(© Pearson 2016 SO2A) WORDLIST 3. PLACES

Poverty, to be picturesque, should be rural. Suburban misery is as hideous as it is pitiable.

It was a quiet fishing village with a picturesque harbour.

when a place or your state of mind is peaceful, quiet and serene, without any commotion or tumult, it is tranquil.

We stayed in a small, tranquil village.

If a place is bustling, it is full of busy activity: This used to be a bustling town but a lot of people have moved away over recent years. The house, usually bustling with activity, was strangely silent.

The flower market was bustling with shoppers.

making a splendid appearance or show; of exceptional beauty, size, etc.: a magnificent cathedral; magnificent scenery.

The twelve-mile coastline has magnificent scenery.

of or in time long past, especially before the end of the Western Roman Empire AD 476: ancient history.

The ancient Egyptians built the Pyramids.

without inhabitants: a deserted village; a deserted farmhouse.

The streets were deserted.

Run-down buildings or areas are in very bad condition: a run-down building/cemetery

Something needs to be done about the run-down inner city areas.

not left to spoil

The countryside in the area is completely unspoilt.

Wisdom often exists under a shabby coat.

Hugh’s old jacket was torn and shabby.

in a state of disrepair or ruin as a result of age or neglect.

They bought a dilapidated old manor house.

extremely beautiful or attractive

You look absolutely stunning in that dress. a stunning view over the bay of Saint Tropez.

extremely exciting, beautiful, or surprising

The view from my bedroom window was absolutely breathtaking.

Having no residents; not inhabited.

The island was uninhabited.

The definition of a cave is a hollow place, particularly one inside the earth.

Our ancestors possibly lived in these cave houses.

the impression of a fingertip on any surface; also: an ink impression of the lines upon the fingertip taken for the purpose of identification

His fingerprints were all over the gun.

a large soft ball of white or pink sugar in the form of thin threads, usually sold on a stick and eaten at fairs and musement parks

He bought some candy-floss at the fair.

shelter or protection from danger, trouble, etc.

During the frequent air-raids, people took refuge in their cellars.

a supernatural, incorporeal being, especially one inhabiting a place, object, etc., or having a particular character

unable to leave the surface of the earth: The space shuttle remained earthbound because of a technical fault.

Humans thought they were earthbound until the aeroplane was invented.

one of a set of long pieces of wood or metal used to support a building so that it is above the ground or above water

He lives in a house built on stilts in the heart of the jungle. The houses are built on stilts to protect them from the annual floods.

Any material that does not allow electric current to pass through it. like the protective coating on wires: plastic, rubber.

Wood is an excellent insulator.

early in the history of the world or of humankind.

The village buildings were quite primitive.

a building or place of shelter to live in; place of residence; abode; home.

The two buildings form one large, comfortable dwelling.

To embellish or decorate someone or something with some kind of decoration. We always adorn our tree with lights, ornaments, and tinsel on Christmas Eve.

The church walls were adorned with religious paintings.

a small ornamental figure of pottery, metal, plastic, etc.; statuette.

The shelves were covered in figurines of the Virgin Mary.

a member of a people that travels from place to place to find fresh pasture for its animals and has no permanent home.

The herdsmen were nomads who did not stay in one place for long.

chill (of weather, conditions in a room, or parts of the body) cold

The bathroom’s a bit chilly.

extravagantly bright or showy, typically so as to be tasteless.

He was wearing a gaudy waistcoat.

Naughty vs nice. Wants to be nice, is nice: Cancer, Virgo, Libra; wants to be naughty, is nice: Taurus, Pisces; wants to be nice, is naughty: Aries, Leo, Scorpio, Capricorn; wants to be naughty, is naughty: Gemini, Sagittarius, Aquarius.

You’re a very naughty boy! Look what you’ve done!

“There is nothing more gray, stultifying, or dreary than life lived inside the confines of a theory.”

It was a dreary winter’s day.

dark or dim; deeply shaded. filled with or showing gloom; sad, dejected, or melancholy.

It was a gloomy room with one small window.

If you describe a place as roomy, you mean that you like it because it is large inside and you can move around freely and comfortably. If you describe a piece of clothing as roomy, you mean that you like it because it is large and fits loosely.

This car is roomy enough for a large family.

humorous, comical; amusingly ridiculous: laughable

Dave was a sweet man, very jokey about everything.

small and cramped; shabby, dull; annoyingly slow

The whole family was crammed into two poky little rooms.

Full of shade; shaded: found a cool, shady spot under some trees.

It was nice and shady under the trees.

Prepared or available for service, action, or progress: I am ready to work. The soup will be ready in a minute. The pupils are ready to learn to read.

When the doorbell rang he was ready and waiting

Of or occurring during the day. A newspaper published every day or every weekday

There are daily flights to Miami.

Open to or allowing in air; breezy or drafty: "the airy bungalows of the island

All the hotel’s bedrooms are light and airy.

having too many inhabitants for the available space or resources

Most of our cities are overpopulated.

A major city, especially the chief city of a country or region: Chicago, the metropolis of the Midwest.

The city has become a huge, bustling metropolis.

Charmingly odd, especially in an old-fashioned way

We stayed in a quaint little village.

Removed or remote from others; solitary: a secluded freelancer working in his basement. Screened from view; sequestered: a secluded cabin.

We sunbathed on a small secluded beach

Of or relating to the stage, stage scenery, or theatrical representation: scenic design. Constituting or affording pleasing views of natural features: climbed a hill for a scenic panorama of the valley; a scenic drive along the crater rim.

This is a region of scenic beauty.

causing or worthy of admiration or respect; amazing or magnificent

The pyramids at dawn were an awe-inspiring sight.

To sit or lie with the body and limbs spread out awkwardly. To spread out in a straggling or disordered fashion: untidy tenements sprawling toward the river.

Mexico is a sprawling city of more than 20 million inhabitants.

So poorly constructed or kept up that disintegration is likely; rickety: a ramshackle cabin in the woods.

They lived in a ramshackle old cottage.

An extremely successful and internationally famous fashion model. fashion model, manakin, mannequin, mannikin, manikin, model - a woman who wears clothes to display fashions; "she was too fat to be a mannequin"

One of the best-known supermodels of recent times was Naomi Campbell.

miniskirt - a garment hanging from the waist; worn mainly by girls and women

Lots of young women wore miniskirts in the 1960s.

indicating or recording lower than zero on some scale, esp. on the Fahrenheit scale.

They lived and worked in sub-zero temperatures for months.

To work or act together toward a common end or purpose.

They agreed to co-operate with Brazil on a programme to protect the rain forests.

a person who speaks two languages fluently. bilingualist, polyglot, linguist

Louis is virtually bilingual in Dutch and German.

To act on each other: "More than a dozen variable factors could interact, with their permutations running into the thousands"

Lucy interacts well with other children in the class.

Having retired or withdrawn from employment or an occupation but continuing to work part-time or occasionally. ‘he was some semi-retired officer on a retainer’

I’m semi-retired, but I still do work when people offer it.

The greatest use of life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.

A leather sofa will usually outlast a cloth one.

Happening every two months. Happening twice a month; semimonthly.

He gets a bimonthly magazine on trains.

marking a 200th anniversary

1991 was the bicentenary of Mozart’s death.

A collaborating or joint author.

We were co-authors of the standard school textbook on chemistry.

a relief pilot on an airplane

My co-pilot took over for the landing.

Capable of being interchanged: interchangeable items of clothing; interchangeable automotive parts.

These two words are almost interchangeable.

Extending or taking place between or among continents: intercontinental exploration. Having the capability of traveling from one continent to another: an intercontinental ballistic missile; an intercontinental airline.

An intercontinental flight between the USA and Europe has lost contact with air traffic control

a minicar used as a taxicab taxi, taxicab, cab, hack - a car driven by a person whose job is to take passengers where they want to go in exchange for money

I’ve arranged for a minicab for 10 tomorrow morning.

represent as less significant or important downplay, understate, minimize

The rail company is bringing in more trains in an effort to minimise disruption to travellers.

Outsell yourself. to surpass (another) in an amount sold: a book that outsold all others of its kind. To outdo (another) in selling: a salesperson who outsold her colleagues.

Australia now outsells the US in wines.

To surpass (an opponent) in skill or technique or in scoring points.

Murray outplayed his opponent in the final.

(of milk) having part of the cream removed, so it contains less animal fat and fewer calories than full cream milk

Can you get me a bottle of semi-skimmed milk, too, please?

The semicolon is undoubtedly the dark horse of the punctuation family. Some people fear and avoid it, some use it incorrectly and others only know it as one half of a winky emoticon.

Many people who have spoken and written English from birth have difficulty with semicolons.

captions displayed at the bottom of a cinema or television screen that translate or transcribe the dialogue or narrative. "films in foreign languages with English subtitles"

Turn the volume up. The subtitles are too small. It’s a French film with English subtitles.

an electric railway operating below the surface of the ground (usually in a city); "in Paris the subway system is called the `metro' and in London it is called the `tube' or the `underground'" metro, subway system, underground, tube

Take the subway – it’s less dangerous than walking across the road.

Supernatural forces and events and beings collectively; "She doesn't believe in the supernatural"

She has supernatural powers that help her defeat her enemies.

a state powerful enough to influence events throughout the world

The USA and China are two of the world’s superpowers.

pleasantness resulting from agreeable conditions

The hotel is in the city centre, close to shops and local amenities.

the basic structure or features of a system or organization

Some countries lack a suitable economic infrastructure.

Traffic jam. To overfill or overcrowd: Trucks congested the tunnel.

Councillors are looking at ways to reduce traffic congestion in the town centre.

the act of giving something up

The fact that the building could no longer be used for its original purpose resulted in its abandonment.

A fixed charge or tax for a privilege, especially for passage across a bridge or along a road.

I avoid the motorways in France because I don’t want to pay the tolls.

The act or process of regenerating or the state of being regenerated, especially: Biology Regrowth of lost or destroyed parts or organs. Spiritual or moral revival or rebirth.

The Marshall Plan brought about the regeneration of the shattered Europe of 1947.