Unit 2 pre-reading Flashcards
Tendency to be absent without authorization, repeated absence
Absenteeism (n) ‘‘The high rate of absenteeism is costing a lot in our evening class’’
Pertaining to sensitivity; suffering from a sensitivity
Allergic (adj) ‘‘I am allergic to penicillin’’
To make someone feel certain that something is true
Convince (v) ‘‘How many more deaths will it take to convince researchers of the need to test drugs more thoroughly’’
To decrease the quality, quantity, or importance of
Decline (v) ‘‘His interest in the project declined after his wife’s plane crashed’’
Clearly separate and different (from something else)
Distinct (adj) ‘‘I get the distinct impression that you hate medicine’’
More powerful or important than others
Dominant (adj) ‘‘Joblessness is a dominant issue at the next election’’
Excessive in size or intensity; very large, huge
Enormous (adj) ‘‘He has been under an enormous amount of stress recently’’
To guess the cost, size, value, etc. of something
Estimate (v) ‘‘They estimate (that) the journey will take at least two weeks’’
Something that may be dangerous, or cause accidents or problems
Hazard (n) ‘‘Polluted water sources are a hazard to humans’’
Containing extremely small drops of water in the air
Humid (adj) ‘‘North is very humid in mid-summer’’
The force or action of one object hitting another
Impact (n) ‘‘Current stress had a great impact on her’’
The extent or rate of occurrence, especially the number of new cases of a disease
Incidence (n) ‘‘Incidence of skin cancer is going down in Europe’’
To continue
Last (v) ‘‘His fever lasted for an hour’’
To make something serious happen suddenly
Precipitate (v) ‘‘The drug treatment precipitate him in depression’’
To believe something to be true because it is very likely, although you are not certain
Presume (v) ‘‘Because of her critical condition, I presume she will die in a week’’
