Vocabulary

1.temerarious (adj.) 

a.  reckless; rash

e.g.: What you did tonight was half-witted and temerarious.

2.comical (adj.) 

a. amusing, especially in a ludicrous or absurd way

e.g.: He looked so comical in that hat.

3.insane (adj.) 

a. mentally ill

e.g.: For the last ten years of his life he was clinically insane.

b. extremely unreasonable or stupid

4.formidable (adj.) 

a.  causing you to have fear or respect for something or someone because that thing or person is large, powerful, or difficult

5.prescient (adj.) 

a.  knowing or suggesting correctly what will happen in the future

6.prototype (n.) 

a. the first example of something, such as a machine or other industrial product, from which all later forms are developed

7.tangible (adj.) 

a.  real and not imaginary; able to be shown, touched, or experienced

e.g.: We need tangible evidence if we're going to take legal action.

8.slate (n.) 

a. a dark grey rock that can be easily divided into thin pieces, or a small, thin piece of this used to cover a roof

b.   a small computer with a screen that you can write on using a special pen

c.   in the past, a small, thin, rectangular piece of slate (= rock), usually in a wooden frame, used for writing on, especially by children

d.  the group of people who are chosen by a particular party to take part in an election

9.tempt (v.) 

a.  to make someone want to have or do something, especially something that is unnecessary or wrong

e.g.: The offer of free credit tempted her into buying a new car.

10.initiative (n.) 

a. a new plan or process to achieve something or solve a problem

e.g.: The peace initiative was welcomed by both sides.

11.chimney (n.) 

a. a hollow structure that allows the smoke from a fire inside a building to escape to the air outside

e.g.: Factory chimneys belched dense white smoke into the sky.

12.dim (adj.)

a.  not giving or having much light

e.g.: The lamp gave out a dim light.

b.something that you remember slightly, but not very well

e.g.: I had a dim recollection of having met her before.

c. not very clever

e.g.: He's a nice guy, but a little dim.

13.ghastly (adj.) 

a. unpleasant and shocking

e.g.: Today's newspaper gives all the ghastly details of the murder.

b.  extremely bad

e.g.: What ghastly weather!

c. If someone looks ghastly, they look very ill or very shocked, especially with a very pale face

e.g.: You look ghastly - are you okay?

14.spade (n.)

a. a tool used for digging especially soil or sand, with a long handle and a flat blade

e.g.: The kids took their buckets and spades to the beach.

b. one of the four suits in playing cards, which has one or more black symbols like a pointed leaf with a short stem

c. one of the four suits in playing cards, which has one or more black symbols like a pointed leaf with a short stem

e.g.: Don't you have any spades?

15.bleak (adj.) 

a.  If a place is bleak, it is empty, and not welcoming or attractive

e.g.: The house stands on a bleak, windswept hilltop.

b. bleak weather is cold and unpleasant.

c. if a situation is bleak, there is little or no hope for the future

e.g.: The economic outlook is bleak.

16.precept (n.) 

a.  a rule for action or behaviour, especially obtained from moral thought

e.g.: This policy goes against common precepts of decency.

17.presence (n.) 

a.  the fact that someone or something is in a place

e.g.: He's usually quite polite in my presence.

b.  a feeling that someone is still in a place although they are not there or are dead

e.g.: His daughter's presence seemed to fill her empty bedroom.

c.  a group of police or soldiers who are watching or controlling a situation

d.  a quality that makes people notice or admire you, even when you are not speaking

18.lavish (adj.) 

a. large in quantity and expensive or impressive

e.g.: The lavish production makes this musical truly memorable.

b.  very generous

e.g.: The critics were lavish in their praise for the paintings.

19.pretentious (adj.) 

a. trying to appear or sound more important or clever than you are, especially in matters of art and literature

e.g.: The novel deals with grand themes, but is never heavy or pretentious.

20.mischievous (adj.) 

a.  behaving in a way, or describing behaviour, that is slightly bad but is not intended to cause serious harm or damage

e.g.: She has a mischievous sense of humour.

b. expressing or suggesting mischief

c.  used to describe behaviour or words that are intended to cause harm or trouble

e.g.: I think these rumours are mischievous.

21.foster (v.) 

a.   to take care of a child, usually for a limited time, without being the child's legal parent

22.embark (v.) 

a.  to go onto a ship

e.g.: We embarked at Liverpool for New York.

23.pompous (adj.) 

a. too serious and full of importance

e.g.: He's a pompous old prig who's totally incapable of taking a joke.

24.minister (n.) 

a. a member of the government in Britain and many other countries who is in charge of a particular department or has an important position in it

b.  a religious leader in certain Christian churches

25.hereditary (adj.)

a.  (of characteristics or diseases) passed from the genes of a parent to a child, or (of titles and positions in society) passed from parent to a child as a right

e.g.: It is a hereditary title, so Mark Howard will become Sir Mark Howard on his father's death.