that they were under a
curse. &MAik >J ftMD Mil7—
compare hex 3 [C]
something that causes harm or evil the
curse of drug addic
tion All 64 M'S o Noise
is a curse of modem city life.
4 the curse [sing.]
(old-fashioned, informal) menstruation m verb 1 [V] to swear MJE: He
hit his head as he stood up and cursed loudly. ffe
& jfeSfc I#H 35Sk,
2
[VN] ~ (sb/sth) (for sth) to say rude things to sb or think rude things about
sb/sth ^; i§.5E;
5C:
She cursed her bad luck, g 0
0 He
cursed himself for his
stupidity. ffe !IE Sf| || B JS 2t <, 3 [VN] to use a magic word or
phrase against sb in order to harm them 4E ig-il : Legend has it that the
whole village had been cursed by a witch. 44JE£il5iJ
7
—compare
hex be cursed with
sth to continuously suffer
from or be affected by sth bad^UfH-Mjf^; A She
seems
cursed with bad luck.
cursed adj. 1 /k3:st; NAmE k3:rst/ having a
curse(2) on it; suffering from a curse(2)
64:
The necklace was cursed.
0
The whole family seemed cursed.
2
/'kaisid; NAmE 'karrsid/ [only before
noun] (old-fashioned) unpleasant; annoying
{£
cur-sive /'k3:siv; NAmE 'k3:rs-/ adj. (technical
v+t it) (of handwriting
=k j|j) with the letters joined together
mmw; *2|#84
cur sor /'k3:sa(r); NAmE ’k3:rs-/ noun a small mark on a
computer screen that can be moved and that shows the position on the screen
where, for example, text will be added ( it##l^ftJP±64 ) ftB, WU
—picture o PAGE R6
curs-ory /'k3isari; NAmE 'k3:rs-/ adj. (often disapproving) done quickly and without
giving enough attention to details 1S.B&64; 0B3I brief, perfunctory: a
cursory
glance/examination/inspection A 64 — H;
$&W&64'$’:§:
/ 1< ►
cur-sor-ily /'k3:s8rali;
NAmE 'k3:rs-/
adv.
curt /k3:t;
NAmE k3:rt/ adj.
(of a person’s manner or behaviour A64^Ji:A:Fr A) appearing rude
because very few words are used, or because sth is done in a very quick way M M
M A *L 64 ; jf ^ A 4L 64
EEE3
abrupt, brusque: a curt reply A4L64^g 0 a curt
nod ^ 1^64 A o His tone was curt and unfriendly. 1&i5J.i£64ip
A4L ►
curt-Sy adv. curt-ness noun [U] cur-tail /k3:'teil; NAmE k3:r't-/ verb [VN] (format) to limit sth or make
it last for a shorter time Ri ft*]; ; 'M
:
Spending on books has been severely curtailed. $3 45 JF A E M A A t^J M o 0 The
lecture was curtailed by the fire alarm going off. $5&i#J$M^$^ii|6]^Al?cF,®T7o ►
cur-tail-ment noun [U] : the
curtailment of civil liberties §
& 64PIW
CUr-tain
0"i* /'k3:tn;
NAmE'k3:rtn/ noun, verb »noun 1 [C] a piece of cloth
that is hung to cover a window H* 4?: to draw/pull/close the curtains
(= to pull them across the window so they cover it) jEf[?i?#A Jb o to draw/draw
back/pull back the curtains (= to open them, so that the window
is no longer covered) FEW ^f&TF 0 It was ten in the morning but the
curtains were still drawn (= closed). tLJI^A 10 *£ If 0 0 a pair of curtains — 3ft Hf — picture o blind — see also drape 2 (NAmE) = net curtain 3 [C] a piece of cloth that is hung up as a
screen in a room or around a bed, for example 4?; hi: ( NS IsM'iU
64 ) tt hi: A It: a shower curtain ifr — see also Iron
Curtain 4
[sing.] a piece of thick, heavy cloth that hangs in front of the stage in the
theatre ( f? ±64 ) # , H Fft , ft S : The audience
was waiting for the curtain to rise (= for the play to begin).
M o 0 There was
tremendous applause when the curtain came down (= the play ended), i fg 114
® 7 ^ A 7 H 64 r o 0 We left just before the final curtain, ft ff] R'l A
t£ M
.*±5 Ir ^ m
^ FF o 0 (figurative) The curtain has fallen
on her long and distinguished career (= her career has
ended). MM AM ««64¥ik±*e o
(figurative) It’s time to face
the final curtain (= the end;
death). A±64$i£$i:ll7o 5 [C, usually sing.] a thing
that covers, hides or
protects sth lltl; IgA
$71: a curtain of
rain/smoke M / ^ 0 She pushed
back the curtain of brown
hair from her eyes. ftk 1E17 fe64be ‘curtains (for sb) (informal) to be a situation
without hope or that you cannot escape from gftMWA&11J1&64 %
M:
When I saw he had a gun, I thought it was curtains forme. bring
down
the curtain on sth | bring the curtain down on sth to finish or mark the
end of sth •••
64£*-£h : His sudden decision to
retire brought down the curtain on a distinguished career.
mverb [VN] to provide
curtains for a window or a room
)
5^±?t?7 .curtain sth~'off to
separate an area of a room
with a curtain or curtains
TARIFF
'curtain call noun the time in the
theatre when the actors come to the front of the stage at the end of a play to
receive the applause of
the audience ( ffj.
64 ) im
curtain-raiser noun ~ (to sth) 1 a small
event that prepares for a more important one ( IA¥ftW ) HU # , | ft 2 a short
performance before the main performance in a theatre, etc. ( ±K$i] g Mtbfj
64 ) 17#,
.curtain-'up noun [U] 1 the beginning of a
play or show ( ) #£; m&lfte: Curtain-up’s at 7.30. *
exciting or dramatic (
SA^tiSftJ ) TFip, ®4F/7# curtsy (also curt-sey) /'k3:tsi; NAmE 'k3:rtsi/ noun (pi. -ies or -eys) a formal sign made by
a woman in a dance or to say hello or goodbye to an important person, by
bending her knees with one foot in front of the other ( A7fir$1 ) ►curtsy verb (curt-sies, curt-sy-ing,
curt-sied,
curt-sied) (also
curt-sey): [V] She
curtsied to
the Queen. MMA7Ft7®0FLo curvaceous /ksi'veijas; NAmE k3:r‘v-/
adj.
(informal) used in newspapers, etc. to describe a woman whose
body has attractive curves (
mvcm
curv-ature
/'k3:vatj0(r);
NAmE 'k3:rv-/ noun [U] (technical Ai«) the state of being curved; the amount
that sth is curved %* M ; ft Ft; [ft $: the curvature of the earth ftfe^64®JS
0 curvature of the
spine #1i^M Curve CHw/k3iv; NAmEk3:rv/ noun, verb m noun 1 a line or surface
that bends gradually; a smooth bend 3®^;
MM; the delicate curve of her
ear 0 a pattern of straight lines and
curves 0 (especially NAmE) a curve
in the road 0 (especially NAmE) The driver
lost control on a curve
and the vehicle hit a tree.
a&7-«W±o 0 to plot a curve
on a graph — ❖ (technical A i£) the
unemployment-income curve (- a line on a graph showing the relationship
between the number of unemployed people and national income)
—see
also learning curve 2 (also
curve
ball) (NAmE) (in baseball #$c) a ball that moves in a curve when it is thrown to the batter ( 64 )
Jjc;
(figurative) One of the journalists
threw the senator a curve (= surprised him by asking a difficult
question).
m verb [usually +
adv./prep.] to move or make sth move in the shape of a curve; to be in the
shape of a curve ( M is. 0}; M ft ^ % : [V] The road curved
around the bay. 0 The
ball
curved through the air. 0 His lips
curved in a smile. ftk^M4£7<»
[also VN]
Curved
0* /k3:vd;
NAmEk3:rvd/ adj. having a round shape 3IR1^64: a curved
path/roof/blade fe6&£64il{&; W&JDf — picture
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