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traditional and ordinary
conventional behaviour/attitudes/clothes
conventional medicine/farming
a conventional wedding
disapproving I find his art rather dull and conventional.
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be conversant with sth
to be familiar with, and have knowledge or experience of the facts or rules of something
I'm not conversant with the rules of chess.
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to have a conversation with someone
She's so shy that conversing with her can be quite difficult.
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loi^`,
a convex lens/mirror
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friendly and making you feel happy and welcome
a convivial atmosphere/host
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very twisted
a very convoluted route/knot
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describes sentences, explanations and arguments, etc. that are unreasonably long and difficult to understand
His grammar explanations are terribly convoluted.
Her book is full of long, convoluted sentences.
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in large amounts; more than enough
They drank copious amounts of wine.
He took copious notes during the lecture.
We ate and drank copiously at the party.
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| a woman whose behaviour is intended to attract sexual attention by being playful and charming (= pleasant), flirtation |
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friendly, but formal and polite
a cordial smile/greeting/welcome/reception
Relations between the two leaders are said to be cordial.
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Term
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a large amount of something; a great supply
The table held a veritable cornucopia of every kind of food or drink you could want.
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Definition
something that results from something else, consequence
Unfortunately, violence is the inevitable corollary of such a revolutionary change in society.
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| a circle of light that can sometimes be seen around the moon at night, or around the sun during an eclipse (= a situation when the moon is positioned exactly between the sun and the Earth), crown ( vuong mien) |
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A corrosive substance causes damage by chemical action
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harmful and causing bad feelings
the corrosive influence of racism
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very great
The earthquake was a disaster of cosmic proportions/scale.
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Term
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a person’s face or facial expression:his impenetrable eyes and inscrutable countenance give little away
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2 [mass noun] support or approval:she was giving her specific countenance to the occasion
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Definition
a person or thing which has the same purpose as another one in a different place or organization, duplicate, copy
The Prime Minister is to meet his European counterparts to discuss the war against drugs.
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Term
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Definition
an unexpectedly successful achievement, a brilliant move
It was a tremendous coup for the local paper to get an exclusive interview with Prince Charles.
I got him to come to a party which was something of a coup.
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Term
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Definition
to want to have something very much, especially something which belongs to someone else
She always coveted power but never quite achieved it.
The Booker Prize is the most coveted British literary award.
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Term
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Definition
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(especially with reference to a woman) making a pretence of shyness or modesty which is intended to be alluring:she treated him to a coy smile of invitation
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2reluctant to give details about something regarded as sensitive:he is coy about his age
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Term
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Definition
clever, especially in a dishonest or secret way
I've had a crafty idea for getting round the regulations.
She was a crafty old woman.
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without considering how other people might feel; stupid
a crass remark
crass behaviour/ignorance
a crass error of judgment
He made crass comments about her worn-out clothes.
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Term
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to have a strong or uncontrollable want for something
Many young children crave attention.
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extremely cowardly (= not brave)
a craven act of terrorism
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belief, trust
I'm not prepared to give credence to anonymous complaints.
His bruises added/lent credence to his statement that he had been beaten |
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able to be believed or trusted
They haven't produced any credible evidence for convicting him.
The story of what had happened to her was barely (= only just) credible.
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willingness to believe that something is real or true
moneylenders prey upon their credulity and inexperience |
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a set of beliefs which expresses a particular opinion and influences the way you live
a system of religious belief; a faith:people of many creeds and cultures |
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disappointed and sad because of having failed unexpectedly in something
He looked crestfallen at their decision.
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he came back empty-handed and crestfallen
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to suddenly move away from someone or something because you are frightened
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informal to feel very embarrassed
I cringed at the sight of my dad dancing
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Definition
a standard by which you judge, decide about or deal with something, plural criteria
The Health Service should not be judged by financial criteria alone.
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an unpleasant or ugly old woman
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a person who believes that people are only interested in themselves and are not sincere
I'm too much of a cynic to believe that he'll keep his promise.
A cynic might say that the government has only taken this measure because it is concerned about its declining popularity.
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Term
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Definition
cut short
to curtail your holiday/spending
The last government severely curtailed trade union rights. |
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| hasty and therefore not thorough or detailed:a cursory glance at the figures |
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to praise someone, especially someone in authority, in a way that is not sincere, in order to get some advantage for yourself
He's always trying to curry favour with the boss.
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to control or limit something that is not wanted
The Government should act to curb tax evasion.
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| greed for money or possessions:new wealth, however tainted by cupidity and egoism, tends to be favourable for the arts |
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deserving to be blamed or considered responsible for something bad
He was held culpable (= blamed) for all that had happened.
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Term
culminate Pronunciation: /ˈkʌlmɪneɪt/
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| reach a climax or point of highest development:weeks of violence culminated in the brutal murder of a magistrate |
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mysterious and difficult to understand
I received a cryptic message through the post.
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Term
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Definition
the most important or serious part of a matter, problem or argument
The crux of the country's economic problems is its foreign debt.
The issue of an arms embargo will be at the crux of the negotiations in Geneva.
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often in a bad mood and easily annoyed
By the time the meal began, the youngest children were getting tired and crotchety.
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