nepotism N. /偏袒的人(亲戚)/favoritism (to a relative). John left his position with the company because he felt that
advancement was based on nepotism rather than ability.
nettle V. /烦恼;激怒;荨麻/annoy; vex. Do not let him nettle you with his sarcastic remarks.
neutral ADJ. /中型的;自然的;中庸的，公允的/impartial; not supporting one side over another. Reluctant to get mixed up in
someone else's quarrel, Bobby tried to remain neutral, but eventually he had to take sides.
nicety N. /准确，精密/precision; minute distinction. I cannot distinguish between such niceties of reasoning.
nihilist N. /虚无主义者/one who believes traditional beliefs to be groundless and existence meaningless; absolute
skeptic; revolutionary terrorist. In his final days, Hitler revealed himself a power-mad nihilist, ready to annihilate all of Western Europe, even to destroy Germany itself, in order that his will might prevail. The root of the word nihilist is nihil, Latin for nothing. nihilism, N.
nip V. /夹，捏;剪断;阻止/stop something's growth or development; snip off; bite; make numb with cold. The twins were
plotting mischief, but Mother intervened and nipped that plan in the bud. The gardener nipped off a lovely rose and gave it to me. Last week a guard dog nipped the postman in the leg; this week the extreme chill nipped his fingers till he could barely hold the mail.
nirvana N. /涅磐/in Buddhist teachings, the ideal state in which the individual loses himself in the attainment of an
impersonal beatitude. Despite his desire to achieve nirvana, the young Buddhist found that even the buzzing of a fly could distract him from his meditation.
nocturnal ADJ. /夜的/done at night. Mr. Jones obtained a watchdog to prevent the nocturnal raids on his chicken
coops.
noisome ADJ. /有害的，有毒的;恶臭的/foul-smelling; unwholesome. The noisome atmosphere downwind of the oil
refinery not only stank, it damaged the lungs of everyone living in the area.
nomadic ADJ. /游牧的/wandering. Several nomadic tribes of Indians would hunt in this area each year.
nomenclature N. /命名法;术语学/terminology; system of names. Sharon found Latin word parts useful in translating
medical nomenclature: when her son had to have a bilateral myringotomy, she figured out that he just needed a hole in each of his eardrums to end the earaches he had.
nominal ADJ. /有名无实的，名存实亡的;名义上的/in name only; trifling. He offered to drive her to the airport for only a
nominal fee.
nonchalance N. /冷淡/indifference; lack of concern; composure. Cool, calm, and collected under fire, James Bond
shows remarkable nonchalance in the face of danger.
noncommittal ADJ. /不明朗的，不表态的;中庸的，未决的/neutral; unpledged; undecided. We were annoyed by his
noncommittal reply for we had been led to expect definite assurances of his approval.
nondescript ADJ. /普通的/undistinctive; ordinary. The private detective was a short, nondescript fellow with no
outstanding features, the sort of person one would never notice in a crowd.
nonentity N. /不存在/person of no importance; nonexistence. Because the two older princes dismissed their youngest
brother as a nonentity, they did not realize that he was quietly plotting to seize the throne.
nonplus V. /使迷惑;使为难;混淆/bring to halt by confusion; perplex. Jack's uncharacteristic rudeness nonplussed Jill,
leaving her uncertain how to react.
nostalgia N. /想家;乡愁/homesickness; longing for the past. My grandfather seldom spoke of life in the old country; he
had little patience with nostalgia. nostalgic,ADJ.
notable ADJ. /显著的;值得注意的/conspicuous; important; distinguished. Normally notable for his calm in the kitchen,
today the head cook was shaking, for the notable chef Julia Child was coming to dinner.
notoriety N. /臭名昭著的/disrepute; ill fame. To the starlet, any publicity was good publicity: if she couldn't have a good
reputation, she'd settle for notoriety. notorious, ADJ.
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