a climbing plant that produces grapes | vine |
The villain in the movie was eventually brought to justice. | He has played villains in most of his films. |
that can be done; that will be successful | None of the projects proved financially viable. |
a person who has been a soldier, sailor, etc. in a war. | veteran. a veteran of the Spanish Civil War |
that cannot be cured and will lead to death, often slowly | terminal/He has terminal lung cancer. |
very likely to be influenced, harmed or affected by something | susceptible/Some of these plants are more susceptible to frost damage than others. |
to manage to stay alive, especially with limited food or money | subsist/Old people often subsist on very small incomes. |
money that is paid by a government or an organization to reduce the costs of services or of producing goods so that their prices can be kept low | subsidy/The EU spends billions on subsidies to farmers every year. |
anger or violence between two people or groups of people who disagree | strife/The country was torn apart by strife |
completely clean and free from bacteria | sterile/The experiment was performed under sterile conditions. |
a law that is passed by a parliament, council, etc. and formally written down | statute/he statute provided for a maximum sentence of 53 months. |
a white carbohydrate food substance found in potatoes, flour, rice, etc.; food containing this | starch/There's too much starch in your diet. |
not planned but done because you suddenly want to do it | spontaneous/The audience burst into spontaneous applause. |
seeming evil or dangerous; making you think something bad will happen | sinister/We needn’t assume that there was a sinister motive for what she did. |
the use of legal authority to take something from somebody; an amount of something that is taken in this way | seizure/he court ordered the seizure of his assets. |
the action or unpleasant sound of one thing rubbing roughly against another | scrape/She felt the scrape of wall against bare skin. |
a small piece of something, especially paper, cloth, etc. | scrap/Some of the women were wearing scraps of cloth in their hair. |
a strong feeling that somebody or something is stupid or not good enough, usually shown by the way you speak | scorn/Her fellow teachers greeted her proposal with scorn. |
the opportunity or ability to do or achieve something | scope/There's still plenty of scope for improvement. |
to make something such as a container or a pipe break or burst; to be broken or burst | rupture/A pipe ruptured, leaking water all over the house. |
(of rules, methods, etc.) very strict and difficult to change | rigid/His rigid adherence to the rules made him unpopular. |
to change something completely so that it is the opposite of what it was before | reverse/Falling birth rates may reverse the trend towards early retirement. |
to make something full again by replacing what has been used | replenish/to replenish food and water supplies |
a short surprise attack on an enemy by soldiers, ships or aircraft | raid/The air force carried out a bombing raid on enemy bases. |
suffering from severe mental illness, so that the person loses contact with reality | psychotic/He suffered a psychotic episode two years ago. |
connected with strange powers of the mind and not able to be explained by natural laws | psychic/psychical research or research into strange powers and events |
relating to psychiatry or to mental illness | psychiatric/a psychiatric hospital/nurse/patient |
a statement that something will happen in the future, especially one made by somebody with religious or magic powers | prophecy/Macbeth believed the witches' prophecy about his future. |
to exist or be very common at a particular time or in a particular place | prevail/We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. |
a statement or an idea that forms the basis for a reasonable line of argument | premise/His reasoning is based on the premise that all people are equally capable of good and evil. |
a serious illness affecting one or both lungs that makes breathing difficult | pneumonia/She died from bronchial pneumonia |
to take a piece of somebody’s skin and press it together hard with your thumb and the finger next to it | pinch/My sister's always pinching me and it really hurts. |
the act of going to different parts of a building, an area, etc. to make sure that there is no trouble or crime | patrol/Security guards make regular patrols at night. |
a minister in charge of a Christian church or group, especially in some Nonconformist churches | pastor/He was ordained a pastor in the Lutheran Church. |
unfair support for one person, team, idea, etc. | partiality/allegations of dishonesty and partiality |
an area that has its own church and that a priest is responsible for | parish/He is vicar of a large rural parish. |
the act of not including somebody or something or not doing something; the fact of not being included or done | omission/he play was shortened by the omission of two scenes. |
to block a road, an entrance, a passage, etc. so that somebody or something cannot get through, see past, etc. | obstruct/You can't park here, you're obstructing my driveway. |
a thing, person or situation that is annoying or causes trouble or problems | nuisance/I hope you're not making a nuisance of yourself. |
the quality of being new, different and interesting | novelty/here's a certain novelty value in this approach. |
an extremely large number of things or people | multitude/The library offers a whole multitude of books for young readers. |
the amount of confidence and enthusiasm, etc. that a person or a group has at a particular time | morale/Morale amongst the players is very high at the moment. |
wrong because you have understood or judged a situation badly | misguided/In her misguided attempts to help, she only made the situation worse. |
an officer of the highest rank in the armed forces of some countries | Marshal/Marshal of the Royal Air Force |
to show something clearly, especially a feeling, an attitude or a quality | manifest/Social tensions were manifested in the recent political crisis. |
easy to see or understand | manifest adjective /His nervousness was manifest to all those present. |
a small green, orange or brown seed that is usually dried and used in cooking, for example in soup or stew | lentil |
to show that somebody/something is right or reasonable | justify /The results of the inquiry did not justify them departing from their existing policy. |
to mention or use a law, rule, etc. as a reason for doing something | invoke/She invoked several eminent scholars to back up her argument. |
being an essential part of something | integral/Music is an integral part of the school's curriculum. |
done by accident, without being intended | inadvertent /an inadvertent omission |
to make or do something using whatever is available, usually because you do not have what you really need | improvise/here isn't much equipment. We're going to have to improvise. |
to develop and improve something, especially a skill, over a period of time | hone/She honed her debating skills at college. |
speed in doing something, especially because you do not have enough time | haste/In her haste to complete the work on time, she made a number of mistakes. |
to please or satisfy somebody | gratify/It gratified him to think that it was all his work. |
very beautiful and attractive; giving great pleasure | gorgeous/gorgeous weather (= warm and with a lot of sun) |
Refugees gave accounts of the mass genocide | genocide/genocide against ethnic minorities |
clear and easy to understand, so that you have no doubt what is meant | explicit/The reasons for the decision should be made explicit. |
to officially make somebody leave a school or an organization | expel/Olympic athletes expelled for drug-taking |
to think that something is the same as something else or is as important | equate/Money cannot be equated with happiness. |
a disorder of the nervous system that causes a person to become unconscious suddenly, often with violent movements of the body | epilepsy |
wanting to be in the same situation as somebody else; wanting something that somebody else has | envious/hey were envious of his success. |
to say publicly that you support a person, statement or course of action | endorse/The newspaper has formally endorsed the Democratic candidate. |
difficult to find, define or achieve | elusive/the elusive concept of ‘literature’ |
to make it difficult for something to continue in the normal way | disrupt/Demonstrators succeeded in disrupting the meeting. |
disagreement; arguing | discord/A note of discord surfaced during the proceedings. |
to give somebody information about something, especially something that was previously secret | disclose/The spokesman refused to disclose details of the takeover to the press. |
completely without something | devoid/The land is almost devoid of vegetation. |
to be different from something; to do something in a different way from what is usual or expected | deviate/He never deviated from his original plan. |
to keep somebody in an official place, such as a police station, a prison or a hospital, and prevent them from leaving | detain/One man has been detained for questioning. |
to delay something until a later time | defer |
likely to make you believe something that is not true | deceptive/Appearances can often be deceptive or things are not always what they seem to be. |
the act of deliberately making somebody believe something that is not true (= of deceiving them) | deception/He'll use deception to get what he wants. |
dead | deceased/her deceased parents |
(of food) (also crispy) pleasantly hard and dry | crisp/Bake until the pastry is golden and crisp. |
to push or force somebody/something into a small space; to move into a small space with the result that it is full | cram/supporters crammed the streets. |
polite behaviour that shows respect for other people | courtesy/It's common courtesy to warn your neighbours if your children are going to have a party. |
the act or process of changing something from one form, use or system to another | conversion/No conversion from analogue to digital data is needed. |
to say that something that somebody else has said is wrong, and that the opposite is true | contradict/All evening her husband contradicted everything she said |
to behave and think in the same way as most other people in a group or society | conform/There is considerable pressure on teenagers to conform. |
to produce a book, list, report, etc. by bringing together different items, articles, songs, etc.; to collect information in order to produce a book, list, etc. | compile/The figures were compiled from a survey of 2 000 schoolchildren. |
to force somebody to do something; to make something necessary | compel/I feel compelled to write and tell you how much I enjoyed your book. |
to begin to happen; to begin something | commence/he meeting is scheduled to commence at noon. |
a hole or empty space inside something solid | cavity/the nasal cavity |
to ask people to support a particular person, political party, etc., either by going around an area and talking to people or by phoning them | canvass |
to give information about somebody/something to an enemy | betray/for years they had been betraying state secrets to Russia. |
a large farm building for storing grain or keeping animals in | barn/They live in a converted barn (= a barn that has been turned into a house). |
to fully understand an idea or some information so that you are able to use it yourself | assimilate/The committee will need time to assimilate this report. |
having a lot of money and a good standard of living | affluent/affluent Western countries |
the coming of an important event, person, invention, etc. | advent/Before the advent of the railways, communications were slow and difficult. |