to hone
to sharpen an object
The bone had been honed to a point.
to make something perfect or completely suitable for its purpose
His physique was honed to perfection.
Her debating skills were honed in the students’ union.
Scathing
severely and unkindly critical
scathing criticism
He was very scathing about the report, saying it was inaccurate.
Astounding
very surprising or shockingan astounding fact/decision/revelation
an astounding (= very great) victory/achievement/success
reckless
doing something dangerous and not worrying about the risks and the possible results
He was found guilty of reckless driving
Grave
seriously bad
a grave situation
dreary
boring and making you feel unhappy
a dreary little town
She had spent another dreary day in the office.
Scatteredcovering a wide area
Toys and books were scattered about/around the room.
My family is scattered all over the world.
The forecast is for scattered showers (= separate areas of rain) tomorrow.
Tedious
boring
a tedious job
The trouble is I find most forms of exercise so tedious.
Slope
a surface which lies at an angle to the horizontal so that some points on it are higher than others
Theroof is at a slope (= at an angle to a horizontal surface) of 30°.
(part of) the side of a hill or mountain
a ski/mountain slope
Snow had settled on some of the higher slopes.
There’s a very steep slope just before you reach the top of the mountain.
There are some nice gentle (= not steep) slopes that we can ski down.
Of sorts
used to describe something which is not a typical or good exampleof something
He managed to make a curtain of sorts out of an old sheet.
To debunk
to show that something is less important, less good or less true than it has been made to appear
The writer’s aim was to debunk the myth that had grown up around the actress.
Earnest
serious or determined, especially too serious and unable to find your own actions funny
He was a very earnest young man.
Ithought he was joking – I didn’t realize he was in earnest.
In deadly earnest
completely serious
These fanatics are in deadly earnest when they say they want to destroy all forms of government.
In earnest
When something begins in earnest, it has already started but is now being done in a serious and complete way
The election campaign has begun in earnest.
to be speaking honestly
mischievous-behaving in a way, or describing behaviour, which is slightly bad but is not intended to cause serious harm or damage
She has a mischievous sense of humour.
a book about the mischievous antics of his ten-year-old daughter
-describes behaviour or words that are intended to cause harm or trouble
I think these rumours are mischievous.
Daring
brave and taking risks
a daring escape
This is adaring new film (= one willing to risk criticism) by one of our most original modern directors.
She was wearing a rather daring (= sexually exciting) skirt that only just covered her bottom.
Dare
something you do because someone dares you to
He jumped in the river at twelve o’clock last night UK as/for/US on a dare.
Ingenuity
someone’s ability to think of clever new ways of doing somethingDrug smugglers constantly use their ingenuity to find new ways of getting drugs into a country.
To drag and drop
If you drag and drop something on a computer screen, you move it from one area to another using the mouse (DEVICE).
Clamour
a loud complaint about something or a demand for something
After the bombing, there was a public clamour for vengeance.
formal loud noise, especially made bypeople’s voices
the clamour of the city/ a clamour of voices
to deplore
to say or think that something is very bad
We deeply deplore the loss of life.
He said that he deplored all violence.
UK The attitude of the Minister is to be deplored (= is very bad).
Bitterness
a feeling of anger and unhappiness
He was full of bitterness after he lost his job.
Padded
containing a layer of soft…