emerge verb ( APPEAR )

/ɪˈmɜːdʒ//-ˈmɝːdʒ/ v [I]

•

to appear by coming out of something or out from behind something

She emerged from the sea, blue with cold.

•

to come to the end of a difficult period or experience

The Prince emerged unscathed from the scandal.

merge verb ( BECOME KNOWN )

/ɪˈmɜːdʒ//-ˈmɝːdʒ/ v [I]

to become known, especially as a result of examining something or asking questions about it

The facts behind the scandal are sure to emerge eventually.

[+ that ] It has emerged that secret talks had been going on between the two companies before the takeover was announced.

She's the most exciting British singer to emerge on the pop scene for a decade.

assortment noun

/əˈsɔːt.mənt//-ˈsɔːrt-/ n [C usually singular]

a group of different types of something

an assortment of vegetables

An unlikely assortment of rock stars and politicians attended the charity concert.

extinguish verb ( FIRE/LIGHT )

/ɪkˈstɪŋ.gwɪʃ/ v [T]

to stop a fire or a light burning

It took the firefighters several hours to extinguish the flames.

extinguish verb ( FEELING/IDEA )

/ɪkˈstɪŋ.gwɪʃ/ v [T]

literary to stop or get rid of an idea or feeling

Nothing could extinguish his love for her.

to extinguish a cigarette

embroider verb ( DECORATE CLOTH )

/ɪmˈbrɔɪ.dər //-dɚ/ v [I or T]

to decorate cloth or clothing with patterns or pictures consisting of stitches that are sewn directly onto the material

I am embroidering this picture for my mother.

embroider verb ( ADD TO A STORY )

/ɪmˈbrɔɪ.dər //-dɚ/ v [I or T]

to make a story more entertaining by adding imaginary details to it

Naturally, I embroidered the tale a little to make it more interesting.

hookah noun

/ˈhʊk.ə/ n [C]

a type of pipe which brings smoke through a container of water before it is breathed in

suffuse verb

/səˈfjuːz/ v [T often passive] literary

to spread through or over something completely

His voice was low and suffused with passion.

eyeing

(US also eying) /ˈaɪ.ɪŋ/

present participle of eye

eye verb

/aɪ/ v [T] (eyeing or US ALSO eying, eyed, eyed)

to look at someone or something with interest

I could see her eyeing my lunch.

She eyed me warily.

habituated adjective

/həˈbɪtʃ.u.eɪ.tɪd//-t ̬ɪd/ adj formal

used to something, especially something unpleasant

We find children's emotional needs difficult to respond to because we are habituated to disregarding our own.

dialect noun

/ˈdaɪ.ə.lekt/ n [C or U]

a form of a language that people speak in a particular part of a country, containing some different words and grammar, etc.

a regional dialect

The poem is written in northern dialect.

imperceptible adjective

/ˌɪm.pəˈsep.tɪ.bl ̩//-pɚˈsep.tə-/ adj

unable to be noticed or felt because of being very slight

She heard a faint, almost imperceptible cry.

imperceptibly adverb

/ˌɪm.pəˈsep.tɪ.bli//-pɚˈsep.tə-/ adv

Gradually, almost imperceptibly, her condition had worsened.

intuition noun

/ˌɪn.tjuːˈɪʃ.ən//-tuː-/ n [C or U]

(knowledge from) an ability to understand or know something immediately without needing to think about it, learn it or discover it by using reason

Often there's no clear evidence one way or the other and you just have to base your judgment on intuition.

[+ (that)] I can't explain how I knew - I just had an intuition that you'd been involved in an accident.

dungeon noun

/ˈdʌn.dʒən/ n [C]

an underground prison, especially in a castle

pharaoh noun

/ˈfeə.rəʊ//ˈfer.oʊ/ n [C]

(the title of) a king of ancient Egypt

famine noun

/ˈfæm.ɪn/ n [C or U]

when there is not enough food for a great number of people, causing illness and death, or a particular period when this happens

Another crop failure could result in widespread famine.

There were reports of refugees dying of famine.

Thousands of people emigrated during the Irish potato famine of 1845-46.

vulnerable adjective

/ˈvʌl.nər.ə.bl ̩/, /ˈvʌn.rə-//ˈvʌl.nɚ.ə-/ adj

able to be easily physically, emotionally, or mentally hurt, influenced or attacked

I felt very vulnerable, standing there without any clothes on.

It is on economic policy that the government is most vulnerable.

Tourists are more vulnerable to attack, because they do not know which areas of the city to avoid.

vulnerability noun

/ˌvʌl.nər.əˈbɪl.ɪ.ti/, /ˌvʌn.rə-//ˌvʌl.nɚ.əˈbɪl.ə.t ̬i/ n [U]

pursue verb ( FOLLOW )

/pəˈsjuː//pɚˈsuː/ v [T]

to follow someone or something, usually to try to catch or kill them

The car was pursued by helicopters.

The hunters spent hours pursuing their prey.

He was killed by the driver of a stolen car who was being hotly pursued by the police.

intense adjective

/ɪnˈtent s/ adj

•

extreme and forceful or (of a feeling) very strong

intense cold/heat/hatred

an intense flavour/colour

He suddenly felt an intense pain in his back.

•

Intense people are very serious, and usually have strong emotions or opinions

an intense young man

intensely adverb

/ɪnˈtent .sli/ adv

His strongest criticism is reserved for his father, whom he disliked intensely.

perch verb

/pɜːtʃ//pɝːtʃ/ v

perch in/on, etc. sth

to sit on or near the edge of something

We perched on bar stools and had a beer.

A blackbird was perching on the gate.

[I or T] to be in a high position or in a position near the edge of something, or to put something in this position

The village is perched on top of a high hill.

turban noun

/ˈtɜː.bən//ˈtɝː-/ n [C]

a head covering for a man, worn especially by Sikhs, Muslims and Hindus, and made from a long piece of cloth which is wrapped around the top of the head many times

turbaned adjective

/ˈtɜː.bənd//ˈtɝː-/ adj

a turbaned man

scabbard noun

/ˈskæb.əd//-ɚd/ n [C]

a long thin cover for the blade of a sword, which is usually fixed to a belt

saddle noun ( SEAT )

/ˈsæd.l ̩/ n

[C] a seat, often made of leather, used on a horse, bicycle, motorcycle, etc.

He swung himself into the saddle and rode off.

See also: sidesaddle

in the saddle

•

riding a horse

•

in charge or in control

The chairman is back in the saddle after his heart attack.

glitter verb

/ˈglɪt.ər //ˈglɪt ̬.ɚ/ v [I]

•

to produce a lot of small bright flashes of reflected light

Her diamond necklace glittered brilliantly under the spotlights.

•

literary If someone's eyes glitter, they look bright and express strong feeling

His dark eyes glittered with anger behind his spectacles.

infidel noun

/ˈɪn.fɪ.dəl//-fə.del/ n [C or U] old use disapproving

(used especially between Christians and Muslims) someone who does not have the same religious beliefs as the person speaking

He lived among infidels/the infidel.

infidel armies

hooves

/huːvz/

plural of hoof

hoof noun

/huːf/ n [C] (plural hooves or hoofs)

the hard part on the bottom of the feet of animals such as horses, sheep and deer

Compare: paw

immobile adjective

/ɪˈməʊ.baɪl//-ˈmoʊ.bəl/ adj

not moving or not able to move

She sat immobile, wondering what to do next.

immobility noun

/ˌɪm.əʊ ˈbɪl.ə.ti//-oʊˈbɪl.ə.t ̬i/ n [U]

immensely adverb

/ɪˈment .sli/ adv

extremely

He was immensely popular in his day.

She's an immensely talented young athlete.

prognosis noun

/prɒgˈnəʊ.sɪs//prɑːgˈnoʊ-/ n [C] (plural prognoses)

•

(also prognostication) formal a doctor's judgment of the likely or expected development of a disease or of the chances of getting better

The prognosis after the operation was for a full recovery.

•

a statement of what is judged likely to happen in the future, especially in connection with a particular situation

I was reading a gloomy economic prognosis in the paper this morning.

distracted adjective

/dɪˈstræk.tɪd/ adj

nervous, worried or confused because you are worried about something

Gill seems rather distracted at the moment - I think she's worried about her exams.

distractedly adverb

/dɪˈstræk.tɪd.li/

distract verb

/dɪˈstrækt/ v [T]

to make someone stop giving their attention to something

Don't distract her (from her studies).

He tried to distract attention from his own illegal activities.

distracting adjective

/dɪˈstræk.tɪŋ/ adj

Please turn your music down - it's very distracting.

brandish verb

/ˈbræn.dɪʃ/ v [T]

to wave something in the air in a threatening or excited way

She brandished a saucepan at me so I ran out of the kitchen.