2013.11.18 word (week11-1)

1.ravel(v.)

[no obj] formal + literary : to become divided into separate threads : unravel
▪ The fabric will ravel.

 — raveled (US) or chiefly Brit ravelled adjective
▪ a ravelled edge ▪ a raveled sleeve

2.ballistic(a.)
1) : to become very angry
▪ Dad went ballistic when he saw the dent in his car.

2) US : to become very excited
▪ The crowd was going ballistic. [=going wild]

 

3.obtrude(v.)

formal : to become involved with something or to become noticeable in an unpleasant or annoying way [no obj] ▪ She didn't want to obtrude [=intrude] on/upon their conversation. ▪ The historical details in the movie do not obtrude—they enhance the story by making it more realistic. [+ obj] ▪ He was confident at first, but then doubts began to obtrude themselves. [=he began to have doubts]

 

4.opprobrium(n.)

[noncount] formal : very strong disapproval or criticism of a person or thing especially by a large number of people
▪ They're going ahead with the plan despite public opprobrium. ▪ a group of critics who use “romanticism” as a term of opprobrium [=a word that is used to show disapproval]

 

5.antecedent(n.)

1) [count] grammar : a word or phrase that is represented by another word (such as a pronoun)
▪ “John” is the antecedent of the pronoun “him” in “Mary saw John and thanked him.”

2) [count] formal : something that came before something else and may have influenced or caused it
▪ The events were antecedents of/to the war. [=the events helped to cause the war] ▪ the antecedents of rap music [=music that came before and influenced rap music]

3) antecedents [plural] formal : the people in a family who lived in past times
▪ He is proud of his Scottish antecedents. [=(more commonly) ancestors]