precipit ous /pri'siprtas/ adj. {formal) 1 very steep, high
and often dangerous 5$ ift ; & W ; (ft Em sheer : precipitous cliffs A& (ft
AS
S o a
precipitous drop at the side of the road
ill®—#(ftfkffi
2 sudden and great % $ (ft; §g j& (ft ; & IS 1$ Em abrupt: a precipitous decline in exports tB P (ft JlfST |# 3 done
very quickly, without enough thought or care ^ $ (ft ; ^ (ft ; Ift Em hasty : a
precipitous action ► pre-cipit-ous-ly adv.: The
land dropped precipitously
down to the rocky shore, f&ffi §«, TAJi«^Xlft^)£o 0 The dollar plunged
precipitously. H jt It T o 0 We don’t want to act
precipitously. flTX® — see also precipice
pre-cis /'preisi:; NAmE prei'si:/ noun [C, Li] {pi. pre-cis /-siiz/) a short version of a speech or a
piece of writing that gives the main points or ideas 3?; Ml?; A#d pm summary : to write/give/make a
precis of a report ► pre-cis verb (pre-cises
/-si:z/, pre cis ing /-siurj/, pre-cised, pre-cised /-si:d/): [VN] to precis a scientific
report Mic
pre cise <Hr /pri’sais/ adj.
1 clear and accurate WUfa W;
Em exact : precise
details/instructions/measurements
0 Can you give a
more precise definition of
the word?
5$ (ft A ? 0 I can be reasonably
precise about the time of the incident. lift ^ 1& til* ffi
BA 10) o O note at true
2 [only before noun] used to emphasize that sth happens at a particular time or
in a particular way ( ) it, t£$F: We
were just talking about
her when, at that precise moment, she walked in. tn^F^SXBA
, M A ® T o <> Doctors found it hard
to establish the precise nature of her illness.
3 taking care to be exact and accurate, especially
about small details £BiSc(ft; f# Eft; iA M (ft; “ M X (ft Em meticulous : a skilled and precise worker $MkMiA.3D£ftXA 0 small, precise
movements ffl # (ft # o (disapproving) She’s
rather prim and precise.
—
MX^Jo ITSTTC1 to be (more)
precise used
to show that you are giving more detailed and accurate information about sth
you have just mentioned fift ty ; if 5$ J& : The shelf is about a
metre long—well, 98cm, to be precise. ^ X j£ £tl — A 0 PI, MM, £98M*„ pre cise ly h-w /prTsaisli/ adv.
1 exactly if 5ft if; tftjEfif: They look precisely
the same to me. ik ffc # ffe Cl (ft -k +0 — W:—# c 0 That’s precisely what
I meant. IP tp fo fk 3% Eft M. JS e
0 It’s not clear precisely how the accident happened. A A
X &AX 11 it M o 0 The meeting starts at
Bftff; if A'if; if if if: to describe sth
precisely f# 5ft if o She pronounced the
word very slowly and precisely. M if ft ffl 'M Wr if & /ft ii A % 0 3 used to
emphasize that sth is very true
or obvious ( ]jg iH M ^ ) XU, 5ft^: It’s precisely
because I care about you that I don’t like you staying out late. IE0 Afy&.A' ffc, AXJ*AP3Mo 4 used to emphasize
that you agree with a statement, especially because you think it is obvious or
is similar to what you have just said ( injpMiftiW ) ft-, MMnit, ~£XXI§: ‘It’s not that easy,
is it?’ ‘No, precisely.’ IflfXIP BaE?
” “ft,
(ftfiftXWJS. ” ESI more precisely used to show that you
are giving more detailed and accurate information about sth you have just mentioned
Mfift'Kitift; Ilf^ifi#: The problem is due to discipline, or, more
precisely, the lack of discipline, in schools. |pMMtOM, diMMfcE £Wo
pre ci sion /pn'sisn/ noun [U] the quality of
being exact, accurate and careful )|f $ ; if 5ft ; gflSSc Em accuracy: done with mathematical precision (ft f# 51A J$, (ft o Historians can’t
estimate the date with any (degree of) precision, A if 5ft &X B
Sl]0 o He chose his words with
precision. ]f ft] iw] 5ft if] 0
0 precision instruments/tools /
XM
1555 predator
pre-dude /pri'klurd/ verb ~ sth | ~ sb from doing sth
(formal) to prevent sth from happening or
sb from doing sth; to make sth impossible Ail; ffi.it; #
[VN] Lack of time precludes
any further discussion. & XWf£Mi£A!fti«0 O [VN -ing] His religious beliefs
precluded him/his serving in the army, ff Eft [also V-ing]
pre-co-cious /pri'kaujas; NAmE -'kou-/ adj. (sometimes disapproving) (of a child JL f) having developed
particular abilities and ways of behaving at a much younger age than usual a
precocious child who started her
acting career at the age of 5 * 5 0 sexually precocious 14 0 From an early age she
displayed a preco
cious talent for music. Aft-Fltf)
K0 ► pre co cious ly adv.: a precociously
talented child pre-co-city /pri'kDsati; NAmE -'kai-/ (also pre-co-cious-ness) noun [U]: his unusual precocity
precogni tion /.priikog'mjn; NAmE -ka:g-/ noun [U] (formal) the knowledge that
sth will happen in the future, that sb has because of a dream or a sudden
feeling M^n, fAfl, Aft (
pre-Columbian /,pri: ka'lAmbian/ adj. connected with N and
pre con ceived /,pri:kan'si:vd/ adj. [only before noun] (of ideas, opinions,
etc. ® E®, % & formed before you
have enough information or experience of sth (ft; M M Eft : Before I started the
job, I had no preconceived notions of what it would be like. m,
pre-con-cep tion /.priikan'sepjn/ noun [c, usually pi., u] an idea or opinion
that is formed before you have enough information or experience A
A A A; Mi®; ET371 assumption • a book that
will challenge your
preconceptions about rural life - A iSL W45 — compare misconception pre-con-di-tion /,pri:kan'dijn/ noun ~ (for/of sth) something that must
happen or exist before sth else can exist or be done A A & If ; hu $! ETJ71 prerequisite: A ceasefire is an essential precondition
for negotiation.
pre-con-scious /.prii'knnjas; NAmE -'ka:n-/ adj. {psychology A') associated with a
part of the mind from which memories and thoughts that have not been repressed can be brought to the surface
itAll iA (ft (
&'j a w (ft iatz fti ® m)
pre-cooked
/,prir'kokt/
adj. (of food #^f)
prepared and partly cooked in advance so that it can be quickly heated and
eaten later M.HW; MA^HW pre cur sor /pri:‘k3:sa(r); NAmE -'k3irs-/ noun ~ (of/to sth) (formal) a person or thing
that comes before sb/sth similar and that leads to or influences its
development AK; A#; mM
EEd
forerunner ,pre-'cut adj. cut in advance and
ready to use MAMW
,pre-'date (also ante-date) verb [VN] to be built or formed, or to
happen, at an earlier date than sth else in the past #-X; A^-itJ® ( )
: Few
of
the town’s fine buildings
pre-date the earthquake of 1755.
11755 m2
POST-DATE
pre-da-tion /pri'deijn/ noun [U] (technical Ain) the act of an
animal killing and eating other animals ( if $3
(ft) mt, mmtt%
preda tor /'pred9ta(r)/ noun 1 an animal that
kills and eats other animals 1=t if : the relationship between predator
and prey
2 (disapproving) a person or an
organization that uses weaker people for their own advantage A ( ) ; illfi]#; : to protect domestic
industry from foreign
predators X At X Ah A
mm