D_12/07/20(RC:1-37, 5lb) Flashcards
VIRULENCE
THE DANGER AND SPEED OF SPREADING A DISEASES
DIRE(adj)
very serious or extreme:
These people are in dire need of help.
He gave a dire warning that an earthquake was imminent.
This decision will have dire consequences for local people
entrepreneurship
noun [ U ]
skill in starting new businesses, especially when this involves seeing new opportunities
contraction
noun [ U ]
the fact of something becoming smaller or shorter:
Cold causes contraction of the metal.
The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.
opt
verb [ I ]
to make a choice, especially of one thing or possibility instead of others:
Mike opted for early retirement.
[ + to infinitive ] Most people opt to have the operation.
recession
noun [ C or U ]
recede
a period when the economy of a country is not successful and conditions for business are bad:
The country is sliding into the depths of (a) recession.
- VERB
If something recedes from you, it moves away.
Luke’s footsteps receded into the night. [VERB preposition]
As she receded he waved goodbye. [VERB]
…the receding lights of the car. [VERB-ing]
Synonyms: fall back, withdraw, retreat, draw back More Synonyms of recede - VERB
When something such as a quality, problem, or illness recedes, it becomes weaker, smaller, or less intense.
Just as I started to think that I was never going to get well, the illness began to recede. [VERB]
Dealers grew concerned over the sliding dollar and receding prospects for economic recovery. [VERB-ing]
[Also VERB preposition] - VERB
If someone’s hair starts to recede, it no longer grows on the front of their head.
…a youngish man with dark hair just beginning to recede. [VERB]
[Also V at/from n]
Synonyms: thin More Synonyms of recede - VERB
If someone’s gums start to recede, they begin to cover less of their teeth, usually as the result of an infection.
If untreated, the gums recede, become swollen and bleed. [VERB]
Receding gums can be the result of disease or simply incorrect brushing. [VERB-ing]
endeavor
verb [ I + to infinitive ] US (UK endeavour)
an attempt to do something:
In spite of our best endeavors, it has proven impossible to contact her.
Crossing the North Pole on foot was an amazing feat of human endeavor.
artistic endeavor
venture
noun [ C ]
a new activity, usually in business, that involves risk or uncertainty:
She advised us to look abroad for more lucrative business ventures.
There are many joint ventures between American and Japanese companies.
outlay
noun [ C ]
an amount of money spent for a particular purpose, especially as a first investment in something:
For an initial outlay of $2,000 to buy the equipment, you can earn up to $500 a month if the product sells well.
Few are able to afford the cash outlay
prevalence
noun [ U ]
the fact that something is very common or happens often: outbreak, wideness
the prevalence of smoking among teenagers
The prevalence of the disease is higher in some families.
valiant
adjective
very brave or bravely determined, especially when things are difficult or the situation gives no cause for hope:
The company has made a valiant effort/attempt in the last two years to make itself more efficient.
lament
verb [ I or T ]
to express sadness and feeling sorry about something:
The poem opens by lamenting (over) the death of a young man.
My grandmother, as usual, lamented the decline in moral standards in today’s society.
The late lamented (= dead and remembered with love) Frank Giotto used to live here.
uptick
noun
an increase in something:
We can see some uptick in activity in the marketplace.
bestow
verb [ T often passive ] formal
to give something as an honour or present:
The George Cross is a decoration that is bestowed upon/on British civilians for acts of great bravery.
bevy
noun [ C ]
levy
savvy
a large group of people, especially women or girls, or a large group of similar things:
Victorian postcards often featured bevies of bathing beauties
tax
good knowledge and practical understanding
pose
verb
to cause something, especially a problem or difficulty:
Nuclear weapons pose a threat to everyone.
The mountain terrain poses particular problems for civil engineers.
obligate
verb [ T ] US formal
to make someone feel morally or legally forced to do something:
I’m in favor of obligating welfare recipients to do more.
Meaning of parasite in English
parasite
noun [ C ]
an animal or plant that lives on or in another animal or plant of a different type and feeds from it:
The older drugs didn’t deal effectively with the malaria parasite
marshal
verb [ T ]
marshal
noun [ C ]
to bring together or organize people or things in order to achieve a particular aim:
The fighting in the city followed reports of the rebels marshalling their forces in the countryside.
The company is marshalling its forces/resources for a long court case.
They had marshalled an armada of 1,000 boats to help clear up the oil.
It is unlikely that the rebels will be able to marshal as much firepower as the government troops.
an official who is involved in the running of a public event:
Marshals struggled in vain to prevent spectators rushing onto the racetrack.
remission
noun
a period of time when an illness is less severe or is not affecting someone:
Her cancer has been in remission for several years
He was given three months’ remission for good behaviour.
- VARIABLE NOUN
If someone who has had a serious disease such as cancer is in remission or if the disease is in remission, the disease has been controlled so that they are not as ill as they were.
Brain scans have confirmed that the disease is in remission.
After six years of remission, cancer reappeared. - UNCOUNTABLE NOUN
If someone in prison gets remission, their prison sentence is reduced, usually because they have behaved well.
[British]
With remission for good behaviour, she could be freed in a year.
nothing to sneeze at
something that deserves serious attention, esp. an amount of money:
An extra two thousand bucks a year is nothing to sneeze at.
virology
in British English
NOUN
the branch of medicine concerned with the study of viruses and the diseases they cause
pandemic
adjective MEDICAL specialized
(of a disease) existing in almost all of an area or in almost all of a group of people, animals, or plants:
In some parts of the world malaria is still pandemic
happenstance
noun [ C or U ] mainly US
chance or a chance situation, especially one producing a good result:, coincidence
By (a strange) happenstance they were both in Paris at the same time.
respiratory
adjective [ before noun ] MEDICAL formal or specialized
relating to breathing:
Smoking can cause respiratory diseases.
droplet
noun [ C ]
A droplet is a very small drop of liquid:
Droplets of sweat were welling up on his forehead. [+ of]
…water droplets
pathogen
noun [ C ]
any small organism, such as a virus or a bacterium that can cause disease:
a dangerous pathogen
stellar
adjective
of a star or stars:
a stellar explosion
stellar light
celestial
adjective formal
of or from the sky or outside this world:
The moon is a celestial body.
underpin
verb [ T ]
to give support, strength, or a basic structure to something:
He presented data to underpin his argument.
Gradually the laws that underpinned (= formed part of the basic structure of) apartheid were abolished.
When restoring the building, the first priority was to underpin the exterior walls by adding wooden supports along the foundations.
legacy
noun [ C ]
1.money or property that you receive from someone after they die:
An elderly cousin had left her a small legacy.
2.something that is a part of your history or that remains from an earlier time:
The Greeks have a rich legacy of literature.
The war has left a legacy of hatred.
3.something that is a result of events in the past:
the bitter legacy of a civil war
escapade
noun [ C ]
an act involving some danger, risk, or excitement, because it is different from usual or expected behaviour:
Her latest escapade was to camp outside a department store on the night before the sale.
heretofore
adverb LAW formal or specialized
Heretofore means ‘before this time’ or ‘up to now’.
[mainly US, formal]
He had honorably fulfilled every promise he had heretofore made
lackluster adjective US (UK lacklustre)
without energy and effort:
The U.S. number-one tennis player gave a disappointingly lackluster performance.
legislation
noun [ U ]
a law or set of laws suggested by a government and made official by a parliament:
[ + to infinitive ] The government has promised to introduce legislation to limit fuel emissions from cars.
predator
noun [ C ]
an animal that hunts, kills, and eats other animals:
lions, wolves, and other predators
cease
verb [ I or T ] formal
to stop something:
Whether the protests will cease remains to be seen.
The company has decided to cease all UK operations after this year.
[ + to infinitive ] Workplace nurseries will cease to be liable for tax.
subprime
adjective (also sub-prime)
used to describe the practice of lending money, especially to buy a house, to people who may not be able to pay it back:
subprime mortgages/loans/lending
germophobe
noun [ C ] (also germaphobe)
someone who has a fear of germs (= small organisms that cause disease) that is so strong that it is not normal or reasonable:
He is a germophobe who must be handed a perfumed wipe after every handshake
toddler
noun [ C ]
a young child, especially one who is learning or has recently learned to walk
