4000 Essential English Words 5 Unit 11: Beethoven’s Gift
Word List
- acute [əˈkjuːt] adj.
When a bad thing is acute, it is very severe and intense.
→ When she fell out of the tree, the girl felt an acute pain in her arm.
- aggression [əˈgreʃən] n.
Aggression is behavior that is mean or violent to others.
→ The problem was only made worse by Mark’s aggression.
- banquet [ˈbæŋkwit] n.
A banquet is a grand formal dinner.
→ Both families brought a lot of food for the wedding banquet.
- biography [baiˈɒgrəfi] n.
A biography is an account of someone’s life that is written by someone else.
→ We read a biography about Charles Darwin in science class.
- boost [buːst] v.
To boost something means to increase or improve it.
→ Lowering prices boosts customers’ interest in shopping.
- clap [klæp] v.
To clap means to hit one’s hands together to express pleasure or get attention.
→ After the speech, everyone in the crowd clapped their hands for the speaker.
- compel [kəmˈpel] v.
To compel someone to do something means to force them to do it.
→ Traffic signs compel drivers to drive safely.
- dominance [ˈdɒmənəns] n.
The dominance of a person is their state of being more powerful than others.
→ Large gorillas hit their chests to express their dominance over others.
- gorgeous [ˈgɔːrdʒəs] adj.
When something is gorgeous, it is very pleasing and attractive.
→ The girl picked out a gorgeous dress to wear to the dance.
- inevitable [inˈevitəbəl] adj.
When something is inevitable, it is certain to happen or cannot be avoided.
→ It is inevitable that the days will get longer in the summer.
- legacy [ˈleɡəsi] n.
A legacy is an effect that exists because of a person or thing in the past.
→ The legacy of the ancient Egyptians can be seen in their monuments.
- masterpiece [ˈmæstərpiːs] n.
A masterpiece is a very good painting, novel, movie, or other work of art.
→ The Arc de Triomphe is considered a masterpiece in the world of architecture.
- multiple [ˈmʌltəpəl] adj.
If there are multiple things, there are many of them.
→ When the stunt went wrong, the man suffered multiple injuries.
- narrate [næˈreit] v.
To narrate a story means to write about it or read it aloud.
→ This story was written by John, but Aaron is narrating it to the crowd.
- notorious [nouˈtɔːriəs] adj.
When something is notorious, it is well-known because of something bad.
→ This area of town is notorious for gang activity.
- outdated [ˈautˈdeitid] adj.
When something is outdated, it is old and no longer useful in modern time.
→ Tape players are becoming outdated because of digital music.
- overall [ˈouvərɔːl] adv.
When a thing is talked about overall, the whole thing is considered.
→ Overall, the party was a huge success.
- partiality [ˌpɑːrʃiˈæləti] n.
A partiality is a tendency to prefer one thing to another.
→ She has a partiality for walking to school instead of driving.
- spontaneous [spɒnˈteiniəs] adj.
When an act is spontaneous, it is not planned. It happens suddenly.
→ My wife made a spontaneous decision to buy a new sofa while I was at work.
- virtue [ˈvəːrtʃuː] n.
A virtue is a good quality or way of behaving.
→ My best virtue is forgiveness.
