Nouns
eg. in my country, there is a quota of four seats in parliament that must be filled by indigenous people
a fixed, limited amount of something that is allowed
relent
eg. The teacher relented, and gave them an extra week to study for their test.
to allow something that you would not have allowed before
incapacitated
eg. she was so tired, she was briefly incapacitated, and had to go home.
unable to work or do things normally.
ecstatically
eg. when Joy got into Yale, she jumped up and down ecstatically.
in a very happy way
Makeshift
eg. after the storm, the government built lots of makeshift homes
temporary and of low quality, but built because of a sudden need
assailants
eg. she was kidnapped by armed assailants.
a person who attacks another person
condemning
eg. The girl was condemning the terror attacks in Bondi Beach, because she did not agree with the shooters' actions.
criticising something or someone strongly for moral reasons
potent
eg. the sleeping medications were potent, and she was asleep almost instantly
very strong or effective
gingerly
eg. she sat down gingerly, trying not to squeak the chair
cautiously, carefully
nagging
eg. She was nagging her husband to finish the dishes so they could go out for dinner
complaining, or a bad feeling that continues for a long time
pariahs
eg. the girls who love musical theatre are treated as pariahs on the school playground.
people who are excluded by the social group, because they are not liked, respected or trusted
quell
eg. President Snow wanted Katniss to quell the revolution
to stop something using force
arduous
eg. The homework took me eight hours to complete this weekend, it was very arduous.
involving lots of effort, tiring
reluctantly
eg. she didn't really want to go to the mall, but she reluctantly followed along with her friends.
in a way that shows you don’t want to do something, and so are slow to do it
exorbitant
eg. they paid an exorbitant amount of rent to live in SoHo, almost $6000 a month!
too high, too much, usually for prices.
inducement
eg. the man didn't want to call his payment a bribe, but he couldn't deny it was an inducement.
a thing, action, or payment of money, meant to get someone to do what you want
ratcheting
eg. while they had started friends, for the last few weeks bad feelings had been ratcheting between them
increasing, usually in a bad way
garish
eg. the dress was a garish shade of pink, totally inappropriate for an English wedding
unpleasantly bright or show off-y
eg. she callously laughed after her best friend didn't get into her dream university
unkind, cruel and without care for the feelings of others
segue
eg. the conversation was awkward, so she segued into talking about her pets
to move easily from one subject, piece of music, topic or part of a story to another
stalemate
eg. even nine months into the war, both sides were at a stalemate, unable to make a breakthrough
a situation where neither group can win an argument
scurrying
eg. the rat was scurrying, looking for cheese.
moving quickly, with small, short steps.
emaciated
eg. after six months living in poverty meant she looked, and felt, emaciated
very thin and weak
scrupulously
eg. she scrupulously checked her group project to make sure that none of her teammates had cheated
carefully done to do the right thing morally
asphyxiation
eg. we were taught if there was a fire to crawl on the ground to avoid heat, but there you still risk asphyxiation because of the smoke.
being unable to breathe, often deadly