat the incumbent senator.

• a sudden strong burst of wind

  A gust blew the papers off the table.

• to blow in sudden strong bursts

  Wind gusted across the bridge.

• a thick cloth made by pressing fibers together

  The children cut shapes from colored felt.

• to destroy or severely reduce a large part of something

  Disease decimated the crop.

• to cause serious damage or trouble

  The hurricane wreaked havoc along the coast.

• to spread through and be present in every part of something

  A smell of smoke pervaded the hallway.

• spreading widely throughout an area or group

  There is a pervasive sense of unease in the country.

• held back and not expressed or released

  The decision released months of pent-up frustration.

• a strong desire to travel

  After graduation, wanderlust pulled her across three continents.

• very bad, gloomy, or depressing

  The company reported dismal results.

• the amount of rain that falls in a place

  Annual rainfall has declined.

• the moment when a storm reaches land

  The hurricane made landfall at dawn.

• relating to the sense of smell

  The virus affected her olfactory nerves.

• involving three groups, countries, or parties

  The ministers held trilateral talks.

• made up of three parts or parties

  They signed a tripartite agreement.

• to put mixed-up letters, signals, or information back into order

  The students unscrambled the sentence.

• an annoying smile showing smugness

  He answered with a smirk.

• to smile in a smug or irritating way

  She smirked at the mistake.

• a blue-green coating that forms on copper or brass

  Verdigris covered the old bronze statue.

• green with healthy plants

  Rain turned the hills verdant.

• relating to dogs

  The police trained a canine unit.

• a dog or a pointed tooth

  The dentist checked the upper canine.

• a cause of continual trouble or distress

  Spam calls are the bane of my mornings.

• a detective or investigator

  The amateur sleuth noticed the clue.

• investigating a mystery or problem

  A bit of online sleuthing found the source.

• a dead human body used for medical study

  Medical students studied anatomy using a cadaver.

• thin, pale, and corpse-like

  He looked cadaverous after weeks of illness.

1. burning strongly

   The warehouse was ablaze by midnight.

2. brightly lit or full of strong emotion

   The garden was ablaze with color.

• to pretend to be another person

  The scammer impersonated a bank employee.

• a person who pretends to be someone else for entertainment or deception

  The Elvis impersonator performed at the party.

• not noticing or caring about other people's feelings

  The remark was insensitive.

• to make someone liked or loved

  His kindness endeared him to the staff.

• lovable or charming

  She has an endearing laugh.

• a person legally appointed to manage another person's affairs

  The court appointed her brother as conservator.

• impossible to explain or justify

  The funds disappeared for unaccountable reasons.

• a male noble of very high rank

  The duke owned a large estate.

• cautious or suspicious

  Investors were leery of the offer.

• to travel around giving shows, speeches, or performances

  The candidate barnstormed through rural towns.

• energetic, exciting, and forceful

  The actor gave a barnstorming performance.

• an opinion formed without enough proof

  The theory remains conjecture.

• to guess based on incomplete information

  Historians conjecture that the temple was rebuilt twice.

• to give the different forms of a verb

  Students learned to conjugate Spanish verbs.

• joined or paired in a related way

  The chemist described a conjugate acid-base pair.

• a hero in Greek mythology who killed Medusa

  Perseus is a famous figure in Greek myth.

• relating to Norway, its people, or its language

  She studies Norwegian literature.

• a person from Norway or the Norwegian language

  He speaks Norwegian fluently.

• to go from one place to another

  She travels for work every month.

• the activity of going to places

  Air travel became more expensive.

• (American) a person who is traveling or who travels often

  The hotel offers discounts for frequent travelers.

British spelling of traveler.

• (British) a person who is traveling or who travels often

  The hostel was full of young travellers.

• a gray North American mammal with a ringed tail and mask-like face

  A raccoon knocked over the trash can.

• a cable used to slide from a high point to a lower point

  Tourists rode a zip line over the valley.

• to burn or dry the surface of something

  The heat scorched the grass.

Military strategy: destroy everything useful when retreating. Famous: Russian retreat from Napoleon (1812). "Scorched-earth policy": figurative for ruthless action.

• a strategy of destroying everything useful to an advancing enemy

  They adopted a scorched earth policy.

"Scorching hot": extremely hot weather. "Scorching criticism": figurative for harsh attack.

• very hot; harshly critical

  It was a scorching summer day.

1. to present someone or something for the first time

   The teacher introduced a new topic.

2. to bring a new law, product, or method into use

   The company introduced stricter rules.

• the action of presenting someone or something for the first time

  Her introduction to the board was brief.

• something that blocks progress

  Lack of funding was the main obstacle.

• the most important support or part of something

  Tourism is the town's economic mainstay.

British spelling.

• to shed feathers, hair, skin, or a shell

  The bird moults once a year.

American spelling.

• to shed feathers, hair, skin, or a shell

  Snakes molt as they grow.

• to suggest or assume something as a basis for reasoning

  The model postulates a link between stress and sleep.

• an assumption accepted as true for argument or theory

  The proof begins with a simple postulate.

1. very great in degree; far from moderate

   The region suffers from extreme heat in summer.

2. farthest from the center; outermost

   They live at the extreme edge of town.

• a person with extreme political or religious views

  Police monitored the extremist group.

1. the farthest point or limit of something

   The village lies at the northern extremity of the island.

2. a hand, foot, arm, or leg

   Blood flow to the extremities was poor.

• relating to Europe and Asia

  The species is common across the Eurasian steppe.

• a person of mixed European and Asian ancestry or from Eurasia

  The book follows a Eurasian family.

• a name or description that is wrong or unsuitable

  Calling it a lake is a misnomer; it is a reservoir.

• to cut off someone's head

  The rebels threatened to behead hostages.

• a violent uprising against authority or government

  The army crushed the insurrection.

• similar in nature or related

  They discovered kindred interests.

• a person who shares one's attitudes or feelings

  She found a kindred spirit in her roommate.

• danger of loss, harm, or failure

  The missed deadline put the deal in jeopardy.

• put (someone or something) into a situation in which there is a danger of loss, harm, or failure

  A devaluation of the dollar would jeopardize New York's position as a financial center.

• to block a road, view, process, or person

  Fallen trees obstructed the road.

• something that blocks or hinders progress

  Doctors removed the obstruction.

• deliberate delay or blocking of political or official action

  The bill failed because of obstructionism.

"Obstructive sleep apnea": medical condition. "Obstructive politician": blocking legislation. Also: "obstruction of justice", serious crime.

• causing a blockage or hindrance

  His obstructive behavior delayed the project.

1. to fall over or make something fall over

   The statue toppled during the storm.

2. to remove a leader from power

   The scandal toppled the government.

• a support built against a wall

  Stone buttresses held up the church.

• to support or strengthen

  The report buttressed their argument.

• to preserve a right, idea, or principle in an important form

  The constitution enshrines freedom of speech.

• an argument made against another argument

  She prepared a counter-argument for the debate.

• an attack made in response to an attack

  The team launched a counter-attack.

• surrounding or present in the environment

  The sensor records ambient temperature.

• the mood or atmosphere of a place

  Soft lights gave the cafe a relaxed ambience.

• to rise or float in the air, especially as if by magic

  The magician seemed to levitate.

• humor or lack of seriousness, especially in a serious situation

  A little levity eased the tension.

American spelling.

• an extremely long period of time

  The canyon formed over eons.

British spelling.

• an extremely long period of time

  The rocks have existed for aeons.