Advanced English Vocabulary – Communication Flashcards
Word 1: Chew the fat (idiom, verb)
Meaning:
1. To have a long, informal (and probably unimportant) conversation with someone close e.g. friend, family, colleague, classmate.
2. To have a long friendly conversation
Synonyms: Chitchat; Shoot the breeze (both verbs):
گپ زدن، اختلاط کردن، وراجی کردن
Collocations: To hang around chewing the fat; To chew the fat with someone; To always find time to chew the fat
Example Sentence: I spend most of every Sunday chewing the fat with my friends.
(خودمانی) گپ زدن، (دوستانه) صحبت کردن، اختلاط کردن
Word 2: Beat around the bush (idiom, verb)
Meaning: To talk in a way that avoids getting to the point or crucial information. Often used in the negative.
Synonyms: To waffle; To ramble on (both verbs)
Antonyms: To get straight to the point;** To get to it**; To talk directly; To talk plainly; To cut to the chase (all verbs)
Collocations: Let’s not beat around the bush; Stop beating around the bush and tell me; I don’t want to beat around the bush; There’s no sense beating
around the bush; Someone never beats around the bush
Example Sentence: My old boss was** a very direct communicator **– he never beat around the bush, and he didn’t accept other people beating around
the bush either!
Word 3: Confrontational (adjective)
Meaning: An attitude or way of speaking that is direct and aggressive.
Word Family: To confront (verb); Confrontation (noun); Confrontationally (adverb)
Synonyms: Aggressive; Adversarial; Antagonistic; Belligerent (all adjectives)
Antonyms: Compromising; Gentle; Passive; Agreeable (all adjectives)
Collocations: A confrontational style of communicating/communication; (To be) Overly confrontational; Too confrontational for my tastes; Openly confrontational; A confrontational speech; A confrontational tone
Example Sentence: His confrontational style is often a little too direct for his colleagues.
Word 4: In your face (idiom, adjective, informal)
Meaning: Aggressive and direct manner of communicating or behaving.
Synonyms: Confrontational; Aggressive; Adversarial; Antagonistic; Belligerent (all adjectives)
Antonyms: Compromising; Gentle; Passive; Agreeable (all adjectives)
Collocations: To get in your face; Very in your face; Rather in your face; To be in your face; An in your face style of communicating; In your face approach
Example Sentence: My style of leadership could definitely be described as in your face.
Word 5: Passive-aggressive (adjective)
Meaning: Someone who is aggressive or confrontational in an** indirect way**.
Example – Person A dislikes your idea, but doesn’t say it out loud. Instead, they say that they agree with it, but then work against your idea (e.g. by arriving late or deliberately failing to complete tasks)
Collocations: Annoyingly passive-aggressive; A passive-aggressive way of behaving; Passive-aggressive behaviour; (To have) A** passive-aggressive** relationship with someone; To be really passive-aggressive all the time
Example Sentence: I hate dealing with Sarah – she is always so passiveaggressive.
خشم انفعالی ، کسی که جرات نشان دادن خشم را به طور مستقیم ندارد و با رفتارهایی مثل بدگویی ، پشت سر حرف زدن ، طعنه و نیش و کنایه خود رانشان می دهد
Word 6: Catch up (Verb)
Meaning: To meet someone after a period of time apart, and talk with them about what has happened since the last meeting. Usually used by friends/family, but can also be in business.
Word Family: A catch-up (noun)
Synonyms: A reunion (noun)
Collocations (verb): To catch up with + person; Let’s catch up soon; We need to catch up; I’ll catch up with you later Collocations (noun): I’d love to find time for a catch-up; A good old catchup; A nice catch-up; To have a catch-up with someone
Example Sentence: I try to find time for a catch-up with my old high-school friends whenever I visit my hometown.
Word 7: Interpersonal relationships (noun)
Meaning: A relationship between two people. Can be
family/friends/colleagues/other situations. Usually used in plural to describe someone’s relationships in general.
Synonyms: Social relationships (noun)
Collocations: To handle/manage interpersonal relationships; To be adept at handling interpersonal relationships; To struggle with interpersonal relationships; To be great at interpersonal relationships; To be open in one’s interpersonal relationships; To be reserved/closed in one’s interpersonal relationships; To improve one’s interpersonal relationships
Example Sentence: Communication is a critical tool in managing and improving your interpersonal relationships.
Word 8: Body language (noun)
Meaning: The use of physical signs and signals as a form of communication.
Can be deliberate or unintentional.
Synonyms: Mannerisms; Gestures; Subtle physical movements (all nouns)
Antonyms: Verbal communication; Oral communication; Written communication; The spoken word; The written word (all nouns)
Collocations: To rely on body language; To use body language; To struggle with body language; To understand body language; To relay a message through body language; To communicate through body language; To pay attention to someone’s body language; To ignore someone’s body language; To tell something from someone’s body language; To **tell from someone’s **body language that + logical conclusion
Example Sentence: He said that he agreed with the idea, but I could tell from his body language that he was disappointed.
Word 9: Drop someone a line (phrasal verb, informal)
Meaning: To contact someone, often after a period of no contact (or for the first time)
Synonyms: To reach out to someone; To make contact with someone (both verbs)
Collocations: Drop me a line when + specific time (e.g. you arrive); Drop me a line if + specific situation (e.g. you need help); To try to drop someone a line; To forget to drop someone a line
Example Sentence: I like to keep in touch with my old friends, so I try to drop them a line whenever I have free time.
Word 10: Shoot someone a message (phrasal verb, informal)
Meaning: Send a message to someone (by email or social media). Usually done casually or quickly, without lots of planning.
Synonyms: Send someone a message; Contact someone (both verbs)
Collocations: I’ll just shoot (+ person) a message; Shoot someone a message on (+name of social media e.g. WeChat/WhatsApp); Can you shoot (+ person) a message?
Example Sentence: When I drive home after seeing my parents, I usually shoot them a message on WhatsApp to let them know that I got home safe.
Listen &
I think communication has changed massively over the past few years. With the rise of social media and online meetings, a person’s body language is far less important than it once was. In some ways, things are more convenient, because we can shoot someone a message at any time of day. But in some sense, we are slower at communicating, because it’s now unusual to drop someone a line out of the blue (Suddenly)- sometimes we have to send a warning text to let them know we will be calling!
How would you define your communication style?
I’ma bit of a waffler to be honest. I tend to beat around the bushes rather than getting straight to the point, and I’ll always choose to chew the fat eith someone rather that getting down to the business.
What is the best way to give negative feedback to someone?
I think the first thing to do is avoid making the interaction confrontational. You don’t want to get in someone’s face when you’re giving them negative feedback, and being passive-aggressive doesn’t help either, But you also can’t just beat around the bush. So it’s a difficult balance to strike.
