Perfectionnement Vocabulary

15 General vocabulary list terms

General vocabulary list of words learned / of which I remembered the existence of in my 'Perfectionnement de la Maîtrise de la langue' class.

Balancing-act
noun
A process in which somebody tries to please two or more people or groups who want different things
Example: He performed a political balancing act, making gestures towards the left as well as the right
en: Exercice d'équilibriste
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Census
noun
A count for official purposes, especially one to count the number of people living in a country and to collect information about them
Example: We have a census in this country every ten years.
en: Recensement
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Destitution
noun
the state of being without money, food, a home, or possessions
Example: Destitution has become a major problem in the capital
en: Misère, pauvreté
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Dog-tired
adjective
Extremely tired, exhausted
Example: He was dog-tired after the long flight
en: Épuisé, très fatigué, crevé
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Motorcade
noun
A line of vehicles including one or more that famous or important people are travelling in
Example: The President's motorcade glided by.
en: Cortège, convoi de voitures, caravane
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Springboard
noun
Diving board, gymnast's board
Example: [It is] the springboard for most people-smuggling missions to Italy.
en: Plongeoir, tremplin
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Squalor
noun
the condition of being extremely dirty and unpleasant, often because of lack of money
Example: These people are forced to live in squalor
en: Misère, conditions sordides
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Thoroughfare
noun
Main road, route, passage
Example: Sudan is a major migration thoroughfare for people moving between east Africa and the Libyan coast.
en: Artère, rue
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To apportion
verb
To divide something such as payments between two or more people, organisations, etc
Example: We are going to apportion the money from the award among all of the team members.
en: Répartir, partager, attribuer
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To be mulling
verb
To think about something
Example: Europe is mulling whether to partner with Sudan [...] and Eritrea [or not].
en: Bien réfléchir à
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To buttress
verb
To make someone or something stronger by supporting them in some way
Example: Her good arguments buttressed her credibility.
en: Renforcer, appuyer, étayer, soutenir, consolider
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To careen
verb
To move forward quickly and suddenly, going from side to side in an uncontrolled way
Example: The car skidded and careened wildly across several lanes of traffic.
en: foncer, se précipiter
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To smuggle
verb
To move goods or people illegally into or out of a country
Example: She was caught trying to smuggle 26 kilos of heroin out of/into the country
en: Passer en contrebande, introduire clandestinement
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To stem
verb
To stop
Example: He put pressure on the cut to try to stem the flow of blood.
en: Juguler
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Wage
noun
Money you earn for working
Example: "[Learning] German boosts wages by 4 percent." He spends all of his wages on clothes
en: Salaire