acquittal: n.宣告无罪，开释
an official decision in court that a person is not guilty of a crime
The case resulted in an acquittal.
The jury voted for acquittal.
➔ OPPOSITE conviction
debacle: n.解冻；崩溃
an event or a situation that is a complete failure and causes embarrassment
He should take responsibility for the debacle and resign.
Letʼs hope this is the end of the debacle over player transfer fees.
ancestry: n.家系
[countable, usually singular, uncountable]
(pl. an·ces·tries)
the family or the race of people that you come from
to have Scottish ancestry
He was able to trace his ancestry back over 1 000 years.
contraband: n.违禁品，走私货
goods that are illegally taken into or out of a country
contraband goods
to smuggle contraband
deprecate: v.反对，轻视
deprecate something (formal) to feel and express strong disapproval of something
epidermis: n.表皮，外皮
the outer layer of the skin
entreat: v.恳求
to ask somebody to do something in a serious and often emotional way
➔ SYNONYM beg, implore
entreat somebody Please help me, I entreat you.
entreat somebody to do something She entreated him not to go.
entreat (somebody) + speech ‘Please donʼt go,ʼ she entreated (him).
choleric: a.易怒的，暴躁的
easily made angry
➔ SYNONYM bad-tempered
He was a choleric, self-important little man.
assuage: v.缓和，减轻
assuage something (formal) to make an unpleasant feeling less severe
His reply did little to assuage my suspicions.
to assuage your guilt/fears
deferential: a.顺从的，恭顺的
showing that you respect somebody/something, especially somebody older or more senior than you
He was always deferential towards his mentor.
a deferential tone
demote: v.降级，降职
often passive] demote somebody (from something) (to something) to move somebody to a lower position or rank, often as a punishment
➔ OPPOSITE promote
armada: n.舰队
a large group of armed ships sailing together
The Spanish Armada was sent to attack England in 1588.
(figurative) a vast armada of football fans
epithet: n.(贬低人的)短语或形容词
1 an adjective or phrase that is used to describe somebody/somethingʼs character or most important quality, especially in order to give praise or criticism
The film is long and dramatic but does not quite earn the epithet ‘epicʼ.
2 (especially North American English) an offensive word or phrase that is used about a person or group of people
Racial epithets were scrawled on the walls.
apropos: a./adv.适宜的(地)；有关
concerning or related to somebody/something
Apropos (of) what you were just saying…
covert: a.秘密的，隐密的
(formal) secret or hidden, making it difficult to notice
covert operations/surveillance
He stole a covert glance at her across the table.
Every measure, both overt and covert, is being taken against terrorists.
➔ COMPARE overt
contrition: n.悔罪，痛悔
the feeling of being very sorry for something bad that you have done
➔ SYNONYM remorse
a look of contrition
descry: v.远远看到，望见
descry somebody/something (literary) to suddenly see somebody/something
divest: v.脱衣，卸下盛装；剥夺
1 divest somebody/yourself of something to remove clothes
He divested himself of his jacket.
2 divest yourself of something to get rid of something
The company is divesting itself of some of its assets.
3 divest somebody/something of something to take something away from somebody/something
After her illness she was divested of much of her responsibility.
duplicity: n.欺骗，口是心非
dishonest behaviour that is intended to make somebody believe something which is not true
➔ SYNONYM deceit
enervate: v.使虚弱，使无力
enervate somebody (formal) to make somebody feel weak and tired
an enervating disease/climate
aver: v.极力声明；断言；确证
aver that… | aver something | + speech (formal) to state firmly and strongly that something is true
➔ SYNONYM assert, declare
She averred that she had never seen the man before.
contrived: a.不自然的，做作的
planned in advance and not natural or genuine; written or arranged in a way that is not natural or realistic
a contrived situation
The bookʼs happy ending seemed contrived.
browbeat: v.欺侮；吓唬
browbeat somebody (into doing something) to frighten or threaten somebody in order to make them do something
➔ SYNONYM intimidate
They were browbeaten into accepting the offer.
The witness was being browbeaten under cross-examination.
There was no way this man was going to browbeat her.
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