自強之路

ascendancy n. position of dominance; controlling influence

assiduous a. careful and persistent (to a task); be assiduous in ving

astute a. shrewd, perceptive, clear-sighedness

augment v. to make larger or more numerous

austere a. severely simple and unornamented

banal a. lacking originality

bane n. source of harm or ruin

belie v. to give a false impression (與...違和)

malignant a. not benign, not benevolent

bolster v. to support or to prop up

capitulate v. to give up resisting

capricious a. erratic, fickle, impulsive and unpredictable

impetus n. catalyst, stimulus

censorious a. highly faultfinding and critical, harshly censuring

cogent a. appealing to reason, well argued, convincing

colloquial a. pertaining to be conversational, common, or informal

complacency n. 舒適圈；安於現狀 (易與 compliance 混淆)

composure n. mental calmness, equanimity, being careen

conciliatory a. reconciling, appeasing, mollifying

concur v. to assent, to coincide

condone v. to treat as if harmless or unimportant

conflagration n. great fire, inferno, blaze

conjecture v. to duduce by guessing, to surmise, to speculate

constraint n. restriction and embarrassment

contend v. to compete, to struggle in rivalry

contentious a. controversial, belligerent

corroborate v. to support with evidence, to substantiate, to back up

credulity n. being credulous, tendency to believe too easily

cryptic a. obscure, hidden

debilitat v. to sap the strength of

decry v. to express strong disapproval of

deference n. courteous regard for another's wish, respect owed to a superior

definitive a. conclusive, authoritative, most complete

deleterious a. injurious to health, detrimental, pernicious

delineate v. to describe in detail, to depict

deprecate v. to belittle, to protest against

deride v. to scoff, to redicule scornfully

derivative a. 獼猴評文文正公 '正氣歌'

detachment n. 事不干己的態度；無關我事；勿涉

deterrent n. a deterrent to sth/sb; a curb; disincentive

devious a. roundabout, cunning

underling n. a person of low rank and little authority who works for someone more important

deffuse a. rambling, verbose, dispersed

degression n. divergence, detour

diminution n. reduction in size

discordant a. not in harmony to the ear, dissonant

to defame = to disgrace = to discredit = to disdain

disinclination = unwillingness = reluctance

to dictate vs being didactic (說教的)

confidence (確信) vs diffidence (怯信)