exquisite

ex‧qui‧site /ɪkˈskwɪzət, ɪkˈskwɪzɪt, ˈekskwɪ-/ BrE AmE adjective
[Date: 1500-1600; Language: Latin; Origin: exquisitus, past participle of exquirere 'to search out', from quaerere 'to look for']
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]
• • •
THESAURUS
■ place/thing etc
▪ beautiful used to describe something that looks, feels, sounds etc so good that it gives you a lot of pleasure: a beautiful tropical beach | a beautiful song | The weather was beautiful.
▪ lovely especially British English spoken used when saying that something looks, feels, or sounds very nice: What a lovely day! | a lovely voice | a lovely perfume
▪ pretty pleasant to look at – often used about things that are not big or impressive: a pretty little pink dress | a pretty village
▪ attractive pleasant to look at. Attractive sounds more formal than pretty: an attractive white-painted cottage with green shutters | an attractive city
▪ magnificent very big, beautiful, and impressive – used about buildings, objects, and views: The Taj Mahal always looks magnificent. | a magnificent Persian carpet | There were magnificent views over the old city.
▪ picturesque written pleasant to look at – used in written descriptions of towns, buildings, and places: the picturesque harbour town of Castleton | Regensburg Cathedral occupies a picturesque position on the River Danube in Bavaria.
▪ stunning/breathtaking extremely beautiful and impressive – used especially about views: All around is a stunning view of Cape Town. | The landscape is breathtaking.
▪ exquisite /ɪkˈskwɪzət, ɪkˈskwɪzɪt, ˈekskwɪ-/ used to describe things that have very beautiful small details, especially things that have been made with a lot of skill: an exquisite piece of jewellery | an exquisite flower | an exquisite picture of a bird of paradise
▪ elegant designed in a way that looks very attractive and has a lot of style: an elegant Neo-Classical building | a long and elegant staircase

slow

I. slow¹ S2 W2 /sləʊ $ sloʊ/ BrE AmE adjective (comparative slower, superlative slowest)
[Language: Old English; Origin: slaw]
1. NOT QUICK not moving, being done, or happening quickly OPP quick, fast ⇨ slowly:
The car was travelling at a very slow speed.
a slow walker
The economy faces a year of slower growth.
Take a few deep, slow breaths.
2. TAKING TOO LONG taking too long OPP fast:
Taylor was concerned at the slow progress of the investigations.
The legal system can be painfully slow (=much too slow).
slow to do something
The wound was slow to heal.
3. WITH DELAY [not before noun] if you are slow to do something, you do not do it as soon as you can or should
slow to do something
Farmers have been slow to exploit this market.
Their attitude was slow to change.
slow in doing something
He has been slow in announcing the name of his successor.
New ideas have been slow in coming.
4. LONGER TIME taking a longer time than something similar OPP fast:
We got on the slow train (=one that stops at more stations) by mistake.
5. BUSINESS if business or trade is slow, there are not many customers or not much is sold:
Business is often slow in the afternoon.
The company is experiencing slow sales.
6. CLOCK [not before noun] if a clock or watch is slow, it is showing a time earlier than the correct time OPP fast
ten minutes/five minutes etc slow
The clock is about five minutes slow.
7. NOT CLEVER not good or quick at understanding things:
Teaching assistants have time to help the slower pupils.
8. slow on the uptake not quick to understand something new:
Sometimes Tim’s a little slow on the uptake.
9. slow off the mark not quick enough at reacting to something
10. do a slow burn American English informal to slowly get angry:
Tony fumbled the ball and I could see the coach doing a slow burn.
11. slow handclap British English if a group of people give someone a slow handclap, they ↑clap their hands slowly to show their disapproval
12. a slow oven an ↑oven that is at a low temperature
13. PHOTOGRAPHY a slow film does not react to light very easily
—slowness noun [uncountable]
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ slow not moving quickly or not doing something quickly: I was always one of the slowest runners in my class. | My computer’s really slow compared to the ones at school.
▪ gradual happening, developing, or changing slowly over a long period of time: a gradual rise in the Earth’s temperature | I’ve noticed a gradual improvement in his work.
▪ leisurely especially written moving or doing something slowly, especially because you are enjoying what you are doing and do not have to hurry: a leisurely breakfast | They walked at a leisurely pace.
▪ unhurried especially written moving or doing something in a slow and calm way, without rushing at all: She continued to listen, seeming relaxed and unhurried. | the doctor’s calm unhurried manner
▪ sluggish moving or reacting more slowly than usual, especially because of a loss of power or energy. Also used when business, sales, or the economy seem very slow: The car seems rather sluggish going uphill. | The drink was making her sluggish. | the company’s sluggish performance this year | Sales have been sluggish.
▪ lethargic moving slowly, because you feel as if you have no energy and no interest in doing anything: She woke up feeling heavy and lethargic. | His son seemed depressed and lethargic.
▪ languid literary slow and with very little energy or activity – used about people, actions, or periods of time: She lifted her hand in a languid wave. | a long languid afternoon in the middle of summer | He was pale and had rather a languid air about him.
▪ glacial literary extremely slow – used especially about the speed at which something happens: Things are changing, but at a glacial pace.

solid

I. sol‧id¹ S3 W3 /ˈsɒləd, ˈsɒlɪd $ ˈsɑː-/ BrE AmE adjective
[Word Family: noun: ↑solid, ↑solidarity, ↑solidity, solids, ↑solidification; verb: ↑solidify; adverb: ↑solidly; adjective: ↑solid]
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: solide, from Latin solidus]
1. FIRM/HARD hard or firm, with a fixed shape, and not a liquid or gas:
The lake was frozen solid.
It was good to be back on solid ground again.
Is the baby eating solid food (=bread, meat etc) yet?
The ship’s sonar can detect the presence of solid objects in the water.
2. ONLY ONE MATERIAL consisting completely of one type of material
solid gold/silver etc
a solid gold cup
solid wood/pine/oak etc
a chest made of solid oak
3. NOT HOLLOW having no holes or spaces inside OPP hollow:
a solid rubber ball
a shrine carved out of solid rock
4. WITHOUT SPACES continuous, without any spaces or breaks:
It’s not safe to pass when the lines in the middle of the road are solid.
5. STRONGLY MADE strong and well made OPP flimsy:
a solid piece of furniture
The frame is as solid as a rock (=extremely solid).
6. GOOD AND LONG-LASTING a solid achievement or solid work is of real, practical, and continuing value:
five years of solid achievement
The first two years provide a solid foundation in the basics of computing.
7. DEPENDABLE someone or something that is solid can be depended on or trusted SYN sound:
a solid reputation
The prosecution in this case has no solid evidence.
You can rely on Wylie for good solid advice.
a solid Labour stronghold (=where people always vote for this party)
8. CONTINUING WITHOUT INTERRUPTION informal used to emphasize that something continues for a long time without any pauses:
The lecture lasted two solid hours.
five hours/two weeks etc solid
On Saturday I went to bed and slept fourteen hours solid.
9. packed solid informal if shops, trains, buses etc are packed solid, they are full of people
10. on solid ground confident because you are dealing with a subject you are sure about, or because you are in a safe situation:
To make sure that he was on solid ground, he confirmed his findings with others.
11. GOOD British English informal good
12. DIFFICULT British English informal very difficult:
I couldn’t do any of the maths last night – it was solid.
13. SHAPE technical having length, width, and height SYN three-dimensional:
A sphere is a solid figure.
14. IN AGREEMENT be solid British English to be in complete agreement:
The workers are 100% solid on this issue.

striped

striped /straɪpt/ BrE AmE adjective
having lines or bands of colour SYN stripy:
a blue and white striped shirt

low-cut

ˌlow-ˈcut BrE AmE adjective
a low-cut dress is shaped so that it shows a woman’s neck and the top of her chest

self-conscious

ˌself-ˈconscious BrE AmE adjective
1. worried and embarrassed about what you look like or what other people think of you
self-conscious about
Jerry’s pretty self-conscious about his weight.
2. self-conscious art, writing etc shows that the artist etc is paying too much attention to how the public will react to their work
—self-consciously adverb:
The boys posed rather self-consciously for the photo.
—self-consciousness noun [uncountable]

self-centred

ˌself-ˈcentred BrE AmE British English, self-centered American English adjective
paying so much attention to yourself that you do not notice what is happening to other people SYN selfish
—self-centredness noun [uncountable]