1. obsess [əbˈses]
phrase. If something obsesses you of if you obsess about something, you keep thinking about it and find it difficult to think about anything else.
Evans early was obsessed by the possibilities of mechanized production and steam power.
2. utter [ˈʌtə(r)]
(1). v. If someone utters sounds or words, they say them.
(2). adj. You use utter to emphasize that something is great in extent, degree, or amount.
He didn't utter a word during lunch.
3. abortive [əˈbɔ:tɪv]
adj. An abortive attempt or action is unsuccessful.
Tom tried to unlock the door, but his attempt proved abortive.
4. catholic [ˈkæθlɪk]
(1). adj. The Catholic Church is the branch of the Christian Church that accepts the Pope as its leader and is based in the Vatican in Rome.
(2). n. A Catholic is a member of the Catholic Church.
(3). adj. If you describe a collection things or people as catholic, you emphasizing that they are very varied.
One of the world's largest religions, Christianity, later split into Catholic and Protestant.
5. retrospective [ˌretrəˈspektɪv]
(1). n. A retrospective is an exhibition or showing of work done by an artist over many years, rather than his or her most recent work.
(2). adj. Retrospective feelings or opinions concern things that happened in the past.
(3). adj. Retrospective laws or legal actions take effect from a date before the date when they are officially approved.
I went to an exhibition that is a retrospective review of many famous artists' works.
6. overt [əʊˈvɜ:t]
adj. An overt action or attitude is done or shown in an open and obvious way.
As the text reads, we should learn to fight the enemy in both overt and covert ways.
7. strenuous [ˈstrenjuəs]
adj. A strenuous activity or action involves a lot of energy or effect.
Regular exercises can adapt the body for strenuous activities.
8. puff [pʌf]
(1). v. If someone puffs at a cigarette, cigar, or pipe, they smoke it.
(2). phrase. If you puff smoke or moisture from your mouth or if it puffs from your mouth, you breathe it out.
(3). v. If an engine, chimney, or boiler puffs smoke or steam, clouds of smoke or steam come out of it.
(4). n. A puff of something such as air or smoke is a small amount of it that is blown out from somewhere.
(5). v. If you are puffing, you are breathing loudly and quickly with your mouth open because you are out of breath after a lot of physical effort.
(6). n. A puff for something such as a book, film, product, or organization is something that is done or said in order to attract people's attention and tell them how good it is.
(7). n. A puff is the same as a poof.
I don't like smokers, who puff their cigareete smoke into my eyes.
9. instill [ɪn'stɪl]
v. If you instil an idea or feeling in someone, especially over a period of time, you make them think it or feel it.
Teachers try to instill some new ideas into students' minds.
10. gush [gʌʃ]
(1). phrase. When liquid gushes out of something, or when something gushes a liquid, the liquid flows out very quickly and in large quantities.
(2). n. A gush of liquid is a sudden, rapid flow of liquid, or a quantity of it that suddenly flows out.
(3). v. If someone gushes, they express their admiration or pleasure in an exaggerated way.
(4). n. You can use gush in expressions such as a gush of enthusiasm to refer to a sudden intense feeling or an expression of a feeling.
Tom likes to gush out ideas to impress others.
整理自《柯林斯词典》、《新东方托福词汇》，侵删歉。