startle contrived exquisite emeritus postulates

startle

start·le /ˈstɑːtl $ ˈstɑːrtl/ verb [transitive]

to make someone suddenly surprised or slightly shocked:

• Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.

be startled to do something

• I was startled to see Amanda.

—startled adjective:

• a startled expression

contrived

con·trived /kənˈtraɪvd/ adjective

seeming false and not natural:

• The characters are as contrived as the plot.

exquisite

ex·qui·site /ɪkˈskwɪzət, ɪkˈskwɪzɪt, ˈekskwɪ-/adjective

1. extremely beautiful and very delicately made:
   • the most exquisite craftsmanship
2. very sensitive and delicate in the way you behave or do things:
   • She has exquisite taste in art.
3. literary exquisite pain or pleasure is felt very strongly

—exquisitely adverb

—exquisiteness noun [uncountable]

emeritus

e·mer·i·tus /ɪˈmerɪtəs/ adjective

emeritus professor/director etc orprofessor/director etc emeritus a PROFESSOR, director etc who is no longer working but has kept his or her previous job title as an honour

postulates

pos·tu·late1 /ˈpɒstjəleɪt, ˈpɒstjʊleɪt $ ˈpɑːstʃə-/verb [transitive]

formal to suggest that something might have happened or be true → hypothesize

postulate that

• It has been postulated that the condition is inherited.

—postulation /ˌpɒstjəˈleɪʃən, ˌpɒstjʊˈleɪʃən $ ˌpɑːstʃə-/ noun [uncountable and countable]