Shine Chen's List: News Editorials Opinions Issues

• verge

  • be on the verge of something
    to be at the point where something is about to happen
• crimps

  • to press cloth, paper etc into small regular folds

• unfettered

  • not restricted by laws or rules
• conceded

  • [intransitive and transitive] to admit that something is true or correct, although you wish it were not true
• coddled

  • to treat someone in a way that is too kind and gentle and that protects them from pain or difficulty
• tenets

  • a principle or belief, especially one that is part of a larger system of beliefs
• abstruse

  • unnecessarily complicated and difficult to understand
• hedge

  • something that protects you against possible problems, especially financial loss
• brokerages

  • the business of being a broker
• bridle

  • a set of leather bands put around a horse's head and used to control its movements

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• leniency

  • not strict in the way you punish someone or in the standard you expect
• dilution

  • to make a quality, belief etc weaker or less effective

• usurped

  • formal to take someone else's power, position, job etc when you do not have the right to
• hails from

  • to have been born in a particular place
• vetted

  • to check a report, speech etc carefully to make sure it is acceptable

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• cronyism

  • the practice of unfairly giving the best jobs to your friends when you are in a position of power - used to show disapproval
• debilitating

  • to make an organization or system less effective or powerful
• embezzlement

  • to steal money from the place where you work
• fraud

  • [uncountable and countable]the crime of deceiving people in order to gain something such as money or goods
• stash

  • informal to store something secretly or safely somewhere
• plagued

  • [countable] a disease that causes death and spreads quickly to a large number of people

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• glibly

  • said easily and without thinking about all the problems involved - used to show disapproval
• predating

  • to happen or exist earlier in history than something else
• alluvial

  • made of soil left by rivers, lakes, floods etc
• nomads

  • a member of a tribe that travels from place to place instead of living in one place all the time, usually in order to find grass for their animals
• a boon

  • something that is very useful and makes your life a lot easier or better
• thievery

  • formal thieving
• imputed

  • to say, often unfairly, that someone is responsible for something bad or has bad intentions
• vanquished

  • to defeat someone or something completely
• morsels

  • a very small amount of something, especially a small piece of food
    ￚsynonym scrap
• ritualized
• divinity

  • the study of God and religious beliefs
• vestiges

  • a small part or amount of something that remains when most of it no longer exists
• accommodate

  • [transitive] if a room, building etc can accommodate a particular number of people or things, it has enough space for them
• sacred aura
• wafers

  • a thin round piece of bread eaten with wine in the Christian communion ceremony
• subliminal

  • affecting your mind in a way that you are not conscious of
• communion

  • [countable] formal a group of people or organizations that share the same religious beliefs
• sacrament

  • one of the important Christian ceremonies, such as marriage or communion
• liturgy

  • [uncountable and countable] a way of praying in a religious service using a fixed order of words, prayers etc
• obsessing

  • [transitive usually passive] if something or someone obsesses you, you think or worry about them all the time and you cannot think about anything else - used to show disapproval
• emblem

  • a picture, shape, or object that is used to represent a country, organization etc
• divine

  • coming from or relating to God or a god
• inventiveness

  • able to think of new, different, or interesting ideas

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• dubious 

  • probably not honest, true, right etc
• recouped

  • to get back an amount of money you have lost or spent
• delusion

  • [uncountable and countable] a false belief about yourself or the situation you are in

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• melamine

  • a material like plastic that is used to make a hard smooth surface on tables and shelves
• diluted

  • to make a liquid weaker by adding water or another liquid
• melamine
• tarnish

  • [transitive] if an event or fact tarnishes someone's reputation, record, image etc, it makes it worse
• vigorous 

  • using a lot of energy and strength or determination
• exemptions

  • [countable] an amount of money that you do not have to pay tax on
• revoked

  • to officially state that a law, decision, or agreement is no longer effective
• vigilant

  • giving careful attention to what is happening, so that you will notice any danger or illegal activity

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• ratcheted

  • a machine part consisting of a wheel or bar with teeth on it, which allows movement in only one direction

• derail

  • if a train derails or something derails it, it goes off the tracks
• bailout

  • informal financial help given to a person or a company that is in difficulty
• fiscal

  • relating to money, taxes, debts etc that are owned and managed by the government

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• equities

  • [U] (finance) the value of a company’s shares; the value of a property after all charges and debts have been paid:
• Pledges

  • a serious promise
• temper

  • ~ sth (with sth) (formal) to make sth less severe by adding sth that has the opposite effect
• convalescence

  • a period of time when you get well again after an illness or a medical operation; the process of getting well
• ripple

  • to move or to make sth move in very small waves
• crude

  • (of oil and other natural substances) in its natural state, before it has been treated with chemicals:
• liquidation

  • [U] the action of liquidating sb/sth
• absorption

  • the process of a smaller group, country, etc. becoming part of a larger group or country:
• turmoil

  • [U, sing.] a state of great anxiety and confusion
• repatriated

  • (business) to send money or profits back to your own country

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• incumbent

  • someone who has been elected to an official position, especially in politics, and who is doing that job at the present time
• plateau

  • if something plateaus, it reaches and then stays at a particular level

• swirled

  • [intransitive] if stories or ideas swirl around a place, a lot of people start to talk about them - used especially in news reports
• trove

  • valuable objects, coins etc that are found where they have been hidden or buried, which are not claimed by anyone
• smuggle

  • to make a dirty mark on a surface
• rogue

  • not behaving in the usual or accepted way and often causing trouble
• thwart

  • to prevent someone from doing what they are trying to do
• clandestine

  • done or kept secret
• sabotaged

  • to deliberately spoil someone's plans because you do not want them to succeed
• centrifuges

  • a machine that spins a container around very quickly so that the heavier liquids and any solids are forced to the outer edge or bottom
• illicit

  • not allowed by laws or rules, or strongly disapproved of by society
• labyrinth

  • a large network of paths or passages which cross each other, making it very difficult to find your way

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• swipe

  • a criticism of someone or something
    ￚsynonym dig
• enclave

  • a small area that is within a larger area where people of a different kind or nationality live
• referendum

  • when people vote in order to make a decision about a particular subject, rather than voting for a person

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• bustling

  • To move or cause to move energetically and busily
• boutique

  • A small retail shop that specializes in gifts, fashionable clothes, accessories, or food, for example.
• a pall

  • A gloomy effect or atmosphere
• tentative

  • Not fully worked out, concluded, or agreed on; provisional
• harkens

  • To listen attentively; give heed
• hollow

  • not sincere
• churning

  • churn sth<->'out (informal, often disapproving) to produce sth quickly and in large amounts

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• vaccine

  • a substance that is put into the blood and that protects the body from a disease
• obscure

  • not well known
• stingy

  • (informal) not given or giving willingly; not generous, especially with money
• disclosure

  • the act of making sth known or public that was previously secret or private
• catered

  • (for sb/sth) to provide food and drinks for a social event
• rollout

  • an occasion when a company introduces or starts to use a new product
• lobbying

  • (sb) (for / against sth) to try to influence a politician or the government and, for example, persuade them to support or oppose a change in the law
• y wane

  • to become gradually weaker or less important

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• pledged
• pledged
• breakaway 
• upheld
• buttress
• battalion
• parlance

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• arsenals
• ranch

• gamut

• itinerant

  • travelling from place to place, especially to work
• toiling

  • also toil away to work very hard for a long period of time
• grouse

  • informal to complain about something [= moan]
• wistful

  • thinking sadly about something you would like to have but cannot have, especially something that you used to have in the past:
• lounging

  • [always + adverb/preposition] to stand, sit, or lie in a lazy or relaxed way:
• dignitaries

  • someone who has an important official position [= VIP]:
• pageantry

  • impressive ceremonies or events, involving many people wearing special clothes
• juggernaut

  • a very powerful force, organization etc whose effect or influence cannot be stopped:
• noxious

  • harmful or poisonous [= toxic]:
• disputes

  • [transitive] to say that something such as a fact or idea is not correct or true:
• mien.

  • literary a person's typical expression or appearance:
• glitzy

  • exciting and attractive because of being connected with rich, famous, and fashionable people [= glamorous]:
• throngs

  • a large group of people in one place [= crowd]:
• ample

  • more than enough [= sufficient; ≠ insufficient]
• seamstress

  • old-fashionedDLHBO a woman whose job is sewing and making clothes
• coveted

  • to have a very strong desire to have something that someone else has:
• cysts

  • a lump containing liquid that grows in your body or under your skin, and that sometimes needs to be removed [↪ boil]

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