UNITS 5&6 • TOPIC Flashcards
abrupt
uk |əˈbrʌpt| us |əˈbrʌpt|
adjective
1. sudden and unexpected, and often unpleasant
* “Our conversation came to an abrupt end when George burst into the room.”
* “[abrupt change] There was an abrupt change in her attitude towards me when she heard that I was Alan’s boyfriend.”
* “The car juddered and came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the road.”
* “The road ended in an abrupt (= sudden and very steep) slope down to the sea.”
2. using too few words when talking, in a way that seems rude and unfriendly
* “He is sometimes very abrupt with clients.”
* “an abrupt manner/reply”
anachronism
uk |əˈnæk.rə.nɪ.zəm| us |əˈnæk.rə.nɪ.zəm|
noun
1. a person, thing, or idea that exists out of its time in history, especially one that happened or existed later than the period being shown, discussed, etc.
* “For some people, marriage is an anachronism from the days when women needed to be protected.”
annual
uk |ˈæn.ju.əl| us |ˈæn.ju.əl|
adjective
1. happening once every year
* “an annual event/visit/holiday”
* “Companies publish annual reports to inform the public about the previous year’s activities.”
2. relating to a period of one year
* “annual income/salary/profit”
annual
uk |ˈæn.ju.əl| us |ˈæn.ju.əl|
noun
1. a book or magazine published once a year, especially for children, with the same title and style but different contents
2. a yearbook [US]
3. a plant that grows, produces seeds, and dies within one year
antique
uk |ænˈtiːk| us |ænˈtiːk|
noun
1. something made in an earlier period that is collected and considered to have value because it is beautiful, rare, old, or of high quality
* “You can’t give away Granny’s old bookcase - it’s a valuable antique.”
* “My mother collects antiques.”
2. someone or something very old or old-fashioned [humorous]
* “These kids make me feel like an antique.”
* “This is a recipe from my childhood, which I guess makes it an antique.”
antique
uk |ænˈtiːk| us |ænˈtiːk|
adjective
1. made in an earlier period and considered to have value because of being beautiful, rare, old, or of high quality
* “antique silver/jewellery/lace/furniture”
2. trading or relating to antiques
* “an antique dealer”
* “antique shops/markets/fairs/auctions”
3. very old or old-fashioned [often humorous]
* “I just can’t let go of the antique idea of reading actual books.”
* “This quaint love story seems almost absurdly antique now.”
century
uk |ˈsen.tʃər.i| us |ˈsen.tʃər.i|
noun
1. a period of 100 years
* “The city centre has scarcely changed in over a century.”
* “This sculpture must be centuries old.”
* “Her medical career spanned half a century.”
chronological
uk |ˌkrɒn.əˈlɒdʒ.ɪ.kəl| us |ˌkrɑː.nəˈlɑː.dʒɪ.kəl|
adjective
1. following the order in which a series of events happened
* “Give me the dates in chronological order.”
* “The narrative line of the book is not chronological.”
* “The timeline shows the chronological development of the phenomenon.”
contemporary
uk |kənˈtem.pər.ər.i| us |kənˈtem.pə.rer.i|
adjective
1. existing or happening now, and therefore seeming modern
* “contemporary music/literature/art/fashion”
* “Although the play was written hundreds of years ago, it still has a contemporary feel to it.”
* “I wanted to update my kitchen and put in something more contemporary.”
2. belonging to the same period, or to a stated period in the past
* “Almost all of the contemporary accounts of the event have been lost.”
* “[contemporary with] Most of the writers he was contemporary with were interested in the same subjects.”
contemporary
uk |kənˈtem.pər.ər.i| us |kənˈtem.pə.rer.i|
noun
1. someone living during the same period as someone else
* “Was he a contemporary of Shakespeare’s?”
2. a person who is of the same age as you
* “She didn’t mix with her contemporaries, preferring the company of older people.”
decade
uk |ˈdek.eɪd| |dekˈeɪd| us |ˈdek.eɪd| |dekˈeɪd|
noun
1. a period of ten years, especially a period such as 2010 to 2019
duration
uk |dʒʊəˈreɪ.ʃən| us |duːˈreɪ.ʃən|
noun
1. the length of time that something lasts
* “He planned a stay of two years’ duration.”
elapse
uk |iˈlæps| us |iˈlæps|
verb
1. If time elapses, it goes past
* “Four years had elapsed since he left college and still he hadn’t found a job.”
era
uk |ˈɪə.rə| us |ˈer.ə| us |ˈɪr.ə|
noun
1. a period of time of which particular events or stages of development are typical
* “the Jefferson era”
* “His memoir offers us a fascinating glimpse of a bygone era.”
* “the post-war era”
* “[era of] They had worked for peace during the long era of conflict.”
eternal
uk |ɪˈtɜː.nəl| us |ɪˈtɝː.nəl|
adjective
1. lasting forever or for a very long time
* “The company is engaged in the eternal search for a product that will lead the market.”
* “Will you two never stop your eternal arguing!”
expire
uk |ɪkˈspaɪər| us |ɪkˈspaɪr|
verb
1. If something that lasts for a fixed length of time expires, it comes to an end or stops being in use [I]
* “My passport expires next month.”
* “The contract between the two companies will expire at the end of the year.”
2. to die [I literary]
* “He ceased to breathe, gently expiring without any struggle at the age of 90.”
* “In 1936 the last Tasmanian tiger breathed its final breath and expired in a zoo in Hobart.”
3. to breathe out or to breathe air out [I/T medical , biology specialized]
* “The patient inhales as much air as possible and then expires with maximum effort.”
* “The device measures the amount of carbon dioxide expired by the patient’s lungs.”
frequency
uk |ˈfriː.kwən.si| us |ˈfriː.kwən.si|
noun
1. the number of times something happens within a particular period, or the fact of something happening often or a large number or times [C/U]
* “[frequency of] Complaints about the frequency of buses rose in the last year.”
* “the increasing frequency of terrorist attacks”
* “It’s not the duration of his absences from work so much as the frequency that worries me.”
2. the number of times that a wave, especially a light, sound, or radio wave, is produced within a particular period, especially one second [U physics specialized]
* “the frequency of light”
* “low frequency radiation”
* “The human ear cannot hear very high-frequency sounds.”
3. a particular number of radio waves produced in a second at which a radio signal is broadcast [C media specialized]
* “Do you know what frequency the BBC World Service is on?”
instantaneous
uk |ˌɪn.stənˈteɪ.ni.əs| us |ˌɪn.stənˈteɪ.ni.əs|
adjective
1. happening immediately, without any delay
* “an instantaneous response/reply/reaction”
interim
uk |ˈɪn.tər.ɪm| us |ˈɪn.t̬ɚ.ɪm|
adjective
1. temporary and intended to be used or accepted until something permanent exists
* “an interim solution”
* “An interim government was set up for the period before the country’s first free election.”
2. used to describe part of a company’s business year, rather than the whole year
* “Directors declared an interim dividend of 30 cents.”
interval
uk |ˈɪn.tə.vəl| us |ˈɪn.t̬ɚ.vəl|
noun
1. a period between two events or times
* “We see each other at regular intervals - usually about once a month.”
2. the space between two points
* “The plants should be spaced at six-inch intervals.”
3. a short period between the parts of a performance or a sports event [UK (US intermission)]
* “There will be two 20-minute intervals during the opera.”
* “He scored his first goal of the match three minutes after the interval.”
lapse
uk |læps| us |læps|
noun
1. a temporary failure [C]
* “a lapse of concentration”
* “[lapse of] The management’s decision to ignore the safety warnings demonstrated a remarkable lapse of judgment.”
* “[memory lapse] Her memory lapses have become more frequent in the last year.”
2. a period of time passing between two things happening [C usually singular]
* “a time lapse/a lapse of time”
* “He turned up again after a lapse of two years.”
lapse
uk |læps| us |læps|
verb
1. to end legally or officially by not being continued or made effective for a longer period
* “The association needs to win back former members who have allowed their subscriptions to lapse.”
* “His health insurance policy lapsed for nonpayment of premiums.”
2. to experience a temporary failure
* “Since his illness, he finds his memory and concentration lapse occasionally.”
* “The conversation lapsed for a moment.”
3. to return to a worse state or condition, usually temporarily
* “He is a reformed drinker who sometimes lapses.”
* “She seemed to be getting better, then she would lapse again.”
lifetime
uk |ˈlaɪf.taɪm| us |ˈlaɪf.taɪm|
noun
1. the period of time during which someone lives or something exists [usually singular]
* “[in someone’s lifetime] We’ll see a tremendous number of technological changes in our lifetime.”
* “[during someone’s lifetime] I never imagined that such an event would be possible during my lifetime.”
* “[of a lifetime] Winners of the competition will get the holiday of a lifetime (= the best holiday they will ever have).”
* “[it seems like a lifetime] I’ve only been working here two days, but it seems like a lifetime.”
* “[last a lifetime] A watch of this quality should last a lifetime.”
* “Marriage is no longer always seen as a lifetime commitment.”
* “[lifetime supply] You could win a lifetime supply (= enough to last your whole life) of toothpaste.”
lifetime
uk |ˈlaɪf.taɪm| us |ˈlaɪf.taɪm|
adjective
1. achieved or measured over the whole of a career (= working life) playing sport, especially baseball or cricket
* “He had a lifetime batting average of .338 - producing a hit every three trips to the plate.”
* “He holds many of baseball’s most distinguished records, including most lifetime runs batted in.”
* “During his career, he scored 55 centuries at a lifetime average of 56.”
