eg. Loni’s purple hair may be a detriment when she goes for a job interview.
dexterous
/?dekstr?s/
adj. 靈巧的；熟練的；敏捷的；慣用右手的
skillful in using the hands or body
eg. The juggler was so dexterous that he managed to keep five balls in motion at once.
discretion
/d??skre?n/
n. 謹慎，慎重
good judgement or tact in actions or speaking
eg. Ali wasn’t using much discretion when he passed a police car at eighty miles an hour.
facetious
/f??si???s/
adj. 亂引人發笑的；不問場合耍聰明的；在不適宜的場合開玩笑
humorous; playfully joking
eg. Dr. Segura has a facetious sign on his office door:“I’d like to help you out. Which way did you come in?”
gregarious
/ɡr??ɡe?ri?s/
adj. 交際的；合群的；(動物)群居的
sociable; enjoying and seeking the company of others
eg. Melissa is so gregarious that she wants to be with other people even when she’s studying.
optimum
/??pt?m?m/
adj. 最佳的；最適宜的
best possible; most favorable; most desirable
eg. the optimum use of resources
ostentatious
/??sten?te???s/
adj. 炫耀的；賣弄的；招搖的
meant to impress others; flashy
eg. Obviously he had plenty of money and was generous in its use without being ostentatious.
scrupulous
/?skru?pj?l?s/
adj. 一絲不茍的；審慎正直的；恪守道德規范的
careful about moral standards; conscientious
eg. He was scrupulous in all his business dealings.
sensory
/?sens?ri/
adj. 感覺的；感官的
having to do with seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, or smelling
eg. Almost all sensory information from the trunk and limbs passes through the spinal cord.
vicarious
/v??ke?ri?s/
adj. 間接感受到的
experienced through the imagination; not experienced directly
eg. He got a vicarious thrill out of watching his son score the winning goal.
Chapter 2
collaborate
/k??l?b?re?t/
v. 合作；協作；通敵；勾結敵人
to work together on a project; cooperate in an effort
eg. She agreed to collaborate with him in writing her biography.
despondent
/d??sp?nd?nt/
adj. 苦惱的；沮喪的；泄氣的；失望的
downhearted; hopeless; overwhelmed with sadness
eg. She was becoming increasingly despondent about the way things were going.
instigate
/??nst?ɡe?t/
v. 使（正式）開始；使發生；煽動；唆使；鼓動
to bring about by moving others to action; stir up
eg. Together they should demand, and instigate, a restructuring of Greek debt.
resilient
/r??z?li?nt/
adj. 可迅速恢復的；有適應力的；有彈性（或彈力）的；能復原的
able to recover quickly from harm, illness, or misfortunate
eg. Children can be amazing resilient. Having faced sad and frightening experiences, they often bounce back to their normal cheerful selves.
retrospect
/?retr?spekt/
n. 回顧；回想；追溯往事
reviewing the past; considering past events
In retrospect, I think that I was wrong
rudimentary
/?ru?d??mentri/
adj. 基礎的；基本的
fundamental; necessary to learn first
eg.They were given only rudimentary training in the job.
scoff
/sk?f/
v. 嘲笑；譏諷
to make fun of; mock; refuse to take seriously
eg. He scoffed at our amateurish attempts.
squelch
/skwelt?/
v. 發吧唧聲，發撲哧聲（如走在泥濘中似的）；制止；壓制；遏制；限制
to silence or suppress; crush
eg. The mud squelched as I walked through it.
eg. to squelch a rumour/strike/fire
venerate
/?ven?re?t/
v. 敬重；崇敬；敬仰
to respect deeply; revere
eg. And love, young men, and venerate the ideal.
zealot
/?zel?t/
n. (尤指宗教或政治的)狂熱分子，狂熱者
a person totally devoted to a purpose or cause
eg. Three hours later, the police arrested Scott Roeder, an anti-abortion zealot.
Chapter 3
ambiguous
/?m?b?ɡju?s/
adj. 模棱兩可的；含混不清的
able to be interpreted in more than one way; not clear
dissident
/?d?s?d?nt/
n. 持不同政見者
a person opposed to established ideas or beliefs, especially in politics or religion
eg. In the totalitarian state, there is no room for dissidence: the dissident is the source of “disorder,” and must be imprisoned, tortured, or killed.
embellish
/?m?bel??/
v. 美化；裝飾；布置；對…加以渲染（或發揮）；潤飾；對…添枝加葉
to decorate; beautify by adding details
eg. Lauren embellished the door of her locker with postcards from her friends and photos of her cats.
fritter
/?fr?t?r/
v. 浪費（時間、金錢）；揮霍
to spend or waste a little at a time
He frittered away the millions his father had left him.
inadvertent
/??n?d?v??tnt/
無意的
unintentional; accidental
eg. The government has said it was an inadvertent error.
inane
/??ne?n/
adj. 愚蠢的；無意義的
without sense or meaning; foolish
eg. He always had this inane grin.
juxtapose
/?d??kst??p??z/
v. 把…并列擺放
to place close together, especially in order to compare or contrast
eg. The technique Mr. Wilson uses most often is to juxtapose things for dramatic effect.
lethargy
/?leθ?d?i/
n. 沒精打采
a great lack of energy; inactivity due to laziness
eg. Symptoms include tiredness, paleness, and lethargy.
sporadic
/sp??r?d?k/
adj. 零星的
happening now and then; occasional
eg. a year of sporadic fighting in the north of the country
subsidize
/?s?bs?da?z/
v. 補貼
to support financially; provide a grant or contribution
eg. Around the world, governments have subsidized the housing of middle- and upper-income groups.
Chapter 4
berate
/b??re?t/
v. 嚴責
to criticize or scold harshly
eg. Marion berated Joe for the noise he made.
estrange
/??stre?nd?/
v. 使疏遠；離間；分居
to make unsympathetic or unfriendly; alienate
eg. he is estranged from his wife
euphoric
/ju??f?r?k/
adj. 狂喜的
overjoyed; having an intense feeling of well-being
eg. The war had received euphoric support from the public.
impetuous
/?m?p?tj??s/
adj. 沖動的; 不深思熟慮的
done or acting in a hurry, with little thought; impulsive
eg. He was young and impetuous.
infallible
/?n?f?l?b?l/
adj. 永無過失的；一貫正確的
not capable of error or failure; unable to make a mistake
Doctors are not infallible.
maudlin
/?m??dl?n/
adj. (尤指醉酒時)言語傷感的，感情脆弱的，自憐的
tearfully sentimental; overly emotional
eg. Jimmy turned maudlin after three drinks.
regress
/r??ɡres/
v. 倒退；回歸；退化
to return to an earlier, generally worse, condition or behavior
eg. If your child regresses to babyish behaviour, all you know for certain is that the child is under stress.
relinquish
/r??l??kw??/
v. 放棄 (權力或控制)
to surrender (something); give (something) up
eg. He does not intend to relinquish power.
ubiquitous
/ju??b?kw?t?s/
adj. 無所不在的
existing or seeming to exist everywhere at the same time
eg. Sugar is ubiquitous in the diet.
zenith
/?zen?θ/
n. 天頂(太陽或月亮在天空中的最高點);鼎盛時期
the highest point or condition; peak
eg. His career is now at its zenith.
Chapter 5
charlatan
/??ɑ?l?t?n/
n. 假行家；騙子
a fake; a person who falsely claims to have some special skill or knowledge
eg. He was exposed as a charlatan.
corroborate
/k??r?b?re?t/
v. 證實
to support; strengthen with further evidence; provide proof of
eg. I had access to a wide range of documents which corroborated the story.
disseminate
/d??sem?ne?t/
v. 散布，傳播（信息、知識等）
to spread or scatter widely; distribute
eg. Their findings have been widely disseminated.
diverge
/da??v??d?/
v. 分叉；岔開；分歧；相異；偏離；背離；違背
to branch off in different directions from the same starting point; to become different
eg. We went through school and college together, but then our paths diverged.
dormant
/?d??m?nt/
adj. 休眠的；蟄伏的；暫停活動的
inactive; alive but not actively growing, as if sleep
eg. a dormant volcano
hoist
/h??st/
v. 吊起；提升；拉高
to lift, especially with some mechanical means, like a cable
eg. The cargo was hoisted aboard by crane.
illicit
/??l?s?t/
adj. 非法的；違法的
illegal
eg. illicit drugs
irrevocable
/??rev?k?bl/
adj. 無法改變的；不可更改的
not able to be canceled or un done; irreversible
eg. an irrevocable decision/step
eg. irrevocably committed義無反顧地獻身
precipitate
/pr??s?p?te?t/
v. 使…突然降臨；加速（壞事的發生）；使突然陷入（某種狀態）
to cause to happen quickly, suddenly, or sooner than expected
eg. His resignation precipitated a leadership crisis.
proliferation
/pr??l?f??re??n/
n. 激增；涌現；增殖；大量的事物
a rapid spread or increase
eg. attempts to prevent cancer cell proliferation
Chapter 7
equivocate
/??kw?v?ke?t/
adj. （故意）含糊其辭，支吾，搪塞
to be deliberately vague in order to mislead
eg. He is equivocating a lot about what is going to happen if and when there are elections.
fortuitous
/f???tju??t?s/
adj. 偶然發生的；（尤指）巧合的
happening by chance, by accident, or at random; lucky
eg. Their success is the result of a fortuitous combination of circumstances.
impeccable
/?m?pek?bl/
adj. 無錯誤的；無瑕疵的；完美的
faultless; perfect
eg. Her written English is impeccable.
liaison
/li?e?zn/
n. 聯絡；聯系
a person who serves as a connection between individuals or groups; a go-between
eg. Our role is to ensure liaison between schools and parents.
predisposed
/,pri?d?’sp??zd/
adj. 有…傾向的
tending toward or open to something beforehand
eg. people who are predisposed to violent crime.
propensity
/pr??pens?ti/
n. （行為方面的）傾向；習性
a natural preference or tendency
eg. He showed a propensity for violence.
reprehensible
/?repr??hens?bl/
adj. 不道德的；應受指責的；應受譴責的
deserving of blame, criticism, or disapproval
eg. Mr. Cramer said the violence by anti-government protestors was reprehensible.
sham
/??m/
n. 假的東西
a pretense or counterfeit; something meant to deceive
eg. The government’s promises were exposed as a hollow sham.
solace
/?s?l?s/
n. 慰藉
comfort in sorrow or misfortune; consolation
eg. I found solace in writing when my father died three years ago.
solicitous
/s??l?s?t?s/
adj. 操心的；關懷的；關切的； 掛念的
showing or expressing concern, care, or attention
eg. He was so solicitous of his guests.
Chapter 8
attrition
/??tr??n/
n. （尤指給敵人造成的）削弱，消耗
a gradual natural derease in number; becoming fewer in number
eg. It was a war of attrition.
circumvent
/?s??k?m?vent/
v. 設法回避；規避；繞過；繞行；繞道旅行
to avoid by going around or as if by going around; to escape from, prevent, or stop through cleverness
eg. They found a way of circumventing the law.
cohesive
/k???hi?s?v/
adj. 結成一個整體的
sticking or holding together; unified
eg. a cohesive group
grievous
/?ɡri?v?s/
adj. 極嚴重的；使人痛苦的；令人傷心的
causing grief or pain; very serious or severe
eg. He had been the victim of a grievous injustice.
inundate
/??n?nde?t/
v. 淹沒；泛濫
to cover, as by flooding; overwhelm with a large number of amount
eg. Her office was inundated with requests for tickets.
oblivious
/??bl?vi?s/
adj. 不知道；未注意；未察覺
unaware; failing to notice
eg. He drove off, oblivious of the damage he had caused.
reticent
/?ret?snt/
adj. 寡言少語；不愿與人交談；有保留
quiet or uncommunicative; reluctant to speak out
eg. She was shy and reticent.
robust
/r???b?st/
adj. 結實的；耐用的；堅固的
healthy and strong; vigorous
eg. a robust piece of equipment
sanction
/?s??k?n/
v. 許可；準許；準予
to authorize, allow, or approve
eg. The government refused to sanction a further cut in interest rates.
vociferous
/v??s?f?r?s/
adj. 大聲疾呼的；喧囂的；大叫大嚷的
noisy; expressing feelings loudly and intensely
eg. vociferous protests
Chapter 9
bolster
/?b??lst?r/
v. 改善；加強
to hold up, strengthen, or reinforce; support with a rigid object
eg. to bolster sb’s confidence/courage/morale
depreciate
/d??pri??ie?t/
v. 貶值；跌價
to fall or decrease in value or price; to lower the value of
eg. New cars start to depreciate as soon as they are on the road.
indiscriminate
/??nd??skr?m?n?t/
adj. 隨意的；恣意的；不加選擇的；不加分析的；不加判斷的
not chosen carefully; not based on careful selection
eg. She’s always been indiscriminate in her choice of friends.
inquisitive
/?n?kw?z?t?v/
adj. 過分打聽他人私事的
curious; eager to learn
eg. Don’t be so inquisitive. It’s none of your business!
nebulous
/?nebj?l?s/
adj. 模糊的；不清楚的
vague; unclear
eg. a nebulous concept
relegate
/?rel?ɡe?t/
v. 使貶職；使降級；降低…的地位
to assign to a less important or less statisfying position, place, or condition
eg. She was then relegated to the role of assistant.
replete
/r??pli?t/
adj. 充滿；充足
plentifully supplied; well-filled
eg.literature replete with drama and excitement
sedentary
/?sedntri/
adj. 需要久坐的
marked by much sitting; requiring or taking little exercise
eg. a sedentary job/occupation/lifestyle
tenet
/?ten?t/
n. 原則；信條；教義
a belief or principle held to be true by an individual or group
eg.one of the basic/central tenets of Christianity
terse
/t??s/
adj. 簡要的；簡短生硬的
brief and clear; effectively concise
eg. The President issued a terse statement denying the charges.
Chapter 10
autonomy
/???t?n?mi/
n. 自治；自治權
independence; self-government
eg. a campaign in Wales for greater autonomy
bureaucratic
/?bj??r??kr?t?k/
adj. 官僚的；官僚主義的
insisting on strict rules and routine, often to the point of hindering effectiveness
