bleary /ˈblɪə.ri/ If you have bleary eyes, your eyes are red and watery and you cannot see clearly, because you are tired or have just woken upy Carl stared blearily (= in a very tired way) at the newspaper.
bedspread = counterpane
quaint attractive because of being unusual and especially old-fashioned a quaint old cottage. The rest of the bedroom furniture looked like a quaint collection museum puieces. Quaint can also be used to show that you do not approve of something, especially an opinion, belief or way of behaving, because it is strange or old-fashioned "What a quaint idea!" she said, laughing at him. quaintly
bewilderment confusion As he walked through the door, she stared at him in utter bewilderment. She shook his head in bewilderment.
telltale allowing a secret to become known She found lipstick on his shirts - the telltale sign that he was having an affair. There was no talltale sounds of traffic, nor were there any sounds of ..
pungent describes a very strong smell or taste, sometimes one that is unpleasantly strong I sat down to a cup of wonderfully pungent Turkish coffee. pungency The cheeses vary in pungency
filthy extremely or unpleasantly dirty Wash your hands - they're filthy! That girl just gave me a filthy look .He quickly noticed a filthy fireplcace that contained an almost consumed log.
pervade qualities, characteristics or smells pervade a place or thing, they spread through it and are present in every part of it The film is a reflection of the violence that pervades American culture. The pungent odor of recently produced wood smoke pervaded the room
forlorn alone and unhappy; left alone and not cared for She looked a forlorn figure standing at the bus stop. She sat forlornly (= alone and unhappy) looking out to sea
insistent firmly saying that something must be true or done The teacher is insistent that the school is not to blame for the situation. iHis brain ached with an insistent throb that clearly told him that all was not right with his world.
befuddled confused I'm so tired, my poor befuddled brain can't absorb any more. The light hurt his eyes,increasing the pain in his already befundled head.
behold to see or look at The new bridge is an incredible sight to behold. He grew pale with fear as he beheld the completely alien face that looked back at him.
bloodshot When your eyes are bloodshot, they are red or pink on the white parts.
poke You'll poke someone in the eye with that umbrella if you're not careful! Two kids were poking a stick into the drain.
poke/stick your nose into sth to try to discover things which are not really related to you I wish he'd stop poking his nose into my personal life!
poke around to search for something by moving things about, usually not in a very careful or organized way I was poking about in the drawer, looking for the key, when I found this! He poked about in a second-hand bookstore.
curse We could hear him cursing and swearing as he tried to get the door open. I could curse her for losing my key! Things were going so badly - it was as if I'd been cursed.
conceal to prevent something from being seen or known about; to hide something I tried to conceal my surprise when she told me her age. It was said that the police concealed vital evidence. Is there something you're concealing from me? He was carrying a concealed weapon.
daydream He never paid attention in class and seemed to be in a permanent daydream. I was just enjoying a daydream about winning the Nobel Prize for literature. Stop daydreaming and get on with your work!
hectic full of activity; very busy and fast The area has become a haven for people tired of the hectic pace of city life.
strain I usually strain the juice off the pineapple and use it in another recipe to become stretched or to experience pressure, or to make something do or experience this I strained a muscle in my back playing squash. I really had to strain (= try very hard) toreach those top notes. strain every nerve to make the greatest possible effort She's straining every nerve to get the work finished on time.
nag: 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. adjective a nagging voice If doubts or worries nag (away) at you, you think about them all the time The same thought has been nagging away at me since last week.
strained If a relationship is strained, problems are spoiling that relationship Relations between the two countries have become strained (=difficult) recently. showing that someone is nervous or worried She was looking strained and had dark circles beneath her eyes. Jean felt uncomfortable but managed to force a strained smile.
strain verb to become stretched or to experience pressure, or to make something do or experience this I've put on such a lot of weight recently - this dress is straining at the seams Don't watch TV in the dark - you'll strain your eyes! I was straining (my ears) (= listening hard) to hear what they were saying. restrain to control the actions or behaviour of someone by force, especially in order to stop them from doing something, or to limit the growth or force of something You should try to restrain your ambitions and be more realistic.
She has the high cheekbones of a supermodel.
irony a situation in which something which was intended to have a particular result has the opposite or a very different result The irony (of it) is that the new tax system will burden those it was intended to help.
party pooper someone who spoils other people's enjoyment by disapproving of or not taking part in a particular activity
slosh (of a liquid) to move around noisily in the bottom of a container, or to cause liquid to move around in this way by making rough movements She sloshed (= poured without care) some more brandy into her glass. Liquor sloshed over the rim and spilled onto the table between them.
perch perch in/on, etc. sth to sit on or near the edge of something We perched on bar stools and had a beer. A blackbird was perching on the gate. Elbows perched on the edge of table, she bent forward and..
puke to vomit The baby puked all down my shirt. She puked her dinner up again. If you insist I drink one more shot of this sludge, I'm going to puke.
strappy having straps a pair of strappy sandals
latch on to begin to understand something It took me ages to latch on to what she was talking about.
latch onto sth to become connected to something or to become interested in an idea, story or activity, and to start to use it Unfortunately the press have already latched onto the story
latch onto sb to stay close to someone or spend a lot of time with them, usually when they do not want you with them She latched onto me as soon as she arrived, and I had to spend the rest of the evening talking to her.
on the latch closed but not fastened Don't forget to leave the front door on the latch if you go to bed before I get back.
Put up with tolerate I can't put up with my neighbour's noise any longer, it's driving me mad.
Come up with: think of a solution, excuse. Nobody could come up with a satisfactory explanation for the accident.
prop to support something physically, often by leaning it against something else or putting something under it I propped my bike (up) against the wall. She was sitting at the desk with her chin propped on her hands. This window keeps on closing - I'll have to prop it open with something.
prop sth up to lift and give support to something by putting something under it; to give support to something, especially a country or organization, so that it can continue to exist in a difficult situation How long is the government likely to survive without the US military force there to prop it up?
vague not clearly expressed, known, described or decided I do have a vague memory of meeting her many years ago. not clear in shape, or not clearly seen Through the mist I could just make out a vague figure. I vaguely remembered having met her before.
placate to stop someone from feeling angry Outraged minority groups will not be placated by promises of future improvements.
dart to move quickly or suddenly I darted behind the sofa and hid. dart a glance/look at sb to look quickly at someone She darted an angry look at me.
frantic done or arranged in a hurry and a state of excitement or confusion Share prices have soared to a new all-time high in a day of frantic trading on the stock market.
frantically I've been working frantically all week to get it finished on time. I got home to find Lara frantically searching for her keys.
brisk quick, energetic and active a brisk walk He set a brisk pace and we struggled to keep up. briskly She walked briskly into town "Let's get it over with, " he said briskly
ward sth off to prevent something unpleasant from harming or coming close to you In the winter I take vitamin C to ward off colds.
eat away at sth to gradually damage or destroy something If a bad memory or feeling eats away at someone, it makes them feel more and more unhappy.
eat in to have a meal at home rather than in a restaurant -->eat out
eat into/up sth to use or take away a large part of something valuable, such as money or time The high cost of living in London is eating into my savings.
have your cake and eat it to have or do two good things at the same time that are impossible to have or do at the same time You can't have your cake and eat it - if you want more local services, you can't expect to pay less tax.
eat sb alive to criticize someone very angrily If we get our facts wrong we'll be eaten alive by the press.
eat sb for breakfastto be able to very easily control or defeat someone He eats people like you for breakfast.
eat humble pie to admit that you were wrong After boasting that his company could outperform the industry's best, he's been forced to eat humble pie.eat your words Sam said it would never sell, but when he sees these sales figures he'll have to eat his words.
crawl to try hard to please in order to get an advantage I don't like people who crawl. He crawled to the group leader because he wanted a promotion.
crawl back (to sb) to admit that you were wrong and ask someone for forgiveness or for something that you refused in the past Don't come crawling back to me when she throws you out!
flared becoming wider at one end flared trousers
flare to burn brightly either for a short time or not regularly ; When something bad such as violence, pain or anger flares (up), it suddenly starts or gets much worse; to (cause to) become wider
lean and hungry showing a very strong and determined wish to get something He's got that lean and hungry look.
lean on sb/sthto use someone or something to help you, especially in a difficult situation He's always had his big brother to lean on.
cling to stick onto or hold something or someone tightly, or to refuse to stop holding them They clung together in terror as the screams grew louder. We got so wet that our clothes clung to us clinging
clench to close or hold something very tightly, often in a determined or angry way With a knife clenched in/between his teeth, he climbed up the tree to cut some coconuts. "Get out of here, " she said through clenched teeth.
writhe to make large twisting movements with the body She was writhing around/about on the ground. He focused his attention on the couple writhing atop the bed. to experience a very difficult or unpleasant situation or emotion, such as extreme embarrassment
