912-notes/words.md

Some Words

Words List

• euclidean

(adj)relating to geometry as developed by Euclid

- euclidean distance
- euclidean geometry

• zip through

(v)to go somewhere or do something very quickly

- If you zip through a page in less than an hour, you are probably going too fast.
- A lot of questions zip through his mind.

• internalize

(v)if you internalize a particular belief, attitude, behaviour etc, it becomes part of your character

- Over time, she internalized her parents' attitudes.
- You should ponder and internalize each definition.

• beige

(adj)a pale brown colour

- The walls are beige.
- Definitions are in beige boxes and theorems are in blue boxes.

• bestow

(v)to give someone something of great value or importance

- honours bestowed on him by the Queen
- Bestowing proper credit on all the contributors would be a difficult task that I have not undertaken.

• in lieu of

(adv)in place of

- extra time off in lieu of payment

• preliminary

(adj)happening before something that is more important, often in order to prepare for it
(n)something that is said or done first, to introduce or prepare for something else
(n)one of the games in the first part of the competition, when it is decided who will go to the main competition

- a preliminary draft
- After the usual preliminaries, the chairman made his announcement.
- Four teams will be eliminated in the preliminaries.

• arithmetic

(n)the science of numbers involving adding, multipying, etc.

- teaching the usual rules of reading, writing and arithmetic.

• derive

(v)to get something, especially an advantage or a pleasant feeling, from something
(v)to develop from something else
(v)to get a chemical substance from another substance

- Many students derived enormous satisfaction from the course.
- patterns of behaviour that derive from basic beliefs
- The enzyme is derived from human blood.

• enzyme

(n)a chemical substance that is produced in a plant or animal, and helps chemical changes to take place in the plant or animal.

• commutativity

(n)In mathematics, a binary operation is commutative if changing the order of the operands does not change the result.

• cumbersome

(adj)A cumbersome system or process is very complicated and inefficient.
(adj)large and heavy and therefore difficult to carry, wear, or handle

- Although the machine looks cumbersome, it is actually easy to use.
- and old and cumbersome computer system

• analogue

(n)something having the property of being analogous to something else.

• pentagon

(n) a flat shape with five sides and five angles

• hexagon

(n) a shape with six sides

• equilateral

(adj)A shape or a figure that is equilateral has sides that are all the same length.(equi + lateral)

- an equilateral triangle

• lateral

(adj)relating to the sides of something, or movement to the side

- He estimated that the lateral movement of the bridge to be between four and six inches.

• temperate

(adj)Temperate is used to describe a climate or a place which is never extremely hot or extremely cold.

- The Nile Valley keeps a temperate climate throughout the year.

• in rude health

(adv)to be extremely healthy

- To that extent at least, American democracy remains in rude health.

• desolate

(adj)A desolate place is empty of people and lacking comfort.
(adj)A desolate person feels sad, lonely and without hope.

- a desolate landscape of flat green fields
- He was desolate without her.

• whence

from where

- No one ordered him back whence he came.

• asylum

(n)protection given to someone by a government because they escaped from fighting or political trouble in their own country
(n)a mental hospital

- He has been granted (political) asylum in France.
- He applied for asylum in 1987 after fleeing the police back home.

• lunatic

(n) someone who behaves in a crazy or very stupid way -- often used humorously
(n) a very offensive word for someone who is mentally ill
(adj)insane and believed to be affected by the phases of moon

- The hotel is run by a lunatic!
- a dangerous lunatic
- lunatic behaviour; lunatic asylum = asylum

• legislature

(n)an institution that has the power to make or pass laws

- The proposals before the legislature include the creation of two special courts to deal exclusively with violent crimes.

• truce

(n)an agreement between enemies to stop fighting or arguing for a short time, or the period for which this is arranged, ceasefire.

- They agreed to call a truce.
- There was an uneasy truce between Alex and Dave over dinner.

• animate

(adj)living
(v)to give life or energy to something

- Natural philosophy involved the study of all aspects of the material world, animate and inanimate.
- Laughter animated his face for a moment.

• wretched

(adj)someone who is wretched is very unhappy or ill, and you feel sorry for them
(adj)Someone who feels wretched feels very unhappy
(adj)You use wretched to describe someone or something that you dislike or feel angry with
(adj)extremly bad or unpleasant; miseralbe

- the poor, wretched girl
- I feel really wretched and confused.
- Wretched woman, he thought, why the hell cannot she wait?
- I was shocked to see their wretched living conditions.

• formidable

(adj)very powerful or impressive, and often frightening

- The new range of computers have formidable processing power.
- The building is grey, formidalbe, not at all picturesque.

• picturesque

(adj)a picturesque place is pretty and interesting in an old-fashioned way.
(adj)picturesque languages uses unusual, interesting, or sometimes rude words to describe something
(n)picturesque things

- a quiet fishing village with a picturesque harbour
- a picturesque account of his trip to New York
- lovers of the picturesque

• thence

(adj)from there or following that

- We went to Trieste, and thence by train to Prague.
- the conversion of sunlight into heat and thence into electricity

• posterity

(n)all the people in the future who will be alive

- a priceless work of art that must be kept for posterity

• diligent

(adj)someone who is diligent works hard and is careful and thorough

- a diligent student

• skilful

(adj) = skillful(American)

• offspring

(n)a person's children or an animal's young

- Eleanor was now less anxious about her offspring than she had once been.
- a young mother trying to control her offspring

• approximate

(adj)close but not exact
(v)to be close to a particular number
(v)to be similar to but not exactly the same as something

- This figure approximates to a quarter of the UK's annual consumption.
- Your story only approximates to the real facts.

• antecedent

(n)An antecedent of something happened or existed before it and was similar to it in some ways.

- We shall first look briefly at the historical antecedents of this theory.

• frugal

(adj)careful to buy only what is necessary; (oppo)extravagant
frugality(n)

- He led a remarkably frugal existence.

• henceforth

(adv)from this time on

- never to permit the child henceforth to enter his former home

• sanitary

(adj)relating to the ways that dirt, infection, and waste are removed, so that places are clean and healthy for people to live in
(adj)clean and not causing any danger to people's health

- Diseases were spread through poor sanitary conditions.
- Often, the camps were not very sanitary.

• hereditary

(adj)A hereditary characteristic or illness is passed on to a child from its parents before it is born
(adj)A title or position in society that is hereditary is one that is passed on as a right from parent to child

- a hereditary disease
- The position of the head of the state is hereditary.

• serf

(n)In former times, serfs were a class of people who had to work on a particular person's land and could not leave without that person's permission

• squalor

(n)the condition of being dirty and unpleasant because of a lack of care or money

- He was out of work and living in squalor.

• aristocracy

(n)a class of people in some countries who have a high social rank and special titles.

- a member of the aristocracy 

• rabble

(n)a noisy crowd of people who seem likely to cause trouble

- a rabble of angry youths

• destitute

(adj)having no money, no food, no home, etc
be destitute of sth: to be completely without something

- The floods left many people destitute.
- a man who is destitute of mercy

• sedition

(n)speech, writing, or actions intended to encourage people to disobey a government

- Government officials charged him with sedition.

• ordinance

(n)a law, usually of a city or town, that forbids or restricts an activity

- a city ordinance that says park must be closed at 11 p.m.
- a wise ordinance of Nature

• wax

(v)to become larger, more powerful, etc

- The moon is waxing.

• wane

(v)If something wanes, it becomes gradually weaker or less, often so that it eventually disappears.

- My enthusiasm for the project was waning.
- Interest in the show has waxed and waned.

• perish

(v)to die, especially in a terrible or sudden way.

- Hundreds perished when the ship went down.
- Most of the butterflies perish in the first frosts of autumn.

• annals

(n, pl)in the annals of sth, means in the whole history of sth

- one of the most unusual cases in the annals of crime
- He has become a legend in the annals of military history.

• mentor

(n)an experienced person who advises and helps a less experienced person
(v)to give someone help and advice over a period of time, especially help and advice related to their job

- Leon Sullivan was my mentor and my friend.
- He had mentored scores of younger doctors.

8th, Sep

• genome

(n)all the genes in one type of living thing

- the human genome

• kin

(n)your relatives

• kinship

(n)a family relationship
(n)a strong connection between people

- The ties of kinship may have helped the young man find his way in life.
- She evidently felt a sense of kinship with the woman.

• befriend

(v)to behave in a friendly way towards someone, especially someone who is younger or needs help

- They befriended me when I first arrived in London as a student.
- The film's about an elderly woman and a young nurse who befriends her.

• ancestry

(n)the members of your family who lived a long time ago

- Her mother is of German ancestry.
- Helen's family can trace their ancestry back to the 1700s.

• ethnic

(adj)relating to a particular race, nation, or tribe and their customs and traditions.
(adj)cooking, fashion etc from countries that are far away, which seems very different and unusual.

- The school teaches pupils from different ethnic groups.
- ethnic music, a magnificent range of ethnic fabrics

• see

(v)make sure that something is done

- See that you take care of her.

• disrupt

(v)to prevent something from continuing in its usual way by causing problems

- Climate change could disrupt the agricultural economy.
- Anti-war protestors disrupted the debate.

• disruptive

(adj)causing problems and preventing something from continuing in its usual way.

- way to handle disruptive pupils
- Alcohol can produce violence, disruptive behaviour.

• pick pace

(v)pick up speed

- Pick up the pace, guys - we are late.

9th, Sep

• abdicate

(v)to give up the position of begin king or queen
(v)to refuse to be responsible for something, when you should be or were before

- The king was forced to abdicate the throne.
- The government has largely abdicated its responsibility in dealing with housing needs.

• the writing is on the wall

mean that there are clear signs that something will fail or no longer exist

- The writing is on the wall for the local football club: bankruptcy seems certain.

• monarch

(n)a king or queen

- He was an absolute monarch.(arbitrary king)

• monarchy

(n)a system in which a country is ruled by a king or queen.
(n)a country that has a monarch

- a serious debate about the future of the monarchy
- Britain is a constitutional monarchy

• polarize

(v)to divide into clear separate groups with opposite beliefs, ideas, or opinions, or to make people do this

- The issue has polarized the country.
- As the car rental industry polarizes, business will go to the bigger companies.

• transcendence

(n)the quality of being able to go beyond normal limits or boundaries

- The Arab-American Society promotes the transcendence of racial and religious differences.

• infest

(v)if insects, rats etc infest a place, there are a lot of them and they usually cause damage
(v)if things or people you do not want infest a place, there are too many of them

- The prison is infested with rats.
- Crime and drugs are infesting the inner cities.
- an area infested with holiday homes

• downside

(n)The downside of a situation is the aspect of it which is less positive, pleasant, or useful than its other aspects.

- The downside of this approach is a lack of clear leadership.

10th, Sep

• symbolic

(adj)Something that is symbolic of a person or thing is regarded or used as a symbol of them.

- Yellow clothes are worn as symbolic of spring.
- Today's fighting is symbolic of the chaos which the country is facing.

• embody

(v)to be a very good example of an idea or quality, represent.

- She embodies everything I admire in a teacher.

• strive

(v)to make a great effort to achieve something

- We must continue to strive for greater efficiency.
- He strives hard to keep himself very fit.

• intrusive

(adj)affecting someone's private life or interrupting them in an unwanted and annoying way.

- They found the television cameras too intrusive.

• embodiment

(n)someone or sth that represents or is very typical of an idea of quality.

- He is the embodiment of evil.
- A baby is the embodiment of vulnerability.

• sweeping

(adj)affecting many things, or making an important difference to something.
(adj)sweeping statement: a statement etc that is too general and that does not consider all the facts.

- They want to make sweeping changes to education policies.
- sweeping generalizations about women drivers.

• reckless

(adj)not caring or worrying about the possible bad or dangerous results of your action.

- He was accused of causing death by reckless driving.
- a reckless disregard for safety
- He ran into the burning house with reckless abandon(= without caring about the danger).

• discern

(v)to notice or understand something by thinking about it carefully
(v)to be able to see something, but not clearly

- Officials are keen to discern how much public support there was.
- We could just discern a town in the distance.

• lame

(adj)unable to walk properly because your leg or foot is injured or weak.
(n)people who are lame
(adj)a lame excuse or explanation is weak and difficult to believe.

- She gave some lame excuse about missing the bus.
- "Lovely house!"I said lamely.

• scrutiny

(n)careful and thorough examination of someone or something.

- His private life came under media scrutiny.
- Careful scrutiny of the company's accounts revealed a whole series of errors.

• dearth

(n)a situation in which there are very few of something that people want or need.

- a dearth of job opportunties.
- Construction had slowed because of a dearth of labourers.

• collective

(adj)shared or made by every member of a group or society.
(n)A collective is a business or farm which is run, and often owned, by a group of people.

- a collective decision made by all board members.
- our collective responsiblity for the environment

• morale

(n)the level of confidence and positive feelings that people have, especially people who work together, who belong to the same team etc.

- The media feels pressure to keep the morale of the country up in war time.
- low staff morale
- A win is always good for morale.

• moral

(n)principles and beliefs concerning right and wrong behaviour.
(adj)relating to beliefs about what is right or wrong.

- If we accept that certain babies should be allowed to die, we place doctors in a moral dilemma.
- the corruption of public morals

• ethical

(adj)relating to principles of what is right and wrong, moral.
(adj)morally good or correct

- The use of animals in scientific tests raised difficult ethical questions.
- I don't think it's echical for you to accept a job you know you can't do.

• doctrine

(n)a set of beliefs that form an important part of a religion or system of ideas.
(n)a formal statement by a government about its future plans

- traditional doctrine of divine power
- the Marxist doctrine about perpetual revolution
- the announcement of the Truman Doctrine

11th, Sep

• cockroach

(n)(also roach)a large black or brown insect that lives in dirty houses, especially if they are warm and there is food to eat.

• idiom

(n)a group of words that has a special meaning that is different from the ordinary meaning of each separate words. For example, 'under the weather' is an idiom meaning 'ill'.

- familiar idioms and metaphors, such as 'turning over a new leaf'

• ethnicity

(n)the state or fact of belonging to a particular ethnic group.

- He said his ethnicity had not been important to him.

• discourse

(n)a serious speech or piece of writing on a particular subject
(n)serious conversation or discussion between people

- a discourse on art
- Candidates should engage in serious political discourse.
- "I do not know."And thus ended their discourse.

• assimilation

(n)the process of understanding and using new ideas.
(n)the process of becoming an accepted part of a country or group.

- The assimilation of ethnic Germans in the US was accelerated by the two world wars.
- Poor assimilation of vitamins and nutrients can cause health problems.

• mouthpiece

(n)the part of a musical instrument, telephone etc that you put in your mouth or next to your mouth.
(n)a person, newspaper etc that expresses the opinions of a government or a political organization.

- He shouted into the mouthpiece.
- This newspaper is just a Republican mouthpiece.

• literacy

(n)the state of being able to read and write

- a new adult literacy campaign
- Many adults have problems with literacy and numeracy.

• ascribe

(v)to claim that something is caused by a particular person, situation etc.
(v)to claim that something has been written, said, made etc by a particular person

- The report ascribes the rise in childhood asthma to the increase in pollution.
- a quotation that's often been ascribed to Marilyn Monroe

13th, Sep

• upfront

(adj)behaving or talking in an honest way so that people know what you really think, honest.
(adj)paid before any work has been done or before goods are supplied.
(adv)in the beginning

- Mo's very upfront with him about their relationship.
- an upfront fee of 500 dollars
- Every consumer should know upfront what it is going to cost them.

• eligible

(adj)some who is eligible for sth is able or allowed to do it, for example, because they are the right age.
(adj)an eligible man or woman is not yet married and is thought by many people to be a suitable partner.

- Almost half the population are eligible to vote in today's election.
- Students on a part-time course are not eligible for a loan.
- Stephen was regarded as an eligible bachelor.

• treasury

(n)a government department that controls the money that the country collects and spends.
(n)a place in a castle, church, palace etc where money or valuable objects are kept.

- a senior official at the Treasury

• exchequer

(n)the British government department that is responsible for collecting taxes and paying out public money, the Treasury.

- The industry claims it contributes to the Irish exchequer because it generates employment and wealth.

• chancellor

(n)a person in a position of the highest or high rank, especially in a government or university

- A former politician has been appointed Chancellor of the university.
- Helmut Kohl, the former German Chancellor 

14th, Sep

• roundabout

(n)a raised circular area where three or more roads join together and which cars must drive around.
(adj)a roundabout way of getting somewhere is longer and more complicated than necessary.
(adj)a roundabout way of saying something is not clear, direct or simple.

- Turn left at the first roundabout.
- It was a roundabout way of telling us to leave.
- The bus took a very long and roundabout route.

• workout

(n)a period of physical exercise, especially as training for a sport.

- a daily workout in the gym
- Give your upper body a workout by using handweights.

• genre

(n)a particular type of art, writing, music etc, which has certain features that all examples of this type share

- a new genre of film-making
- his love of films and novels in the horror genre

• fluctuate

(v)if a price or amount fluctuates, it keeps changing and becoming higher and lower.

- Insect populations fluctuate wildly from year to year.
- Prices were volatile, fluctuating between 20 and 40.

• bar

(n)all lawyers considered as a group, or the profession of law.

- sit for the bar: take part in the bar examination
- she was admitted to the bar in her early thirties.
- Less than a quarter of graduates from the law school pass the bar exam on the first try.

• guild

(n)an organization of people who do the same job or have the same interests.

- the Women's Guild
- the Writers' Guild of America

• hindrance

(n)something or someone that makes it difficult for you to do something.
(n)the act of making it difficult for someone to do something

- The higher rates have been a hindrance to economic recovery.
- The floods have been a major hindrance to relief efforts.
- Visitors are allowed to wander without hindrance.

• lucrative

(adj)a job or activity that is lucrative lets you earn a lot of money, profitable.

- He inherited a lucrative business from his father.
- Thousands of ex-army officers have found lucrative jobs in private security firms.

• upstart

(n)someone who behaves as if they were more important than they really are and who shows a lack of respect towards people who are more experienced and or older.

- Many prefer a familiar authority figure to a yound upstart.

• status quo

(n)the present situation

- Certain people always want to maintain the status quo.

• lone

(adj)used to talk about the only person or thing in a place, or the only person or thing that does something.

- the lone survivor of the shipwreck
- A lone figure was standing at the bus stop.

• outgrow

(v)to grow too big for something
(v)to no longer do or enjoy something that you used to, because you have grown older and changed

- They outgrew their clothes so quickly.
- Most children eventually outgrow a tendency towards travel sickness.

• liberal

(adj)willing to understand and respect other people's ideas, opinions, and feelings.
(adj)allowing people or organizations a lot of political or economic freedom
(adj)giving, using, or taking a lot of something, or existing in large quantities

- I had quite liberal parents.
- a liberal democracy with a multiparty political system
- As always he is liberal with jokes.
- Chemical products were used liberally over agricultural land.

• critical

(adj)if you are critical, you criticize someone or something.

- Many economists are highly critical of the government's economic policies.
- Many parents are strongly critical of the school.

• contemptuous

(adj)showing that you think someone or something deserves no respect.

- a contemptuous glance
- He's openly contemptuous of all the major political parties.

• set back

(v)if something sets you back or sets back a project or plan, it causes a delay.

- It has set us back in so many aspects that I'm not sure how long it will take for us to catch up.

• citizenry

(n)all the citizens in a particular town, country, or state.

- The country's citizenry is(are) more politically aware than in the past.

• propaganda

(n)information which is false or which emphasizes just one part of a situation, used by a government or political group to make people agree with them.

- the government propaganda machine
- the spreading of political propaganda

18th, Sep

• sift

(v)to put flour, sugar etc through a sieve or similar container in order to remove large pieces.
(v)to examine information, documents etc carefully in order to find something out or decide what is important and what is not.

- Sift the flour and baking powder into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Police are sifting through the evidence.
- It' hard to sift out the truth from the lies in this case.

• ornate

(adj)covered with a lot of decoration

- an ornate gold mirror
- an ornate iron staircase

• tentative

(adj)not definite or certain, and may be changed later.
(adj)done without confidence, hesitant

- I passed on my tentative conclusions to the police.
- The government is taking tentative steps towards tackling the country's economic problems.
- Albi knocked tentatively and entered.

• semaphore

(n)a system of sending messages using two flags, which you hold in different positions to represent letters and numbers

19th, Sep

• glitch

(n)a small fault in a machine or piece of equipment, that stops it working

- a software glitch
- Manufacturing glitches have limited the factory's output.

23rd, Sep

• akin

(adj)very similar to something

- Something akin to panic overwhelmed him.
- Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.

• hijack

(v)to use violence or threats to take control of a plane, vehicle, or ship.
(v)to take control of something and use it for your own purposes

- The airliner was hijacked by a group of terrorists.
- Some people think the party has been hijacked by right-wing extremists.

• satire

(n) a way of criticizing something such as a group of people or a system, in which you deliberately make them seem funny so that people will see their faults
(n)a piece of writing, film, play etc that uses this type of criticism.

- the characteristic use of satire in Jonson's work
- a satire on the American political process

• get cracking

(v)to start doing something quickly

- I'd better get cracking on the food for tonight.

• utopia

(n)an imaginary perfect world where everyone is happy

- When plans to rebuild the neighborhood were first announced, I’d been hoping for a utopia.

• asteroid

(n)one of the many planets that move around the Sun, especially between Mars and Jupiter

• envisage

(v)to think that something is likely to happen in the future

- The scheme cost a lot more than we had originally envisaged.
- It's hard to envisage how it might happen.

• fad

(n)something that people like to do for a short time, or that is fashionable for a short time.

- He doesn't believe environmental concern is a passing fad.

• rosy

(adj)seeming to offer hope of success or hapiness
(adj)pink

- The job prospects for those graduating in engineering are far less rosy now than they used to be.
- Letters to relatives in Europe painted a rosy picture of life in the United States.
- the kid's rosy cheeks

• enforce

(v)the make people obey a rule or law
(v)to make something happen or force someone to do something

- Parking restrictions will be strictly enforced.
- Governments make laws and the police enforce them.
- It is unlikely that a record company would enforce its views on an established artists.

• statute

(n)a law passed by a council, parliament etc and formally written down
(n)a formal rule of an institution or organization

- Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.
- College statutes forbid drinking on campus.

• check

(v)to stop something bad from getting worse or continuing to happen

- The police are failing to take adequate measures to check the growth in crime.

• to the letter

(adv)if you obey instructions or rules to the letter, you do exactly what you have been told to do, giving great attention to every detail.

- I followed the instructions to the letter and it still went wrong.

• envision

(v)to imagine something that you think might happen in the future, especially something that you think will be good, envisage.

- I envisioned a future of educational excellence.
- The company envisions adding at least five stores next year.

• fashion

(v)to make or shape something, using your hands or only a few tools

- He fashioned a box from a few old pieces of wood.

• flourish

(v)to develop well and be successful
(v)to grow well and be very healthy

- The economy is booming and small businesses are flourishing.
- Most plants will flourish in the rich deep soils here.

• eradicate

(v)to completely get rid of something such as a disease or a social problem.

- an attempt to eradicate inflation
- a significant contribution towards the eradication of corruption

• radical

(adj)a radical change or difference is very big and important
(adj)believing or expressing the belief that there should be great or extreme social or political change.

- He was known as a radical reformer.
- They are proposing radical changes to the way the company is run.
- There are radical differences between the two organizations.

• paraphrase

(v)to express in a shorted, clearer, or different way what someone has said or written.

- To paraphrase President Bush, we must restore confidence in our economic sector.

• enact

(v)to put something into action, especially to make something law
(v)to perform a story or play by acting

- The authorities have failed so far to enact a law allowing unrestricted emigration.
- a project that is to be enacted next year
- She often enacted the stories told to her by her father.

24th, Sep

• demographics

(n)the number and characteristics of people who live in a particular area or form a particular group, especially in relation to their age, how much money they have and what they spend it on

- The demographics of the country have changed dramatically in recent years.
- demographic change

• stem

(v)to stop something from happening, spreading, or developing.
(V)to stop the flow of liquid

- The measures are meant to stem the tide of illegal immigration.
- an attempt to stem the decline in profits
- A tight bandage should stem the bleeding.

• up in arms

angry or upset

- The union is up in arms over the reduction in health benefits.

30th, Sep

• legitimacy

(n)the quality of being legal

- The lawyers expressed serious doubts about the legitimacy of military actions.

• impartial

(adj)not involved in a particular situation, and therefore able to give a fair opinion or piece of advice

- A trial must be fair and impartial.
- The state must ensure the independence and impartiality of the justice system.

• code of conduct

(n)a set of rules about how to behave and do business with other people

- Doctors say a new code of conduct is urgently needed to protect the doctor-patient relationship.

• judiciary

(n)the part of a country's government that is responsible for its legal system, including all the judges in the country's courts

- The judiciary must think hard before jailing nonviolent offenders.

• ideological

(adj)based on strong beliefs or ideas, especially political or economic ideas

- The party is split by ideological differences.
- There are some fairly profound ideological disagreements within the movement.

• dismiss

(v)to refuse to consider someone's idea, opinion, etc, because you think it is not serious, true, or important.

- The government has dismissed criticisms that the country's health policy is a mess.
- He just laughed and dismissed my proposal as unrealistic.

• address

(v)if you address a problem, you start trying to solve it.

- Our products address the needs of real users.
- The government has to address the rise in violent crimes.

• accountable

(adj)responsible for the effects of your actions and willing to explain or be criticised for them

- The hospital should be held accountable for the quality of care it gives.
- Managers must be accountable to their decisions.
- The government should be accountable to all the people of the country.

2nd, October

• contend

(v)to compete against someone in order to gain something
(v)to argue or state that something is true

- Inevitably, fights break out between the members of the contending groups.
- the two main groups contending for power
- Some astronomers contend that the universe may be younger than previously thought.

• perceptive

(adj)someone who is perceptive notices things quickly and understands situations, people's feelings etc well

- highly perceptive comments
- He was one of the most perceptive U.S. political commentators.

• spot-on

(adj)exactly right

- Judith is always spot-on with her advice.

• virtuous

(adj)behaving in a very honest and moral way.(oppo) wicked

- Sue considered herself very virtuous because she neither drank nor smoked.
- steer yound men in virtuous directions

• abide

(v)used to say that someone dislikes someone or something very much
(v)abide by: to accept and obey a decision, agreement etc, even though you may not agree with it

- I can't abide that man -- he's so self-satisfied.
- You have to abide by the referee's decision.

3rd, October

• reaffirm

(v)to formally state an opinion, belief, or intention agian, especially when someone has questioned you or expressed a doubt

- The party reaffirmed its commitment to nuclear disarmament.
- The government has reaffirmed that education is a top priority.

• disarmament

(n)the act of reducing the number of weapons, especially nuclear weapons, that a country has.

- The goal would be to increase political stability in the region and accelerate the pace of nuclear disarmament.

• dishonour

(v)to refuse to keep an agreement or promise

- The government has been accused of dishonouring its pledge to upgrade London's underground network.

• pledge

(n)s serious promise or agreement, especially one made publicly or officially.
(v)to make a formal, usually public promise that you will do something, promise.

- the government's pledge to make no deals with terrorists
- Eisenhower fulfilled his election pledge to end the war.
- The new governor pledged to reduce crime.
- He pledged his cooperation.

• evade

(v)to avoid talking about something, especially because you are trying to hide something.
(v)to not do or deal with something that you should do
(v)to avoid paying money that you ought to pay, for example tax.

- I could tell he was trying to evade the issue.
- The minister evaded the question.
- You can't go on evading your responsibilities in this way.
- Employers will always try to find ways to evade tax.

• patchwork

(n)a type of sewing in which many coloured squares of cloth are stitched together to make one large piece
(n)something that is made up of a lot of different things

- beds covered in patchwork quilts
- a patchwork of woods and fields, typical of the English countryside
- The area was a patchwork of local industries.

• defy

(v)to refuse to obey a rule or law, or refuse to do what someone in authority tells you to do, disobey
(v)defy description/analysis/belief etc: to be almost impossible to describe or understand

- This was my first (and last) time that I dared to defy my mother.
- The beauty of the scene defies description

• stake

at stake: if something is at stake, it is being risked and might be lost or damaged if you are not successful.
(n)the stakes involved in in a contest or a risky action are the things that can be gained or lost
(v)if you stake something such as your money or your reputation on the result of something, you risk your money or reputation on it.
(n)if you have a stake in a business, you have invested money in it.
have a stake in sth: if you have a stake in something, you will get advantages if it's successful, and you feel you have an important connection with it.

- The tension was naturally high for a game with so much at stake.
- The game was usually played for high stakes between two large groups.
- He has staked his political future on an election victory.
- He holds a 51% stake in the firm.
- Young people don't feel they have a stake in the country's future.

• laureate

(n)someone who has been given an important prize or honour, especially the nobel prize

- Nigeria's Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka.

• hardline

(adj)firm and uncompromising

- a hardline politician

• rally

(n)a large public meeting, especially one that is held outdoors to support a political idea, protest etc.
(v)to come together, or to bring people together, to support an idea, a political party etc.
(v)to return to a better condition

- 5,000 people held an anti-nuclear rally
- We decided to hold a rally to put pressure on the government.
- The general rallied his forces to defend the town.
- The president has called on the people to rally behind the government.
- The nurse said my mother had rallied after a poor night.
- The team played badly in the first half of the game but rallied in the second.

• clamp

(v)to hold two things together using a clamp
(v)to put or hold something in a position so that it cannot move
(v)to put limits on what someone is allowed to do
(v)clamp down: to take firm action to stop a particular type of crime

- She clamped her hands over her ears.
- The President clamped sanctions on the island after the bomb attack.
- The police are clamping down on drink-driving offenders.

• teamster

(n)someone whose job is to drive a truck

• egregious

(adj)extremely bad in a way that is very noticeable.

- the most egregious abuses of human rights
- It was an egregious error for a statesman to show such ignorance.

• ignorant

(adj)not knowing facts or information that you ought to know

- Political historians are often rather ignorant of economics.
- an ignorant and uneducated man

• resort

(n)last/final resort: what you will do if everything else fails
(v)resort to: to do something bad, extreme, or difficult because you cannot think of any other way to deal with a problem

- Drug treatment should only be used as a last resort.
- Nuclear weapons should be used only as a last resort.
- Officials fear that extremists may resort to violence.
- His punishing work schedule had made him resort to drugs.

• constituent

(n)one of the substances or things that combine to form something
(n)someone who votes in a particular area
(adj)being one of the parts of something

- Oxygen is a constituent of air.
- He told his constituents that he would continue to represent them to the best of his ability.
- Let's look at the constituent parts of this sentence.
- the EU and its constituent members

• superfluous

(adj)more than is needed or wanted, unnecessary

- a modern building with no superfluous decoration

4th, October

• sanction

(n)official orders or laws stopping trade, communication etc with another country, as a way of forcing its leaders to make political changes
(n)official permission, approval, or acceptance

- a resolution to impose sanctions on DPRK
- the threat of trade sanctions
- a newspaper run by citizens without the sanction of the government

11th, October

• tone

(n)how firm and strong your muscles or skin are

- A regular brisk walk will improve muscle tone.

• brisk

(adj)quick and full of energy
(adj)quick, pratical, and showing that you want to get things done quickly
(adj)trade or business that is brisk is very busy, with a lot of products being sold
(adj)weather that is brisk is cold and clear

- They set off at a brisk pace.
- Her tone of voice is brisk.
- The public bar was already doing a brisk trade.
- a typically brisk winter's day on the south coast

• conceivable

(adj)able to be believed or imagined

- It is conceivable that you may get full compensation, but it's not likely.
- We were discussing the problems from every conceivable angle.
- Conceivably, interest rates could rise very high indeed.

• subconscious

(adj)subconscious feelings, desires, etc are hidden in your mind and affect your behavious, but you do not know that you have them

- a subconscious fear of failure
- Subconciously, he blames himself for the accident.

• acclaim

(v)to praise someone or something publicly.
(n)public praise for something or someone

- His work was acclaimed by art critics.
- Their recordings have won great acclaim.

• hooray

shouted when you are very glad about something

• sober

(adj)not drunk
(adj)serious, and thinking or making you think carefully about things.
(adj)plain and not at all brightly coloured

- He's a nice guy when he's sober.
- a sober, hard-working yound man
- It was a room filled with sober faces.
- He dressed in sober grey suits.

• hitherto

(adv)up to this time

- a species of fish hitherto unknown in the west

• damn sb with faint praise

(v)to praise someone so slightly that it suggests you do not really adimre them

- He was so jealous of his colleague's talent that he tried to damn him with faint praise.

• inferior

(adj)not good, or as good as someone or something else, opp superior
(adj)lower in rank

- I felt inferior among all those academics.
- wine of inferior quality
- Their performance was inferior to that of other teams.
- an inferior court of law
- He refused to accept a job of inferior status.

• philharmonic

used in the names of musical groups, especially orchestras

- He will conduct the Berlin Philharmonic in the final concert of the season.
- the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

• vibrant

(adj)full of activity or energy in a way that is exciting and attractive, lively
(adj)a vibrant colour is bright and strong

- Tom felt himself being drawn towards her vibrant personality.
- a painting full of vibrant reds and blues

12th, October

• cloak

(v)to deliberately hide facts, feelings etc so that people do not see or understand them -- used especially in news report
(v)to cover something, for example with darkness or snow
(n)

- He has always kept his love affairs cloaked in secrecy.
- hills cloaked in mist
- prejustice hiding under the cloak of religion
- The political party is used as a cloak for terrorist activities.

• pronouncement

(n)an official public statement

- the Pope's last pronouncement on birth control
- the President's lastest pronouncement about the protection of minorities

• turbulent

(adj)a turbulent situation or period of time is one in which there are a lot of sudden changes
(adj)turbulent air or water moves around a lot

- the turbulent times of the French Revolution
- He has had a turbulent political career.
- the dark turbulent waters of the river

• abound

(v)to exist in very large numbers

- Stories abound about when he was in charge.
- The forests abound with deer, birds, and squirrels.

• deputy

(n)someone who is directly below another person in rank, and who is officially in charge when that person is not there

- the deputy Secretary of State

• turnover

(n)the amount of business done during a particular period, profit
(n)the rate at which people leave an organization and are replaced by others

- The company had a turnover of $3.8 million.
- Short-term contracts increase staff turnover.
- Low pay accounts for the high turnover.

• spur

(n)a fact or event that makes you try harder to do something
(n)a sharp pointed object on the heel of a rider’s boot which is used to encourage a horse to go faster
(v)to encourage someone or make them want to do something
(v)to make an improvement or change happen faster, encourage

- We would often decide what to play on the spur of the moment.
- a belief in competition as a spur to efficiency
- The band were spurred on by the success of their last two singles.
- Lower taxes would spur investment and help economic growth.

• leverage

(n)the action or advantage of using a lever
(n)influence that you can use to make people do what you want
(v)to use borrowed money to buy an investment or company
(v)to use something you already have in order to achieve something new or better

- If the United Nations had more troops in the area, it would have greater leverage.
- We can gain a market advantage by leveraging our network of partners.
- He might feel that leveraging the company at a time when he sees tremendous growth opportunities would be a mistake. 

• infancy

(n)the period of a child's life before they can walk or talk
(n)the time when something is just starting to be developed

- In the past, many children died in infancy.
- Computing science was still in its infancy.

• harassment

(n)when someone behaves in an unpleasant or threatening way towards you

- African Americans have been complaining about police harassment for years.
- Political paries are banned, and harassment of dissidents is commonplace.

• allegation

(n)a statement that someone has done something wrong or illegal, but that has not been proved.

- Mr Singh has strongly denied the allegations of sexual harassment.
- A committee will investigate the allegations of racial discrimination.

• stakeholder

(n)someone who has invested money into something, or who has some important connection with it, and therefore is affected by its success or failure

- Citizens should be stakeholders in the society they live in.

• boycott

(v)to refuse to buy something, use something, or take part in something as a way of protesting

- We boycott all products tested on animals.

• alleviate

(n)to make something less painful or difficult to deal with

- measures to alleviate poverty
- a new medicine to alleviate the symptoms of flu

• kitten

(n)a yound cat

• madonna

(n)Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the Christian religion

- a picture of the Modonna

• newsstand

(n)a place on a street where newspapers and magazines are sold

- Eight new national newspapers have appeared on the newsstands since 1981.

• procreate

(n)to produce children or bady animals, reproduce

- Most yound women feel a biological need to procreate.
- Early marriage and procreation are no longer discouraged there.

• glamorous

(adj)attractive, exciting, and related to wealth and success

- She led an exciting and glamorous life.
- the most glamorous neighbourhood in the city

• retrospect

(n)thinking back to a time in the past, especially with the advantage of knowing more now than you did then

- In retrospect, I wonder if we should have done more.

• soothe

(v)to make someone feel calmer and less anxious, upset or angry
(v)to make a pain become less severe, or slowly disappear
(adj)soothing

- Lucy soothed the baby by rocking it in her arms.
- She made a cup of tea to soothe her nerves.
- Massage can gently soothe away your aches and pains.

18th, October

• econometrics

(n)the application of mathematical and statistical techniques to economic problems and theories

• mischievous

(adj)someone who is mischievous likes to have fun, especially by playing tricks on people or doing things to annoy or embarrass them.

- Their sons are noisy and mischievous.
- Gabby looked at him with a mischievous grin.
- There was a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

• allege

(v)to say that something is true or that someone has done something wrong, although it has not been proved.

- It was alleged that the policeman had accepted bribes.
- The prosecution alleged that the man had been responsible for an act of terrorism.
- The water is alleged to be polluted with mercury.

• prosecution

(n)when a charge is made against someone for a crime, or when someone is judged for a crime in a court of law
(n)the lawyers who try to prove in a court of law that someone is guilty of a crime
(n)when you do something that is your job

- a criminal prosecution
- The evidence is not sufficient to bring a prosecution against him.
- Walters could face prosecution for his role in the robbery.
- the chief witness for the prosecution
- the prosecution of her duties

• pin down

(v)if you try to pin something down, you try to discover exactly what, where, or when it is.

- It has taken until now to pin down it exact location.
- The fire department is trying to pin down the cause of Wednesday's fire.

• duly

(adv)in the proper or expected way
(adv)at the proper time or as expected

- Here are your travel documents, all duly signed.
- The Queen duly appeared on the balcony to wave to the crowds. 

• shop floor

(n)the area in a factory where the ordinary workers do their work
(n)the ordinary workers in a factory, not the managers

- The chairwoman started her working life on the shop floor.
- negotiations between the shop floor and management

• be subject to

to have or experience a particular thing, especially something unpleasant
only able to happen if something else happens

- Cars are subject to high domestic tax.
- In recent years, she has been subject to attacks of depression.
- We plan to go on Wednesday, subject to your approval.
- Moving all the books should not take long, subject to there being enough helpers.

19th, October

• inexorable

(adj)an inexorable process cannot be stopped, unstoppable

- the inexorable decline of Britain's manufacturing industry
- the seemingly inexorable rise in crime

• save

(adv)except

- She answered all the questions save one.
- Little is known about his early life, save that he had a brother.

• headlong

(adj, adv)with great speed or without thinking
(adj)moving forward with your head first

- In the headlong rush to buy houses, many people got into debt.
- a headlong plunge into the lake

• prose

(n)language in its usual form, as opposed to poetry

- I've always preferred reading prose to poetry.

• stylist

(n)a person whose job is to arrage, shape, or design something, such as a person's hair
(n)a writer who has a good writing style and chooses the words they use very carefully

- She gave up a career as a fashion stylist to rear two daughters.
- She's no stylist, but she writes very exciting stories.

• scale back

(v)to reduce something in size, amount, or production

- Sid will have to scale back his plans.
- Some firms may scale back their expansion plans in the region as a result of the downturn.

20th, October

• conditioning

(n)the process by which people or animals are trained to behave in a particular way when particular things happen.

- Social conditioning makes crying more difficult for men.
- Conditioning starts as soon as boys are given guns to play with and girls are given dolls.

• wistful

(adj)thinking sadly about something you would like to have but cannot have, especially something that you used to have in the past

- a wistful smile
- "That's the house where I was born," she said wistfully.
- A child stood looking with wistful eyes at the toys in the shop window.

• inconclusive

(adj)not giving or having a result or decision

- The medical tests were inconclusive, and will need to be repeated.
- The evidence is inconclusive, and no arrest is warranted.

• spontaneous

(adj)something that is spontaneous has not been planned or organized, but happens by itself, or because you suddenly feel you want to do it.

- The crowd gave a spontaneous cheer.
- My spontaneous reaction was to run away.

• better still

used to say that a particular choice would be more satisfactory

- Why don't you give her a call or, better still, go and see her?

• herd

(n)a group of animals of one kind that live and feed together
(n)people generally, especially when thought of as being easily influenced by others

- a herd of cattle
- herds of elephants
- You have to be an individual; it's no use running with the herd.

• hawk

(n)a large bird that hunts and eats small birds and animals.
(v)to try to sell goods, usually by going from place to place and trying to persuade people to buy them.

- On every street corner there were traders hawking their wares.

• deride

(v)to make remarks or jokes that show you think someone or something is silly or useless, mock

- You shouldn't deride their efforts.
- The party was derided as totally lacking in ideas.

• preoccupation

(n)a state when someone thinks or worries about something a lot, with the result that they do not pay attention to other things.
(n)something that you give all your attention to

- the current preoccupation with sex and scandal
- The management's preoccupation with costs and profits resulted in a drop in quality and customer service.
- Their main preoccupation was how to feed their families.

• superstitious

(adj)based on or believing in superstitions(belief based on old ideas about luck and magic rather than science and reason)

- the old superstition that walking under a ladder is unlucky
- A wave of superstitious fear spread among the townpeople.
- Jean was extremely superstitious and believed the colour green brought bad luck.

• sermon

(n)a talk given as part of a Christian church service, usually on a religious or moral subject.

- Today's sermon was on the importance of compassion.
- deliver a sermon

27th, October

• independently of

- The person appointed here shall act independently of the Board.

• rare bird

(n)an unusual person

- He's that rare bird, a bartender who doesn't drink alcohol.

• bartender

(n)someone who makes and serves drinks in a bar

• sb/sth in question

the person or thing that is being discussed

- I stayed at home on the night in question.

• disproportionate

(adj)too large or small in comparison to something else, or not deserving its importance or influence

- There are disproportionate number of girls in the class.
- The country's great influence in the world is disproportionate to its relatively small size.

• put sth down to sth

(v)to think that a problem or situation is caused by a particular thing

- I put the children's bad behaviour down to the fact that they were tired.
- She did seem rather unhappy, but I just put it down to the pressure she was under at work.

• affirm

(v)to state something as true
(v)to publicly show your support for an opinion or idea

- She affirmed her intention to apply for the post.
- The government has affirmed its commitment to equal rights.

28th, October

• susceptible

(adj)easily influenced or harmed by something
(adj)used to describe someone who is easily emotionally influenced

- These plants are particularly susceptible to frost.
- She isn't very susceptible to flattery.
- They persuade susceptible teenagers to part with their money.

• psychiatrist

(n)a doctor who treats people suffering from mental illness.

• affiliation

(n)a connection with a political party or religion, or with a larger organization.

- Their lack of affiliation to any particular bank allows them to give objective financial advice.
- The kidnappers had no affiliation with any military group.

• substantial

(adj)large in size, value or importance

- The findings show a substantial difference between the opinions of men and women.
- She inherited a substantial fortune from her grandmother.

• bipedal

(adj)walking on two legs, or relating to this movement

- He was facinated by the gaint, bipedal ape.
- Some dinosaurs were capable of bipedal walking.

• bedrock

(n)the solid rock in the ground which supports all the soil above it.
(n)the bedrock of something is the principles, ideas, or facts on which it is based.

- Mutual trust is the bedrock of a relationship.
- We believe in religious freedom as a bedrock principle of our democracy.

• railroad

(v)to force something to happen or force someone to do something, especially quickly or unfairly.

- We were railroaded into signing the agreement.
- He more or less railroaded the rest of the Europe into recognising the new "independent" states.

• substantiate

(v)to show something to be true, or to support a claim with facts.

- We have evidence to substantiate the allegations against him.
- Reports that children had been hurt have not been substantiated.

• chauvinistic

(adj)believing or showing an unreasonable belief that your own country or race is the best or most important.
(adj)believing that or behaving as if women are naturally less important, intelligent, or able than men.

- It is a deeply chauvinistic community where the few women who have jobs are ridiculed.

• prod

(v)to push something or someone with your finger or with a pointed object.
(v)to encourage someone to take action, especially when they are being slow or unwilling.

- I prodded her in the back to get her attention.
- She prodded the cake with her fork to see if it was cooked.
- He gets things done, but only after I've prodded him into doing them.

4th, November

• plea

(n)an urgent and emotional request
(n)the answer that a person gives in court when they have been accused of committing a crime.

- They made a desperate plea for help.
- The president has made an emotional plea for the killing to stop.
- The prisoner entered a plea of not guilty.

• sovereign

(n)a king or queen
(adj)having the highest power or being completely independent.

- Sovereign power is said to lie with the people in some countries, and with a ruler in others.
- We must respect the rights of sovereign states to conduct their own affairs.

• viable

(adj)able to work as intended or able to succeed.

- In order to make the company viable, it will unfortunately be necessary to reduce staffing levels.
- She's going to have to cut costs to maintain the viability of her business.

• regime

(n)a particular government or a system or method of government.
(n)a particular way of operating or organising a business, etc.

- the collapse of the Fascist regime at the end of the war
- The old, corrupt, totalitarian regime was overthrown.
- The regime in this office is hard work and more hard work.

• tribute

(n)something that you say, or give that shows your respect and admiration for someone, especially on a formal occasion.

- Tributes have been pouring in from all over the world for the famous actor who died yesterday.

• totalitarian

(adj)of or being a political system in which those in power have complete control and do not allow people freedom to oppose them.

- a totalitarian regime

• egalitarian

(adj)believing that all people are equally important and should have the same rights and opportunities in life.

- I still believe in the notion of an egalitarian society

• temper

(v)to make something less strong, extreme, etc.

- My enthusiasm for the venture was tempered by my knowledge of the hard work that would be involved.
- I learned to temper my criticism.

8th, November

• quirk

(n)an unusual habit or part of someone's personality, or something that is strange and unexpected

- You have to get used to other people's quirks and foibles.
- By some strange quirk, we ended up on the same train.

• foible

(n)a small fault or foolish habit

- We all have our little foibles.

• astrological

(adj)involving or relating to astrology(the belief that the positions of the sun, moon, planets, and stars affect people's lives and character)

- He likes to talk about his astrological sign, which is Leo.

• confer

(v)to exchange ideas on a particular subject, ofter in order to reach a decision on what action to take.
(v)to give an official title, honour or advantage to someone

- I need some time to confer with my lawyer.
- An honorary doctorate was conferred on him by Columbia University.
- Certain astrological signs confer superior soccer skills.

• doctorate

(n)the highest degree from a university

- She has a doctorate in physics from Yale.

• stamina

(n)the physical or mental strength to do something that might be difficult and will take a long time.

- The triathlon is a great test of stamina.
- You have to have a lot of stamina to be top-class dancer.

• mania

(n)a very strong interest in something that fills a person's mind or uses up all their time.

- The article describes the religious mania that is sweeping the US.
- Van Gogh suffered from acute persecution mania.

• persecution

(n)unfair or cruel treatment over a long period of time because of race, religion or political beliefs.

- refugees escaping from political persecution
- the persecution of minorities

• swamp

(n)an area of very wet, soft land
(v)to cover a place or thing with a large amount of water
(v)if something swamps a person, system or place, more of it arrives than can be easily dealt with.

- an alligator-infested swamp
- High tides have swamped the coast.
- The boat was swamped by an enormous wave.
- Foreign cars have swamped the UK market.
- I'm swamped with work at the moment.
- Don't let feelings of depression swamp you.

• entail

(v)to make something necessary, or to involve something.

- Such a large investment inevitably entails some risk.
- Repairing the roof will entail spending a lot of money.

• hysteria

(n)extreme fear, excitement, anger etc. that cannot be controlled

- One woman, close to hysteria, grabbed my arm.

• overlook

(v)to provide a view of, especially from above
(v)to fail to notice or consider something or someone

- Our hotel room overlooked the harbour.
- I think there is one key fact that you have overlooked.

• nurture

(v)to feed or care for a child, or to help someone or something develop by encouraging that person or thing.
(n)the way in which children are treated as they are growing, especially as compared with the characteristics they are born with.

- Which do you believe has the strongest influence on how children develop -- nature or nurture.
- As a record company director, his job is to nurture yound talent.
- a carefully nurtured garden

• take to

(v)to start doing something often

- She was so depressed that she took to drink.
- He's taken to staying out very late.

• vaunt

(v)to speak proudly about or praise something, especially in a way that is more than acceptable or reasonable.

- The local people like to vaunt the glories of their faded past.
- His much vaunted new plan has serious weaknesses.

11th, November

• shelter

(n)(a building designed to give) protection from bad weather, danger or attack

- They opened a shelter to provide temporary housing for the city's homeless.
- a shelter for homeless women

• comprehensive

(adj)complete and including everything that is necessary

- He has writen a fully comprehensive guide to Rome.
- We offer you a comprehensive training in all aspects of the business.

• coordination

(n)the act of making all the people involved in a plan or activity work together in an organized way.

- the lack of coordination between the civilian and military authorities

• package deal

(n)a set of arrangements that must be accepted together and not separately.
(n)the offer of a low price if several things are bought together.

- The package deal under discussion will require every country to be flexible on its immigration laws.
- Many small hotels offer accommodation and breakfast as a package deal.

18, November

• justify

(v)to show that something is reasonable, right or true.

- Her fears of a low voter turnout were justified when fewer than half of the people voted.
- She said that there was no justification for such a rude behaviour.

• turnout

(n)the number of people who are present at an event, especially the number who go to vote at an election.

- Good weather on polling day should ensure a good turnout.

• dim

(adj)not very clever

- He's a nice guy, but a little dim.

• corporate

(adj)relating to a business, especially a large business.
Corporate America: used to refer to large companies that have a lot of influence in the economy of the US.

- Analysts are expecting share prices to fall in the first quarter of next year because of poor corporate earnings.

• put sb on notice

(v)to warn someone offically that something is going to happen, or could possibly happen.

- The facility was put on notice that its funding was in danger if improvements were not carried out.

• compliance

(n)the act of obeying an order, rule or request.

- It is the job of the inspectors to enforce compliance with the regulations.
- We've been working hard to remain in compliance with all air pollution control laws.

• feeble

(adj)weak and without energy, strength or power.

- He was a feeble, helpless old man.
- Opposition to the plan was rather feeble.
- a feeble joke/excuse

• pink slip

(n)a document given to an employee to tell them that they do not have a job any longer.

- Eastern Airlines shut down operations at midnight, and 18,000 employees were given their pink slips.

• outlive

(v)to live or exist longer than someone or something.

- He outlived all of his brothers.

• deductible

(adj)a deductible expense is a cost that you can subtract from the earnings on which you have to pay income tax.
(n)a part of the cost of an accident, injury etc that you agree to pay yourself when you buy insurance.

- Expenses like office phone bills are tax-deductible.
- Customers can lower insurance premiums by taking higher deductibles.

• odds

(n)the probability that a particular thing will or will not happen.

- If you drive a car all your life, the odds are that you'll have an accident at some point.

• attendant

(adj)coming with a stated thing or resulting from it.

- debt and its attendant problems
- There are too many risks attendant on such a large investment of money.

• eightfold

(adj, adv)eight times as big or as much

- an eightfold increase
- Drug-related crimes jumped eightfold.

• elude

(v)if something that you want eludes you, you do not succeed in achieving it.
(v)if a piece of information eludes you, you cannot remember it.
(v)if you elude someone or something, you avoid them or escape from them.

- Sleep eluded her.
- They had minor breakthroughs but real success eluded them.
- I know who you mean but her name eludes me.
- He eluded the police for 13 years.

• encompass

(v)to include different types of things.

- The festival is to encompass everything from music, theatre and ballet to literature, cinema and the visual arts.

• chronological

(adj)following the order in which a series of events happened

- Give me the dates in chronological order.
- I have arranged these stories in chronological order.
- The exhibition is organized chronologically.

• toil

(v)to work hard
(n)hard work, especially work that makes you feel physically tired.

- People who toiled in dim factories were too exhausted to enjoy their family life.
- Well, after a day's toil in the office I like to relax a little.

24th, November

• deteriorate

(v)to become worse

- She was taken to hospital last week when her condition suddenly deteriorated.
- There are fears that the situation might deteriorate into full-scale war.
- concern about the rapid deterioration in relations between the two countries

• divisive

(adj)tending to cause disagreements that seperate people into opposing groups.

- The Vietnam War was an extremely divisive issue in the US.

• seethe

(v)to feel very angry but to be unable or unwilling to express it clearly.

- The rest of the class positively seethed with indignation when Julia won the award.
- She took it calmly at first but under the surface she was seething.

• uniformity

(n)the quality or fact of being the same, or of not changing or being different in any way.

- We do not seek to impose uniformity on every single decision that is made.
- He argues that we need statewide uniformity.

• deference

(n)respect or politeness.

- He treats her with such a deference.
- She covered her head in deference to Muslim custom.

• in a row

(adv)one after another without a break

- She's been voted Best Actress three years in a row.

• worthy

(adj)deserving respect, admiration or support.

- Every year she makes a large donation to a worthy cause.

• sandal

(n)a light shoe, especially worn in warm weather, consisting of a bottom part held onto the foot by straps.

- a pair of open-toed sandals

• fishery

(n)an area of water where fish are caught so that they can be sold.

- an offshore fishery

• daffodil

(n)a yellow, bell-shaped flower with a long stem that is commonly seen in the spring.

• massacre

(n)an act of killing a lot of people
(n)a bad defeat, especially in a sport.
(v)

- He ordered the massacre of 2,000 women and children.
- The manager resigned after the team's 7-2 massacre in the final.
- Hundreds of cilivians were massacred in the raid.
- English was massacred 5-0 by France in the semi-final.

• anchor

(n)a person who reports the news and manages reports by others on a television or radio program.

- The mayor grants frequent interviews to local news anchors.

• phony

(adj)represented as real but actually false; intended to deceice.
(n)a person who falsely pretends to be something.

- They were accused of submitting phony claims to insurers, including Medicare.
- I thins he's a phony.

• arthritis

(n)a serious condition in which a person's joints become painful, swollen and stiff.

- In later life She was crippled with arthritis.

• auditor

(n)someone whose job is to carry out an official examination of the accounts of a business and to produce a report.

- The committee will appoint an independent auditor to examine the annual accounts.

• compulsive

(adj)doing something wrong or harmful a lot and unable to stop doing it.(not compulsory)
(adj)If a film, play, sports event, book, etc. is compulsive, it is so interesting or exciting that you do not want to stop watching or reading it.

- a compulsive liar/thief/eater
- He was a compulsive gambler and often heavily in debt.
- compulsive behaviour
- Her new series is compulsive viewing.

• suit

(n)a problem taken to a law court by ordinary person or an organization rather than the police in order to obtain a legal decision, lawsuit

- Two of the directors filed a suit against their former employer.
- They brought a lawsuit against the company

• sue

(v)to take legal action against a person or organization, especially by making a legal claim for money because of some harm that they have caused you.

- Mr. Warren sued for libel over the remarks.
- The company could be sued for damages.

• patronize

(v)to speak or behave towards someone in a way that seems friendly, but that shows that they think they are superior to you in some way.
(v)to be a regular customer of a shop or restaurant, etc.

- Don't you patronize me.
- The restaurant was patronized by many artists and writers during the 1920s.
- We'd like to thank all of our customers for their patronage in the past.

• windfall

(n)an amount of money that you win or receive from someome unexpectedly.

- the man who received a $250,000 windfall after a banking error.

• wager

(v)to risk money by guessing the result of something.
(n)an amount of money that you risk in the hope of winning more.

- She put a cash wager of $25 on the race.
- I wager you $5 that they'll get there first.
- I'd wager that she's interested in you.

• pepper

(v)to direct something suddenly and repeated at someone, as if attacking the person.

- He was wounded in both legs and severely peppered with sharpnel.
- The mayor was peppered with questions from reporters about the municipal corruption scandal.

• shrapnel

(n)some pieces of metal that fly through the air when a bomb or simialr weapon explodes and are intended to injure people.

- Twelve people were hit by shrapnel in the attack.

• municipal

(adj)of or belonging to a town or city

- They are responsible for municipal leisure facilities.
- next month's municipal elections

• libel

(n)a piece of writing that contains bad and false things about a person.
(v)to write and publish something that contains bad and false things about a person.

- She threatened to sue the magazines for libel.
- She claims the newspaper libelled her in editorials and news articles.
- With a few exceptions, no writer consciously sits down with the aim of libelling anyone.

• pathological

(adj)(of a person)unable to control part of their behaviour; unreasonable

- a pathological liar
- He experiences chronic, almost pathological jealousy.

30th, December

• spam

(n)unwanted email, ususually advertisements
(v)to send someone advertisements by email that they do not want.

- Some Internet service providers block spam to subscribers.
- He spammed the message to 30,000 addresses in a week.

• tumor

(n)a mass of cell in the body that grow faster than usual and can cause illness.

- a malignant/benign tumor

• malignant

(adj)a malignant disease or growth is cancer or is related to cancer, and is likely to be harmful.
(adj)having a strong wish to do harm

- The process by which malignant cancer cells multiply isn't fully understood.
- He developed a malignant hatred for the land of his birth.

• benign

(adj)pleasant or kind; not harmful or severe
(adj)a benign growth is not cancer and is not likely to be harmful

- a benign tumor
- They are normally a more benign audience.
- I just smiled benignly and stood back.

• inventory

(n)a detailed list of all the things in a place.
(n)the amount of goods a store or business has for sale at a particular time, or their value.

- About half of the shop's inventory was damaged in the tornado.
- Before starting, he made an inventory of everything that was to stay.

• tornado

(n)a strong, dangerous wind that forms itself into an upside-down spinning cone and is able to destroy buildings as it moves across the ground.

31st, December

• delegate

(n)a person chosen or elected by a group to speak, vote, etc. for them, especially at a meeting.
(v)to give a particular job, duty, right, etc. to someone else so that they do it for you.
(v)to choose or elect someone to speak, vote, etc. for a group, especially at a meeting.

- Each union elects several delegates to the annual conference.
- He talks of travelling less, and delegating more authority to his deputies.
- A group of teachers were delegated to represent their colleagues at the union conference.

1st, January

• sloppy

(adj)very wet or liquid, often in a way that is unpleasant
(adj)not taking care or making an effort

- She covered his face with sloppy kisses.
- Spelling mistakes always look sloppy in formal letters.
- He has little patience for sloppy work from colleagues.

• substitute

(v)to use something or someone instead of another thing or person
(v)substitute for sth: to perform the same job as another thing or to take its place.
(n)a thing or person that is used instead of another thing or person.
(n)in sports, a player who is used for part of a game instead of another player.

- You can substitute oil for butter in the recipe.
- I use that recipe but substitute wheat-free flour for regular flour.
- Of course, no book or course of study can substitute for experience.
- Gas-fired power station will substitute for less efficient coal-fired equipment.
- Vitamins should not be used as a substitute for a healthy diet.
- The manager brought on another substitute in the final minutes of the game.

• sophomore

(n)a student studying in the second year of a course at a US college or high school.

• frontage

(n)the front part of a building that faces a road or river, or land near a load or river.

- These apartments all have a delightful dockside frontage.
- The restaurant has a river frontage.