macabre (mə-kä'brə, mə-käb', -kä'bər)
Pronounced: click here
Function: adjective
Comparative and superlative forms: more macabre; most macabre
Meaning:
: involving death or violence in a way that is strange, frightening, or unpleasant
Examples:
<a macabre story of murder and madness>
<Police discovered a macabre scene inside the house.>
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2008年2月21日 星期四
macabre:Word of the Day
2008年2月19日 星期二
Word of the Day: bear
bear (bâr)
Pronounced: click here
Function: noun [count]
Plural: bear or bears
Meanings:
1 : any one of a group of large and heavy animals that have thick hair and sharp claws and that can stand on two legs like a person
Example:
<a mother bear and her cubs>
Note: Bear is sometimes used figuratively to describe a large man.
Examples:
<a tall, friendly bear of a man>
<My father can be a grumpy old bear when he's tired.>
Note: In informal British English, a person who becomes angry or annoyed very easily is (like) a bear with a sore head.
Example:
<My father can be like a bear with a sore head when he's tired.>
2 finance : a person who expects the price of stocks to go down and who sells them to avoid losing money
Example:
<The bears outnumbered the bulls on Wall Street today.>
3 US, informal : something that is difficult to do or deal with
Example:
<This oven is a bear to clean. [=this oven is very hard to clean]>
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2008年2月11日 星期一
vulgar:Word of the Day
vulgar (vŭl'gər)
Pronounced: click here
Function: adjective
Comparative and superlative forms: more vulgar; most vulgar
Meanings:
1 : not having or showing good manners, good taste, or politeness
Examples:
<He was a vulgar man.>
<She had a coarse, vulgar laugh.>
<vulgar table manners>
<a vulgar [=tasteless] display of wealth>
<I will not tolerate such vulgar language in my home.>
2 : relating to the common people or the speech of common people
Example:
<vulgar Latin>
Derived form:
vulgarly adverb
Example:
<vulgarly sexual jokes>
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tamper:Word of the Day
tamper (tăm'pər)
Pronounced: click here
Function: verb
Inflected forms:
tampers; tampered; tampering
Phrasal verb:
tamper with
Construction: tamper with (something)
Meaning:
: to change or touch (something) especially in a way that causes damage or harm
Examples:
<They don't want to tamper with tradition.>
<It looked like someone had been tampering with the lock.>
<The evidence has been tampered with.>
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prevail: Word of the Day
prevail (prĭ-vāl')
Pronounced: click here
Function: verb [no object]
Inflected forms:
prevails; prevailed; prevailing
Status: formal
Meanings:
1 : to defeat an opponent especially in a long or difficult contest
Example:
<Our soccer team prevailed [=won] despite the bad weather.>
Note: Prevail is often followed by against or over.
Examples:
<He prevailed against/over last year’s champion.>
<She prevailed in a lawsuit against her doctor. [=she won a lawsuit against her doctor]>
Note: Prevail is often used figuratively.
Examples:
<Justice will prevail.>
<Truth will always prevail [=triumph] over lies.>
2 : to be usual, common, or popular
Examples:
<Mutual respect prevails among students and teachers here.>
<the music that prevailed in the 1980s>
3 : to be or continue to be in use
Examples:
<The tribal custom still prevails [=persists] after hundreds of years.>
<The law still prevails insome states.>
Phrasal verb:
prevail on/upon
Construction: prevail on/upon (someone)
Meaning:
: to ask or persuade (someone) to do something
Example:
<They prevailed on/upon me to play a few tunes on the piano.>
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