400 Book the complete version Flashcards
To leave; to give up
To save their lives, the sailors had to abandon the sinking ship.
Parts of speechabandonment n
Adversely adv.
In a harmful way; negatively
Excessive rainfall early in the spring can adversely affect the planting of crops.
Parts of speech:adversity n, adverse adj
Usage tips:Adversely is often followed by affect.
Aggregate adj.
Gathered into or amounting to a whole
It is impossible to judge last year’s performance without knowing the aggregate sales numbers.
Parts of speechaggregate v, aggregate n
Cultivation n.
Preparing the land to grow crops; improvement for agricultural purposes
With the development of land cultivation, hunters and gatherers were able to settle in one place.
“Parts of speech:cultivate v”
Fertilize v.
To supply with nourishment for plants by adding helpful substances to the soil
Tomatoes grow well here because the farmers fertilize their soil with nitrogen.
Parts of speech:fertilizer n, fertilization n
Intensify v.
To increase in power; to act with increased strength
Jacob’s long absence from Rose intensified his certainty that he should marry her.
Parts of speechintensification n, intense adj, intensity n
Irrigation n.
The supplying of water to dry land
In dry areas of the country, you can see ditches all over the farmland for irrigation.
Parts of speech:irrigate v
Obtain v.
To gain possession of; to get
After a series of difficult interviews, he finally was able to obtain the job.
Photosynthesis n.
The process by which green plants make their own food by combining water, salts, and carbon dioxide in the presence of light
Oxygen is a by-product of the process of photosynthesis.
Parts of speech:photosynthesize v
Precipitation n.
Water that falls to the Earth’s surface
In the Pacific Northwest, the high level of precipitation ensures rich, green plant life.
Anticipate v.
To expect; to sense something before it happens
By placing sensors in earthquake-prone areas, scientists can anticipate some tremors in time to warn the public.
Parts of speech anticipation n, anticipatory adj
Collide v.
To come together with great or violent force
As usual, their holiday was ruined when their in-laws’ views on politics collided with their own.
Parts of speech:collision n
Catastrophic adj.
Extremely harmful; causing financial or physical ruin
The architect died in a catastrophic elevator accident.
Parts of speechcatastrophe n, catastrophically adv
Eruption n.
A sudden, often violent, outburst
The eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 caused 57 deaths and immeasurable change to the face of the mountain.
Usage tips:Eruption is often followed by an of phrase.
Parts of speech:erupt v
Famine n.
Severe hunger; a drastic food shortage
The potato famine in Ireland in the mid-nineteenth century caused large numbers of Irish people to emigrate to America
Flood n.
An overflowing of water; an excessive amount
The constant rain and poor drainage system caused a flood in town.
The political party sent out a flood of letters criticizing their opponents.
Parts of speechflood v
Impact n.
A strong influence
The speech about the importance of education made an impact on me.
Usage tipsImpact is usually followed by on or of.
Parts of speechimpact v
Persevere v.
To keep going, despite obstacles or discouragement; to maintain a purpose
The hikers persevered despite the bad weather and the icy trail.
Parts of speech :perseverance n
Plunge v.
To go down suddenly; to decrease by a great amount in a short time
He jumped off the diving board and plunged into the pool.
The value of the company’s stock plunged after its chief executive was arrested.
Usage tipsPlunge is often followed by an into phrase.
Parts of speechplunge n
Unleash v.
To release a thing or an emotion
When they saw the strange man on their property, they unleashed their dogs.
He is from such an unemotional family, he will never learn to unleash his feelings.
Adapt v.
To adjust to the circumstances; to make suitable
Dinosaurs could not adapt to the colder temperatures.
The teacher adapted the exercises for his more advanced students.
Usage tipsAdapt is often followed by to.
Parts of speechadaptation n, adapter n, adaptable adj
Diverse n.
Various; showing a lot of differences within a group
India is one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world.
Usage tips An -ly adverb (e.g., linguistically) often comes before diverse.
Parts of speech diversify v, diversity n, diversification n
Evolve v.
To develop; to come forth
Modern-day sharks evolved from their ancestor Eryops, which lived more than 200 million years ago.
Usage tipsEvolve is often followed by into or from.
Parts of speechevolution n, evolutionist n, evolutionary adj
Feature n.
Part, characteristic
The best feature of this car is its heated seats.
Usage tips: Feature is often followed by of.
Parts of speech: feature v
Generation n.
A group of people born at about the same time
As older managers retired, a new generation of leaders took control of the company.
Usage tipsBefore generation, an adjective like new, next, earlier, or older is common. Generation is often followed by of.
Parts of speechgenerational adj
Inherent adj.
Naturally characteristic; always found within something, because it’s a basic part of that thing
No job can be interesting all the time. Boredom is inherent in any kind of work.
Usage tipsInherent is often followed by in.
Parts of speechinherently adv
Migration n.
Movement from one place to another by a group of people or animals
The migration of farm workers from one state to the next depends primarily on the harvest.
Usage tips Migration is often followed by to or from.
Parts of speech migrate v, migrant n, migratory adj
Physical adj.
Related to the body; related to materials that can be seen or felt
Because of the shape of its throat, an ape does not have the physical ability to speak.
The mountains form a physical barrier between the west and the east.
Usage tipsPhysical usually comes before the noun it describes.
Parts of speechphysically adv
Process n.
A series of steps leading to a result
To get a good job, most people go through a long process of letter-writing and interviews.
Usage tipsProcess is often followed by of plus the -ing form of a verb.
Parts of speechproceed v, process v
Survive v.
To continue living (despite some danger or illness)
After getting lost in the mountains, Gordon survived by eating wild plants and catching fish.
Usage tips:Survive is often followed by a phrase with by.
Parts of speech:survivor n, survival n
Constraint n.
Something that restricts thought or action
The constraints of military life kept Eileen from seeing Private Morris more than once a month.
Parts of speech: constrain v
Contamination n.
Being made less clean by a germ or hazardous substance
The contamination in the river came from the factory located just upstream.
Parts of speechcontaminate v, contaminant n
Deplete v.
To greatly decrease the supply of a resource or material
The prolonged war depleted the country’s national treasury.
Parts of speechdepletion n
Elementally adv.
In terms of elements; basically
Elementally, coal and diamonds are the same.
Parts of speechelement n, elemental adj
Emission n.
Sending out from a small space into the general environment; a substance discharged into the air
The Environmental Protection Agency regulates the emission of pollutants into the air.
Usage tipsEmission is usually followed by an of phrase.
Parts of speechemit v
Extinction n.
Complete disappearance; the end of existence
Human beings have caused the extinction of many other species.
Usage tipsExtinction implies an absolute end; an extinct species is gone and will not reappear (except if genetic scientists succeed with experimental “de-extinction” techniques).
Parts of speechextinct adj
Reservoir n.
A place where a liquid is collected and stored
Terrorists threatened to put poison in the town’s reservoir.
Parts of speechreserve v
Shrink v.
To become reduced in size, amount, or value
If you dry your clothes on the “high heat” setting, they may shrink.
Parts of speechshrinkage n, shrinkable adj
Stable adj.
Firm and dependable; showing little change
He fell because the ladder wasn’t stable.
Parts of speechstability n, stably adv, stabilize v
Dispose of v.
To throw away; to get rid of; to kill
She disposed of her unwanted possessions before moving.
The tyrant cruelly disposed of all his enemies.
Usage tipsDispose of should be learned as a unit. In this meaning, dispose does not occur without of.
Parts of speechdisposal n, disposable adj
Adjust v.
To change; to get accustomed to something
Travelers are advised to adjust their watches before arriving in the new time zone.
Parts of speechadjustment n, adjustable adj
Arbitrary adj.
Chosen simply by whim or chance, not for any specific reason
The decision to build a school in Blackberry Township was arbitrary, without any thought to future housing patterns.
Parts of speecharbitrate v, arbitrator n, arbitrarily adv
Denominator n.
The number written below the line in a fraction
In the fraction ½, the number 2 is the denominator.
Usage tipsThe phrase lowest common denominator means “the most basic and unsophisticated things that most people share.
Parts of speechdenominate v, denomination n, denominational adj
Exponentially adv.
At a very fast rate
In Turkey, the value of the lira has decreased exponentially in the last several decades.”
Infinitesimal adj.
Immeasurably small
The number of contaminants in the water was infinitesimal, so the water was safe to drink.
Parts of speechinfinitesimally adv
maximize v.
To increase or make as great as possible
A coach helps each athlete maximize his or her potential.
Parts of speechmaximum n, maximum adj
Parallel adj.
Being an equal distance apart everywhere
The street where I live runs parallel to the main road through town.
Usage tipsParallel is often followed by to.
Parts of speechparallel n, parallel adv
Proportion n.
A part in relation to the whole
The average employee spends a large proportion of each workday answering e-mails.
Usage tipsProportion is often followed by of.
Parts of speechproportionate adj, proportionally adv
Rate n.
The cost per unit of a good or service; the motion or change that happens in a certain time.
Postal rates in Japan are among the highest in the world.
Some grasses grow at the rate of one inch per day.
Parts of speechrate v, rating n
Sequence v.
To organize or arrange in succession
Volunteers have been asked to sequence the files and organize the boxes.
Parts of speechsequence n, sequentially adv
Treasury
a place in a castle, church, palace etc where money or valuable objects are kept
Adjust v.
To change; to get accustomed to something
Travelers are advised to adjust their watches before arriving in the new time zone.
Parts of speechadjustment n, adjustable adj
