Lexique des mots difficiles en anglais, Capes d'anglais, TOEFL, TOEIC

1- enchevêtrement → a tangle of wires : un enchevêtrement de câbles 2- to be/get in a tangle [string, wires, hair] être emmêlé/s'emmêler → I've got my shoelaces in a bit of a tangle ; her hair tends to tangle 3- to be/get o.s. in a tangle : être en pleine confusion, être un sac de nœuds → we had got ourselves in a tangle (nous étions en pleine confusion) ; my tax affairs were in a complete tangle (mes affaires fiscales étaient un véritable sac de nœuds). ◊ to be tangled up [wires, string, sheets] = être emmêlé(e).
to get tangled up = s'emmêler.

stench

puanteur. « The putrid stench of death. » « The stench of betrail. »

boot camp

camp d'entraînement (pour nouvelles recrues)

bewilder

dérouter, déconcerter → the silence from Alex had hurt and bewildered her.

blend

1- mélange → a blend of spices 2- mélanger → to blend all the ingredients together → a band that blends jazz, folk and classical music 3- to blend together = se confondre → paint the walls and ceilings the same colour so they blend together.

rebuke

1- réprimande, reproche → he had received a stern rebuke from his superiors ... 2- réprimander → to rebuke sb for sth = reprocher qch à qn. Ex: she often rebuked David for his authoritarian attitude to his clients. → to rebuke sb for doing sth = reprocher à qn d'avoir fait qch. Ex: he rebuked foreign governments for trying to force change through their aid policies.

pageant

(beauty pageant) concours de beauté

to pass away

déceder

warfare

guerre. Ex : their experience of modern warfare was very small. → chemical warfare : guerre chimique → biological warfare : guerre biologique → psychological warfare : guerre psychologique

geek

1- crack en informatique 2- (= computer nerd) informaticien boutonneux

conjuror

prestidigitateur, illusionniste

trickery

ruse ex : they are notorious for resorting to trickery in order to impress their clients.

to toss

1- lancer, jeter. Ex: she screwed the paper into a ball and tossed it into the fire ; he tossed Bill a can of beer. 2- ballotter Ex: as the plane was tossed up and down, the pilot tried to stabilise it ; the sea tossed the small boat like a cork. 3- to toss a salad : tourner une salade 4- to toss pancakes : faire sauter des crêpes 5- to toss a coin : jouer à pile ou face (= to flip a coin)→ we tossed a coin to decide who would go out and buy the buns.

to dangle

1- [hands, feet, legs] pendre → He sat on the wall, his legs dangling → huge earrings dangled from her ears. 2- faire balancer → he dangled the keys in front of me. 3- (fig) faire miroiter → the prospect of an exciting buy is dangled before the media → to dangle a carrot in front of sb (=tendre la carotte à qn) → the club has dangled a £400,000 carrot in front of Darlington.

wrinkle

1- ride 2- pli → he noticed a wrinkle in her stocking (bas)

stroll

promenade → leisurely stroll can be more beneficial than a marathon run → to go for a stroll
se promener → they strolled along the beach.
stroller = poussette

rehearsal

1- (for show, performance, dance) répétition. Ex : rehearsals for a concert tour.

discard

1- se débarrasser de → they ate food discarded by the soldiers → read the guidelines before discarding the box. 2- abandonner (fig.), renoncer à → they should discard the present system entirely.

to slam

1- claquer. Ex: to slam the door ; the door slammed 2- =throw → to slam sb/sth against the wall = jeter qn/qch contre le mur 3- éreinter, démolir (fig.). Ex: the new proposals have been slammed by all the opposition parties. 4- to slam into sth = s'écraser contre qch. Ex: the plane slammed into the building.

to skyrocket

[prices, rates, costs] monter en flèche → Production has dropped while prices and unemployment have skyrocketed ; Skyrocketing gas prices make fuel efficiency a key concern of consumers and manufacturers.

to convene

convoquer, assembler
se réunir, s'assembler « the parliament will convene on April 17 »

crappy

nul

mumble

1- marmotter, marmonner. Ex: he mumbled a few words of apology ; her grandmother mumbled constantly in her sleep ... 2- marmottement, marmonnement. Ex: he could hear the low mumble of Navarro's voice.

outcast

paria. Ex: they are treated as outcasts ; the shame would have made her an outcast in her community.

storm

1- prendre d'assaut → They decided to storm the building. 2- to storm in : entrer en trombe to storm out : sortir en trombe → after the argument, he stormed out of the house.

upheaval

bouleversement, agitation « the club has been through a lot of upheaval » « a period of great political upheaval. »

to pass gas

proper term for "fart". Ex: go outside to pass gas !

tipsy

éméché. Ex: the wine had made him tipsy.

uprising

soulèvement, insurrection → a popular uprising against the authoritarian government

spring

1 (=leap) bond m , saut m 2- ressort → One day they would get a real sofa, with springs. 3- source → a mountain spring. 4 (=leap) bondir → the panther crouched, ready to spring : la panthère se tapit, prête à bondir → to spring to one's feet :se lever d'un bond → he sprang to his feet : il se leva d'un bond → to spring to attention se mettre au garde-à-vous ; the guard sprang to attention : le garde se mit au garde-à-vous. → to spring into action passer à l'action → to spring into life se mettre en marche brusquement → to spring open s'ouvrir brusquement 5- (=stem) to spring from = provenir de → these problems spring from different causes.

prick

1- piqûre → She felt a prick on her neck. 2- (=penis) bite 3- (=worthless person) connard → He's such a prick. >> to prick o.s. on sth se piquer avec qch → I've just pricked myself on a thorn → to prick one's finger → I've pricked my finger → she had just pricked her finger with the needle.

Mots difficiles en anglais

pantyhose

tangle