Words Flashcards
1
Q
Deplete
A
[usually passive] to reduce sth by a large amount so that there is not enough left
2
Q
Controversy (over/about/surrounding sb/sth)
A
public discussion and argument about sth that many people strongly disagree about, disapprove of, or are shocked by
3
Q
Downturn
A
[usually sing.] ~ (in sth) a fall in the amount of business that is done; a time when the economy becomes weaker; ≠ upturn
4
Q
Accountable
A
[not usually before noun] ~ (to sb) (for sth) responsible for your decisions or actions and expected to explain them when you are asked
5
Q
Onlooker
A
a person who watches sth that is happening but is not involved in it
6
Q
Derivative
A
a word or thing that has been developed or produced from another word or thing
7
Q
Scarce
A
Not enough of sth and only available in small quantities
8
Q
Hog
A
to use or keep most of sth yourself and stop others from using or having it all
9
Q
Alleviate
A
(written) to make sth less severe, = ease
10
Q
Spirited
A
[usually before noun] full of energy, determination or courage
11
Q
Surplus
A
~ (to sth) more than is needed or used
12
Q
By-products
A
- a substance that is produced during the process of making or destroying sth else
- a thing that happens, often unexpectedly, as the result of sth else
13
Q
Instill
A
~ sth (in/into sb) to gradually make sb feel, think or behave in a particular way over a period of time
14
Q
Opportunistic
A
[only before noun] (medical) harmful to people whose immune system has been made week by disease or drugs
15
Q
Predator
A
an animal that kills and eats other animals
16
Q
Detrimental
A
(to sb/sth) Harmful
17
Q
Contemplate
A
to think about whether you should do sth, or how you should do sth; =consider
18
Q
Feline
A
like a cat; connected with an animal of the cat family
19
Q
Neuter
A
to remove part of the sex organs of an animal so that it cannot produce young
20
Q
Finite
A
having a definite limit or fixed size; ≠ infinite
21
Q
Dual
A
having two of sth or two parts
22
Q
Offspring
A
someone’s child or children - often used humorously
23
Q
Dispose
A
to get rid of sth, especially sth that is difficult to get rid of
24
Q
Landfill
A
the practice of burying waste under the ground, or the waste buried in this way
25
Dusk
the time before it gets dark when the sky is becoming less bright
26
Advocate
to publicly support a particular way of doing sth
27
Excess
additional and not needed because there is already enough of sth
28
Spark off
to be the cause of sth, especially trouble or violence
29
Emit
to send out gas, heat, light, sound etc.
30
Give rise to
to be the reason why sth happens, especially sth bad or unpleasant
31
Wipe out
to destroy, remove, or get rid of sth completely
32
Spray
to force liquid out of a container so that it comes out in a stream of very small drops and covers an area
33
Build-up
an increase over a period of time
34
Spark off (x2)
to cause sth to start or develop, especially suddenly
35
Thick/Thin on the ground
there are a lot/not many of them in a place
36
Use up
to use all of sth so that there is none left
37
Make up for
to do sth that corrects a bad situation
38
Asylum
protection that a government gives to people who have left their own country, usually because they were in danger for political reasons
39
Proactive
(of a person or policy) controlling a situation by making thing happen rather than waiting for things to happen and then reacting to them
40
Ozone layer
a layer of gases in the sky that prevents harmful radiation from the sun from reaching the Earth
41
Famine
a situation in which a large number of people have little or no food for a long time and many people die
42
Genetically-modified
genetically-modified foods have had their GENETIC (=the materials that control the developmen of particular qualities) structure changed so that they are not affected by certain diseases or harmful insects
43
Imminent
an event that is an unpleasant on, will happen very soon
44
Oblivious
not knowing about or not noticing sth that is happening around you
45
In the space of
a period of time
46
Implication
a possible future effect or result of an action, event, decision etc.
47
Pollinate
to give a flower or plant pollen so that it can produce seeds
48
Crucial
sth that is crucial is extremely important, because everything else depends on it
49
Inevitable
certain to happen and impossible to avoid
50
Knock-on effect
to start a process in which everything that happens causes sth else to happen
51
Availability
sth that is available is able to be used or can easily be bought or found
52
Scenario
a situation that could possibly happen
53
Deteriorate
to become worse
54
Corresponding
caused by or connected with sth you have already mentioned
55
Hedge
a row of bushes or small trees planted close together, usually along the edge of a field, garden/yard or road
56
Repetitive
done many times in the same way, and boring
57
Diversity
the fact of including many different types of people or things
58
Be prone to
likely to do sth or suffer from sth, especially sth bad or harmful
59
Immune system
the system by which your body protects itself against disease
60
Thrive
to become very successful or strong and healthy
61
Infect
to give sb a disease
62
Pesticide
a chemical substance used to kill insects and small animals that destroy crops
63
Wipe out
to destroy, remove, or get rid of sth completely
64
Disoriented
confused and not understanding what is happening around you
65
Habitat
the natural home of plant or animal
66
Further afield
further away
67
Phenomenon
sth that happens or exists in society, science, or nature, especially sth that is studied because it is difficult to understand
68
Pest
a small animal or insect that destroys crops or food supplies
69
Virtually
almost
70
Bitterly
in a way that produces or shows feelings of great sadness or anger
71
Unspoilt
an unspoilt place is beautifyl because it has not changed for a long time and does not have a lot of new buildings
72
Dependent
needeng sth or sb in order to exist, be successful, be healthy, etc.
73
Beneficial
having a good effect
74
Indigenous
~ (to...) (formal) belonging to a particular place rather than coming to it from somewhere else; native
75
Ingenious
1. (of an object, a plan, an idea, etc.) very suitable for a particular purpose and resulting from clever new ideas
2. (of a person) having a lot of clever new ideas and good at inventing things
76
Acknowledge
to admit or accept that sth is true or that a situation exists
77
In perspective
judge the importance of sth correctly
78
Ferret through
to search for sth that is lost or hidden among a lot of things or inside a drawer, box etc.
79
Discard
to get rid of sth
80
Hush sth up
to prevent people from knowing about sth dishonest or immoral
81
Unsettle
to make sb feel slightly nervous, worried, or upset
82
Hardened
a criminal, police officer etc. who has had a lof ot experience of things thar are shocking and is therefore less affected by them
83
Fall for
to be tricked into believing sth that is not true
84
Scam
a clever but dishonest way to get money
85
Stalk
to follow a person or animal quietly in order to catch and attack or kill them
86
Hold hostage
keep sb as a prisoner so that the other side will do what the enemy demands
87
Sharp-witted
able to think and react very quickly
88
One step ahead
already doing what needs to be done
89
Outsmart
to gain an advantage over sb using tricks or your intelligence
90
Dire
extremely serious or terrible
91
On your guard
to be paying attention to what is happening in order to avoid danger, being tricked, etc.
92
Mugger
sb who attacks people in a public place and robs them
93
Fire off
send quickly and without much thought
94
Instantaneous
happening immediately
95
Body scan
a scan with special machine that produces a picture of sth outside your body, for security purposes
96
Biometric
relating to technology that can be used to measure things such as people's eyes or fingerprints. These measurements can be kept on computer and then used to check sb's identity, for example when they show a passport at an airport
97
CCTV camera
security cameras that help police find criminals
98
Fencing
fences or the pieces of wood, metal etc. used to make them
99
Phone tap
an act of secretly listening to sb's telephone, using electronic equipment
100
Swipe card
a special plastic card that you slide through a machine in order to get into a building or open a door
101
Intimidating
making you feel worried and not confident
102
Pick up
to learn sth by watching or listening to other people
103
Deter
~sb (from sth/from doing sth) to make sb decide not to do sth or continue doing sth, especially by making them understand the difficulties and unpleasant results of their actions
104
Deterrent
~(to sb/sth) a thing that makes sb less likely to do sth (=that deters them)
105
Battery
(of sth) (written) a large number of things or people of the same type
106
Snoop on
~(around/round sth) / ~ (on sb) (informal, disapproving) to find out private things about sb, especially by looking secretly around a place
107
Intercept
to stop sb/sth that is going from one place to another from arriving
108
Scoop
a piece of important or exciting news that is printed in one newspaper before other newspapers know about it
109
Embellish
1. to make sth more beautiful by adding decorations to it
| 2. to make a story more interesting by adding details that are not always true; =embroider
110
From the outset of
at/from the beginning of sth
111
Rapid-fire
(of questions, comments, etc.) spoken very quickly, one after the other
112
Geek
(slang, especially AmE) a person who is boring, who wears clothes that are not fashionable, etc.
113
Skim over
go quickly through sth
114
Fixation
(with/on sb/sth) a very strong interest in sb/sth, that is not normal or natural
115
Well-connected
(formal) (of a person) having important or rich relatives or friends
116
Nerd
a person who is very interested in computers
117
Depict
to describe sth in words, or give an impression of sth in words or with a picture
118
Ambigious
1. that can be understood in more than one way; having different meanings
2. not clearly stated or defined
119
Outburst
a sudden strong expression of an emotion
120
Whizz
(informal) a person who is very good at sth
121
Dreary
that makes you feel sad; dull and not interesting
122
To date
untill now
123
Menace
~(to sb/sth) a person or thing that will probably cause serious damage, harm or danger; =threat
124
Mediocre
(disapproving) not very good; of only average standard
125
Even-handed
completely fair, espeacially when dealing with different groups of people
126
Obsessionalism
obsessive behaviour
127
Empathy
(with sb/sth) / ~ (for sb/sth) / ~ (between A and B) the ability to understand another person's feelings, experience, etc.
128
Frantic
done quickly and with a lot of activity, but in a way that is not very well organized
129
To a fault
(written) used to say that sb has a lot, or even too much, of a particular good quality
130
Relentless
not stopping or getting less strong
131
Fraudster
a person who deceives sb in order to get money or goods illegally
132
Vigilant
(formal) very careful to notice any signs of danger or trouble
133
Downturn
~(in sth) a fall in the amount of business that is done; a time when the economy becomes waker
134
Encounter
come across
135
Cloze
a test with certain words removed
136
Coherence
the quality of being logical and consistent
137
Cohesion
1. (formal) the act or state of sticking together
SYN UNITY
2. (psysics, chemistry) the force causing molecules of the same substance to stick together
138
Innate
sth you are born with
139
Ruthless
(disapproving) (of people or their behaviour) hard and cruel; determined to get what you want and not caring if you hurt other people; merciless
140
Graduate (n.)
~(in sth) a person who has a university degree
141
Graduate (v.)
~(in sth) / ~(from...) to get a degree, especially your first degree, from a university or a college
142
Hold sb back
to prevent the development or progress of sb/sth
143
Exprertise
~(in sth/in doing sth) expert knowledge or skill in a particular subject, activy or job:
professional/scientific/technical expertise
144
Daunting
frightening in a way that makes you less confident
145
High-flying
extremely successful
146
Land a job
get a job
147
Lawyer
a general term for a person who is qualified to advise people about the law, to prepare legal documents for them and/or to represent them in a court of law
148
Solicitor
a lawyer who prepares legal documents, for example for the sale of land or buildings, advises people on legal matters, and can speak for them in the lower courts of law
149
Barrister
a lawyer in Britain who has the right to argue cases in the higher courts of law
150
Attorney
a lawyer, especially one who can act for sb in a court of law
151
Advocate
1. ~(of/for sth/sb) a person who supports or speaks in favour of sb or of a public plan or action
2. a person who defends sb in a court of law
152
Counsel
a lawyer or group of lawyers representing sb in a court of law
153
State benefits
money given by the government to people who are poor
154
Live on
to have enough money for the basic things you need to live
155
Scrape through
to only just succeed in passing an examination or dealing with a difficult situation
156
Master's degree
a university degree such as an MA, M.Sc., or M.S., that you can get by studying for one or two years after your first degree
157
Work placement
a job, usially as part of a course of study, which gives you experience of a particular type of work
158
Shadow
to follow sb closely in order to watch what they are doing
