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repeatedly and annoyingly ask (someone) to do something:journalists badgered him about the deals
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Tom had finally badgered her into going
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to criticize or complain often in an annoying way
[+ object + to infinitive] My mum's always nagging me to get my hair cut.
If she'd only stop nagging at me, I might actually help.
I'm always nagging him about his diet.
she constantly nags her daughter about getting married
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humorous or witty conversation:
I agree with you here, in fact I usually agree with you; my previous post was a lame attempt at humorous badinage.
A good article, albeit with an unbecoming badinage in the title of [Beware of Beijing model].
It’s also unbecoming and how stupid and ignorant of Wei-Wei Zhang of Fudan University to claim [“China had the capacity to learn from the West, but the West does not have this capacity to learn”]. |
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to cause someone to be completely unable to understand or explain something, confuse
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an unexplained occurrence that baffled everyone
- It baffles me to read and to see just how many can earn a living from pointing fingers; how many gain support by questioning the obviously unclear by a clever arrangement of words.
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to confuse someone
The instructions completely bewildered me.
Arriving in a strange city at night, I felt alone and bewildered.
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something, especially a sum of money, that is small and not important
A thousand pounds is a mere bagatelle to him.
German taxes: Not a mere bagatelle
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dealing with these boats was a mere bagatelle for the world’s oldest yacht club
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a small amount of food on a hook (= curved piece of wire) or in a special device used to attract and catch a fish or animal
They were digging up worms to use for bait.
We put down some poisoned bait to kill the rats.
V: to entrap or seduce
Soon, all our oil will be consumed by China, while the last vestiges of our manufacturing and resource development are "free trade" bait.
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full of evil intentions; threatening
He gave me a baleful look.
his baleful influence
All this also makes LEDs an attractive alternative to the baleful orange glow of traditional sodium streetlights
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making you think that someone is going to do something bad
a menacing look/gesture
SO GRAVE, so menacing, so unstoppable has the euro crisis become that even rescue talk only fuels ever-rising panic
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hesitate or be unwilling to accept an idea or undertaking:
I balked at the prospect of spending four hours on a train with him.
Why consumers balk at companies' efforts to rebrand themselves. |
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something that has a soothing or restorative effect
something that gives comfort, having a gently calming effect:
Her gentle words were a balm to me.
Self-repairing materials
A healing balm
Materials that can repair themselves are under development
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1. Having the quality or fragrance of balm; soothing.
2. Mild and pleasant: a balmy breeze.
Slang: mentally unstable, insane
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boring, ordinary and not original
songs with banal, repeated words
Women underachieve in academics, writing, book publishing and even banal things like Wikipedia authorship.
Even with genderless, anonymous, user-contributed, web publications like Wikipedia, Wikipedia internal surveys has found over 90% of their contributors are male. It is hard to see what sex bias may lurk in Wikipedia. |
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a cause of continuous trouble or unhappiness
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the telephone was the bane of my lifethat is the bane of corruption in Nigeria- political office has become a 'do or die affair' because of the enormous 'legal' salaries and benefits/allowances politicians receive.
I used the word "bane" in the second sense, of "a source of persistent annoyance and exasperation". I doubt that many would disagree with this meaning, obviously not the Palestinians!
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the playful and friendly exchange of teasing remarks:there was much good-natured banter
the men bantered with the waitressesWe need to stop distracting ourselves as voters with this stupid banter, let's focus on real issues...budget expenses. |
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using words in a clever and funny way
a witty comment/remark
He was witty and very charming
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1extremely brutal:many early child-rearing practices were barbarous by modern standardsdescribes behaviour that is extremely cruel or unpleasant, or fails to reach acceptable social standards
His murder was an outrageous and barbarous act.
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2primitive and uncivilized:a remote and barbarous country
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elating to the heavily decorated style in buildings, art and music that was popular in Europe in the 17th century and the early part of the 18th century, overdecorated, showy
baroque architecture/painters
Vienna as a business hub
Baroque ain’t everything
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continuous firing of large guns to protect soldiers advancing on an enemy, heavy attack
a barrage of sth
a great number of complaints, criticisms or questions suddenly directed at someone
The TV station has received a barrage of complaints about the amount of violence in the series.
He faced a barrage of questions over his handling of the problem.
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lie exposed to warmth and light, typically from the sun, for relaxation and pleasure:
We could see seals on the rocks, basking in the sun.
Bask in the glory of the society's highest accolade. |
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a projecting part of a fortification built at an angle to the line of a wall, so as to allow defensive fire in several directions.
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a natural rock formation resembling a man-made bastion.
While we're at it we need to 'gut' the defense department in the sense that we need to totally recreate how we award contracts for military equipment. Having worked in that industry I can tell you it's a bastion of socialism, incompetence and corruption.
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a small, showy trinket or decoration, especially (British) a light, brightly coloured sphere hung on a Christmas tree:the baubles on a Christmas tree
The feudal-elite system that makes Thailand such a wonderful bauble of fascination for tourists and unethical business interests |
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morally offensive, especially in a sexual way
an indecent act/photograph
She accused him of making indecent suggestions to her.
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containing humorous remarks about sex
bawdy humour/songs
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humorously indecent talk or writing.
She was dark and weird, sad and bawdy—a modern hotchpotch with some richly anachronistic ingredients. And her voice—that voice—was the robust stuff of anthem ballads and velvet growls |
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a light or fire on the top of a hill that acts as a warning or signal
her red hair was like a beacon in the night
the prospect of a new government was a beacon of hope for millions
Islam, Christianity and Africa
A beacon of faiths
In Africa religious war is neither inevitable nor impossible |
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a noisy situation with no order
It was bedlam at the football ground after the match was suspended.
It was the korean war where alleged american use of germ weapons caused international bedlam.
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confused
I'm so tired, my poor befuddled brain can't absorb any more.
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even in my befuddled state I could see that they meant trouble
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to cause
Poverty begets hunger, and hunger begets crime.
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killings beget more killings
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[with two objects] envy (someone) the possession or enjoyment of (something):she begrudged Martin his affluence
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2 [with object] give reluctantly or resentfully:nobody begrudges a single penny spent on health
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to persuade, attract or interest, sometimes in order to deceive
The salesman beguiled him into buying a car he didn't want.
mountains and the serene ambience of the Thai city of Chiang Saen beguile visitors to the Mekong river in an area dubbed the Golden Triangle. This is where the borders of three countries, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, converge. |
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something that is extremely large and often extremely powerful
a grocery chain behemoth
shoppers are now more loyal to their local shops than to faceless behemoths
Wal-Mart
The behemoth from Bentonville
The world's biggest retailer may have hidden weaknesses |
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feeling you have a duty to someone because they have done something for you
She wanted to be independent and beholden to no one.
The political problem with instituting a guest worker program today is that the Democrats are partially beholden to the labor unions, who don't want cheap non-union labor
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put in a very difficult situation:the board is supporting the beleaguered director
troubled by someone or a situation
The arrival of the fresh medical supplies was a welcome sight for the beleaguered doctors working in the refugee camps.
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to make an action or a person seem like they are not important
Though she had spent hours fixing the computer, he belittled her efforts.
Stop belittling yourself - your work is highly valued.
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wishing to fight or argue
a belligerent person
a belligerent gesture
Watch out! Lee's in a belligerent mood.
hostile and aggressive:the mood at the meeting was belligerent
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to shout in a loud voice, or (of a cow or large animal) to make a loud, deep sound
[+ speech] "Keep quiet!" the headmaster bellowed across the room.
We could hear the sergeant bellowing commands to his troops.
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kind and helpful
He was a benevolent old man, he wouldn't hurt a fly.
Kazakhstan's benevolent father
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pleasant and kind
a benign old lady
his benign but firm manner
Benign bonuses |
Religion in China: When opium can be benign
Russia's Muslims: A benign growth
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leave (property) to a person or other beneficiary by a will:he bequeathed his art collection to the town
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pass (something) on or leave (something) to someone else:he ditched the unpopular policies bequeathed to him
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to criticize or speak in an angry manner to someone
As he left the meeting, he was berated by angry demonstrators.
Doctors are often berated for being poor communicators, particularly when they have to give patients bad news.
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to tell off someone because you disapprove of their behaviour
His mother scolded him for breaking her favourite vase.
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While we're at it we need to 'gut' the defense department in the sense that we need to totally recreate how we award contracts for military equipment. Having worked in that industry I can tell you it's a bastion of socialism, incompetence and corruption.