English

conciliatory,

belligerent, DISAPPROVING wishing to fight or argue:

a belligerent person

a belligerent gesture

Watch out! Lee's in a belligerent mood.

2 SPECIALIZED fighting a war:

The belligerent countries are having difficulties funding the war.

pursuit,

to shore up, to stop a wall or a building from falling down by supporting it with building materials such as wood or metal:

Boundary walls have had to be shored up.

reveal, 1 to make known or show something that is surprising or that was previously secret:

He was jailed for revealing secrets to the Russians.

[+ that] Her biography revealed that she was not as rich as everyone thought.

[+ question word] He would not r

scant, 1 very little and not enough:

He pays scant attention to the needs of his children.

scant regard for the truth

2 almost:

Add a scant half litre (= almost half a litre) of milk to the mixture and stir well.

curfews,

grim, worried or worrying, without hope:

The future looks grim.

Her face was grim as she told them the bad news.

The expression on his face was one of grim determination.

Later Mr Ashby left the court, grim-faced and silent.

alienated, to cause someone or a group of people to stop supporting and agreeing with you:

All these changes to the newspaper have alienated its traditional readers.

assertion, a statement that you strongly believe is true:

I certainly don't agree with his assertion that men are better drivers than women.

sense,

sober, not drunk or affected by alcohol:

Are you sober enough to drive, Jim?

I'd had no wine all evening so I was stone cold (= completely) sober.

sombre, 1 serious, sad and without humour or amusement:

a sombre atmosphere/voice/face

The funeral was a sombre occasion.

I left them in a sombre mood.

2 dark and plain:

He wore a sombre black suit.

peek,

stir, to cause an unpleasant emotion or problem to begin or grow:

The teacher told him to stop stirring up trouble.

The photographs stirred up some painful memories.

hone, 1 to sharpen an object:

The bone had been honed to a point.

2 to make something perfect or completely suitable for its purpose:

His physique was honed to perfection.

Her debating skills were honed in the students' union.

hokum,

mimic,

loom,

defy , 1 to refuse to obey, or to act or be against, a person, decision, law, situation, etc:

children openly defying their teachers

A few workers have defied the majority decision and gone into work despite the strike.

The fact that aircraft don't fall o

ease,

savvy,

embrace, to hold someone tightly with both arms to express love, liking or sympathy, or when greeting or leaving someone:

She saw them embrace on the station platform.

He leant over to embrace the child.

iterate,

retort,

prevail, to get control or influence:

I am sure that common sense will prevail in the end.

And did reason prevail over (= become a more powerful influence than) emotion?

2 to be common among a group of people or area at a particular time:

This attitude

become skittish,

bifurcated,

cite,

aloft,

moan, to make a complaint in an unhappy voice, usually about something which does not seem important to other people:

Thelma's always moaning (about something), and forgets how lucky she actually is.

[+ speech] "I don't like potatoes, " he moaned.

[+ (tha

inferiority, 1 not good, or not as good as someone or something else:

These products are inferior to those we bought last year.

She cited cases in which women had received inferior health care.

It was clear the group were regarded as intellectually/morall

calamity, a serious accident or bad event causing damage or suffering:

A series of calamities ruined them - floods, a failed harvest and the death of a son.

dowry,

gregarious,

captivate,

accuse,

dull,

acreage,

scuttle,