solvent n./adj.

1. ADJ If a person or a company is solvent,they have enough money to pay all their debts.
2. N-MASS A solvent is a liquid thay can dissolve other substances.

antique adj./n.

1. N-COUNT An antique is an old object such as a piece of china or furniture which is valuable because of its beauty or rarity.

minuscule adj.

1. ADJ If you descibe something as minuscule, you mean that it is very small.

captivate v.

1. VERB If you are captivated by someone or something, you find them fascinating and attractive.

interlude n.

1. N-COUNT An interlude is a short period of time when an activity or situation stops and something else happens.

thermometer n.

1. N-COUNT A thermometer is an instrument for measuring temperature.It usually consist of a narrow glass tube containing a thin column of a liquid which rises and falls as the temperature rises and falls.

biochemistry n.

1. N-UNCOUNT Bio-chemistry is the study of the chemical processes that happen in living things.

stodgy adj.

1. ADJ-GRADED Stody food is very solid and heaby.It makes you fell bery full, and is difficult to digest.
2. ADJ-GRADED If you describe someone or something as stodgy,you dislike them or are bored by them because thay are very old-fashion or serious.

incompetent adj.

1. ADJ-GRADED If you describe someone as incompetent,you are criticizing them because they are unable to do their job or a task properly.

typhoon n.

1. N-COUNT A typhoon is a very violent tropical storm.

celestial adj.

1. ADJ Celestial is used to describe things relating to heaven or to the sky.

laud v.

1. VERB If people laud someone, they praise and admire them.

deserted adj.

1. empty and quiet because no people are there.
2. desert wife/husband/child etc. a wife who has benn left by her husbadnd.

busk v.

1. VERB If you bask in the sunshine,you lie somewhere sunny and enjoy the heat.
2. VERB If you bask in someone's approval,favour,or admiration,you greatly enjoy their positive reaction towards you.

tariff n.

1. N-COUNT A tariff is a tax that a government collects on goods coming into a country.
2. N-COUNT A tariff is the rate at which you are charged for public services such as gas and electricity,or for accommodation and services in a hotel.

ferocious adj.

1. ADJ-GRADED A ferocious animal,person,or action is very fierce and violent.

abacus n.

1. N-COUNT An abacus is a frame used for counting.It has rods with siliding beads on them.

gratuitous adj.

1. ADJ-GRADED If you describe something as gratuitous,you mean that it is unnecessary,and often harmful or upseting.

impertinent adj.

1. ADJ-GRADED If someone talks or behaves in a rather impolite and disrespectful way,you can say that they are being impertinent.

diminutive adj./n.

1. ADJ-GRADED A diminutive person or object is very small.
2. N-COUNT A diminutive is an informal form of a name.For example,'Jim' and 'Jimmy' are diminutives of 'James'.

stringent adj.

1. ADJ-GRADED Strigent laws,rules,or conditions are very severe or are strictly controlled.

contemptible adj.

1. ADJ-GRADED If you feel that someone or something is contemptible, you feel strong dislike and disrespect them.

renaissance n.

1. N-PROPER The Renaissance was the period in Europe,especially Italy,in the 14th,15th and 16th centuries,when there was a new interest in art,literature,science,andlearing.
2. N-SING If something experiences a renaissance,it becomes popular or successful again after a time when people were not interested in lt.

hackneyed adj.

1. ADJ-GRADED If you describe something such as a saying or an image as hackneyed,you think is is no longer likely to interest,amuse or affect people because it has been used,seen,orheard many times before.