4000 Essential English Words 5 Unit 1: The Little Mice
Word List
- allot [əˈlɒt] v.
To allot something means to give it to someone.
→ The coach allotted each team five minutes to prepare a strategy.
- appall [əˈpɔ:l] v.
To appall means to horrify, shock, or disgust someone.
→ The boy was appalled when he saw the accident.
- cache [kæʃ] n.
A cache is a hiding place for valuable things.
→ The pirates kept their jewelry in a cache hidden in a cave.
- convenience [kənˈviːnjənt] n.
Convenience is a state of being able to do something with little effort.
→ The Internet allows consumers to shop at their own convenience.
- dearth [dəːrθ] n.
A dearth is an amount or supply which is not large enough.
→ There is a dearth of money in my bank account. I can’t afford a new car.
- deliberate [diˈlibərit] adj.
If a thing you do is deliberate, you intend to do it.
→ She made a deliberate effort to save money each month.
- dire [ˈdaiər] adj.
When something is dire, it is terrible and very serious.
→ The tornado created a dire situation for the small town.
- elapse [iˈlæps] v.
To elapse means to pass, as in seconds, minutes, or hours.
→ A few seconds must elapse before you can take another picture.
- empathy [ˈempəθi] n.
Empathy is sharing or understanding another person’s feelings.
→ The caring nurse had empathy for her patients.
- fanciful [ˈfænsifəl] adj.
When something is fanciful, it is unusual or unrealistic.
→ The girl had fanciful ideas about doing well in school without studying.
- gripe [graip] v.
To gripe means to complain constantly.
→ Lawrence always gripes when he has to do chores.
- grueling [ˈgru:əliŋ] adj.
When something is grueling, it is very hard to do.
→ The climber faced the grueling task of reaching the top of the steep mountain.
- mundane [ˈmʌnˈdein] adj.
When something is mundane, it is boring, common, or ordinary.
→ The man had the mundane chore of raking thousands of leaves into piles.
- opt [ɒpt] v.
To opt is to make a choice, especially when deciding in favor of something.
→ My brother likes chocolate ice cream, but I always opt for vanilla.
- outrage [ˈautreidʒ] n.
Outrage is a very strong emotion of anger or shock.
→ Tommy was feeling outrage when his parents said he couldn’t go to the dance.
- paltry [ˈpɔːltri] adj.
When an amount of something is paltry, it is very small.
→ The poor man had a paltry sum of money.
- rectify [ˈrektəfai] v.
To rectify something means to correct it.
→ I quickly rectified the spelling mistakes that I had on my essay.
- resourceful [riˈsɔːrsfəl] adj.
When someone is resourceful, they are good at dealing with hard situations.
→ After his boat sunk, Matt was resourceful enough to build a raft.
- sustenance [ˈsʌstənəns] n.
Sustenance is food and water needed to keep a person, animal, or plant alive.
→ Without the proper sustenance, the man will starve.
- tedious [ˈtiːdiəs] adj.
When something is tedious, it is long, frustrating, and boring.
→ His job involved a lot of tedious typing, filing, and organizing.
