| Term | Definition |
|---|
| collaborate | V. /协作，合作/work together. Two writers collaborated in preparing this book. |
| collage | N. /拼贴画/work of art put together from fragments. Scraps of cloth, paper doilies, and old photographs all went into her collage. |
| collate | V. /校对，整理/examine in order to verify authenticity; arrange in order. They collated the newly found manuscripts to deter¬mine their age. |
| collateral | N. /抵押品/security given for loan. The sum you wish to borrow is so large that it must be secured by collateral. |
| colloquial | ADJ. /口语的/pertaining to conversational or common speech. Some of the new, less formal reading passages on SAT I have a colloquial tone that is intended to make them more appealing to students. |
| collusion | N. /勾结/Conspiring in a fraudulent scheme. The swindlers were found guilty of collusion. |
| colossal | ADJ. /巨大/huge. Radio City Music Hall has a colossal stage. |
| comatose | ADJ. /昏迷；熟睡/a coma; extremely sleepy. The long¬winded orator soon had his audience in a comatose state. |
| *combustible | ADJ. /易燃的/easily burned. After the recent outbreak of fires in private homes, the fire commissioner ordered that all combustible materials be kept in safe containers, also N. |
| comely | ADJ. /清秀，美丽，漂亮；有吸引力的/attractive; agreeable. I would rather have a poor and comely wife than a rich and homely one. |
| comeuppance | N. /报应/rebuke; deserts. After his earlier rude¬ness, we were delighted to see him get his comeuppance. |
| commandeer | V. /征用，招募/to draft for military purposes; to take for public use. The policeman commandeered the first car that approached and ordered the driver to go to the nearest hospital. |
| commemorate | V. /纪念/honor the memory of. The statue of the Minute Man commemorates the valiant soldiers who fought in the Revolutionary War. |
| commensurate | ADJ. /相当的，相称的/equal in extent. Your reward will be commensurate with your effort. |
| commiserate | V. /怜悯，同情/feel or express pity or sympathy for. Her friends commiserated with the widow. |
| commodious | ADJ. /宽敞，舒适/spacious and comfortable. After sleep¬ing in small roadside cabins, they found their hotel suite commodious. |
| communal | ADJ. /公共的/held in common; of a group of people. When they were divorced, they had trouble dividing their communal property. |
| compact | N. /合约，合同/agreement; contract. The signers of the Mayflower Compact were establishing a form of government. |
| compact | ADJ. /紧密的，结实的/tightly packed; firm; brief. His short, com¬pact body was better suited to wrestling than to basketball. |
| comparable | ADJ. /相似的/similar. People whose jobs are compara¬ble in difficulty should receive comparable pay. |
| compatible | ADJ. /和谐的/harmonious; in harmony with. They were compatible neighbors, never quarreling over unimportant matters. compatibility, N. |
| compelling | ADJ. /强制的/overpowering; irresistible in effect. The prosecutor presented a well-reasoned case, but the defense attorney's compelling arguments for leniency won over the jury. |
| compensatory | ADJ. /补偿/making up for; repaying. Can a com¬pensatory education program make up for the inadequate schooling he received in earlier years? |
| compile | V. /聚集，积累，汇集/assemble; gather; accumulate. We planned to compile a list of the words most frequently used on SAT I examinations. |
| complacency | N. /自满；装模作样/self-satisfaction; smugness. Full of com¬placency about his latest victories, he looked smugly at the row of trophies on his mantelpiece. complacent,ADJ. |
| complaisant | ADJ. /彬彬有礼；殷勤/trying to please; obliging. The courtier obeyed the king's orders in a complaisant manner. |
| complement | V. /补足；完善/complete; consummate; make perfect. The waiter recommended a glass of port to complement the cheese. also N. |
| *complementary | ADJ. /补足的，完善的/serving to complete something. John and Lisa's skills are complementary. he's good at following a daily routine, while she's great at improvising and han¬dling emergencies. Together they make a great team. |
| compliance | N. /顺从/readiness to yield; conformity in fulfilling requirements. Bullheaded Bill was not noted for easy com¬pliance with the demands of others. As an architect, how¬ever, Bill recognized that his design for the new school had to be in compliance with the local building code. |
| compliant | ADJ. /顺从/yielding. Because Joel usually gave in and went along with whatever his friends desired, his mother worried that he might be too compliant. |
| complicity | N. /共犯，共同/participation; involvement. You cannot keep your complicity in this affair secret very long; you would be wise to admit your involvement immediately. |
| component | N. /成分/element; ingredient. I wish all the compo¬nents of my stereo system were working at the same time. |
| composure | N. /镇定，沉着/mental calmness. Even the latest work crisis failed to shake her composure. |
| compound | V. /混合；组合；增加/combine; constitute; pay interest; increase. The makers of the popular cold remedy compounded a nasal decongestant with an antihistamine. also N. |
| comprehensive | ADJ. /全面的/thorough; inclusive. This book pro¬vides a comprehensive review of verbal and math skills for the SAT. |
| compress | V. /压缩/close; squeeze; contract. She compressed the package under her arm. |
| comprise | V. /包括/include; consist of. If the District of Columbia were to be granted statehood, the United States of America would comprise fifty-one states, not just fifty. |
| compromise | V. /危害；妥协/adjust or settle by making mutual conces¬sions; endanger the interests or reputation of. Sometimes the presence of a neutral third party can help adversaries compromise their differences. Unfortunately, you're not neu¬tral; therefore, your presence here compromises our chances of reaching an agreement. also N. |
| compunction | N. /后悔/remorse. The judge was especially severe in his sentencing because he felt that the criminal had shown no compunction for his heinous crime. |
| compute | V. /计算/reckon; calculate. He failed to compute the interest, so his bank balance was not accurate. computa¬tion, N. |
| concave | ADJ. /空的/hollow. The back-packers found partial shel¬ter from the storm by huddling against the concave wall of the cliff. |
| concede | V. /勉强，让步，屈从/admit; yield. Despite all the evidence Monica had assembled, Mark refused to concede that she was right. |
| conceit | N. /自负，自大；离奇古怪的想法/vanity or self-love; whimsical idea; extravagant metaphor. Although Jack was smug and puffed up with conceit, he was an entertaining companion, always expressing himself in amusing conceits and witty turns of phrase. |
| concentric | ADJ. /同心/having a common center. The target was made of concentric circles. |
| conception | N. /开始，构思/beginning; forming of an idea. At the first conception of the work, he was consulted. conceive,V. |
| concerted | ADJ. /协调的/mutually agreed on; done together. All the Girl Scouts made a concerted effort to raise funds for their annual outing. When the movie star appeared, his fans let out a concerted sigh. |
| concession | N. /让步/an act of yielding. Before they could reach an agreement, both sides had to make certain concessions. |
| conciliatory | ADJ. /抚慰，调和/reconciling; soothing. She was still angry despite his conciliatory words. conciliate,V. |
| concise | ADJ. /简练/brief and compact. When you define a new word, be concise: the shorter the definition, the easier it is to remember. |
| contrived | ADJ. /做作的；牵强的/forced; artificial; not spontaneous. Feeling ill at ease with his new in-laws, James made a few contrived attempts at conversation and then retreated into silence. |
| controvert | V. /辩论；反驳/oppose with arguments; attempt to refute; contradict. The witness's testimony was so clear and her reputation for honesty so well-established that the defense attorney decided it was wiser to make no attempt to contro¬vertwhat she said. |
| contusion | N. /擦伤；撞伤/bruise. Black and blue after her fall, Sue was treated for contusions and abrasions. |
| conundrum | N. /谜语/riddle. During the long car ride, she invented conundrums to entertain the children. |
| convene | V. /召集，集合/assemble. Because much needed legislation had to be enacted, the governor ordered the legislature to convene in special session by January 15. |
| convention | N. /习俗，惯例/social or moral custom; established prac¬tice. Flying in the face of convention, George Sand shocked society by taking lovers and wearing men's clothes. |
| conventional | ADJ. /典型的；普通的/ordinary; typical. His conventional upbringing left him wholly unprepared for his wife's eccen¬tric family. |
| converge | V. /聚合；接近/approach; tend to meet; come together. African-American men from all over the United States con¬verged on Washington to take part in the historic Million Men march. |
| conversant | ADJ. /熟悉/familiar with. The lawyer is conversant with all the evidence. |
| converse | N. /相反的/opposite. The inevitable converse of peace is not war but annihilation. |
| converse | V. /聊天/chat; talk informally. Eva was all ears while Lulu and Lola conversed. Wasn't it rude of her to eavesdrop on their conversation? conversation, N. |
| convert | N. /改变；转换；皈依/one who has adopted a different religion or opinion. On his trip to Japan, though the President spoke at length about the virtues of American automobiles, he made few converts to his beliefs. alsoV. |
| convex | ADJ. /凸的/curving outward. He polished the convex lens of his telescope. |
| conveyance | N. /运输；交通工具/vehicle; transfer. During the transit strike, commuters used various kinds of conveyances. |
| conviction | N. /定罪；深信/judgment that someone is guilty of a crime; strongly held belief. Even her conviction for murder did not shake Peter's conviction that Harriet was innocent of the crime. |
| convivial | ADJ. /欢乐；高兴/festive; gay; characterized by joviality. The convivial celebrators of the victory sang their college songs. |
| convoke | V. /召集/call together. Congress was convoked at the outbreak of the emergency. convocation, N. |
| convoluted | ADJ. /围绕，卷绕；费解/coiled around; involved; intricate. His argument was so convoluted that few of us could follow it intelligently. |
| Copious | ADJ. /丰富的，大量的/plentiful. She had copious reasons for reject¬ing the proposal. |
| coquette | N. /卖弄风情的女子；蜂鸟/flirt. Because she refused to give him an answer to his proposal of marriage, he called her a coquette. alsoV. |
| cordial | ADJ. /亲切；衷心/gracious; heartfelt. Our hosts greeted us at the airport with a cordial welcome and a hearty hug. |
| cordon | N. /警戒线/extended line of men or fortifications to prevent access or egress. The police cordon was so tight that the criminals could not leave the area. alsoV. |
| cornucopia | N. /象征丰饶的羊角/horn overflowing with fruit and grain; symbol of abundance. The encyclopedia salesman claimed the new edition was a veritable cornucopia of information, an inexhaustible source of knowledge for the entire family. |
| corollary | N. /结果，产物/consequence; accompaniment. Brotherly love is a complex emotion, with sibling rivalry its natural corollary. |
| coronation | N. /加冕/ceremony of crowning a queen or king. When the witches told Macbeth he would be king, they failed to warn him he would lose his crown soon after his coronation. |
| corporeal | ADJ. /肉体的，物质的/bodily; material. The doctor had no patience with spiritual matters: his job was to attend to his patients' corporeal problems, not to minister to their souls. |
| corpulent | ADJ. /肥胖/very fat. The corpulent man resolved to reduce. corpulence, N. |
| correlation | N. /相互的关系/mutual relationship. He sought to determine the correlation that existed between ability in algebra and ability to interpret reading exercises. correlate, V., N. |
| corroborate | V. /确认；支持/confirm; support. Though Huck was quite willing to corroborate Tom's story, Aunt Polly knew better than to believe either of them. |
| corrode | V. /腐蚀/destroy by chemical action. The girders support¬ing the bridge corroded so gradually that no one suspected any danger until the bridge suddenly collapsed. corrosion, N. |
| corrosive | ADJ. /腐蚀性的/eating away by chemicals or disease. Stain¬less steel is able to withstand the effects of corrosive chem¬icals. corrode,V. |
| corrugated | ADJ. /皱的/wrinkled; ridged. She wished she could smooth away the wrinkles from his corrugated brow. |
| Cosmic | ADJ. /宇宙的；巨大的/pertaining to the universe; vast. Cosmic rays derive their name from the fact that they bombard the earth's atmosphere from outer space. COSMOS, N. |
| cosmopolitan | ADJ. /世界主义/sophisticated. Her years in the capitol had transformed her into a cosmopolitan young woman highly aware of international affairs. |
| coterie | N. /同行，圈内人/group that meets socially; select circle. After his book had been published, he was invited to join the literary coterie that lunched daily at the hotel. |
| countenance | V. /忍受；接受/approve; tolerate. He refused to counte¬nance such rude behavior on their part. |
| countenance | N. /脸/face. When Jose saw his newborn daugh¬ter, a proud smile spread across his countenance. |
| countermand | V. /取消；废除/cancel; revoke. The general counter¬manded the orders issued in his absence. |
| culvert | N. /水管/artificial channel for water. If we build a culvert under the road at this point, we will reduce the possibility of the road's being flooded during the rainy season. |
| cumbersome | ADJ. /粗笨的；累赘/heavy; hard to manage. He was bur¬dened down with cumbersome parcels. |
| cumulative | ADJ. /累积/growing by addition. Vocabulary building is a cumulative process: as you go through your flash cards, you will add new words to your vocabulary, one by one. |
| cupidity | N. /贪婪/greed. The defeated people could not satisfy the cupidity of the conquerors, who demanded excessive tribute. |
| curator | N. /主管；经理/superintendent; manager. The members of the board of trustees of the museum expected the new curator to plan events and exhibitions that would make the museum more popular. |
| curmudgeon | N. /脾气坏；吝啬/churlish, miserly individual. Although he was regarded by many as a curmudgeon, a few of us were aware of the many kindnesses and acts of charity that he secretly performed. |
| cursive | ADJ. /流动的；连接的/flowing, running. In normal writing we run our letters together in cursive form; in printing, we separate the letters. |
| cursory | ADJ. /草率；匆忙/casual; hastily done. Because a cursory examination of the ruins indicates the possibility of arson, we believe the insurance agency should undertake a more extensive investigation of the fire's cause. |
| curtail | V. /减短；降低/shorten; reduce. When Herb asked Diane for a date, she said she was really sorry she couldn't go out with him, but her dad had ordered her to curtail her social life. |
| cynical | ADJ. /愤世嫉俗/skeptical or distrustful of human motives. Cyn¬ical from birth, Sidney was suspicious whenever anyone gave him a gift "with no strings attached." cynic, N. |
| cynosure | N. /广受注意的目标/the object of general attention. As soon as the movie star entered the room, she became the cynosure of all eyes. |
| dabble | V. /涉猎，尝试；溅/work at in a non-serious fashion; splash around. The amateur painter dabbled at art, but seldom produced a finished piece. The children dabbled their hands in the bird bath, splashing one another gleefully. |
| dais | N. /讲台/raised platform for guests of honor. When he approached the dais, he was greeted by cheers from the people who had come to honor him. |
| dank | ADJ. /湿的；湿透的/damp. The walls of the dungeon were dank and slimy. |
| dapper | ADJ. /整齐的，优雅的/neat and trim. In "The Odd Couple" TV show, Tony Randall played Felix Unger, an excessively dapper soul who could not stand to have a hair out of place. |
| dappled | ADJ. /有斑点的/spotted. The sunlight filtering through the screens created a dappled effect on the wall. |
| daub | V. /涂抹/smear (as with paint). From the way he daubed his paint on the canvas, I could tell he knew nothing of oils. also N. |
| daunt | V. /惊吓；胁迫/intimidate; frighten. "Boast all you like of your prowess. Mere words cannot daunt me," the hero answered the villain. |
| dauntless | ADJ. /胆大的/bold. Despite the dangerous nature of the undertaking, the dauntless soldier volunteered for the assignment. |
| dawdle | V. /游手好闲；混日子/loiter; waste time. We have to meet a deadline so don't dawdle; just get down to work. |
| deadlock | N. /僵局/standstill; stalemate. Because negotiations had reached a deadlock, some of the delegates had begun to mutter about breaking off the talks. alsoV. |
| deadpan | ADJ. /没有表情的；呆板的/wooden; impersonal. We wanted to see how long he could maintain his deadpan expression. |
| dearth | N. /稀缺；缺乏/scarcity. The dearth of skilled labor compelled the employers to open trade schools. |
| debacle | N. /崩溃/sudden downfall; complete disaster. In the Air¬plane movies, every flight turns into a debacle, with passen¬gers and crew members collapsing, engines falling apart, and carry-on baggage popping out of the overhead bins. |
| debase | V. /贬低，降低/reduce in quality or value; lower in esteem; degrade. In The King and l, Anna refuses to kneel down and prostrate herself before the king, for she feels that to do so would debase her position, and she will not submit to such debasement. |
| debauch | V. /堕落，放荡/corrupt; seduce from virtue. Did Socrates' teachings lead the young men of Athens to be virtuous citi¬zens, or did they debauch the young men, causing them to question the customs of their fathers? Clearly, Socrates' philosophical talks were nothing like the wild debauchery of the toga parties in Animal House. |
| debilitate | V. /使虚弱，衰弱/weaken; enfeeble. Michael's severe bout of the flu debilitated him so much that he was too tired to go to work for a week. |
| debonair | ADJ. /温文尔雅；友好；殷勤/friendly; aiming to please. The debonair youth was liked by all who met him, because of his cheerful and obliging manner. |
| debris | N. /碎片；残骸/rubble. A full year after the earthquake in Mexico City, they were still carting away the debris. |
| debunk | V. /揭穿；奚落/expose as false, exaggerated, worthless, etc; ridicule. Pointing out that he consistently had voted against strengthening anti-pollution legislation, reporters debunked the candidate's claim that he was a fervent environmentalist. |
| debutante | N. /初次参加社交活动的女孩/young woman making formal entrance into society. As a debutante, she was often mentioned in the society columns of the newspapers. |
| decadence | N. /颓废；腐坏/decay. The moral decadence of the people was reflected in the lewd literature of the period. |
| decapitate | V. /斩首，杀头/behead. They did not hang Lady Jane Grey; they decapitated her. "Off with her head!" cried the Duchess, eager to decapitate poor Alice. |
| decelerate | V. /减慢/slow down. Seeing the emergency blinkers in the road ahead, he decelerated quickly. |
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