Vocabulary Flashcards
to do what you have to do or are asked to do
com‧ply / kəmˈplaɪ / verb ( past tense and past participle complied , present participle complying , third person singular complies ) [ intransitive ] formal
→ compliance , compliant
comply with
Failure to comply with the regulations will result in prosecution.
The newspaper was asked by federal agents for assistance and agreed to comply.
to make a bad situation worse
ex‧a‧cer‧bate / ɪɡˈzæsəbeɪt $ -sər- / verb [ transitive ]
The recession has exacerbated this problem.
I don’t want to exacerbate the situation.
— exacerbation / ɪɡˌzæsəˈbeɪʃ ə n $ -sər- / noun [ uncountable ]
1 impossible to remove or forget SYN permanent
2 ___________ ink/pencil/marker etc
ink etc that makes a permanent mark which cannot be removed
in‧del‧i‧ble / ɪnˈdeləb ə l, ɪnˈdelɪb ə l / adjective
1 Her words left an indelible impression on me for years to come.
2 indelible ink/pencil/marker etc
— indelibly adverb :
a moment indelibly imprinted on my mind
1 [ intransitive ] if advantages ______ to you, you get those advantages over a period of time
2 [ I, T ] if money _______s or is ______d, it gradually increases over a period of time
ac‧crue / əˈkruː / verb
1 accrue to
benefits that accrue to students
accrue from
advantages accruing from the introduction of new technology
2 Interest will accrue until payment is made.
— accrual noun [ countable usually singular ]
1 a ______ person is strong and healthy
2 a ______ system, organization etc is strong and not likely to have problems
3 a ______ object is strong and not likely to break SYN sturdy
4 showing determination or strong opinions
5 ______ food or FLAVOUR s have a good strong taste
ro‧bust / rəˈbʌst, ˈrəʊbʌst $ rəˈbʌst, ˈroʊ- / adjective
1 a robust man of six feet four
2 a robust system, organization
The formerly robust economy has begun to weaken.
3 a robust object
a robust metal cabinet
4 a typically robust performance by the Prime Minister
5 robust food or FLAVOUR s
a robust cheese
— robustly adverb
— robustness noun [ uncountable ]
formal
containing or made from ideas or expressions that have been used many times before and are therefore not very new or interesting
for‧mu‧la‧ic / ˌfɔːmjəˈleɪ-ɪk◂, ˌfɔːmjʊˈleɪ-ɪk◂ $ ˌfɔːr- / adjective formal
Children love jokes and riddles that are heavily formulaic.
1 a backward flow of water, caused by an OAR , wave etc
2 the bad situation that remains after something bad has happened
back‧wash / ˈbækwɒʃ $ -wɒːʃ, -wɑːʃ / noun [ uncountable ]
2 the backwash of the company’s failure
1 [ transitive usually passive ] to manage the work or money of a company or organization
2 [ intransitive and transitive ] to provide or organize something officially as part of your job
3 [ transitive ] formal to give someone a medicine or medical treatment
ad‧min‧is‧ter / ədˈmɪnəstə, ədˈmɪnɪstə $ -ər / verb
1 The money will be administered by local charities.
Our office administers the affairs of the Society.
2 administer justice/punishment etc
It is not the job of the police to administer justice; that falls to the courts.
administer to
Pillai had responsibility for administering to the needs of half a million people.
administer something to somebody
The test was administered to all 11-year-olds.
administer an oath (= be the official person who listens to it )
3 Painkillers were administered to the boy.
This unit teaches students how to administer first aid .
a drawing or description of the main parts of something
sche‧ma / ˈskiːmə / noun ( plural schemas or schemata / -mətə / ) [ countable ] technical
a drawing or description of the main parts of something
1 [ usually passive ] if people, ideas, systems etc ___________ or are __________d, they never change or develop, even when there are good reasons why they should change
2 [ intransitive and transitive ] to become or form a FOSSIL by being preserved in rock
fos‧sil‧ize ( also fossilise British English ) / ˈfɒsəlaɪz, ˈfɒsɪlaɪz $ ˈfɑː- / verb
1 Most couples, however fossilized their relationship, have some interests in common.
2 fossilized dinosaur bones
— fossilization / ˌfɒsəlaɪˈzeɪʃ ə n, ˌfɒsɪlaɪˈzeɪʃ ə n $ ˌfɑːsələ- / noun [ uncountable ]
1 clearly different or belonging to a different type
2 as ________ from something used to make it clear that you are not referring to a particular kind of thing, but to something else
3 something that is ________ can clearly be seen, heard, smelled etc OPP indistinct
4 [ only before noun ] a ________ possibility, feeling, quality etc definitely exists and cannot be ignored
dis‧tinct W3 AC / dɪˈstɪŋkt / adjective
1 two entirely distinct languages
distinct types/groups/categories etc
There are four distinct types.
distinct from
The learning needs of the two groups are quite distinct from each other.
2 as distinct from something
a movie star, as distinct from an actor
3 The outline of the ship became more distinct.
4 [ only before noun ] a distinct possibility, feeling, quality etc
I got the distinct impression he was trying to make me angry.
There is a distinct possibility that this will eventually be needed.
a distinct lack of enthusiasm
1 [ uncountable and countable ] an opinion that you express about someone or something SYN remark
2 [ uncountable ] criticism or discussion of something someone has said or done
3 be a _______ on something to be a sign of the bad quality of something
com‧ment 1 S1 W2 AC / ˈkɒment $ ˈkɑː- / noun
1 comment on/about
his comments about asylum seekers
He was fined for making abusive comments to the referee.
no comment (= used by people in public life when they do not want to answer questions )
2 The speech received much comment in the press.
3 be a comment on something
The number of adults who cannot read is a sad comment on the quality of our schools.
COLLOCATIONS
VERBS
make a comment Everyone was making appreciative comments about the delicious food.
have a comment (= want to make a comment ) Do you have any comments on that, David?
pass (a) comment British English (= give an opinion ) He looked at my photos but he didn’t pass comment.
invite comment(s) (= ask people to give an opinion ) The website invites comments from people who visit it.
welcome comments (= be glad to hear people’s opinions ) We would welcome your comments and suggestions. receive comments It is very helpful to receive comments from the public.
ADJECTIVES
a brief/quick comment I just want to make a very brief comment.
a helpful/constructive comment (= one that helps you make progress ) Pay close attention to your teacher’s constructive comments.
a positive/negative comment There were some very positive comments in the report.
a critical comment The school has received critical comments from inspectors.
(a) fair comment (= a criticism that is reasonable ) I accepted as fair comment 90% of what he said.
a snide comment (= unkind and made in a secret or indirect way ) She made some really snide comments about you when you weren’t here.
a disparaging/derogatory comment (= criticizing someone or something in an unpleasant way ) Never make disparaging comments about a colleague’s work.
a scathing/damning comment (= a very critical one ) There were a lot of scathing comments about the film.
an appreciative comment (= showing that you think something is good or nice ) Appreciative comments may improve your staff’s performance.
a sarcastic comment (= in which you say the opposite of what you mean, as an unkind joke ) I tried to stay calm, despite his sarcastic comments.
a casual comment (= not very serious or important ) I only made a casual comment about finding the work a bit boring.
a passing comment (= a quick comment made without thinking about it very carefully ) She got upset about a passing comment I made about her clothes.
a shrewd comment (= good at judging people or situations ) His newspaper article is always full of shrewd comments.
a wry comment (= saying that something is bad in an amusing way ) ‘Perhaps the food could be improved,’ was the wry comment of one prisoner.
a bitter comment (= an angry one ) Several pensioners passed some bitter comments.
a public comment The jury are forbidden from making public comments.
not the last, but immediately before the last SYN last but one → ultimate
pe‧nul‧ti‧mate / peˈnʌltəmət, peˈnʌltɪmət, pə- / adjective [ only before noun ]
the penultimate chapter
REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say the next to last or, in British English, the last but one rather than use penultimate :
the next to last chapter
the last but one chapter British English
to find out what illness someone has, or what the cause of a fault is, after doing tests, examinations etc
di‧ag‧nose / ˈdaɪəɡnəʊz $ -noʊs / verb [ transitive ]
diagnose somebody as (having) something Joe struggled in school before he was diagnosed as dyslexic. diagnose something as something The illness was diagnosed as mumps. diagnose somebody with something She was diagnosed with breast cancer.
a principle or belief, especially one that is part of a larger system of beliefs
ten‧et / ˈtenət, ˈtenɪt / noun [ countable ]
central/basic/fundamental etc tenet
one of the basic tenets of democracy
tenet of
the main tenet of his philosophy
1 if there is ___________ among a group of people, a set of ideas etc, all the parts or members of it are connected or related in a reasonable way to form a whole
2 technical a close relationship, based on grammar or meaning, between two parts of a sentence or a larger piece of writing
co‧he‧sion / kəʊˈhiːʒ ə n $ koʊ- / noun [ uncountable ]
1 a sense of community and social cohesion
1 COVER
be _____ed with something
to have a particular substance on top
2 LIMIT [ often passive ]
to limit the amount of something, especially money, that can be used, allowed, or spent
3 GOOD/BAD
to say, do, or be something that is better, worse, or more extreme than something that has just happened or been said
4 be ____ed by something
to have something very good or very bad at the end of an event
5 SPORT [ usually passive ] British English
to choose someone for a national sports team
6 to ___ it all (off) British English spoken
used before a statement to say that something is the last in a series of annoying, unpleasant, or funny events
7 snow-____ed, white-___ed etc with snow on top, with white on top etc
8 TOOTH
to cover a tooth with a special hard white substance
cap 2 verb ( past tense and past participle capped , present participle capping ) [ transitive ]
1 be capped with something
a graceful tower capped with a golden dome
magnificent cliffs capped by lovely wild flowers
2 the only county to have its spending capped by the government
3 Well, we went three nights with no sleep at all. I bet you can’t cap that!
4 be capped by something
a fabulous weekend, capped by dinner in the Times Square Hotel
5 He’s been capped three times for England.
6 to cap it all (off) British English spoken
To cap it all, the phones didn’t work, and there was no hot water.
7 snow-capped, white-capped etc
snow-capped mountains
8 He’s had his teeth capped.
1 [ intransitive ] to treat a person or group differently from another in an unfair way
2 [ intransitive and transitive ] to recognize a difference between things SYN differentiate
di‧scrim‧i‧nate AC / dɪskrɪməneɪt, dɪskrɪmɪneɪt / verb
1 discriminate against
Under federal law, it is illegal to discriminate against minorities and women.
discriminate on the grounds/basis of something
It was found that the company still discriminated on the basis of race in promotions.
2 discriminate between
Newborn babies can discriminate between a man’s and a woman’s voice.
discriminate something from something
the process of learning to discriminate fact from opinion
1 [ only before noun ] very easy to notice SYN noticeable
2 ______ man/woman
a person who is in danger because someone wants to harm them
marked / mɑkt $ mɑrkt / adjective
1 a marked lack of enthusiasm
The patient showed a marked improvement in her condition after changing medication.
Miller’s organized desk stood in marked contrast to the rest of the office.
2 marked man/woman
— markedly / mɑkədli, mɑkɪdli $ mɑr- / adverb :
Johnson and Rivera have markedly different leadership styles.
including or influencing every part of something
o‧ver‧arch‧ing / əʊvərɑtʃɪŋ◂ $ oʊvərɑr- / adjective [ only before noun ]
The crisis gave an overarching justification to the government’s policy.
1 expressed in a way that is very clear and direct → implicit
2 language or pictures that are ________ describe or show sex or violence very clearly
ex‧pli‧cit AC / ɪksplɪsət, ɪksplɪsɪt / adjective
1 The contrast could not have been made more explicit .
explicit knowledge of grammar
The kidnappers gave us explicit instructions not to involve the police.
Be explicit when you talk about money with your family.
explicit about
He made the rules without being explicit about them.
2 The film contains some very explicit love scenes.
sexually explicit language
— explicitly adverb
— explicitness noun [ uncountable ]
unwilling to talk about what you feel or what you know SYN reserved
ret‧i‧cent / retəs ə nt, retɪs ə nt / adjective
reticent about
She’s strangely reticent about her son.
— reticence noun [ uncountable ]
reticent unwilling to talk to other people, especially about a particular subject : She’s always been reticent about her early life.
1 to make someone stop doing what they should be doing, or stop talking about what they started talking about, by making them interested in something else
2 American English to delay or stop the progress of something
side‧track / saɪdtræk / verb [ transitive usually passive ]
1 Don’t get sidetracked by the audience’s questions.
2 An effort to improve security was sidetracked by budget problems.
without realizing what you are doing SYN accidentally OPP deliberately
in‧ad‧vert‧ent‧ly / ɪnədvɜtəntli $ -ɜr- / adverb
Viruses can be spread inadvertently by email users.
Robinson’s name was inadvertently omitted from the list.
— inadvertent adjective :
inadvertent exposure to chemicals
— inadvertence noun [ uncountable ]
accidentally/by accident in a way that was not planned or intended : He accidentally shot his friend. | Fleming discovered the drug by accident, when he was researching something else. | I met the man purely by accident, and we began a conversation.
inadvertently if you inadvertently do something, you do it without realizing you are doing it, because you are not careful enough : In a panic, I inadvertently pushed the accelerator instead of the brake. | The Finance Minister inadvertently revealed budget secrets to reporters.
