by McCullers
| Word | Definition | Active Unit | Syn./ Ant. | Examples | Translation |
| blazing adj | extremely hot | blazing scent горячий след | SYN blazing inferno, flaming | a blazing August afternoon | ярко горящий, пламенеющий, пылающий |
| full of strong emotions, especially anger | SYN shining, glaring | He jumped to his feet in a blazing fury | яркий, сияющий, блестящий, ослепительный, слепящий | ||
| creepy adj | making you feel nervous and slightly frightened | There's something creepy about the way he looks at me | бросающий в дрожь, вызывающий страх | ||
| downbeat adj | not showing any strong feelings, especially not happy ones | SYN dark, obscure ANT upbeat | The Bible is awfully downbeat | мрачный, пессимистический | |
| howl v | to make a long loud cry because you are unhappy, angry, or in pain, or because you are amused or excited | howl in/with to howl with pain howl down заглушать | The dogs howled all night wind howling in the trees | выть, завывать, стонать (о ветре) | |
| SYN cry | Upstairs, one of the twins began to howl | плакать, рыдать, реветь (о ребенке) | |||
| oblique adj | not expressed in a direct way | SYN indirect | an oblique reference to his drinking problem | окольный; косвенный, непрямой | |
| not looking, pointing etc directly at something | SYN roundabout, circuitous | an oblique glance | скрытый, тайный | ||
| obscure adj | difficult to understand | SYN remote, secluded, hidden, retired, secret | скрытый, уединенный | ||
| SYN indistinct, unclear, vague, faint, hardly perceptible to the eye | For some obscure reasons he failed to turn up | неопределенный, неясный, смутный | |||
| not well known and usually not very important | SYN inconspicuous, undistinguished, unnoticed, humble, lowly, mean | An obscure poet | незаметный, неприметный; неизвестный, ничем не прославившийся; непритязательный, скромный | ||
| remote adj | far away in time | a remote ancestor | SYN distant | the remote time when dinosaurs walked the earth | далекий, отдаленный |
| unfriendly, and not interested in people | SYN far, distant | His father was a remote, quiet man | дальний, далекий, отдаленный (от какого-л. места, предмета, человека) | ||
| far from towns or other places where people live | SYN out-of-the-way, distant | a remote border town | отдаленный; труднодоступный; уединенный, изолированный, глухой |
| Word | Definition | Active Unit | Syn./ Ant. | Examples | Translation |
| savage adj | very violent or cruel | SYN wild | дикий | ||
| SYN fierce, ferocious, cruel | ancient savage kings | жестокий, беспощадный, злой, свирепый | |||
| an offensive word used to describe people who have a simple, traditional way of life | SYN uncivilized, boorish, rude | a savage tribe | грубый, невоспитанный, бескультурный, нецивилизованный | ||
| unearthly adj | very strange and unnatural, and probably frightening | SYN supernatural, heavenly | an unearthly light | сверхъестественный; загадочный, таинственный, мистический | |
| an unearthly cry | странный; абсурдный; крайне неподходящий | ||||
| very early or very late and therefore extremely inconvenient | at an unearthly hour | He suggested a meeting at some unearthly hour of the morning. | |||
| vacant adj | a vacant seat, building, room or piece of land is empty and available for someone to use | vacant darkness — безжизненная тьма | The place that is more vacant than the moonlight in the Sahara | безжизненный; беззвучный | |
| veiled adj | a veiled threat, warning, attack, reference etc is expressed so that its exact meaning is hidden or unclear | Jasper remained silent and his eyes were veiled (=you could not guess what he was thinking). | закрытый вуалью, чадрой, покрывалом | ||
| завуалированный |
The Unicorn in the Garden & the Secret Life of Walter Mitty
by James Thurber
| Word | Definition | Active Unit | Syn./ Ant. | Examples | Translation |
| beast n | an animal, especially one that is large or dangerous, or one that is unusual | make a beast of oneself — безобразно вести себя | SYN brute, animal | mythical beasts such as unicorns and dragons | зверь, животное; скотина; тварь; чудовище |
| browse v | to eat slowly as animals do in the field | Browse on | The unicorn was browsing among the tulips | объедать, ощипывать листья, молодые побеги (on) | |
| crack adj | expert and highly trained; excellent at sth | SYN first-rate, first-class, pre-eminent, superexcellent | He’s a crack shot | великолепный, первоклассный, замечательный, клевый | |
| craven adj | lacking courage | SYN cowardly ANT brave | a craven figure of sb | малодушный; трусливый | |
| crop v | to eat; used to describe the way the animals eat the top of plants | The unicorn was cropping the roses in the garden | щипать, объедать (траву и т. п., о животных) | ||
| disdainful adj | showing disdain (the feeling that sb/sth is not good enough to deserve your respect or attention) | SYN scornful, contemptuous contemptuous, dismissive | He was proud and disdainful | презрительный, высокомерный, пренебрежительный (of; towards) | |
| distraught adj | extremely upset and anxious so that you cannot think clearly | He looked distraught | смущенный | ||
| gloat v | to look at with selfish delight | SYN boast | She was excited and there was a gloat in her eye | тайно злорадствовать, торжествовать (over) | |
| gravely adv | seriously | SYN seriously, soberly, solemnly | серьезно, здраво, рассудительно | ||
| grin v | to smile widely | broad grin глупая ухмылка foolish/silly grin глупый смех grin and 'bear it | SYN smile | The crew, bending to their various tasks in huge, looked at each other and grinned | скалить зубы; осклабиться; ухмыляться (at) |
| haggard adj | looking very tired because of illness, worry or lack of sleep | SYN blear, drawn | He looked haggard | изможденный, измученный, изнуренный; осунувшийся | |
| hatch v | to break out of an egg | Don’t count your chickens until they are hatched | вылупляться из яйца (тж. hatch out) | ||
| to put sb in a booby-hatch | She was eager to hatch her husband in a booby-hatch | сдать в психбольницу | |||
| hurtle v | to move very fast in a particular direction | A runaway car came hurtling towards us | двигаться с шумом; нестись, мчаться с шумом, грохотом |
| Word | Definition | Active Unit | Syn./ Ant. | Examples | Translation |
| inscrutable adj | if a person or their expression is inscrutable, it is hard to know what they are thinking or feeling, because they do not show any emotion | SYN inconceivable, incomprehensible | Inscrutable to the last | загадочный, необъяснимый, непонятный, непостижимый | |
| insinuating adj | suggesting indirectly that sth unpleasant is true | SYN implying | He said insinuatingly | содержащий намёк; вселяющий недоверие | |
| insolent adj | extremely rude and showing a lack of respect | SYN contemptuous, proud, disdainful haughty, arrogant, overbearing | an insolent child / smile | высокомерный, кичливый, надменный (to, towards) | |
| SYN impudent, impertinent, barefaced, cheek | With insolent skill | дерзкий, наглый, нахальный | |||
| leap v | to jump high or a long way | look before you leap by/in leaps and bounds a leap in the dark | SYN skip, jump, spring | A dolphin leapt out of the water | прыгать, скакать; перепрыгивать, перескакивать; вскакивать |
| to move or do sth suddenly and quickly | I leapt to my feet | бросаться делать что-л. | |||
| to increase suddenly and by a large amount | SYN shoot up | Shares leapt in value from 476p to close at 536p | прыгать, увеличиваться; быстро расти | ||
| mythical adj | that does not exist or is not true | SYN fictitious, imaginary, fabulous, fantastic | the mythical ‘rich uncle’ that he boasts about | существующий лишь в воображении, вымышленный, фиктивный | |
| existing only in ancient myths | SYN legendary | mythical beasts / heroes | легендарный, мифический, сказочный | ||
| plot n | a secret plan made by a group of people to do sth wrong or illegal | to devise, hatch, lay a plot to expose a plot to foil, thwart a plot to weave a plot | SYN conspiracy | to expose a plot to overthrow the government | интрига, заговор; козни |
| the series of events which form the story of a novel, play, film / movie, etc. | SYN story, subject | The book is well organized in terms of plot | сюжет, фабула; структура литературного произведения | ||
| put up | to show a particular level of skill, determination, etc. in a fight or contest | put up sth | The team put up a great performance | показывать, выставлять | |
| to suggest an idea, etc. for other people to discuss | to put up an argument / a case / a proposal | выдвигать, выставлять, предлагать | |||
| rap v | to say sth suddenly and quickly in a loud, angry way | The judge rapped for order | резко говорить | ||
| o hit a hard object or surface several times quickly, making a noise | стучать |
| Word | Definition | Active Unit | Syn./ Ant. | Examples | Translation |
| rejoice v | to express great happiness about sth | rejoice in the name of … to have a name that sounds funny | SYN gladden, exhilarate | The event rejoiced everyone | радовать, веселить; бодрить |
| SYN exult | They rejoiced to see their son well again | ликовать, торжествовать; бурно радоваться | |||
| SYN celebrate | The team are still rejoicing over their victory | праздновать (событие) | |||
| snap v | to break sth suddenly with a sharp noise; to be broken in this way | snap off | The wind had snapped the tree in two | порвать(ся), сломать(ся) | |
| to speak or say sth in an impatient, usually angry, voice | snap back snap out | SYN speak irritably, speak abruptly, reply irritably, reply abruptly | I was tempted to snap back angrily at him | обрубать, резко обрывать (кого-л.) разговаривать отрывисто, раздражённо; набрасываться (на кого-л. - at); огрызаться | |
| subdue v | to overcome, bring under control | to subdue thoughts подавлять мысли | SYN conquer, subjugate | She put up a terrific struggle but they finally subdued her | подчинять, покорять, подавлять |
| threaten v | to say that you will cause trouble, hurt sb, etc. if you do not get what you want | The attacker threatened them with a gun | грозить, угрожать (with - чем-л.) | ||
| to seem likely to happen or cause sth unpleasant | A storm was threatening | предвещать |
Bridget Jones's Diary
| Word | Definition | Active Unit | Syn./ Ant. | Examples | Translation |
| bellow v | to shout in a loud deep voice, especially because you are angry | bellow (sth) (at sb) | SYN yell | They bellowed at her to stop | орать; вопить, рычать (о человеке) |
| courtship n | the process or act of attracting a business partner, etc. | courtship (of sb/sth) | the company’s courtship by the government | ||
| (old-fashioned) the time when two people have a romantic relationship before they get married; the process of developing this relationship | They married after a short courtship | ухаживание | |||
| coy adj | shy or pretending to be shy and innocent, especially about love or sex, and sometimes in order to make people more interested in you | SYN backward, shy, retiring | She gave me a coy smile | робкий, застенчивый, стеснительный; не отвечающий на заигрывание | |
| not willing to give information about sth, or answer questions that tell people too much about you | coy (about sth) | SYN reticent | She was a little coy about how much her dress cost | сдержанный, недемонстративный | |
| cut-throat adj | (of an activity) in which people compete with each other in aggressive and unfair ways | the cut-throat world of politics cut-throat competition | ожесточенный, жестокий | ||
| dazzling adj | Very impressive | SYN brilliant | a dazzling display of oriental dance | Блестящий, яркий, великолепный | |
| distraught adj | extremely upset and anxious so that you cannot think clearly | SYN distracted | потерявший рассудок, обезумевший (от горя и т. п.; at, over, with) | ||
| ensue v | (formal) to happen after or as a result of another event | SYN follow, succeed | An argument ensued | получаться в результате; происходить (из-за чего-л. - from, on); следовать | |
| glad rags | (old-fashioned, informal) a person’s best clothes, worn on a special occasion | лучшая одежда | |||
| heady adj | having a strong effect on your senses; making you feel excited and confident | SYN intoxicating, giddy | a heady success | Впечатляющий, головокружительный, опьяняющий | |
| (of a person) excited in a way that makes you do things without worrying about the possible results | SYN rash, precipitate, willful | She felt heady with success | безрассудный, горячий, опрометчивый | ||
| hunch n | a feeling that sth is true even though you do not have any evidence to prove it | on a hunch интуитивно | I had a hunch (that) you’d be back | подозрение, предчувствие; интуиция |
| Word | Definition | Active Unit | Syn./ Ant. | Examples | Translation |
| immerse v | to put sb/sth into a liquid so that they or it are completely covered | immerse sb/sth (in sth) | SYN dip, douse, duck, dunk, plunge, submerge | to immerse deeply | опускать, погружать (обык. в жидкость), окунать |
| to become or make sb completely involved in sth | immerse yourself / sb in sth | SYN engross, absorb | She immersed herself in her work | ||
| insurmountable adj | (formal) (of difficulties, problems, etc.) that cannot be dealt with successfully | SYN insuperable, irresistible | неодолимый, непреодолимый, непобедимый, несокрушимый | ||
| ludicrous adj | unreasonable; that you cannot take seriously | SYN absurd, ridiculous | It was ludicrous to think that the plan could succeed | курьезный, нелепый, смехотворный, смешной | |
| overbearing adj | (disapproving) trying to control other people in an unpleasant way | SYN arrogant, domineering, haughty, imperious, commanding, authoritative ANT deferential, docile, modest, obsequious | an overbearing manner | властный, властолюбивый, повелительный | |
| quarry n | an animal or a person that is being hunted or followed | SYN prey | The hunters lost sight of their quarry in the forest | добыча; преследуемый зверь намеченная жертва | |
| retrieve v | (formal) to bring or get sth back, especially from a place where it should not be | retrieve sth (from sb/sth) | SYN recover | She bent to retrieve her comb from the floor | восстанавливать, возвращать в прежнее состояние; отдыхать, восстанавливать силы |
| to make a bad situation better; to get back sth that was lost | You can only retrieve the situation by apologizing | заглаживать вину, исправлять ошибку | |||
| strident adj | having a loud, rough and unpleasant sound | SYN squeaky, squeaking | a strident voice strident music | скрипучий | |
| aggressive and determined | He is a strident advocate of nuclear power | резкий | |||
| strut v | to walk proudly with your head up and chest out to show that you think you are important | strut your stuff to proudly show your ability, especially at dancing or performing | The players strutted and posed for the cameras | ходить с важным, напыщенным видом | |
| stunning adj | extremely attractive or impressive | SYN beautiful | You look absolutely stunning! | сногсшибательный; великолепный | |
| extremely surprising or shocking | He suffered a stunning defeat in the election | оглушающий, ошеломляющий | |||
| tatty adj | (informal, especially BrE) in a bad condition because it has been used a lot or has not been cared for well | SYN shabby | a tatty carpet | жалкий, невзрачный, безвкусный; заброшенный, запущенный | |
| top-notch adj | (informal) excellent; of the highest quality | SYN first-rate, first-class | отличный, первоклассный, превосходный, прекрасный |
| Word | Definition | Active Unit | Syn./ Ant. | Examples | Translation |
| transpire v | if it transpires that sth has happened or is true, it is known or has been shown to be true | It transpired that the gang had had a contact inside the bank | обнаруживаться, становиться известным | ||
| to happen | SYN happen | You’re meeting him tomorrow? Let me know what transpires | происходить, случаться | ||
| undaunted adj | (formal) still enthusiastic and determined, despite difficulties or disappointment | undaunted in one's resolve непоколебимый в своих намерениях | SYN undeterred, brave | He seemed undaunted by all the opposition to his idea | бесстрашный, неустрашимый, смелый, храбрый |
| virulent adj | (of a disease or poison) extremely dangerous or harmful and quick to have an effect | опасный, страшный, смертельный | |||
| (formal) showing strong negative and bitter feelings | SYN spiteful, malicious | virulent criticism virulent nationalism | злобный, злой, озлобленный; враждебный; жестокий, ожесточенный | ||
| zeal n | (formal) great energy or enthusiasm connected with sth that you feel strongly about | zeal (for / in sth) | SYN fervor, ardor | religious / political zeal | рвение, старание, усердие |