English Vocabulary in Use: Advanced Book with Answers and Enhanced eBook Vocabulary Reference and Practice 3rd Edition

ponderous
slow and clumsy because of weight, but usually 
used for dull and excessively serious abstract 
things
a 
ponderous style, e.g. way of 
writing or speaking 
a 
ponderous thesis
lumbering
usually used of physical things; often 
suggesting ‘heavy movement’
a 
lumbering truck 
a 
lumbering bear
Phrasal verbs with 
weigh
I hate being 
weighed down with heavy suitcases when I travel. 
[carrying very heavy things]
She looked tired and 
weighed down with problems.
We’ll have to 
weigh up the alternatives before deciding. 
[consider and compare]
She 
weighed out a kilo of nuts and put them in a bag. 
[weighed a quantity of loose goods]
I have to confess something to you. It’s been 
weighing on me for ages. 
[troubling my mind]
The discussion was getting heated, and then Kate 
weighed in with some uncomfortable financial 
arguments. 
[added more points to the argument]
Making things more/less dense
You can put some flour in to 
thicken the soup, but you should sift it first, or it will go lumpy.
[make thicker] [shake it in a sieve to separate the grains] [have solid pieces in it]
The soup has been in the fridge so long it’s all 
congealed. 
[become thick and solid]
This curry powder is years old. It has completely 
solidified in the packet. 
[become solid]
Do you have some white spirit? I need to 
thin this paint. 
[make thinner]
As the rush hour ended, the traffic began to 
thin out. 
[become less dense]
The hairdresser 
thinned my hair out and it feels much lighter now. 
[made it less thick]
This fruit juice is very strong. Let’s