avid | very enthusiastic | |
blatant | very obvious, done without shame or embarrassment | |
breathtaking | very beautiful, surprising or impressive | |
gripping | very exciting | |
harrowing | shocking, making you feel very upset | |
lax | not strict not careful enough | |
lenient | not strict, used to describe people in a position | |
meteoric | very sudden and very quick | |
misleading | giving the wrong idea or impression | |
piercing | loud and high-pitched | |
prolific | producing a large number of works | |
sporadic | happening at irregular intervals | |
staunch | very loyal | |
sweeping | too general and therefore not valid | |
watertight | impossible to prove wrong or argue against | |
dreary | boring and depressing | |
dull | boring, without life, excitement or colour | |
mundane | ordinary, boring, giving little satisfaction | |
tedious | boring and often frustrating | |
atrocious | extremely bad | |
dreadful | very bad | |
lousy | very bad | |
flawless | perfect, with no faults | |
impeccable | perfect, faultless | |
unblemished | sth that has not been spoilt or harmed | |
arduous | tiring and involving a lot of effort | |
gruelling | tiring and lasting a long time | |
strenuous | needing a lot of physical effort | |
bedraggled | untidy, dirty and wet | |
dishevelled | untidy | |
scruffy | untidy, old and worn out | |
astute | clever and understanding people and situations | |
crafty | clever and good at using deception to achieve success | |
shrewd | clever and showing good judgement of other people and situations | |
wily | clever, experienced at deceiving people and not easily deceived | |
conventional | ordinary, normal | |
mainstream | ordinary | |
middle-of-the-road | ordinary, not extreme | |
run-of-the-mill | ordinary, nothing special | |
but rest assured | but do not worry | |
to go to any lengths to do sth | to do anything to get or achieve sth | |
to have no intention of doing something | will definitely not do sth/act in a certain way | |
to be hell-bent on doing sth | to be absolutely determined to do sth | |
if sb thinks he/she i going to/can ..., then they have got another think coming | ... | |
I'm not prepared to | I refuse to | |
one way or another I'm going to | it doesn't matter how I do it or how it happens, the improtant thing is I'll do it | |
there's no way | I absolutely refuse to | |
sb will step at nothing to... | sb will do anything -no matter how cruel or illegal it is - to get sth | |
to appeal | to find sth attractive and interesting | |
to be besotted/madly in love with sb | to be absolutely in love with sb | |
to detest sth | really hate | |
to be devoted to sb | to love sb a lot and be very loyal towards them | |
to go off sth/sb | to stop liking sth/sb that you used to like in the past | |
to hate the sight of | to really hate | |
to have a soft spot for sb | to have a special liking for sb | |
to have no time for sb | to dislike and have no respect for sb because of their attitude or the way they behave | |
not to be overly keen on sth | to dislike but not intensely | |
to loathe | to really hate sb/sth | |
to object to sth | to dislike sth and feel angry about it because you think it is wrong or unfair | |
to be partial to sth | to like; especially used for food and drink | |
to take an instant dislake to sb | to dislike sb from the moment you meet them | |
to take a shine to sb | to begin to like sb, having only known them for a short time | |
to take to sb/sth | to like sb/sth | |
not to think much of sth/sb | not to think sb/sth is very good | |
to think the world of sb | to like, respect and admire sb | |
an all-rounder | sb good at everything | |
a bystander | sb standing near sth | |
a daredevil | sb who gets a thrill out of taking unnecessary risks | |
a gatecrusher | sb who goes to a party that he/she has not been invited to | |
a has-been | sb who is no longer famous or important | |
a minor | sb who is under the age of full legal responsibility | |
a name-dropper | sb who likes mentioning the names of famous people they know to impress other people | |
an opportunist | sb who takes advantage of any situation, in any way, to get on | |
a smart alec | sb who always knows the right answers so that the other people finds it annoying | |
a snob | a middle or upper class person who thinks they are better than people from lower class | |
a spoilsport | sb who ruins the fun and enjoyment of others | |
a squatter | sb who lives in an empty building without permission and paying the rent | |
a tomboy | a young girl who enjoys doing the same things and playing the same games as boys | |
a troublemaker | sb who causes trouble | |
a wimp | a weak and pathetic person | |
a yuppy | a young professional person who earns a lot of money | |
blunt | sb who says exactly what he/she thinks even if it offends or upsets people | |
conceited | far too proud of one's abilities, achievements | |
crafty | good at getting what one wants by means of clever planning or deceiving other people | |
easy-going | sb who is not easily annoyed, worried or upset | |
gullible | sb who will believe anything you tell them | |
highly-strung | sb who is very nervous, and easily gets upset or angry | |
impulsive | sb who has a tendency to do things suddenly and without thinking about them carefully | |
modest | sb who does not like takling about their abilities/achievements | |
outgoing | sb who likes to meet and talk to new people | |
petty | sb who gives far too much importance insignificant things and is often unnecesasarily mean and unkin | |
reserved | sb who does not show their feelings or share their opinions with others | |
ruthless | cruel, showing no mercy | |
sensible | sb who has common sense | |
sensitive | sb who is easily offended or hurt by things other people say about them | |
spiteful | deliberately cruel | |
stubborn | sb who is determined not to change their mind even when they know they are wrong | |
symphatetic | sb who will try to understand sb else's problems and give them help | |
tactful | careful not to offend or upset sb else | |
vain | having extreme pride in one's own beauty, intelligence, etc | |
vindictive | sb who never forgets that they have been harmed in some way and is only satisfied when they revenge | |
to allay concerns/fears | to make sb fell less concerned/afraid | |
to claim responsibility | to officially say that you are responsible for sth bad that has happened | |
to conduct a survey | to ask people a set of questions in order to find out their opinions on sth | |
to cut class | to deliberately miss a class at school or university | |
to hazard a guess | to guess | |
to hurl abuse at sb | to shout insults at sb | |
to hurt sb's feelings | to upset or offend sb | |
to launch a new product | to make a new product available for the public to buy | |
to let out a scream | to scream | |
to level an accusation against sb | to accuse sb of sth | |
to mount a search | to organise and start a search | |
to pluck up the courage to do sth | to make an effort to be brave enough to do sth | |
to pull your weight | to do your fair share of the work | |
to push your luck | to take a big risk | |
to realise an ambition | to achieve an ambition | |
not to ring true | if an excuse, explanation, etc doesn't ring true, you find it difficult to believe | |
to stay put | not to move | |
to stem the flow of sth | to stop sth from spreading/developing/increasing | |
to talk shop | to talk about work in your time off and especially during a social occasion | |
to wear a hole in sth | to make holes in sth you use or wear | |
to wield power | to have a lot of power and influence | |
to win a scholarship | to get a scholarship by performing well in an exam or an interview | |
to wreak havoc | to cause chaos and/or a lot of damage | |
to be racket with (guilt/pain) | to feel very guilty about sth/ be in great pain | |
to reconcile oneself to sth | to accept an unpleasant situation | |
a reduction in | a decrease in | |
a (sad) reflection on | sb/sth gives a bad impression on sb/sth | |
to refrain from | to deliberately not do sth | |
to be related to sb | to be members of the same family | |
to report on | to report describing | |
to have a reputation for | to be well known for | |
restrictions on | limits on | |
to revel in sth | to enjoy sth, especially sth that other people would not expect you to enjoy | |
to be rude to sb | to be impolite to sb | |
to be scathing about sth/sb | to be very critical of sb/sth | |
a solution to | an answer to | |
to specialise in | to give particular attention to | |
a stance on | a government's official opinion towards sth | |
a stickler for sth | sb that always demand or require | |
to stoop to sth | to lower or completely ignore one's moral standards in order to get what one wants | |
to stray from a path | to leave a path | |
to be strewn with sth | to be covered in sth | |
a struggle for | a long and difficult attempt to achieve sth | |
to substitute for sb/sth | to take the place of sb/sth instead of sth else | |
to succumb to pressure/temptation | podążać za pożadanym | |
to survive on (an amount of money) | to have enough money to pay one's bills and buy the things one needs to survive | |
to be susceptible to sth/sb | to be very likely to be affected/influenced by sth/sb | |
to name after | to give sb/sth the same name as sb/sth else | |
to narrow sth down to | to reduce/limit sth or the range of sth | |
to nod off | to fall asleep often while sitting down | |
to nose around | to look around somewhere curiously to see if you can see sth interesting | |
to notch up | to achieve a score or total | |
to opt out | to choose not to participate in sth | |
to own up | to confess | |
to part with sth | to sell/give sth to sb | |
to pass away | to die | |
to pass yourself off as | to pretend to be sb you are not | |
to pass up | not to take (an opportunity) | |
to patch things up/patch up sth (a relationship, etc) | to make friends again after a bad argument | |
to pay sb back for sth | to return money that is owed to sb/to get revenge on sb | |
to phone in sick | to telephone sb at work to tell them that you are not coming because you are ill | |
to pick on | to victimise | |
to pick up | to learn or acquire | |
to piece sth together | to put together different facts to make a whole story | |
to pipe up | to start to speak, especially when you have been silent for some time | |
to play sth down | to make sth seem less important than it really is | |
tp ply sb with sth | to give sb a constant supply of sth | |
to point out sb that | to explain sth/tell sb that they did not know | |
to potter about | to spend time doing small unimportant things that require little efford | |
to pull yourself together | to take control if your emotions and feelings when you are very nervous | |
to pull up a chair | to move a chair nearer to sth | |
to pull it off | to succeed | |
to push sb around | to give sb orders in a rude and agressive way | |
to push (the door) to | to close/nearly close | |