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yoke vermin yearn hark ascribe

yoke

yoke1 /jəʊk $ joʊk/ noun [countable]

  1. a wooden bar used for keeping two animals together, especially cattle, when they are pulling heavy loads
  2. a frame that you put across your shoulders so that you can carry two equal loads which hang from either side of it
  3. the yoke of something literary something that restricts your freedom, making life difficult: the yoke of tradition
  4. a part of a skirt or shirt just below the waist or collar, from which the main piece of material hangs in folds

vermin

ver·min /ˈvɜːmən, ˈvɜːmɪn $ ˈvɜːr-/ noun [plural]

  1. small animals, birds, and insects that are harmful because they destroy crops, spoil food, and spread disease: The beds were filthy and full of vermin. Foxes are considered vermin.
  2. unpleasant people who cause problems for society

yearn

yearn /jɜːn $ jɜːrn/ verb [intransitive]

literary to have a strong desire for something, especially something that is difficult or impossible to get SYN long

  • yearn for
    • Hannah yearned for a child.
  • yearn to be/do something
    • Phil had yearned to be a pilot from an early age.
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    • In everyday English, people usually say long for something or long to do something rather than yearn:
      • She longed for another child.

hark

hark /hɑːk $ hɑːrk/ verb

  1. hark at him/her/you! British English old-fashioned spoken used when you think someone is saying something stupid or acting as if they are more important than they really are:
    • Hark at him! I bet he couldn’t do any better.
  2. hark! old use used to tell someone to listen

hark back phrasal verb

  • to remember and talk about things that happened in the past
  • hark back to
    • It’s useless to continually hark back to the past.

hark back to something phrasal verb

  • to be similar to something in the past:
    • music that harks back to the early age of jazz

ascribe

as·cribe /əˈskraɪb/ verb

ascribe something to somebody/something phrasal verb written

  1. to claim that something is caused by a particular person, situation etc:
  • The report ascribes the rise in childhood asthma to the increase in pollution.
  1. to claim that something has been written, said, made etc by a particular person:
  • a quotation that’s often been ascribed to Marilyn Monroe
  1. to believe that something or someone has a particular quality:
  • Local people ascribe healing properties to this fruit.

—ascribable adjective:

  • Most of the accidents were ascribable to the bad weather.