MBA Vocab - Oxford Examples - Vol 2

climatology

[]: [the role of clouds is one of the big conundrums of climatology]

neurology

[clinical neurology]:

facsimile

[copy, double]: [a facsimile of the manuscript] [facsimile editions] [the ride was facsimiled for another theme park] [thirty pages are reproduced in facsimile]

correspondence

[correlation, letter writing, mail]: [there is a simple correspondence between the distance of a focused object from the eye and the size of its image on the retina] [the organization engaged in detailed correspondence with local MPs] [his wife dealt with his private correspondence]

utterly

[completely]: [he looked utterly ridiculous]

disaffected

[dissatisfied]: [a military plot by disaffected elements in the army]

cache

[hoard, hiding place]: [an arms cache] [a cache of gold coins] [there was a good supply of meat in the caches] [typical cache sizes range from 64K to 256K] [he decided that they must cache their weapons]

academic

[educational, scholarly, theoretical, scholar]: [academic achievement] [he had no academic qualifications] [students resplendent in academic dress] [a very academic school aiming to get pupils into Oxford or Cambridge] [Ben is not an academic child but he tries hard]

effectual

[effective, valid]: [tobacco smoke is the most effectual protection against the midge]

oval

[egg-shaped]: [her smooth oval face] [cut out two small ovals from the felt]

abolitionist

[emancipationist]: [the abolitionist movement]

fetus

[embryo]:

fascinating

[engrossing]: [a fascinating book]

elaboration

[enlargement, expansion]: [his work led to the elaboration of a theory of evolution] [the concept needs more elaboration than a short essay allows] [the speech lacked any elaboration on concrete measures taken] [this is a point requiring elaboration]

mesmerize

[enthral]: [they were mesmerized by his story] [a mesmerizing stare] [he was mesmerized when at the point of death]

sedentary

[inactive]: [we all walk a certain amount every day even if we are sedentary] [a sedentary lifestyle spells bad news for hips and thighs] [he spoke from a sedentary position] [a tribe of sedentary agriculturists]

insufficient

[inadequate]: [there was insufficient evidence to convict him]

inexcusable

[indefensible]: [Matt's behaviour was inexcusable] [he was inexcusably rude]

fictitious

[false, fictional]: [reports of a deal were dismissed as fictitious by the Minister]

gluttony

[greed]: [she said plumpness was a sign of gluttony in most cases]

aggrieve

[grieve]:

hurriedly

[hastily, in haste]: [he hurriedly packed his things and left]

loathe

[hate, hatred]: [she loathed him on sight]

mongering

[hawk, huckster, peddle, pitch, vend]:

entreaty

[plea]: [the king turned a deaf ear to his entreaties]

sworn

[pledged]: [he made a sworn statement] [they were sworn enemies]

depredation

[plundering]: [protecting grain from the depredations of rats and mice]

grandiloquent

[pompous]: [a grandiloquent celebration of Spanish glory]

announcer

[presenter]:

prefatory

[introductory]: [in his prefatory remarks the author claims that ...]

liquidator

[manslayer, murderer]:

intercessor

[mediator]: [they rejected the notion that an intercessor was needed to appeal to God]

punctilious

[meticulous, fussy]: [he was punctilious in providing every amenity for his guests]

milestone

[milepost]: [the speech is being hailed as a milestone in race relations]

alloy

[mixture, mix]: [an alloy of nickel, bronze, and zinc] [alloy wheels] [alloying tin with copper to make bronze]

crowbar

[pry, pry bar, wrecking bar]: [he crowbarred the box open]

irresponsible

[reckless, immature]: [it would have been irresponsible just to drive on]

album

[record album]: [the wedding pictures had pride of place in the family album] [his debut album was very much influenced by the jazz sound]

kick back

[relax]: [he has not been able to kick back and enjoy his success]

outcry

[shout, protest(s)]: [an outcry of spontaneous passion] [the public outcry over the bombing]

dealt

[softwood]:

haste

[speed, quickly]: [working with feverish haste] [I write in haste] [I make haste to seal this]

pomposity

[self-importance, bombast]: [his reputation for arrogance and pomposity]

stocky

[thickset]: [he had a short, stocky body]

minuscule

[tiny]: [a minuscule fragment of DNA] [he believed the risk of infection was minuscule] [the humanistic hands of the 15th century were based on the Carolingian minuscule]

commercial

[trade, profit-oriented, lucrative, advertisement]: [a commercial agreement] [commercial products] [their work is too commercial] [they looked like a family from a breakfast cereal commercial]

treasonable

[traitorous]: [there was no evidence of treasonable activity]

tricycle

[trike, velocipede]: [between 1876 and 1892 tricycling attracted thousands of adherents]

doubly

[twice as]: [we're going to have to work doubly hard] [doubly mutant cells]

jobless

[unemployed]: [thousands of jobless youngsters]

synod

[]: [the deanery synod]

self perpetuating

[]: [the self-perpetuating power of the bureaucracy]

bewildering

[amaze, baffle, beat, dumbfound, flummox, get, gravel, mystify, nonplus, perplex, pose, puzzle, stick, stupefy, vex]: [there is a bewildering array of holidays to choose from] [the regulations are bewilderingly complex]

prior to

[before]: [she visited me on the day prior to her death]

cantonment

[bivouac, camp, encampment]:

protuberant

[bulging]: [his protuberant eyes fluttered open]

tapeworm

[cestode]:

mayor

[city manager]:

laureate

[honorable, honourable]: [a Nobel laureate]

amorous

[lustful]: [she rejected his amorous advances]

paternal

[on one's father's side, fatherly]: [he reasserted his paternal authority] [my elders in the newsroom kept a paternal eye on me] [his father and paternal grandfather were porcelain painters]

scintilla

[particle]: [a scintilla of doubt]

plumber

[pipe fitter]:

indigence

[poverty]: [he did valuable work towards the relief of indigence]

aforesaid

[previously mentioned]:

acrid

[pungent]: [acrid smoke] [an acrid smell]

uprising

[rebellion]: [an armed uprising]

auburn

[reddish-brown]:

plain

[simple, obvious, intelligible, candid, unattractive, straightforward, sheer, downright, grassland]: [good plain food] [everyone dined at a plain wooden table] [a plain fabric] [donations can be put in a plain envelope] [the advantages were plain to see]

sextuple

[six-fold, sixfold]:

spokesman

[spokesperson]: [a spokesman for Greenpeace]

analytical

[systematic]:

curt

[terse]: [his reply was curt]

sycophant

[toady]:

unmask

[uncloak]: [the trial unmasked him as a complete charlatan]

affluence

[wealth]: [a sign of our growing affluence]

knighthood

[]: [he received a knighthood in the Birthday Honours] [the basis of feudal knighthood]

natal

[]: [he was living in the south, many miles from his natal city] [the natal cleft]

infighting

[]: [infighting between departments grew worse] [the split was designed to end political infighting]

unicellular

[]: [patches of unicellular algae] [a group of unicellular glands] [the unicellular precursors of arms and legs]

reimbursement

[]: [reimbursement of everyday medical costs] [the family received insurance reimbursements]

domesticity

[]: [the atmosphere is one of happy domesticity]

cannibalism

[]: [the film is quite disturbing at points with references to cannibalism] [to avoid cannibalism caterpillars were reared individually]

marble

[]: [the spotless white marble of the Taj Mahal] [a marble floor] [her shoulders were as white as marble] [a pair of dramatic marbles showing dogs attacking a buck] [a couple of girls were playing marbles]

girder

[]: [the tower is made of steel girders criss-crossed to make it stronger]

ultimatum

[]: [their employers issued an ultimatum demanding an immediate return to work]

city hall

[]: [they cultivated close ties with City Hall]

humorous

[amusing]: [a humorous and entertaining talk] [his humorous grey eyes]

regalia

[array, raiment]: [the Bishop of Florence in full regalia] [the regalia of Russian tsardom is now displayed in the Kremlin] [the regalia of Russian tsardom are now displayed in the Kremlin]

panoply

[array, trappings]: [a deliciously inventive panoply of insults] [I leaned forward to take in the full panoply of tourist London]

apprehend

[arrest, understand]: [a warrant was issued but he has not been apprehended] [we enter a field of vision we could not otherwise apprehend] [he is a man that apprehends death no more dreadfully but as a drunken sleep]

wrist

[articulatio radiocarpea, carpus, radiocarpal joint, wrist joint]: [I fell over and sprained my wrist] [elasticated wrists and ankles]

horrid

[bad]: [a horrid nightmare] [the teachers at school were horrid] [a horrid brown colour] [a horrid beard]

bilk

[baffle, cross, foil, frustrate, queer, scotch, spoil, thwart]: [government waste has bilked the taxpayer of billions of dollars] [some businesses bilk thousands of dollars from unsuspecting elderly consumers]

sack

[bag, dismissal, bed, dismiss, go to bed, ravage, laying waste]: [a sack of flour] [he got the sack for swearing] [they were given the sack] [most of them weren't up to what she expected in the sack] [any official found to be involved would be sacked on the spot]

combustion

[burning]: [the combustion of fossil fuels] [a large combustion plant]

forcibly

[by force, forcefully, cogently]: [no one will be forcibly evicted] [they argued forcibly against the proposal]

deciduous

[caducous, shed]: [sun-loving deciduous trees like aspen] [this is the period when the deciduous teeth are being shed]

metropolis

[capital (city), big city]: [he preferred the peaceful life of the countryside to the bustle of the metropolis] [by the late eighteenth century Edo had grown to a metropolis with a population of nearly one million]

toll

[charge, number, adverse effect(s)]: [motorway tolls] [a toll bridge] [the toll of dead and injured mounted] [the environmental toll of the policy has been high] [the report advocates motorway tolling]

courser

[charger]:

map

[chart, outline]: [a street map] [she went inside to check a star map] [an electron density map] [a physical and genetic map of the entire human genome] [you ought to know my map by now]

connubial

[conjugally]: [their connubial bed]

repercussion

[consequence]: [the move would have grave repercussions for the entire region]

appreciable

[considerable, perceptible]: [pupils may have to travel appreciable distances]

retrace

[construct, reconstruct]: [he began to retrace his steps to the station car park] [I've tried to retrace some of her movements] [I wanted to retrace a particular evolutionary pathway]

conveyor

[conveyer, conveyer belt, conveyor belt, transporter]: [a conveyor of information]

recipe

[cooking directions, means/way of achieving]: [a traditional Yorkshire recipe] [sky-high interest rates are a recipe for disaster] [it would be useless to enumerate all the drugs and recipes for their application which have been tried]

gracious

[courteous, elegant, merciful]: [a gracious hostess] [Greig was gracious in defeat] [gracious living] [I am saved by God's gracious intervention on my behalf] [the accession of Her present gracious Majesty]

workmanship

[craftsmanship]: [cracks on the motorway were caused by poor workmanship]

crematory

[crematorium]:

inscribe

[dedicate]: [his name was inscribed on the new silver trophy] [the memorial is inscribed with ten names] [an inscribed watch] [he inscribed the first copy 'To my dearest grandmother'] [a regular polygon inscribed in a circle]

protector

[defender, guard]: [a man who became her protector, adviser, and friend] [ear protectors] [the King's uncle became Protector]

rebellious

[defiant, disobedient, rebel]: [I became very rebellious and opted out] [the rebellious republics] [he smoothed back a rebellious lock of hair]

incomplete

[deficient, unfinished]: [incomplete carvings of cattle] [the analysis remains incomplete]

divest

[deprive, strip]: [men are unlikely to be divested of power without a struggle] [he has divested the original play of its charm] [the government's policy of divesting itself of state holdings] [she divested him of his coat]

dissolute

[dissipated]: [unfortunately, his heir was feckless and dissolute]

differential

[distinctive, difference]: [the differential achievements of boys and girls] [the differential features between benign and malignant tumours] [a differential amplifier] [the differential between petrol and diesel prices] [regional differentials in pay]

identifiable

[distinguishable, distinct]: [there are no easily identifiable features on the shoreline]

deviate

[diverge]: [you must not deviate from the agreed route] [those who deviate from society's values]

dolorous

[dolourous, lachrymose, tearful, weeping]: [a dolorous and repetitive tale of atrocity]

intoxication

[drunkenness]: [signs of intoxication] [the intoxication of fame]

prior

[earlier, before]: [he has a prior engagement this evening] [he had no juvenile record, no priors] [she visited me on the day prior to her death]

nourish

[feed, cherish]: [I was doing everything I could to nourish and protect the baby] [spiritual resources which nourished her in her darkest hours] [a clay base nourished with plant detritus] [he has long nourished an ambition to bring the show to Broadway]

repent

[feel remorse for]: [the Padre urged his listeners to repent] [he repented of his action] [Marian came to repent her hasty judgement] [I repent me of all I did]

festal

[festive, gay, merry]: [plum pudding was originally served on festal days as a main course]

fig

[figure]: [Elaine didn't give a fig for Joe's comfort or his state of mind] [a soldier walking up the street in full fig] [he was figged out as fine as fivepence, with white trousers and rings and chains]

monetary

[financial]: [documents with little or no monetary value]

pecuniary

[financial]: [he admitted obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception]

discover

[find, find out, hit on]: [firemen discovered a body in the debris] [she discovered her lover in the arms of another woman] [the courage to discover the truth and possibly be disappointed] [it was a relief to discover that he wasn't in] [Fleming discovered penicillin early in the twentieth century]

fir

[fir tree, true fir]:

pyrotechnic

[firework]: [a pyrotechnic display] [his writing contains more pyrotechnic energy, more colour and action]

carafe

[flask]: [wine is available by glass, bottle, or carafe] [a carafe of retsina]

path

[footpath, route, course of action]: [the path continues alongside the river for half a mile] [the missile traced a fiery path in the sky] [a chosen career path] [a vegetarian diet could be the path to a longer life]

pavement

[footpath]: [he fell and hit his head on the pavement] [a pavement cafe] [the pavements and columns of these ancient ruins provided the material for more recent structures]

prohibit

[forbid, forbidden, prevent]: [all ivory trafficking between nations is prohibited] [he is prohibited from becoming a director] [the budget agreement had prohibited any tax cuts]

brow

[forehead, eyebrow, summit]: [he wiped his brow] [his brows lifted in surprise] [the cottages were built on the brow of a hill] [furrow-browed]

previously

[formerly]: [museums and art galleries which had previously been open to the public] [they discovered a previously unknown gene]

comical

[funny, silly]: [a series of comical misunderstandings]

livid

[furious, purplish]: [he was livid that Garry had escaped] [livid bruises]

destiny

[future, fate]: [she was unable to control her own destiny] [he believed in destiny]

phantom

[ghost, figment of the imagination]: [a phantom who haunts lonely roads] [a phantom ship] [he tried to clear the phantoms from his head and grasp reality] [a phantom conspiracy] [the women suffered from phantom pain that no physician could ever find]

donation

[gift]: [please send your donation of £20 to the Disaster Appeal] [the donation of carpets, chairs, and cutlery]

corset

[girdle]:

subsidize

[give money to]: [the mining industry continues to be subsidized] [subsidized food]

entrust

[give responsibility for, assign, hand over]: [I've been entrusted with the task of getting him safely back] [you persuade people to entrust their savings to you]

prompt

[give rise to, induce, remind, reminder, quick, exactly, speed]: [the violence prompted a wave of refugees to flee the country] [curiosity prompted him to look inside] ['And the picture?' he prompted] [the online form prompts users for data] [with barely a prompt, Barbara talked on]

congratulate

[give someone one's good wishes, praise, take pride in]: [he had taken the chance to congratulate him on his marriage] [Simone wrote to her shortly after her engagement had been announced to congratulate her] [the operators are to be congratulated for the service that they provide] [she congratulated herself on her powers of deduction]

donor

[giver]: [an anonymous donor has given £25] [loans from rich donor countries] [one third of patients die before a suitable donor is found] [a blood donor]

glimmer

[gleam, gleam, gleam]: [the moonlight glimmered on the lawn] [pools of glimmering light] [he saw a faint glimmer of light from her window] [there is one glimmer of hope for Becky]

shiny

[glossy]: [shiny hair] [shiny black shoes]

promising

[good, with potential]: [a promising film actor] [a promising start to the season]

glutton

[gourmand]: [he's a glutton for adventure]

trite

[hackneyed]: [this point may now seem obvious and trite]

cooperatively

[hand and glove, hand in glove]: [the two publishers will work cooperatively on poster projects] [a cooperatively owned restaurant]

spouse

[husband, wife]:

idolatrous

[idol-worshipping, idolizing]: [idolatrous religions] [America's idolatrous worship of the auto]

naughty

[indecent, badly behaved]: [you've been a really naughty boy] [naughty goings-on] [whenever I did something bad, my uncle would make me sit in the naughty corner] [the bosses of the unions found themselves on the naughty step]

inconclusive

[indecisive]: [three years of inconclusive negotiations] [the medical evidence is inconclusive]

embrace

[hug, welcome, include, hug]: [Aunt Sophie embraced her warmly] [the two embraced, holding each other tightly] [besides traditional methods, artists are embracing new technology] [his career embraces a number of activities—composing, playing, and acting] [they were locked in an embrace]

humanity

[humankind, human nature, compassion, liberal arts]: [appalling crimes against humanity] [our differences matter but our common humanity matters more] [he praised them for their standards of humanity and care]

propaganda

[information]: [he was charged with distributing enemy propaganda] [the party's leaders believed that a long period of education and propaganda would be necessary]

occasional

[infrequent]: [the occasional car went by but no taxis] [an occasional table] [he wrote occasional verse for patrons] [occasional freelancer seeks full-time position]

exasperate

[infuriate, infuriating]: [this futile process exasperates prison officers]

alienate

[estrange, transfer]: [an urban environment which would alienate its inhabitants] [an alienated, angst-ridden twenty-two-year-old] [the association does not wish to alienate its members] [they defended the Masai against attempts to alienate their land] [he sued him for alienating his wife's affections]

vision

[eyesight, imagination, apparition, dream, beautiful sight]: [she had defective vision] [the box converts the digital signal into sound and vision on an ordinary TV] [the organization had lost its vision and direction] [a utopian vision of society] [the idea came to him in a vision]

facial

[facial nerve, nervus facialis, seventh cranial nerve]: [facial expressions] [the offer includes a facial, make-up, and manicure]

intrepid

[fearless]: [our intrepid reporter]

confederate

[federal, associate]: [some local groups united to form confederate councils] [the Confederate flag] [where was his confederate, the girl who had stolen Richard's wallet?] [Switzerland is a model for the new confederated Europe]

confederacy

[federation]: [the Italian confederacy known as the Lombard League] [the Yakuza is a secret confederacy of criminal fraternities]

goad

[provoke, prod, stimulus, incentive]: [he was trying to goad her into a fight] [the cowboys goaded their cattle across the meadows] [for him the visit was a goad to renewed effort]

ventilation

[public discussion]: [ventilation of the mines had long been mechanized]

penetrating

[pungent, shrill, observant, perceptive, enquiring]: [the problem of penetrating damp] [her scream was sudden and penetrating] [her penetrating gaze] [the students asked some penetrating questions]

protege

[pupil, disciple]: [Ruskin submitted his protégé's name for election]

hum

[purr, sing, be busy, smell, murmur, be indecisive]: [the computers hummed] [he hummed softly to himself] [she was humming a cheerful tune] [the room hummed with an expectant murmur] [the house was humming with preparations for the dance]

abolish

[put an end to]: [the tax was abolished in 1977]

envy

[jealousy, object/source of envy, best, be envious of, covet]: [she felt a twinge of envy for the people on board] [France has a film industry that is the envy of Europe] [he envied people who did not have to work at the weekends] [I envy Jane her happiness] [a lifestyle which most of us would envy]

jelly

[jellify]: [a jelly mould] [roast pheasant with redcurrant jelly] [petroleum jelly] [a box of fruit jellies] [jellied cranberry sauce]

seam

[join, furrow, layer]: [the task involved clamping the panels into position and arc welding a seam to join them] [the track cleaves a seam through corn] [the buried forests became seams of coal] [Sunderland have a rich seam of experienced players] [there is a seam of despondency in Stipe's words]

concerted

[joint, strenuous]: [a concerted attempt to preserve religious unity] [you must make a concerted effort to curb this] [concerted secular music for voices]

study

[learning, investigation, office, learn, investigate, work, scrutinize, lost in thought]: [the study of English] [an application to continue full-time study] [some students may not be able to resume their studies] [a study of Jane Austen's novels] [an undergraduate course in transport studies]

mythical

[legendary, imaginary]: [one of Denmark's greatest mythical heroes] [a mythical age of contentment and social order] [a mythical customer whose name appears in brochures promoting the bank's services]

decrease

[lessen, reduce, reduction]: [the population of the area has decreased radically] [the aisles were decreased in height] [a decrease in births] [the rate of decrease became greater] [marriage is on the decrease]

odds

[likelihood, advantage, in conflict, at variance]: [Nicer is starting at odds of 8-1] [it is possible for the race to be won at very long odds] [the odds are that he is no longer alive] [the odds against this ever happening are high] [she clung to the lead against all the odds]

queue

[line, traffic jam, line up]: [in the war they had queued for food] [companies are queuing up to move to the bay] [input or output requests to a file are queued by the operating system]

clerk

[office worker]: [a bank clerk] [a wages clerk] [a clerk to the magistrates] [a chapter clerk] [she approached the desk and the clerk looked down at her]

industrial

[manufacturing]: [industrial waste] [a small industrial town] [the major industrial nations] [industrial heating oil] [we are seeing tax avoidance on an industrial scale]

roundabout

[merry-go-round, circuitous, indirect]: [turn right at the next roundabout] [we need to take a roundabout route to throw off any pursuit] [in a roundabout way, he was fishing for information]

hypnosis

[mesmerism]: [I was regressed under hypnosis]

hypnotize

[mesmerize, fascinate]: [a witness had been hypnotized to enhance his memory] [she gazed down, hypnotized by the swirling tide]

leaflet

[pamphlet]: [pick up a leaflet from your local branch] [election leaflets] [tourists visiting the area are being leafleted] [they were leafleting in Victoria Square]

intellect

[mind, thinker]: [he was a man of action rather than of intellect] [her keen intellect] [sapping our country of some of its brightest intellects]

fallacy

[misconception]: [the notion that the camera never lies is a fallacy] [Kraft exposes three fallacies in this approach] [the potential for fallacy which lies behind the notion of self-esteem]

bungle

[mishandle, incompetent]: [she had bungled every attempt to help] [a bungled bank raid] [the work of a bungling amateur] [a government bungle over state pensions]

sardonic

[mocking, sarcastic]: [Starkey attempted a sardonic smile]

renovation

[modernization]: [this property is in need of complete renovation] [older churches underwent major renovations]

abbey

[monastery, convent]:

fervour

[passion]: [he talked with all the fervour of a new convert]

diction

[phraseology, enunciation]: [Wordsworth campaigned against exaggerated poetic diction] [she began imitating his careful diction]

scenic

[picturesque]: [the scenic route from Florence to Siena] [scenic beauty] [a scenic artist from the Royal Opera House] [the trend to scenic figural work]

fragment

[piece, fragments, snatch, break up]: [small fragments of pottery] [Nathan remembered fragments of the conversation] [Lough Erne fragmented into a series of lakes] [management has tighter control through fragmenting the tasks]

mass

[pile, large number, majority, the common people, weight, wholesale, accumulate]: [the sun broke out from behind a mass of clouds] [the masterly distribution of masses] [a mass of cyclists] [a mass of conflicting evidence] [we get masses of homework]

shrill

[pipe, pipe up, shriek]: [a shrill laugh] [a concession to their shrill demands] [a piercing whistle shrilled through the night air] ['How dare you!' she shrilled] [the shrill of a smoke detector filled the air]

pestilential

[plague-like, annoying]: [pestilential fever] [a pestilential weed] [the tsetse flies that are so pestilential in tropical Africa] [what a pestilential man!]

penurious

[poor, mean]: [a penurious old tramp] [penurious years] [his stingy and penurious wife]

needy

[poor]: [needy and elderly people] [the provision of humanitarian assistance to the needy] [those from needy backgrounds]

obscene

[pornographic, indecent, shocking]: [obscene jokes] [using animals' skins for fur coats is obscene]

depict

[portray, describe]: [paintings depicting Old Testament scenes] [these equations may be depicted on a graph] [youth is depicted as a time of vitality and good health]

disappointing

[saddening, unsatisfactory]: [the team made a disappointing start] [it was disappointing that there were relatively few possibilities]

edible

[safe to eat]: [the shrub has small edible berries] [delicatessen, as the name suggests, means delicate edibles]

prurient

[salacious]: [she'd been the subject of much prurient curiosity]

marine

[saltwater, maritime]: [marine plants] [marine biology] [marine insurance] [marine painters] [a contingent of 2,000 marines]

gratification

[satisfaction]: [a thirst for sexual gratification]

rat

[scoundrel, informer, damn, inform on/against, break]: [her rat of a husband cheated on her] [he became the most famous rat in mob history] [LA mall rats] [ratting is second nature to a Jack Russell] [many of the clans rallied to his support, others ratted and joined the King's forces]

slovenly

[scruffy, careless]: [a fat, slovenly ex-rock star] [slovenly speech]

carving

[sculpture]: [a carving of an Asian elephant] [a table decorated with fluted carving]

threat

[threatening remark, threats, danger, possibility]: [members of her family have received death threats] [hurricane damage poses a major threat to many coastal communities] [the company faces the threat of liquidation proceedings] [thousands of rail freight jobs came under threat]

walnut

[walnut tree]:

sway

[swing, stagger, waver, influence, rule, swing, jurisdiction, control, hold power]: [he swayed slightly on his feet] [swaying palm trees] [wind rattled and swayed the trees] [he's easily swayed by other people] [now let the Lord forever reign and sway us as he will]

hedonist

[sybarite]: [she was living the life of a committed hedonist]

artificial

[synthetic, feigned]: [her skin glowed in the artificial light] [an artificial limb] [artificial flowers] [the artificial division of people into age groups] [she gave an artificial smile]

pill

[tablet]: [an overdose of sleeping pills] [is she on the pill?] [synthetics can pill but otherwise wear fairly well] [no matter how carefully you wash them, some sweaters end up pilled and bobbly]

harness

[tack, hitch up, control, at work]: [how to groom a horse and harness it] [the horse was harnessed to two long shafts] [attempts to harness solar energy] [projects that harness the creativity of those living in the ghetto] [colts are worked in harness alongside an experienced horse]

sue

[take legal action against, appeal]: [she is to sue the baby's father] [I sued for breach of contract] [the rebels were forced to sue for peace]

statuesque

[tall and dignified]: [her statuesque beauty] [frozen, statuesque attitudes]

lofty

[tall, noble, haughty]: [the elegant square was shaded by lofty palms] [an extraordinary mixture of harsh reality and lofty ideals] [lofty intellectual disdain]

tariff

[tax, tariffs, price list]: [the reduction of trade barriers and import tariffs] [these services are tariffed by volume]

adolescence

[teenage years]: [Mary spent her childhood and adolescence in Europe] [during adolescence teenagers often experience violent mood swings]

adolescent

[teenage, immature, teenager]: [many parents find it hard to understand their adolescent children] [his adolescent years] [adolescent problems] [the books are aimed at children and adolescents]

transitory

[temporary]: [transitory periods of medieval greatness]

dire

[terrible, urgent, ominous]: [misuse of drugs can have dire consequences] [he was in dire need of help] [there were dire warnings from the traffic organizations] [the concert was dire]

colony

[territory, population, community]: [Japanese forces overran the French colony of Indo-China] [the colony looked forward to fifty or more years of autonomy] [many poachers were exiled to the colonies] [the British colony in New York] [a nudist colony]

testament

[testimony]: [father's will and testament] [growing attendance figures are a testament to the event's popularity] [he was able to buy a Testament]

aristocracy

[the nobility]: [members of the aristocracy] [Britain's pop aristocracy] [a new aristocracy of talented young people]

auditorium

[theatre]: [the stage was small and the auditorium had only 366 seats] [the National Indoor Arena is a magnificent auditorium and one of Britain's premier indoor venues]

prickle

[thorn, tingle, tingle, make something tingle]: [the prickles of the gorse bushes] [Kathleen felt a prickle of excitement] [the sound made her skin prickle with horror] [I hate the way the fibres prickle your skin] [she prickled at the implication that she had led a protected life]

canto

[]: [Dante 's Divine Comedy has 100 cantos]

monsieur

[]: [Monsieur Hulot]

obstetrician

[accoucheur]:

contiguous

[adjacent]: [the Southern Ocean is contiguous with the Atlantic] [five hundred contiguous dictionary entries]

arbitrator

[adjudicator]: [the facts of the case are put to an independent arbitrator]

hero

[brave man, star, male protagonist]: [a war hero] [the hero of Kipling's story] [he went from hero to zero just three days after being hailed as one of England's World Cup stars]

contravene

[break, conflict with]: [he contravened the Official Secrets Act] [the Privy Council held that the prosecution contravened the rights of the individual]

separatist

[breakaway, fissiparous]: [religious separatists] [a separatist rebellion]

brooch

[breastpin]:

pant

[breathe heavily, out of breath, yearn for, gasp]: [he was panting when he reached the top] ['We'll never have time,' she panted] [the opening song makes you pant for more] [his breast panted with alarms] [Robyn was breathing rather fast, in shallow pants]

denounce

[condemn, expose]: [the Assembly denounced the use of violence] [he was widely denounced as a traitor] [priests denounced him to the King for heresy]

influx

[inundation, inflow]: [a massive influx of tourists] [the lakes are fed by influxes of meltwater]

ingenious

[inventive]: [he was ingenious enough to overcome the limited budget] [ingenious devices] [his theory, while ingenious, is most assuredly incorrect]

exploratory

[investigative]: [surgeons performed an exploratory operation] [exploratory talks]

incorrigible

[inveterate]: [she's an incorrigible flirt] [all repeat offenders, but none of them real hard-case incorrigibles] [the incorrigibly macho character of news-gathering operations]

monomania

[obsession]: [she has an obsession with the drug that verges on monomania] [at an early age he developed a monomania about Africa]

fumble

[grope, stumble, fail to catch, botch, fondle, slip]: [she fumbled with the lock] [he fumbled about in the dark but could not find her] [she fumbled a cigarette from her bag] [have you ever seen him fumble a ball?] [the keeper fumbled]

mite

[hint, jot, pinch, soupcon, speck, tinge, touch]: [the poor little mite looks half-starved] [his teacher thought he needed a mite of discipline] [I haven't eaten yet and I'm feeling a mite peckish]

symptomatic

[indicative]: [these difficulties are symptomatic of fundamental problems] [patients with symptomatic coeliac disease] [symptomatic patients]

nonchalance

[indifference, unconcern]: [an air of nonchalance]

grotesquely

[monstrously]: [both men have fingers that are twisted grotesquely] [his body was grotesquely swollen] [a cop who grotesquely abused his power] [a grotesquely unfair tax system]

external

[outer]: [the external walls] [for external application only] [for many the Church was a symbol of external authority] [the child learns to form conceptions of the external world] [a department of external affairs]

suburb

[outlying district]: [a highly respectable suburb of Chicago] [a working-class suburb] [life is much better in the suburbs]

peripheral

[outlying, secondary]: [the peripheral areas of Europe] [she will see their problems as peripheral to her own] [lymphocytes from peripheral blood] [a peripheral control processor] [printers and other peripherals]

insistent

[persistent, incessant]: [Tony's soft, insistent questioning] [she was very insistent that I call her] [a telephone started ringing, loud and insistent]

sapient

[perspicacious, sagacious]: [members of the female quarter were more sapient but no less savage than the others] [sapient life forms] [our sapient ancestors of 40,000 years ago]

sweat

[perspiration, fluster, labour, work hard, worry]: [beads of sweat broke out on her brow] [even thinking about him made me break out in a sweat] [we'd all worked up a sweat in spite of the cold] [I don't believe he'd get into such a sweat about a girl] [computer graphics take a lot of the sweat out of animation]

cajole

[persuade]: [he hoped to cajole her into selling him her house]

appertain

[pertain to]: [the answers generally appertain to improvements in standard of service] [the institutional arrangements which appertain under the system]

metempsychosis

[rebirth]: [like Eliot he has an interest in metempsychosis] [the speaker perceives himself as an avatar in a sustained metempsychosis]

priggish

[self-righteous]: [a priggish little pedant] [she was priggish about sex]

egotist

[self-seeker, boaster]: [he is a self-absorbed egotist]

sale

[selling, deal, on the market]: [we withdrew it from sale] [the sale has fallen through] [price cuts failed to boost sales] [director of sales and marketing] [the January sales got under way this week]

tact

[sensitivity]: [the inspector broke the news to me with tact and consideration]

succession

[sequence, accession, line of descent, one after the other]: [she had been secretary to a succession of board directors] [the Cretaceous succession] [the new king was already elderly at the time of his succession] [the succession to the Crown was disputed] [the area suffered two floods in quick succession]

slump

[sit heavily, fall steeply, decline, steep fall, recession]: [she slumped against the cushions] [Denis was slumped in his seat] [land prices slumped] [United slumped to another one-nil defeat] [a slump in profits]

minus

[subtraction]: [what's ninety three minus seven?] [he was minus a finger on each hand] [minus 40 degrees centigrade] [minus five] [C minus]

fez

[tarboosh]:

undergarment

[unmentionable]:

unregulated

[unstructured]: [an unregulated free-market economy]

carefree

[unworried]: [we were young and carefree] [the carefree days of the holidays]

exhort

[urge]: [I exhorted her to be a good child] ['Come on, you guys,' exhorted Linda]

handy

[useful, readily available, skilful]: [a handy desktop encyclopedia] [the brush is handy for vacuuming stubborn dust and dirt] [keep credit cards handy] [a hotel in a handy central location] [he's handy with a needle]

as a rule

[usually]: [any architect knows that, as a rule, old buildings are more soundly built than new ones]

breaker

[wave]: [a rule-breaker] [those steam engines were now gone to the breaker's yard]

exit

[way out, turning, leave]: [she slipped out by the rear exit] [an emergency exit] [she slowed for a roundabout, taking the second exit] [he made a hasty exit from the room] [Australia's early exit from the World Cup]

feeble

[weak, faint, cowardly, ineffective]: [by now, he was too feeble to leave his room] [her feeble cries of pain] [I know it's feeble but I've never been one to stand up for myself] [a feeble excuse]

blacksmith

[]:

bookcase

[]:

butte

[]:

catholicism

[]:

centigrade

[]:

darwinism

[]:

dyne

[]:

euclid

[]:

evidence-based

[]:

faun

[]:

foreshore

[]:

heptagon

[]:

heptarchy

[]:

herbarium

[]:

iaea

[]:

isobar

[]:

bigamy

[]:

century

[100, C, hundred, one C]: [a century ago most people walked to work] [the fifteenth century] [a twentieth-century lifestyle] [he scored the only century of the tour]

tertiary

[3rd, third]: [the tertiary stage of the disease] [patients in tertiary care] [a Franciscan tertiary]

quartet

[4, IV, Little Joe, four, foursome, quadruplet, quatern, quaternary, quaternion, quaternity, tetrad]: [a Beethoven quartet] [a quartet of comfortable armchairs]

almond

[Amygdalus communis, Prunus amygdalus, Prunus dulcis, sweet almond]:

midsummer

[June 21, summer solstice]: [the plant blooms in midsummer]

magnesium

[Mg, atomic number 12]:

nitrogen

[N, atomic number 7]: [bacteria in the root nodules of legumes have the capacity to fix nitrogen from the air]

neon

[Ne, atomic number 10]: [the lobby of the hotel was bright with neon] [neons indicate the state of the mains wiring] [she had recently dyed her hair neon pink]

obstetrics

[OB, midwifery, tocology]:

chimpanzee

[Pan troglodytes, chimp]:

temerity

[audacity]: [no one had the temerity to question his conclusions]

vincible

[beatable, vanquishable]:

entomology

[bugology]:

cannabis

[marijuana]:

deft

[skilful]: [a deft piece of footwork] [the script was both deft and literate]

morose

[sullen]: [she was morose and silent when she got home]

medley

[assortment]: [an interesting medley of flavours] [a medley of Beatles songs] [the 400 m individual medley] [the junior 4x50 m medley relay] [a medley range of vague and variable impressions]

suppose

[assume, apparent, hypothesize, require, meant]: [I suppose I got there about noon] [he supposed the girl to be about twelve] [suppose we leave this to the police] [I'm quite a good actress, I suppose] [suppose he had been murdered—what then?]

insurance

[assurance, protection]: [many new borrowers take out insurance against unemployment or sickness] [Howard is in insurance] [my insurance has gone up] [when will I be able to collect the insurance?] [jackets were hung on the back of their chairs, insurance against an encounter with air-conditioning]

perspicacity

[astuteness, perspicaciousness, shrewdness]: [the perspicacity of her remarks]

acumen

[astuteness]: [she hides a shrewd business acumen]

slap

[hit, reprimand, fling, daub, impose, smack, straight, rebuff, congratulations, reprimand]: [my sister slapped my face] [water slapped against the boat] [Uncle Max was always slapping me down for being big-headed] [slap on a bit of make-up] [he slapped a copy of the paper onto her desk]

professor

[holder of a chair]: [Professor Goodwin] [a professor of Art History] [the professors of true religion]

pit

[hole, coal mine, pockmark, set against, make holes in, the worst, stone]: [a gravel pit] [the recent protests over planned pit closures] [a black pit of depression] [the pit lane] [pooled commodity funds liquidated positions in the corn and soybean pits]

squatter

[homesteader, nester]: [the police moved in and evicted the squatters] [a squatter camp] [one of the wealthiest and most prominent squatter families of northern Victoria]

further

[at a greater distance, more unlike, furthermore, more distant, remote, additionally, additional, promote]: [for some time I had wanted to move further from London] [the EU seems to have moved further away from the original aims] [as for her being a liar, nothing could be further from the truth] [nothing could be further from his mind than marrying] [we had walked further than I realized]

originally

[at first]: [potatoes originally came from South America] [the suggestions so originally and persuasively outlined]

arbitrarily

[at random, every which way, haphazardly, indiscriminately, randomly, willy-nilly]: [recurrent infection is arbitrarily defined as three or more infections a year] [everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained]

perpendicular

[at right angles, upright, steep]: [dormers and gables that extend perpendicular to the main roofline] [the perpendicular cliff] [houses seem to cling by blind faith to the perpendicular hillside] [the handsome Perpendicular church of St Andrew] [the Perpendicular style]

irreligious

[atheistic, immoral]: [an irreligious man]

atomizer

[atomiser, nebuliser, nebulizer, spray, sprayer]: [spray the bouquet with water from an atomizer to keep it fresh]

accessory

[attachment, adornment, accomplice, additional]: [optional accessories include a battery charger and shoulder strap] [she wore the suit with perfectly matching accessories—hat, bag, shoes] [she was charged as an accessory to murder] [functionally the maxillae are a pair of accessory jaws]

aggressor

[attacker]:

totalitarian

[authoritarian, authoritarian]: [a totalitarian regime] [most totalitarians seem afraid of the spirit of science]

obtainable

[available]: [customers' financial details are easily obtainable]

inapt

[awkward, clumsy, cumbersome, ill-chosen, inept]: [a more inapt name I cannot imagine]

retrospective

[backdated]: [our survey was retrospective] [a retrospective collection of albums spanning the course of his entire career] [retrospective pay awards] [a Georgia O'Keeffe retrospective]

predominate

[be in the majority, prevail]: [small-scale producers predominate in the south] [private interest was not allowed to predominate over the public good]

earn

[be paid, deserve]: [he earns his living as a lorry driver] [earn yourself a few pounds] [this latest win earned them $50,000 in prize money] [the dollars can be placed on deposit and earn interest] [through the years she has earned affection and esteem]

mistrust

[be suspicious of, question, suspicion, distrust, questioning]: [she had no cause to mistrust him] [the public mistrust of government]

corporal

[bodily]:

boast

[brag, possess, brag]: [she boasted about her many conquests] [he boasted that he had taken part in the crime] [Ted used to boast 'I manage ten people.'] [the hotel boasts high standards of comfort] [I said I would win and it wasn't an idle boast]

bough

[branch]: [apple boughs laden with blossom]

vicious

[brutal, malicious]: [a vicious assault] [the dog was vicious and likely to bite] [a vicious flu bug] [every soul on earth, virtuous or vicious, shall perish]

haggard

[careworn]: [she was pale and haggard] [Alex's haggard face]

desultory

[casual]: [a few people were left, dancing in a desultory fashion] [the desultory conversation faded] [desultory passengers were appearing]

animadversion

[censure]: [her animadversion against science] [animadversions that the poet receives quite humbly]

transformation

[change]: [British society underwent a radical transformation]

chemical

[chemical substance]: [the chemical composition of the atmosphere] [chemical treatments for killing fungi] [never mix disinfectant with other chemicals] [chemical dependency]

option

[choice]: [choose the cheapest options for supplying energy] [she was given the option of resigning or being dismissed] [he has no option but to pay up] [Columbia Pictures has an option on the script] [his second script will have been optioned by the time you read this]

discretion

[circumspection, choice]: [she knew she could rely on his discretion] [I'll be the soul of discretion] [local authorities should use their discretion in setting the charges] [honorary fellowships may be awarded at the discretion of the council]

purport

[claim, gist, intention]: [she is not the person she purports to be] [the purported marriage was void] [I do not understand the purport of your remarks] [the purport of existence]

crackdown

[clampdown]: [a crackdown on car crime]

comedy

[humour]: [a cabaret with music, dancing, and comedy] [the show combines theatre with the best of stand-up comedy] [a comedy film] [the conventions of romantic comedy have grown more appealing with the passage of time] [advertising people see the comedy in their work]

rush

[hurry, in a hurry, flow, send rapidly, hasty, attack, dash, charge, gust, hustle and bustle, hurry, demand, surge]: [Oliver rushed after her] [I rushed outside and hailed a taxi] [the water rushed in through the great oaken gates] [as soon as the campaign started they rushed into action] [shoppers rushed to buy computers]

incontrovertible

[indisputable]: [incontrovertible proof]

unaccountable

[inexplicable, not responsible]: [a strange and unaccountable fact] [he was not only the most charismatic man she'd ever met, but also the most complex and unaccountable] [there are enormous risks in leaving such agencies uncontrolled and unaccountable] [a powerful and unaccountable institution]

irrepressible

[inextinguishable, ebullient]: [an irrepressible rogue] [a great shout of irrepressible laughter]

heritage

[inheritance, tradition]: [they had stolen his grandfather's heritage] [Europe's varied cultural heritage] [the estuary has a sense of history and heritage] [a heritage centre] [60 miles of heritage coastline]

unwise

[injudicious, foolish]: [it is unwise to rely on hearsay evidence] [unwise policy decisions]

ambient

[close]: [the liquid is stored at below ambient temperature]

buffoonery

[clowning, frivolity, harlequinade, japery, prank]: [the film is full of wordplay and buffoonery] [predictable jeers, buffooneries, and cheap shots]

rooster

[cock]:

duress

[coercion]: [confessions extracted under duress]

apposition

[collocation, juxtaposition]:

chef

[cook]: [he spent the next seven years cheffing in top restaurants and hotels in Germany]

requiem

[coronach, dirge, lament, threnody]: [a requiem was held for the dead queen] [a requiem mass] [Fauré's Requiem] [he designed the epic as a requiem for his wife]

deprave

[corrupt]: [this book would deprave and corrupt young children]

harm

[injury, evil]: [I didn't mean to cause him any harm] [it's unlikely to do much harm to the engine] [there's no harm in asking her] [the villains didn't harm him] [smoking when pregnant can harm your baby]

tidings

[intelligence, news, word]: [the bearer of glad tidings] [amid the clouds of gloom, this is a good tiding] [a tiding of magpies perch in the low pines]

embolism

[intercalation]: [causes of cerebral embolism] [one patient died of a pulmonary embolism]

blanket

[cover, covering, wholesale, cover, muffle]: [I slept on the ground covered by my blanket] [a dense grey blanket of cloud] [a blanket ban on tobacco advertising] [the countryside was blanketed in snow] [the double glazing blankets the noise a bit]

torpedo

[crampfish, electric ray, numbfish]: [the liner was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine] [fighting between the militias torpedoed peace talks]

collide

[crash (into), conflict]: [she collided with someone] [two suburban trains collided] [in his work, politics and metaphysics collide]

malfunction

[crash, crash]: [the unit is clearly malfunctioning] [a computer malfunction] [they were sent back to the manufacturers at the first sign of malfunction]

inventiveness

[creativity, originality]: [the inventiveness of the staging] [his comic inventiveness]

offence

[crime, affront, annoyance, be/feel offended, attack]: [the new offence of obtaining property by deception] [the outcome is an offence to basic justice] [he made it clear he'd taken offence] [I didn't intend to give offence] [reductions in strategic offence arsenals]

underworld

[criminal world, the netherworld]: [a man reputed to be a godfather of the Glasgow underworld] [a prominent underworld figure]

malefactor

[criminal]:

cross

[crucifix, burden, hybrid, travel across, span, intersect, delete, hybridize, oppose, angry, occur to one]: [place a cross against the preferred choice] [the class sat quiet, waiting anxiously for the verdict—a tick or a large cross] [the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross] [she wore a cross around her neck] [she's just a cross we have to bear]

petroleum

[crude, crude oil, fossil oil, oil, rock oil]:

reformer

[crusader, meliorist, reformist, social reformer]: [a skilled reformer of government spending] [a radical social reformer]

stifling

[crushing, quelling, suppression]: [stifling heat] [the loft is stifling in summer] [the stifling formality of her family life] [a stiflingly hot day]

carapace

[cuticle, shell, shield]: [under her carapace of self-confidence she was very sensitive to criticism]

interruption

[cutting in, discontinuance, interval]: [a chance to study without interruption] [she ignored the interruption and carried on] [students returning to education after an interruption in their career]

dairy

[dairy farm]: [I rely on soya as a substitute for dairy] [local dairy foods] [a dairy farmer]

quantitative

[decimal, denary, duodecimal, numeric, numerical, quantifiable, three-figure, valued, vicenary]: [quantitative analysis]

assert

[declare, insist on, behave confidently]: [the company asserts that the cuts will not affect development] [he asserted his innocence] [the good librarian is able to assert authority when required] [it was time to assert himself]

frustrated

[defeated, disappointed, discomfited, foiled, thwarted]: [young people get frustrated with the system] [jealousies and frustrated passions] [a frustrated actor] [years of frustrated attempts to regain control of the site]

recalcitrant

[defiant, noncompliant]: [a class of recalcitrant fifteen-year-olds] [a stiff-necked recalcitrant and troublemaker]

dexterous

[deft, shrewd]: [a dexterous keyboard player]

intentionally

[deliberately]: [I didn't do it intentionally] [I wasn't sure if it was intentionally funny or not]

ethereal

[delicate, celestial]: [her ethereal beauty] [ethereal, otherworldly visions] [sodium is dissolved in ethereal solutions of aromatic ketones]

gainsay

[deny]: [the impact of the railways cannot be gainsaid] [none could gainsay her]

leave

[depart from, set off, quit, leave behind, abandon, bequeath, entrust, cause, stop, miss out, exclude, holiday, permission, departure]: [she left London on June 6] [we were almost the last to leave] [the England team left for Pakistan on Monday] [at the age of sixteen he left home] [she is leaving the BBC after 20 years]

hinge

[depend]: [this period can be called the hinge of history] [the ironing board was set into the wall and hinged at the bottom] [a pocket watch with a hinged lid] [the skull's jaw hinged down] [the future of the industry could hinge on the outcome of next month's election]

selective

[discriminating, choosy]: [the cow is the result of generations of selective breeding] [he is very selective in his reading] [modern pesticides are more selective in effect] [a new marine VHF radio with digital selective calling]

odium

[disgust]: [he incurred widespread odium for military failures and government corruption]

disarrange

[disorder]: [had any of the statues been removed or disarranged?]

untidy

[disordered, scruffy]: [the place was dreadfully untidy] [she was chronically untidy and her clothes lay where she had dropped them]

pejorative

[disparaging]: [permissiveness is used almost universally as a pejorative term] [race-linked pejoratives]

discontent

[dissatisfaction]: [voters voiced discontent with both parties] [the discontents of the working class] [the cause attracted a motley crew of discontents and zealots] [he was discontent with his wages]

disgruntled

[dissatisfied]: [judges receive letters from disgruntled members of the public]

difference

[dissimilarity, balance, disagreement]: [the differences between men and women] [their difference from one another] [the insurance company will pay the difference] [the couple are patching up their differences] [the Act will make no difference to my business]

exchange

[interchange, stock exchange, conversation, trade]: [negotiations should lead to an exchange of land for peace] [opportunities for the exchange of information] [an exchange visit to Germany] [they provided me with currency exchange at competitive rates] [the old Corn Exchange]

fascination

[interest]: [television has always held a fascination for me] [he had a lifelong fascination with science] [her fascination with the royal family] [words have always held a fascination for me]

meddlesome

[interfering]: [heaven rid him of meddlesome politicians!]

interval

[interim, intermission, stretch]: [after his departure, there was an interval of many years without any meetings] [the day should be dry with sunny intervals] [they ran, sprinted, and jogged for four 15-minute intervals at two different times] [an interval of mourning] [United led 3-0 at the interval]

ampere

[international ampere]:

translator

[interpreter, linguist]: [the translator of Hardy's poems into Icelandic]

inquisitor

[interrogator]: [the professional inquisitors of the press]

butt

[interrupt, target, stock, stub, adjoin]: [she butted him in the chest] [he butts his head against a wall] [sorry to butt in on you] [politicians should butt out of these cases] [his singing is the butt of dozens of jokes]

daunt

[intimidate, deter]: [some people are daunted by technology] [nothing daunted, the committee set to work]

differentiate

[distinguish, make different, transform]: [children can differentiate the past from the present] [he is unable to differentiate between fantasy and reality] [little now differentiates the firm's products from its rivals] [the receptors are developed and differentiated into sense organs] [the cells differentiate into a wide variety of cell types]

illiberal

[intolerant]: [illiberal and anti-democratic policies]

physician

[doctor]: [our family physician]

giver

[donor]: [a giver of advice] [care-givers]

relegate

[downgrade]: [they aim to prevent women from being relegated to a secondary role] [United were relegated to division two]

drawer

[draftsman]: [Queen Victoria was notoriously careless with her drawers] [the banker would have rights as holder to pursue the drawer]

oriental

[eastern]: [oriental countries]

happy-go-lucky

[easy-going]: [a happy-go-lucky attitude]

swallow

[eat, drink, tolerate, believe, restrain, engulf, take over]: [she swallowed a mouthful slowly] [she swallowed hard, sniffing back her tears] [he seemed ready to swallow any insult] [she had swallowed his story hook, line, and sinker] [he swallowed his pride]

immaterial

[irrelevant, intangible]: [the difference in our ages is immaterial] [we have immaterial souls]

irreversible

[irreparable, unalterable]: [she suffered irreversible damage to her health]

irrevocable

[irreversible]: [an irrevocable step]

publish

[issue, make known]: [we publish practical reference books] [the pressures on researchers to publish] [we pay £5 for every letter we publish] [a few hours after publishing the post I received a response from the founder of the company] [the photo has not been published on her Instagram account]

beam

[joist, ray, grin, broadcast, shine, grin, grinning, bright, mistaken]: [there are very fine oak beams in the oldest part of the house] [the cottage boasts a wealth of exposed beams] [a compulsory set of exercises on floor, vault, bars, and beam] [the watertight skin and deck were put on over this framework of ribs and beams] [there was land in sight on the port beam]

jest

[joke, prank, in fun, joke, fool]: [he laughed uproariously at his own jest] [it was said in jest] [lowly virtue is the jest of fools] [you jest, surely?]

festive

[jolly]: [the festive season is fast approaching] [the sombre atmosphere has given way to a festive mood]

galvanize

[jolt]: [the urgency of his voice galvanized them into action] [an old galvanized bucket] [the rain was beating hard against Miss Orilie's galvanize]

destination

[journey's end]: [Delft is an ideal destination for a relaxing weekend] [a destination restaurant]

voyage

[journey, travel]: [his voyage to America] [writing a biography is a voyage of discovery] [he spent part of his life voyaging along the South African coast]

expedition

[journey, trip, group, speed]: [an expedition to the jungles of the Orinoco] [many of the expedition have passed rigorous courses] [a shopping expedition] [the landlord shall remedy the defects with all possible expedition]

juror

[juryman, jurywoman]:

avoid

[keep away from, refrain from, shun]: [avoid excessive exposure to the sun] [Gerard avoided meeting his eye] [boys queued up to take Gloria out, but avoided Deirdre] [this route avoids downtown Boston] [book early to avoid disappointment]

prevent

[keep]: [action must be taken to prevent further accidents] [locks won't prevent a determined burglar from getting in]

exterminate

[kill]: [after exterminating the entire population, the soldiers set fire to the buildings] [they use poison to exterminate moles]

devoid

[lacking]: [Lisa kept her voice devoid of emotion]

bemoan

[lament]: [it was no use bemoaning her lot]

overload

[overburden, strain, excess]: [both boats were overloaded and low in the water] [overloaded vehicles] [the staff are heavily overloaded with casework] [the wiring had been overloaded] [an overload of stress]

boisterous

[lively, blustery]: [a group of boisterous lads] [the boisterous wind was lulled]

by-law

[local law]:

tranquil

[peaceful, calm]: [her tranquil gaze] [the sea was tranquil]

span

[period, bridge, extend over]: [a warehouse with a clear span of 28 feet] [the gannets had black-tipped wings with a six-foot span] [a major setback was the collapse of one span of a flyover] [an eight-span bridge] [a short concentration span]

suffuse

[permeate]: [her cheeks were suffused with colour] [the first half of the poem is suffused with idealism]

policy

[plans, strategy, practice]: [the government's controversial economic policies] [it is not company policy to dispense with our older workers] [a course of policy and wisdom] [they took out a joint policy]

romp

[play, sweep]: [the noisy pack of children romped around the gardens] [Newcastle romped to victory] [a 33-1 'no-hoper' romped home] [a colleague stumbled on the couple romping in an office] [a romp in the snow]

agreeable

[pleasant, likeable, willing]: [a cheerful and agreeable companion] [they were agreeable to its publication] [a compromise which might be agreeable to both coal owners and unions] [an agreeably warm day]

malleable

[pliable, easily influenced]: [a malleable metal can be beaten into a sheet] [they are as malleable and easily led as sheep]

plummet

[plunge, fall steeply/sharply]: [a climber was killed when he plummeted 300 feet down an icy gully] [hardware sales plummeted] [the bird has a circular display flight followed by an earthward plummet]

plural

[plural form]: [the first person plural] [the meanings of the text are plural] [a plural society] [nouns with irregular plurals] [the verb is in the plural]

attitude

[point of view, position]: [he was questioned on his attitude to South Africa] [being competitive is an attitude of mind] [the boy was standing in an attitude of despair] [I asked the waiter for a clean fork and all I got was attitude] [she snapped her fingers with attitude]

venomous

[poisonous, deadly, vicious, rancorous, malevolent]: [a leading expert on venomous snakes] [the box jelly is earth 's most venomous creature] [she replied with a venomous glance]

virulent

[poisonous, highly infectious, vitriolic]: [a virulent strain of influenza] [the poison is so virulent that it kills a fish instantly] [Staphylococcus aureus is a common organism whose virulent strains are causing problems] [a virulent attack on liberalism]

polarize

[polarise]: [some of the light is polarized so that it vibrates in only one plane] [polarized laser light] [a polarizing microscope] [the electrode is polarized in aqueous solution] [the cultural sphere has polarized into two competing ideological positions]

manifesto

[policy statement]: [he may fudge key issues in the Labour manifesto] [a manifesto for gay liberation] [manifesto commitments]

euphemism

[polite term]: [the jargon has given us 'downsizing' as a euphemism for cuts]

courteous

[polite]: [she was courteous and obliging to all] [a courteous young man]

supplication

[entreaty]: [he fell to his knees in supplication]

synonym

[equivalent word]: ['the East' was a synonym for the Soviet empire] ['shut' is a synonym of 'close'] [the Victorian age is a synonym for sexual puritanism]

temporize

[equivocate]: [the opportunity was missed because the queen still temporized]

inconsistent

[erratic, incompatible with]: [police interpretation of the law was often inconsistent] [parents can become inconsistent and lacking in control over their children] [he had done nothing inconsistent with his morality]

outbreak

[eruption, start]: [the outbreak of World War II]

gist

[essence]: [it was hard to get the gist of Pedro's talk] [damage is the gist of the action and without it the plaintiff must fail]

inception

[establishment]: [she has been on the board since its inception two years ago]

moralize

[pontificate]: [the self-righteous moralizing of his aunt was ringing in his ears] [he endeavoured to moralize an immoral society]

affirmative

[positive, agreement]: [an affirmative answer] [affirmative sentences] [regulations under the Bill would be subject to the affirmative procedure] [the family is usually a source of encouragement from which affirmative influences come] [he accepted her reply as an affirmative]

ownership

[possession]: [the ownership of land] [the rise in car ownership]

belongings

[possessions]: [she didn't have much baggage with her as most of her belongings had been sent ahead by sea]

arguably

[possibly]: [she is arguably the greatest woman tennis player of all time]

eventuality

[event]: [be prepared for all eventualities]

overdo

[exaggerate, have/do/use/drink too much ..., excessive, work too hard, overcook, overcooked]: [she rather overdoes the early cockney scenes] [I'd overdone the garlic in the curry] [I'd simply overdone it in the gym]

hyperbole

[exaggeration]: [he vowed revenge with oaths and hyperboles] [you can't accuse us of hyperbole]

interrogatory

[examination, interrogation]: [she abandoned her interrogatory monologue]

inspection

[examination]: [on closer inspection it looked like a fossil] [please have your tickets ready for inspection] [we carry out regular safety inspections]

scrutinize

[examine carefully]: [customers were warned to scrutinize the small print]

superb

[excellent, magnificent]: [a superb performance] [the Bey of Tunis was building himself a superb mausoleum]

swell

[expand, be filled, grow larger, make larger, grow loud, increase, billow]: [her bruised knee was already swelling up] [the sky was black and swollen with rain] [swollen glands] [she felt herself swell with pride] [the low murmur swelled to a roar]

outlay

[expenditure]: [a modest outlay on local advertising] [comparatively little financial outlay]

seasoned

[experienced]: [seasoned flour] [it was made from seasoned, untreated oak] [she is a seasoned traveller]

expressly

[explicitly, solely]: [she was expressly forbidden to use the stove] [the house was expressly built for entertaining]

adventure

[exploit, excitement]: [her recent adventures in Italy] [she travelled the world in search of adventure] [in any military adventure, the first casualty is truth] [I sold my East India adventure of £250 principal for £750] [they had adventured into the forest]

exponential

[exponential function]: [the social security budget was rising at an exponential rate] [an exponential curve]

idiom

[expression, language]: [he had a feeling for phrase and idiom] [they were both working in a neo-impressionist idiom]

deep

[extending far down, extending far back/in, in depth, sound, intense, clever, obscure, rapt, low-pitched, dark, far down, far]: [a deep gorge] [the lake was deep and cold] [a deep alcove] [deep in the woods] [the well was 200 feet deep]

wholesale

[extensively, extensive]: [if you want to sell large expensive pieces then wholesale is probably not the way to go] [the manufacturer's wholesale price] [bottles from this region sell wholesale at about £72 a case] [the safety clauses seem to have been taken wholesale from union documents] [the wholesale destruction of these animals by poachers]

additional

[extra]: [we require additional information]

cosmic

[extraterrestrial]: [cosmic matter] [the cosmic void] [the song is a masterpiece of cosmic proportions]

terror

[extreme fear, demon, rascal]: [people fled in terror] [she had a terror of darkness] [weapons of terror] [a terror suspect] [a terror attack]

module

[faculty, mental faculty]: [ships are now built in modules rather than built in a whole from the base up] [nine optional modules must be taken] [a Law module] [a networking module] [Spacelab, an extra module for the shuttle, will quadruple the experimental facilities on board]

neglect

[fail to look after, uncared for, run down, pay little/no attention to, disregard, disregarded, fail, disrepair, negligence]: [the old churchyard has been sadly neglected] [you neglect our advice at your peril] [he neglected to write to her] [the place had a hopeless air of neglect] [she was accused of child neglect]

balanced

[fair, mixed, level-headed, calm]: [she assembled a balanced team] [accurate and balanced information] [a healthy, balanced diet] [a balanced personality]

religion

[faith]: [ideas about the relationship between science and religion] [the world's great religions] [consumerism is the new religion] [he got religion and gave his money to the poor]

domestic

[family, native, domesticated, housewifely, national, servant]: [domestic chores] [domestic violence] [domestic water supplies] [domestic dogs] [she was not at all domestic]

household

[family]: [the whole household was asleep] [household bills] [Controller of the Household]

dauntless

[fearless]: [dauntless bravery]

noisome

[fetid, foetid, foul, foul-smelling, funky, ill-scented, smelly, stinking]: [noisome vapours from the smouldering waste] [a noisome concoction of which cheap port is the basis] [even if a journalist wanted to deliver the noisome truth, patriotism and censorship would prevent him]

muscular

[fibrous, strong, vigorous]: [energy is needed for muscular activity] [his legs were strong and muscular] [a muscular economy]

capricious

[fickle]: [a capricious and often brutal administration] [a capricious climate]

scuffle

[fight, fight]: [there were minor scuffles with police] [he heard the scuffle of feet] [the teacher noticed two pupils scuffling in the corridor] [a drenched woman scuffled through the doorway] [the rabbit struggled free, scuffling his front paws]

percolate

[filter, spread, brew]: [the water percolating through the soil may leach out minerals] [continental ideas on art, science, and architecture percolated from Venice to London] [he put some coffee on to percolate] [freshly percolated coffee] [the night was percolating with an expectant energy]

company

[firm, companionship, group, guests, unit, accompany]: [a shipping company] [the Ford Motor Company] [a company director] [I really enjoy his company] [she is excellent company]

blandish

[flatter]: [I was blandishing her with imprudences to get her off the subject]

complimentary

[flattering, free]: [Jennie was very complimentary about Kath's riding] [complimentary remarks] [a complimentary bottle of wine]

gust

[flurry, outburst, bluster]: [gusts of rain and snow flurried through the open door] [the wind was gusting through the branches of the tree]

forecastle

[fo'c'sle]:

accentuate

[focus attention on]: [his jacket unfortunately accentuated his paunch]

impose

[foist, levy, force oneself, take advantage of]: [the decision was theirs and was not imposed on them by others] [sanctions imposed on South Africa] [a fine may be imposed] [the director was unable to impose himself on the production] [she realized that she had imposed on Mark's kindness]

refreshment

[food and drink, invigoration]: [light refreshments are available] [an ample supply of liquid refreshment] [holidays are for refreshment and recreation]

coming

[forthcoming, approach]: [work is due to start in the coming year] [he was the coming man of French racing] [the coming of a new age] [time was when being offered a drink for the first time was a rite of passage, a coming of age] [yesterday's comings and goings outside Number 10]

weak

[frail, unconvincing, irresolute, dim, watery, unenthusiastic]: [she was recovering from flu, and was very weak] [the central government had grown too weak to impose order] [the new king used his powers to protect the weak] [their problems arose from fielding weak teams in league matches] [he had a weak stomach]

dishonest

[fraudulent, false]: [he was a dishonest hypocrite prepared to exploit his family] [he gave the editor a dishonest account of events]

laissez-faire

[free enterprise]: [a laissez-faire attitude to life] [laissez-faire capitalism]

gratis

[free of charge]: [a monthly programme was issued gratis] [gratis books]

pirate

[freebooter, copyright infringer, reproduce illegally]: [a pirate ship] [pirate recordings] [a pirate radio station] [pirated tapes of Hollywood blockbusters] [one of the ferry launches had been pirated while still in the harbour]

emancipation

[freeing]: [the social and political emancipation of women] [the early struggle for emancipation from slavery]

convivial

[friendly]: [a convivial cocktail party] [she was relaxed and convivial]

henceforth

[from now on]: [henceforth, parties which fail to get 5% of the vote will not be represented in parliament]

futility

[fruitlessness]: [the horror and futility of war]

reciprocal

[given/felt in return, mutual]: [she was hoping for some reciprocal comment or gesture] [the treaty is a bilateral commitment with reciprocal rights and duties] [he took up a reciprocal heading and dropped down to 2,000 ft] [the compressibility is the reciprocal of the bulk modulus]

twinkle

[glitter, glittering, run lightly, glitter]: [the lights twinkled in the distance] [the smile made her face crease and her eyes twinkle] ['Aha!' he said, twinkling at her] [his sandalled feet twinkled over the ground] [she looked at me with a grin and a twinkle in her eye]

luminescence

[glow]: [honey fungus produces a ghostly greenish luminescence]

rapacious

[grasping, greedy]: [rapacious landlords]

cemetery

[graveyard]: [a military cemetery]

lea

[grazing land, ley, pasture, pastureland]: [the lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea]

avarice

[greed]: [he was rich beyond the dreams of avarice]

pulverize

[grind, defeat utterly]: [the brick of the villages was pulverized by the bombardment] [he had a winning car and pulverized the opposition]

trailblazer

[groundbreaker, innovator, pioneer]: [he was a trailblazer for many ideas that are now standard fare]

adult

[grown person, mature, sexually explicit]: [children should be accompanied by an adult] [an adult woman] [adult education] [an effort to be adult and civilized]

expansion

[growth, elaboration]: [the rapid expansion of suburban London] [a small expansion of industry] [German expansion in the 1930s] [the book is an expansion of a lecture given last year]

escort

[guard, companion, paid companion, conduct, accompany]: [a police escort] [he was driven away under armed escort] [Louise and her escort were given the best table] [an escort agency] [he escorted her back to her hotel]

throat

[gullet]: [her throat was parched with thirst] [he's pouring beer down his throat] [a gold pendant gleamed at her throat] [from a hundred throats came the cry 'Vive l'Empereur!'] [they were always at each other's throats]

surge

[gush, swell, sudden increase, rush, gush, rise, increase suddenly]: [flooding caused by tidal surges] [the firm predicted a 20% surge in sales] [Sophie felt a surge of anger] [the journalists surged forward] [shares surged to a record high]

chaffer

[haggle, higgle, huckster]: [I chaffered in the bazaars for objects I wanted]

mallet

[hammer]:

haphazardly

[haphazard]: [a hodgepodge of family photos haphazardly arranged on a table] [the film feels haphazardly thrown together]

distressed

[hard put, hard-pressed, in a bad way]: [I was distressed at the news of his death] [the distressed relatives of his victims] [women in distressed circumstances] [a distressed leather jacket]

scene

[location, view, incident, area of interest, fuss, section, subdivision, secretly, secret]: [the emergency team were among the first on the scene] [relatives left floral tributes at the scene of the crash] [a scene of carnage] [thick snow had turned the scene outside into a picture postcard] [there had already been some scenes of violence]

rational

[logical, lucid, intelligent]: [I'm sure there's a perfectly rational explanation] [Ursula's upset—she's not being very rational] [man is a rational being]

logistically

[logistical]: [they offered their support both financially and logistically] [moving equipment from place to place was logistically challenging]

appearance

[look(s), impression, arrival, occurrence, outwardly]: [she checked her appearance in the mirror] [she read it with every appearance of interest] [he is well known for his television appearances] [the sudden appearance of her daughter startled her] [the appearance of the railway]

retrospect

[looking back]: [a full retrospect of the battle] [perhaps, in retrospect, I shouldn't have gone]

observatory

[lookout, lookout station, observation tower]:

diver

[loon]: [an Olympic diver] [a police diver]

slack

[loose, flaccid, baggy, lax, sluggish, looseness, lull, reduce, decrease, relax, slow down, idle, surplus]: [a slack rope] [her mouth went slack] [slack accounting procedures] [they were working at a slack pace] [business was rather slack]

affectionate

[loving]: [his affectionate nature] [an affectionate kiss]

inferior

[lower in status, second-rate, subordinate]: [schooling in inner-city areas was inferior to that in the rest of the country] [inferior goods] [ulcers located in the inferior and posterior wall of the duodenum] [her social and intellectual inferiors]

opulence

[luxuriousness, wealth]: [rooms of spectacular opulence]

tarmac

[macadamise, macadamize]: [the tarmac path] [there are no tarmacked roads]

legalize

[make legal]: [homosexuality and abortion have been legalized]

deform

[make misshapen, misshapen]: [he was physically deformed by a rare bone disease] [the suspension deforms slightly on corners]

utilize

[make use of]: [vitamin C helps your body utilize the iron present in your diet]

brighten

[make/become bright, enhance, cheer up]: [most of the country should brighten up later] [the fire began to blaze fiercely, brightening the room] [daffodils brighten up many gardens and parks] [Sarah brightened up considerably as she thought of Emily's words] [she seems to brighten his life]

grotesque

[malformed, outrageous]: [a figure wearing a grotesque mask] [a lifestyle of grotesque luxury] [the rods are carved in the form of a series of gargoyle faces and grotesques]

spite

[malice, upset, despite]: [he'd think I was saying it out of spite] [it seemed as if the wind had a spite at her] [he put the house up for sale to spite his family] [he was suddenly cold in spite of the sun] [Oliver smiled in spite of himself]

guy

[man, effigy of Guy Fawkes]: [he's a nice guy] [you guys want some coffee?] [she never stopped guying him about his weight]

cope

[manage, deal with]: [his ability to cope with stress] [it all got too much for me and I couldn't cope] [the roads are barely adequate to cope with the present traffic] [the outer shell of clay is called the cope] [a coped joint]

superintendent

[manager, caretaker, janitor]: [the southern area superintendent] [superintendent of district nurses] [the superintendent registrar] [Superintendent Bennet]

merchandising

[marketing, selling]: [problems rooted in poor merchandising] [the characters are still popular and found on a wide variety of merchandising]

keepsake

[memento]: [she was wearing the medal he gave her as a keepsake]

reminiscence

[memories]: [his reminiscences of his early days in Parliament] [his story made me smile in reminiscence] [his first works are too full of reminiscences of earlier poetry]

retention

[memory, retentiveness, retentivity]: [the retention of direct control by central government] [the children's retention of facts] [the soil's retention of moisture] [eating too much salt can lead to fluid retention]

repair

[mend, mend, rectify, put/set right, restoration, irreparable, mend, condition, go to]: [faulty electrical appliances should be repaired by an electrician] [an operation to repair damage to his neck] [the new government moved quickly to repair relations with the USA] [the truck was beyond repair] [the abandoned house they bought needs repairs]

herald

[messenger, harbinger, signal]: [they considered the first primroses as the herald of spring] [the speech heralded a change in policy] [the band have been heralded as the great hope for the nineties]

regular

[methodical, uniform, rhythmic, frequent, established, utter, usual]: [plant the flags at regular intervals] [a regular arrangement] [beautifully regular, heart-shaped leaves] [a regular monthly check] [her breathing became more regular]

methodology

[methodological analysis]: [a methodology for investigating the concept of focal points] [courses in research methodology and practice]

tube

[metro, subway, subway system, underground]: [a plastic tube is connected to the tap and the beer is ready to be pulled] [the firm manufactures steel tube for a wide variety of applications] [a tube of toothpaste] [a tube of Smarties] [a tube of lager]

temperate

[mild, self-restrained]: [sage can be grown outdoors in cool, temperate climates] [Chile has one of the largest temperate forests in the southern hemisphere] [Charles was temperate in his consumption of both food and drink]

balmy

[mild]: [the balmy days of late summer]

campaign

[military operation(s), crusade, crusade]: [a desert campaign] [the army set off on campaign] [an election campaign] [the campaign for a full inquiry into the regime] [people who campaigned against child labour]

delusion

[misapprehension, deception]: [the delusion of being watched] [what a capacity television has for delusion]

embezzle

[misappropriate]: [she had embezzled £5,600,000 in company funds]

urchin

[mischievous child]: [he was surrounded by a dozen street urchins in rags]

stir

[mix, move slightly, disturb, get up, leave, spur, arouse, commotion, be quick, whip up]: [Desmond stirred his tea and ate a biscuit] [pour in the cream and stir well] [stir in the flour and cook gently for two minutes] [nothing stirred except the wind] [a gentle breeze stirred the leaves]

emollient

[moisturizing, conciliatory, moisturizer]: [a rich emollient shampoo] [the president's emollient approach to differences] [always moisturize exposed skin with an effective emollient]

minute

[moment, point in time, very soon, be patient, at once, tiny, negligible, exhaustive, record(s)]: [we waited for twenty minutes] [I'll be there in ten minutes' time] [the hotel is situated just ten minutes from the centre of the resort] [come and sit down for a minute] [she was laughing one minute and crying the next]

impetus

[momentum, motivation]: [hit the booster coil before the flywheel loses all its impetus] [the ending of the Cold War gave new impetus to idealism]

memorial

[monument, tribute]: [a memorial to General Robert E. Lee] [a memorial service in the dead man's honour] [the Council sent a strongly worded memorial to the Chancellor of the Exchequer] [Mrs Carlyle's Letters and Memorials]

moonbeam

[moon ray, moon-ray]:

motivation

[motive, enthusiasm]: [escape can be a strong motivation for travel] [keep staff up to date and maintain interest and motivation] [the following proposal and motivation is submitted for consideration]

grieve

[mourn, hurt]: [she grieved for her father] [he is still grieving his mother's death] [it grieves me to think of you in that house alone]

delicious

[mouth-watering, delightful]: [delicious home-baked brown bread] [a delicious irony]

mutton

[mouton]: [a leg of mutton]

scarf

[muffler]: [she tucked her woolly scarf around her neck] [a silk scarf] [he forced me to scarf the keel timbers in watertight sections] [the scarfing follows the natural grain of the wood] [he scarfed down the waffles]

humid

[muggy]: [a hot and humid day]

assassin

[murderer]:

interdependent

[mutualist, mutually beneficial]: [we in Europe are all increasingly interdependent]

enigma

[mystery]: [Madeleine was still an enigma to him]

priceless

[of incalculable value/worth, hilarious]: [priceless works of art] [darling, you're priceless!]

upbeat

[offbeat]: [he was upbeat about the company's future]

countervail

[offset]: [the dominance of the party was mediated by a number of countervailing factors]

precipitation

[haste, hastiness, hurriedness, hurry]: [these convective processes produce cloud and precipitation] [the heavy post-monsoon precipitations] [Cora was already regretting her precipitation]

suspect

[have a suspicion, regard as guilty, doubt, suspected person, suspicious]: [if you suspect a gas leak, do not turn on an electric light] [she suspected that he might be bluffing] [a suspected heart condition] [parents suspected of child abuse] [a broker whose honesty he had no reason to suspect]

capable

[have the ability to, be open to, competent]: [I'm quite capable of taking care of myself] [the aircraft is capable of flying 5,000 miles non-stop] [the strange events are capable of rational explanation] [she looked enthusiastic and capable] [a highly capable man]

break with

[]: [he had broken with his family long before] [institutions which are dynamically prepared to break with tradition]

abhor

[abominate, execrate, loathe]: [he abhorred sexism in every form]

annex

[add, take over, extension]: [the first ten amendments were annexed to the Constitution in 1791] [extreme anointing hath neither ordinance of God to be grounded on, nor promise of grace annexed] [the left bank of the Rhine was annexed by France in 1797] [the school's one-storey wooden annex] [an annex to the report]

append

[add]: [the results of the survey are appended to this chapter]

consonance

[agreement]: [consonance between conservation measures and existing agricultural practice] [a constitution in consonance with the people's customs] [the abrupt quality of the sound is echoed in the final 't' consonance of 'discreet' and 'shut'] [all music creates tension and release, dissonance and consonance] [the tendency to place strong consonances in lower parts]

quantity

[amount, number, an amount]: [the quantity and quality of the fruit can be controlled] [a small quantity of food] [if taken in large quantities, the drug can result in liver failure] [she was able to drink quantities of beer without degenerating into giggles] [many people like to buy in quantity]

altercation

[argument]: [I had an altercation with the ticket collector]

heretofore

[as yet, hitherto, so far, thus far, til now, until now, up to now, yet]: [diseases that heretofore were usually confined to rural areas]

pupil

[student, disciple]: [they are former pupils of the school] [will you take me on as your pupil?]

theme

[subject, essay, melody]: [the theme of the sermon was reverence] [love and honour are the pivotal themes of the Hornblower books] [the first violin takes up the theme high up in its register] [a theme song] [an Irish theme pub]

deduction

[subtraction, stoppage, conclusion]: [the dividend will be paid without deduction of tax] [tax deductions] [the detective must uncover the murderer by deduction from facts] [we do not yet know if these deductions are correct]

accession

[succession, joining, assent, addition]: [the Queen's accession to the throne] [the accession of Spain and Portugal to the EU] [accession to the Treaty of Rome was effected in 1971] [the day-to-day work of cataloguing new accessions] [the accession number]

quagmire

[swamp, muddle]: [torrential rain turned the building site into a quagmire] [a legal quagmire]

glance

[take a quick look, read quickly, ricochet, reflect, peek, flash, on the face of it]: [Ginny glanced at her watch] [I glanced through your personnel file last night] [the stone glanced off a crag and hit Tom on the head] [sunlight glanced off the curved body of a dolphin] [he glanced the ball into the corner of the net]

takeaway

[takeout, takeout food]: [a fast-food takeaway] [a takeaway pizza] [he phoned for a takeaway] [he is happy to eat Chinese takeaway] [the main takeaway for me is that we need to continue to communicate all the things we're doing for our customers]

brown

[tanned, unbleached, singe, grill, fed up]: [an old brown coat] [she had warm brown eyes] [his face was brown from the sun] [a slice of brown toast with low fat spread] [the brown of his eyes]

abstinence

[teetotalism, celibacy, refraining]: [I started drinking again after six years of abstinence] [abstinence from premarital intercourse]

thesis

[theory, dissertation]: [his central thesis is that psychological life is not part of the material world] [a doctoral thesis]

consider

[think about, regard as, take into consideration, look at]: [each application is considered on its merits] [I may not have time to give a considered reply to suggestions] [he had considered giving up his job] [at first women were considered to be at low risk from HIV] [I don't consider that I'm to blame]

thunder

[thunderclap, rumble, rumble, boom, protest strongly at, roar]: [there was a crash of thunder] [thunder rolled through the mountains] [you can hear the thunder of the falls in the distance] ['I am Brother Joachim,' he announced in a voice like thunder] [none of this did the remotest good, but, by thunder, it kept the union activists feeling good]

frustrate

[thwart, exasperate]: [the rescue attempt was frustrated by bad weather] [in numerous policy areas, central government has been frustrated by local authorities] [it can be very frustrating to find that the size you want isn't there]

gratuity

[tip, gratuities]: [an end-of-contract gratuity of 20% of the total pay received]

diatribe

[tirade]: [a diatribe against consumerism]

tangible

[touchable, real]: [the atmosphere of neglect and abandonment was almost tangible] [the emphasis is now on tangible results] [these are the only tangibles upon which an assessment can be made]

tourism

[touristry]: [a national fund for the promotion of tourism] [the tourism industry]

poisonous

[toxic, venomous, malicious]: [poisonous chemicals] [a poisonous snake] [there was a poisonous atmosphere at the office]

traverse

[travel over/across, extend across]: [he traversed the forest] [a moving catwalk that traversed a vast cavernous space] [I often use this route, eventually traversing around the headwall] [ski patrol workers traverse the slope] [he would traverse a number of subjects and disciplines]

dragnet

[trawl, trawl net]:

bole

[tree trunk, trunk]:

excursion

[trip]: [an excursion to London Zoo] [large excursions of the hip and knee joint] [a gantry controlled the radial and tangential excursion of each detector] [the firm's disastrous excursion into the US electrical market]

score

[result, rating, the situation, a great many, scratch, get, keep (the) score, be successful, get the better of, orchestrate, scratch, cross out, grounds, on this/that subject, grievance, take (one's) revenge]: [the final score was 4-3 to Royston] [an IQ score of 161] ['What's wrong Simon? What's the score?'] [she made her first score from a dealer in Times Square] [robbers usually case a score a few times before they go in]

entourage

[retinue]: [an entourage of loyal courtiers]

reunite

[reunify]: [the three friends reunited in 1959] [Stephanie was reunited with her parents]

rhapsodize

[rhapsodise]: [he began to rhapsodize about Gaby's beauty and charm]

migrate

[roam]: [as autumn arrives, the birds migrate south] [rural populations have migrated to urban areas] [cells which can form pigment migrate beneath the skin] [customers are migrating from mainframes to client-server environments] [save time by efficiently migrating data to secondary storage systems]

piracy

[robbery at sea, illegal reproduction]: [air piracy] [software piracy]

theft

[robbery]: [he was convicted of theft] [the latest theft happened at a garage]

palate

[roof of the mouth, sense of taste, flavour]: [a fine range of drink for sophisticated palates] [the suggestions may not suit everyone's palate] [a wine with a zingy, peachy palate]

cable

[rope, wire]: [steel cables held the convoy together] [he caught a glimpse of the mast, a cable or two downwind] [an underground cable] [transatlantic phone calls went by cable] [this was an occasion for using the telephone, not cables, teletexes, or letters]

typographical

[typographic]: [the bibliography contains many typographical errors] [typographical symbols]

despotism

[tyranny]: [the ideology of enlightened despotism] [some nations are democracies, others are despotisms]

ugly

[unattractive, unpleasant]: [she thought she was ugly and fat] [the ugly sound of a fire alarm] [the mood in the room turned ugly] [ugly rumours persisted that there had been a cover-up] [racism and its most ugly manifestations, racial attacks and harassment]

indestructible

[unbreakable]: [indestructible plastic containers]

hesitant

[uncertain, irresolute, lacking confidence]: [clients are hesitant about buying] [her slow, hesitant way of speaking]

static

[unchanged]: [demand has grown in what was a fairly static market] [the whole ballet appeared too static] [the film is vulnerable to the collection of static charges] [the phone was full of static that sounded distant] [she felt the tingle of static from the cat's fur]

uncouth

[uncivilized]: [he is unwashed, uncouth, and drunk most of the time] [uncouth sketches of peasants] [his uncouth cell in Fleet prison]

incoherent

[unclear, delirious]: [he screamed some incoherent threat] [he was incoherent with sentiment] [the film is ideologically incoherent]

insecure

[unconfident, unguarded]: [a rather gauche, insecure young man] [a top model who is notoriously insecure about her looks] [an insecure footbridge] [an insecure computer system] [badly paid and insecure jobs]

authority

[power, authorization, authorization, officials, influence, expert, source, evidence]: [he had absolute authority over his subordinates] [a rebellion against those in authority] [military forces have the legal authority to arrest drug traffickers] [the money was spent without parliamentary authority] [health authorities issued a worldwide alert]

practitioner

[practician]: [patients are treated by skilled practitioners]

precession

[precedence, precedency]:

untoward

[unexpected]: [both tried to behave as if nothing untoward had happened] [untoward remarks]

unerring

[unfailing]: [an unerring sense of direction]

bishop

[prelate]:

absurdity

[preposterousness]: [Duncan laughed at the absurdity of the situation] [the absurdities of haute cuisine]

ecclesiastical

[priestly]: [the ecclesiastical hierarchy]

heyday

[prime]: [the paper has lost millions of readers since its heyday in 1964]

anterior

[prior]: [the veins anterior to the heart] [an incident anterior to her troubles]

method

[procedure, order]: [a method for software maintenance] [labour-intensive production methods] [historical study is the rigorous combination of knowledge and method] [Paula was at least hip to the Method] [reliance on Method technique]

mastery

[proficiency, knowledge, skill, control]: [she played with some mastery] [a child's mastery of language] [man's mastery over nature]

conciliatory

[propitiatory]: [a conciliatory approach]

restrictive

[protective]: [a web of restrictive regulations] [the books which were on the table once belonged to my aunt] [the books, which were on the table, once belonged to my aunt] [if you are in need of assistance, please ask any member of staff who will be pleased to help]

postpone

[put off]: [the visit had to be postponed for some time] [he postponed implementing the scheme until industry and business were consulted]

misuse

[put to wrong use, ill-treat, wrong use, illegal use]: [he was found guilty of misusing public funds] [we felt that we had been deceived and misused] [drugs of such potency that their misuse can have dire consequences] [a misuse of power]

riddle

[puzzle, perforate, permeate, sieve]: [they started asking riddles and telling jokes] [the riddle of her death] [he who knows not how to riddle] [riddle me this then] [you're talking in riddles—do you mean his mother?]

squabble

[quarrel, quarrel]: [family squabbles] [the boys were squabbling over a ball]

ethnic

[racial]: [ethnic and cultural rights and traditions] [leaders of ethnic communities] [pupils from a wide variety of ethnic origins] [ethnic Indian populations] [ethnic jewellery]

ragtime

[rag]: [ragtime piano classics] [a ragtime army]

pillage

[ransack, steal, robbery]: [the abbey was plundered and pillaged] [artworks pillaged from churches and museums] [rebellious peasants intent on pillage]

rapine

[rape]: [the fruits of violence and rapine] [industrial rapine]

resonance

[rapport]: [the resonance of his voice] [the concepts lose their emotional resonance]

last

[rearmost, closing, least likely, previous, final, end, finally, final decision, concluding remark, the best, continue, endure, survive, mould]: [they caught the last bus] [the last house in the village] [finishing in last place] [he came last in the race] [he's the last person I'd turn to for help]

assure

[reassure, ensure, insure]: [Tony assured me that there was a supermarket in the village] ['I quite understand,' Mrs Lewis assured her] [they assured him of their full confidence] [she assured herself that he was asleep] [victory was now assured]

unbecoming

[unflattering, inappropriate]: [a stout lady in an unbecoming striped sundress] [it was unbecoming for a university to do anything so crass as advertising its wares]

ebb

[receding, recede, diminish, abatement]: [the tide was on the ebb] [the ebb tide] [the tide began to ebb] [my enthusiasm was ebbing away] [the country was at a low ebb due to the recent war]

allay

[reduce, dispel]: [the report attempted to educate the public and allay fears] [some stale figs partly allayed our hunger]

battalion

[unit, crowd]:

unfair

[unjust, undeserved, unsporting]: [at times like these the legal system appears inhuman and unfair] [it would be unfair to blame her for the situation] [he was sent off for unfair play]

inexhaustible

[unlimited, tireless]: [his inexhaustible energy]

aloft

[upwards, in the air]: [the congregation sways, hands aloft] [she held her glass aloft] [Tom went aloft with the bosun]

repulse

[repel, rebuff, reject, revolt, repelling, defeat, rebuff]: [rioters tried to storm the Ministry but were repulsed by police] [she left, feeling hurt because she had been repulsed] [audiences were repulsed by the film's brutality] [the repulse of the invaders] [his evasion of her scheme had been another repulse]

permutation

[replacement, substitution, switch, transposition]: [his thoughts raced ahead to fifty different permutations of what he must do]

symbolize

[represent]: [the ceremonial dagger symbolizes justice] [a tendency to symbolize the father as the sun]

mansion

[residence]: [Carlyle Mansions]

occupant

[resident]: [the previous occupant of her room] [occupants of the moral high ground] [the first occupant of the Chair of Botany]

immune

[resistant]: [they were naturally immune to hepatitis B] [they are immune from legal action] [no one is immune to his immense charm]

litter

[rubbish, clutter, brood, animal bedding, sedan chair, make untidy]: [always clear up after a picnic and never drop litter] [a litter bin] [a litter of sleeping bags on the floor] [a litter of five kittens] [a plastic litter tray]

finished

[ruined]: [a preparatory drawing for the finished painting] [he was told he was finished at the club] [his highly finished craftsmanship] [she gave a fine finished performance]

shabby

[run down, contemptible]: [a conscript in a shabby uniform saluted the car] [a shabby fellow in slippers and an undershirt] [Snooping, was he? That's a shabby trick]

bucolic

[rustic]: [the church is lovely for its bucolic setting]

rustproof

[rustproofed]: [rustproof screws] [was it practicable to rustproof metallic structures, as one did cars?]

ferocity

[savagery]: [the ferocity of the storm caught them by surprise] [she hated him with a ferocity that astonished her]

adage

[saying]: [the old adage 'out of sight out of mind']

scurry

[scamper, rush, swarm]: [pedestrians scurried for cover] [I was in such a scurry] [the sled disappeared in a scurry of snow]

landscape

[scenery]: [the soft colours of the Northumbrian landscape] [a bleak urban landscape] [the collection includes some 17th-century landscapes] [a landscape painter] [he found he could not express himself in landscape]

studious

[scholarly, deliberate, diligent]: [he was quiet and studious] [his studious absence from public view] [he made a studious inspection of the buffet]

academician

[schoolman]:

seek

[search for, try to obtain, try, ask for]: [they came here to seek shelter from biting winter winds] [the new regime sought his extradition] [her parents had never sought to interfere with her freedom] [he sought help from the police] [it's his job to seek out new customers]

strand

[seashore, thread, lock, element]: [the ships were stranded in shallow water] [quantities of sea creatures were left stranded] [two of the firm's lorries are stranded in France] [a heron glided to rest on a pebbly strand] [strands of coloured wool]

seasonal

[seasonal worker]: [a selection of seasonal fresh fruit] [there are companies whose markets are seasonal] [seasonal rainfall] [seasonal fresh fruit] [there are companies whose markets are seasonal]

sideline

[secondary occupation, without taking part]: [a sideline career as a stand-up comic] [electronic handbooks are a lucrative sideline for the firm] [Gascoigne celebrated his goal by sprinting to the sidelines] [a referee collapsed during a match as his son watched from the sidelines] [we are not just watching from the sidelines, we are rolling our sleeves up and getting involved]

surreptitious

[secret]: [low wages were supplemented by surreptitious payments from tradesmen]

chapter

[section, period, governing body, branch, series]: [we will deal with this in chapter eleven] [a majority voted for the inclusion of the social chapter in the treaty] [the people are about to begin a new chapter in their history] [the latest episode in a chapter of problems] [land granted by the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral]

usurp

[seize, oust]: [Richard usurped the throne] [the Hanoverian dynasty had usurped the Stuarts] [the Church had usurped upon the domain of the state]

hedonism

[self-indulgence]:

indignity

[shame]: [the indignity of needing financial help] [he was subjected to all manner of indignities]

communal

[shared, collective]: [a communal bathroom and kitchen] [communal living] [communal pride in impressive local buildings] [violent communal riots]

aggressively

[sharply]: [he resisted violently and continued to behave aggressively in the police car] [foreign-owned banks are aggressively marketing credit cards]

diaphanous

[sheer]: [a diaphanous dress of pale gold]

secluded

[sheltered, private]: [the gardens are quiet and secluded]

glitter

[shine, sparkle, glamour]: [the grass glittered with dew] [her eyes glittered with excitement] [the blue glitter of the sea] [the scathing glitter in his eyes] [sneakers trimmed with sequins and glitter]

liner

[ship, eyeliner]:

shrinkage

[shoplifting]: [give long curtains good hems to allow for shrinkage]

bush

[shrub, bushes, wilds]: [a rose bush] [they have to spend a night camping in the bush] [the lowland country was covered in thick bush] [bush justice] [a childish face with a bush of bright hair]

nauseous

[sick, sickening]: [a rancid odour that made him nauseous] [the smell was nauseous] [this nauseous account of a court case]

profile

[side view, description, describe]: [the man turned and she caught his profile] [skilfully made vessels with an S-shaped profile] [in soft rocks a profile drawn normally to the beach would show a concave form comparable with the long profile of a river] [a profile of a Texas tycoon] [he posted the pictures on his Facebook profile]

outline

[silhouette, rough idea, silhouette, rough out]: [the chalked outline of a human body] [the outlines of dockside warehouses standing sharp on the skyline] [an outline of parliamentary procedure] [an outline proposal] [her eyes were darkly outlined with kohl]

identical

[similar, the same, aforementioned]: [four girls in identical green outfits] [the passage on the second floor was identical to the one below] [she stole a suitcase from the identical station at which she had been arrested before] [an identical proposition]

bark

[woof, woof, say/speak brusquely, shout, rind, scrape]: [a short bark of laughter] [a dog barked at her] [she barked with laughter] [he began barking out his orders] ['Nobody is allowed up here,' he barked]

arrant

[utter]: [what arrant nonsense!]

unoccupied

[vacant, uninhabited]: [the house has been unoccupied for some time] [unoccupied France]

vindictive

[vengeful, spiteful]: [the criticism was both vindictive and personalized]

highly

[very, favourably]: [a highly dangerous substance] [highly paid people] [his colleagues think very highly of him]

porch

[vestibule]: [the north porch of Hereford Cathedral] [Daniel and Lydia sat out on the porch for many hours]

moral

[virtuous, ethical, lesson, moral code]: [the moral dimensions of medical intervention] [a moral judgement] [they have a moral obligation to pay the money back] [moral philosophers] [he prides himself on being a highly moral and ethical person]

viscosity

[viscousness]: [cooling the fluid raises its viscosity] [silicone oils can be obtained with different viscosities]

hike

[walk, walk, hitch up, increase, go away]: [a five-mile hike across rough terrain] [it's such a hike from Adelaide to Perth] [fears of a hike in interest rates] [they hiked across the moors] [she enjoys hiking and climbing in her spare time]

limber

[warm up]: [I have to practise to keep myself limber] [limber graphite fishing rods] [the acrobats were limbering up for the big show] [a six-horse limbered gun]

distortion

[warp, misrepresentation, garbling]: [the virus causes distortion of the leaves] [deliberate distortions of pitch and timbre] [a distortion in the eye's shape or structure] [we're fed up with the media's continuing distortion of our issues]

caprice

[whim, fickleness]: [her caprices made his life impossible] [a land where men were ruled by law and not by caprice] [the caprice was divided into a theme and eleven variations]

devilish

[wicked, diabolical, difficult]: [devilish tortures] [a wide, devilish grin] [it turned out to be a devilish job] [a devilish clever chap]

prevalent

[widespread]: [the social ills prevalent in society today]

breadth

[width, range]: [the boat measured 27 feet in breadth] [the bank reaches a maximum breadth of about 100 km] [she has the advantage of breadth of experience] [the minister is not noted for his breadth of vision]

sage

[wise man/woman, wise]: [the sayings of the numerous venerable sages] [I'm not much of a sage, I'm afraid] [I asked a sage on the news desk] [they nodded in agreement with these sage remarks]

advisable

[wise]: [it is advisable to carry one of the major credit cards] [early booking is advisable]

unanimously

[without opposition, with one accord]: [a committee of MPs has unanimously agreed to back his bill]

philander

[womanize]: [they accepted that their husbands would philander with other women]

imposition

[imposing, levying, burden, tax]: [the imposition of martial law] [I'd like to see you, if that wouldn't be too much of an imposition] [some see the law as an unwanted imposition on their lives] [samples of 16-page impositions]

extempore

[impromptu, spontaneously]: [extempore public speaking] [he recited the poem extempore]

whim

[impulse, capriciousness]: [she bought it on a whim] [he appeared and disappeared at whim]

beforehand

[in advance]: [rooms must be booked beforehand] [he discovered Ash had been beforehand with him]

rental

[lease, letting]: [a nominal rental] [the office was on weekly rental] [several young people sharing a summer rental] [rental accommodation]

lascivious

[lecherous]: [he gave her a lascivious wink]

leeward

[lee, lee side]: [the leeward side of the house] [we pitched our tents leeward of a hill] [the ship was drifting to leeward]

rightful

[legal, deserved, due]: [the rightful owner of the jewels] [they are determined to take their rightful place in a new South Africa]

judicial

[legal]: [a judicial inquiry into the allegations] [a judicial system]

lassitude

[lethargy]: [she was overcome by lassitude and retired to bed]

perishable

[liable to rot]: [the storage of perishable foods] [caviar is extremely perishable] [ballet is the most perishable of arts] [the shipment was delivered eventually though some of the perishables had gone off]

ripe

[mature, ready, opportune, advanced]: [a ripe tomato] [a ripe Brie] [rich, ripe flavours emanate from this wine] [land ripe for development] [they felt that the time was ripe for a new approach]

medial

[median]: [a medial ligament] [a medial consonant]

intermediary

[mediator]: [negotiations took place through an intermediary] [an intermediary stage]

medicine

[medical science, medication, get even (with), accept one's punishment]: [he made distinguished contributions to pathology and medicine] [the remarkable achievements of modern medicine] [give her some medicine] [your doctor will be able to prescribe medicines] [Fleur was murdering him by use of bad medicine]

lyric

[melodic, light, words]: [lyric poems of extraordinary beauty] [the lyric poets of Ancient Greece] [a lyric soprano with a light, clear timbre] [an edition of Horace's Lyrics] [stylistic categories fundamental to literary aesthetics—epic, lyric, drama, comedy, tragedy]

crucible

[melting pot]: [the crucible tipped and the mould filled with liquid metal] [their relationship was forged in the crucible of war]

souvenir

[memento, souvenirs]: [the recording provides a souvenir of a great production] [many parts of the aircraft have been souvenired]

lenient

[merciful]: [in the view of the Court the sentence was too lenient] [lenient magistrates]

ruthless

[merciless]: [a ruthless manipulator]

value

[merit, price, cost, principles, evaluate, appreciate, cherished]: [your support is of great value] [prints seldom rise in value] [equipment is included up to a total value of £500] [at £12.50 the book is good value] [the wine represents a good value for $17.95]

martial

[military, warlike]: [martial bravery]

fog

[mist, daze, steam up, muddle]: [the collision occurred in thick fog] [a whirling fog of dust] [the coffee helped clear the fog in my brain] [hot steam drifted about her, fogging up the window] [the windscreen was starting to fog up]

distrust

[mistrust, suspicion, mistrust]: [the public's distrust of politicians] [speculation remained that the Army distrusted the peace process]

demure

[modest]: [a demure little wife who sits at home minding the house] [a demure white lace cap]

adjust

[modify, adapt]: [he smoothed his hair and adjusted his tie] [a single control adjusts the water flow] [a harness that adjusts to the correct fit] [she must be allowed to grieve and to adjust in her own way] [his eyes had adjusted to semi-darkness]

ethics

[moral code]: [medical ethics also enter into the question] [neither metaphysics nor ethics is the home of religion]

increasingly

[more and more]: [increasingly, attention is paid to health] [an increasingly difficult situation]

lore

[mythology, knowledge]: [the jinns of Arabian lore] [baseball lore]

bare

[naked, uncovered, barren, empty, empty of, straightforward, mere, uncover]: [he was bare from the waist up] [she padded in bare feet towards the door] [leaf fall had left the trees bare] [bare floorboards] [a bare cell with just a mattress]

appellation

[name, title]: [the city fully justifies its appellation 'the Pearl of the Orient'] [about 20 per cent of French wines with an appellation come from Alsace] [the top appellations Saint-Émilion and Pomerol] [the north-east corner of the appellation]

patriot

[nationalist]: [a true patriot]

achromatic

[neutral]: [achromatic microscopes] [a lens of achromatic construction] [the achromatic gloom]

recent

[new, not long past]: [his recent visit to Britain] [a recent edition of the newspaper]

appoint

[nominate, specify]: [she has been appointed to the board] [they appointed her as personnel manager] [they appointed a day in May for the meeting] [such laws are appointed by God] [trustees appoint the capital to the beneficiaries]

nomination

[nominating address, nominating speech]: [women's groups opposed the nomination of the judge] [the film received five nominations] [send your nominations in by 30th November]

civilian

[non-military person, non-military]: [terrorists and soldiers have killed tens of thousands of civilians] [I talk to a lot of actresses and they say that civilians are scared of them] [civilian clothes]

antebellum

[nonmodern]: [the conventions of the antebellum South]

conventional

[normal, run-of-the-mill, unoriginal, orthodox, conservative]: [a conventional morality had dictated behaviour] [she blossomed into an attractive, intelligent, perhaps slightly too conventional, young woman] [conventional love poetry] [agreement on reducing conventional forces in Europe] [West made a conventional bid showing a hand with at least 5 spades]

naturally

[normally, by nature, of course]: [naturally curly hair] [act naturally] [a naturally bright pupil] [one leads naturally into the other] [naturally, I hoped for the best]

invisible

[not visible]: [this invisible gas is present to some extent in every home] [he lounged in a doorway, invisible in the dark] [before 1971 women artists were pretty well invisible] [invisible exports]

notable

[noteworthy, prominent, celebrity]: [the gardens are notable for their collection of magnolias and camellias] [the results, with one notable exception, have been superb] [businessmen and local notables]

crux

[nub]: [the crux of the matter is that attitudes have changed] [both cruces can be resolved by a consideration of the manuscripts] [the star Beta Crucis]

numerical

[numeric]: [the lists are in numerical order]

oak

[oak tree]: [scents of toasty oak] [soft oak overtones] [the Irish Oaks]

vow

[oath, swear]: [the vows of celibacy] [the rebels vowed to continue fighting] [I vowed that my family would never go hungry] ['never again!' he vowed] [I vowed myself to this enterprise]

necrology

[obit, obituary]:

obnoxious

[objectionable]: [obnoxious odours] [he found her son somewhat obnoxious]

arch

[archway, curve, curve, knowing]: [a triumphal arch] [the delicate arch of his eyebrows] [the muscles in the arch of my right foot suddenly seized up] [a beautiful bridge that arched over a canal] [her eyebrows arched in surprise]

laborious

[arduous, laboured]: [years of laborious training] [the work is very slow and laborious] [she wrote in laborious, dictionary-assisted English]

caricature

[cartoon, parody]: [a crude caricature of the Prime Minister] [there are elements of caricature in the portrayal of the hero] [he looked a caricature of his normal self] [he was famous enough to be caricatured by Private Eye]

engrave

[carve, fix]: [my name was engraved on the ring] [the crystal glasses were engraved with the Queen's cipher] [his drawings of public buildings were engraved by Edward Rooker] [the image would be forever engraved in his memory]

list

[catalogue, lean]: [consult the list of drugs on page 326] [if you're buying a new car, put security high on your list of priorities] [I have listed four reasons below] [local offices are listed in the phone book] [the bottom-of-the-line Mercedes lists for $52,050]

disastrous

[catastrophic]: [a disastrous fire swept through the museum] [United made a disastrous start to the season]

classification

[categorization, category]: [the classification of disease according to symptoms] [the classification of the platypus was one of the critical issues of the 1830s] [diagnostic features in reptilian classification] [new classifications for drivers of commercial vehicles]

console

[comfort, control panel]: [she tried to console him but he pushed her gently away] [you can console yourself with the thought that you did your best] [he put a consoling arm around her shoulder]

celebrate

[commemorate, perform, praise, acclaimed]: [they were celebrating their wedding anniversary at a swanky restaurant] [she celebrated with a glass of champagne] [wildlife campaigners celebrated after their victory] [the programme celebrates its 40th birthday this year] [he celebrated holy communion]

praiseworthy

[commendable, laudable]: [the government's praiseworthy efforts]

remark

[comment, comment on, note, comment, remarks, attention]: ['Tom's looking peaky,' she remarked] [he remarked that he had some work to finish] [the judges remarked on the high standard of the entries] [he remarked the man's inflamed eyelids] [I decided to ignore his rude remarks]

mercantile

[commercial, profit-oriented]: [the shift of wealth to the mercantile classes]

sympathetic

[commiserating, in favour of, likeable]: [she was sympathetic towards staff with family problems] [he spoke in a sympathetic tone] [he was sympathetic to evolutionary ideas] [Hubbell is a more sympathetic character] [buildings that were sympathetic to their surroundings]

sympathy

[commiseration, compassion, rapport, agreement]: [they had great sympathy for the flood victims] [all Tony's friends joined in sending their sympathies to his widow Jean] [the special sympathy between the two boys was obvious to all] [his sympathies lay with his constituents] [I have some sympathy for this view]

perpetrate

[commit]: [a crime has been perpetrated against a sovereign state] [a crime has been perpetrated against a sovereign state] [a monument to perpetuate the memory of those killed in the war]

dedication

[commitment, devotion, inscription, blessing]: [his dedication to his duties] [the dedication of a new city church] [a faintly engraved inscription or dedication] [the hardback edition contained a fulsome dedication to his wife]

collective

[common]: [a collective protest] [ministers who share collective responsibility] [a collective sigh of relief from parents] [the collective power of the workforce] [the anarchist collective and bookshop]

corporation

[company, council]: [the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation] [multinational corporations] [the City of London Corporation]

relatively

[comparatively, quite]: [they were very poor, but, relatively speaking, they had been lucky] [the site was cheap and relatively clean]

counterbalance

[compensate for]: [the trolley used a counterbalance and leverage action to reduce the effort of lifting loads] [his restoration to power was intended as a counterbalance to his rival's influence] [the sitter's weight counterbalances the tilting pressure on the backrest] [the extra cost of mail order may be counterbalanced by its convenience]

absolute

[complete, definite, unlimited, autocratic, universal]: [absolute secrecy] [absolute silence] [the policy is absolute folly] [no one dare challenge her absolute authority] [the right to life is absolute]

docile

[compliant]: [a cheap and docile workforce] [she's a black Labrador, gentle and docile]

constituent

[component, voter, component]: [the constituent minerals of the rock] [the constituent body has a right of veto] [a constituent assembly] [the MP is playing on his constituents' sense of regional identity to win votes] [the essential constituents of the human diet]

complex

[compound, complicated, network, obsession]: [a complex network of water channels] [a complex personality] [the situation is more complex than it appears] [in naming complex ions, the names of the ligands are cited first] [a complex of mountain roads]

calculable

[computable, estimable, countable, denumerable, enumerable, numerable, determinable]: [the conversion of mass into energy affects stars in a calculable fashion]

calculation

[computation, assessment]: [finding ways of saving money involves complicated calculations] [the calculation of depreciation] [decisions are shaped by political calculations]

ballet

[concert dance]: [the Bolshoi Ballet]

appease

[conciliate, satisfy]: [amendments have been added to appease local pressure groups] [we give to charity because it appeases our guilt]

concurrence

[concurrency]: [the incidental concurrence of two separate tumours] [the number of possible concurrences in the diagram] [delays can be avoided by arriving at political concurrence at the start] [we want the concurrence of law enforcement]

stigmatize

[condemn]: [the institution was stigmatized as a last resort for the destitute] [Francis, stigmatized in fashion as his Lord]

stipulation

[condition]: [they donated their collection of prints with the stipulation that they never be publicly exhibited]

behave

[conduct oneself, act correctly]: [he always behaved like a gentleman] [it is not acceptable for a student to behave like that towards a teacher] [each car behaves differently] ['Just behave, Tom,' he said] [they were expected to behave themselves]

aqueduct

[conduit]:

evergreen

[cone-bearing, coniferous, half-evergreen, semi-evergreen]: [the glossy laurel is fully hardy and evergreen] [evergreen shrubs] [this symphony is an evergreen favourite] [evergreens planted to cut off the east wind] [Monty Python and other TV evergreens]

uphold

[confirm, maintain]: [the court upheld his claim for damages] [they uphold a tradition of not causing distress to living creatures]

dupe

[deceive, victim]: [the newspaper was duped into publishing an untrue story] [men who were simply the dupes of their unscrupulous leaders] [how to dupe 35 mm slides on to 35 mm film] [black-and-white dupes]

annul

[declare invalid, repeal]: [the elections were annulled by the general amid renewed protests] [her first marriage was finally annulled by His Holiness]

convict

[declare/find/pronounce guilty, prisoner]: [her former boyfriend was convicted of assaulting her] [a convicted murderer] [two escaped convicts kidnapped them at gunpoint]

garnish

[decorate, decoration]: [garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream] [the IRS garnished his earnings] [reserve a few watercress leaves for a garnish] [some flowers are edible and make attractive salad garnish]

propriety

[decorum, etiquette, correctness]: [he always behaved with the utmost propriety] [she's a great one for the proprieties] [they questioned the propriety of certain investments made by the council]

inference

[deduction]: [researchers are entrusted with drawing inferences from the data] [it seemed a fair inference that such books would be grouped together] [his emphasis on order and health, and by inference cleanliness]

conquest

[defeat, seizure, ascent, catch]: [the conquest of the Aztecs by the Spanish] [colonial conquests] [the conquest of inflation] [the conquest of Everest] [she was someone he could display before his friends as his latest conquest]

classic

[definitive, simple, typical, definitive example]: [a classic novel] [a classic car] [this classic navy blazer] [Hamlet is the classic example of a tragedy] [I had all the classic symptoms of flu]

dexterity

[deftness, shrewdness]: [her dexterity with chopsticks] [his record testifies to a certain dexterity in politics]

retrogression

[degeneration]: [a retrogression to 19th-century attitudes]

filibuster

[delaying tactics, waste time]: [several measures were killed by Republican filibustering]

subtend

[delimit]: [the angle subtended by a string of length r at the centre of the sphere] [the main beauty is provided by the bracts which subtend the flowers]

extortion

[demanding money with menaces]: [he used bribery and extortion to build himself a huge, art-stuffed mansion] [extortion rackets]

destroy

[demolish, spoil, wreck, annihilate, defeat utterly, kill]: [the room had been destroyed by fire] [he has been determined to destroy her] [Northants have the batting to destroy anyone] [their terrier was destroyed after the attack]

rendition

[performance, version, depiction, translation]: [a wonderful rendition of 'Nessun Dorma'] [a pen-and-ink rendition of Mars with his sword drawn] ['Iroquois' is a French rendition of an Algonquian word for 'rattlesnake']

indulgent

[permissive]: [indulgent parents] [sheer indulgent nostalgia]

pest

[pestilence, pestis, plague]: [the tomato plant attracts a pest called whitefly] [an effective method for controlling insect pests] [pest control] [he was a real pest]

fossilize

[petrified, archaic]: [the hard parts of the body are readily fossilized] [flowers do not readily fossilize] [we want to see a working countryside—we don't want to see it fossilized]

pharmaceutical

[pharmaceutic]: [a pharmaceutical drug] [the pharmaceutical industry] [pharmaceuticals and cosmetics] [pharmaceuticals companies] [the drugs group lost 6p and other pharmaceuticals were also dragged lower]

schedule

[plan, list, arrange, late]: [we have drawn up an engineering schedule] [take a moment out of your busy schedule] [information on airline schedules] [they need a clear schedule of fixtures and fittings] [the release of the single is scheduled for April]

board

[plank, committee, food, get on, lodge, accommodate, cover up/over]: [loose boards creaked as I walked on them] [sections of board] [he will be on the boards at Stratford tonight] [teachers talk and write on the board] [Pete set the pieces out on the board]

contaminate

[pollute]: [the site was found to be contaminated by radioactivity] [celebrity has contaminated every aspect of public life] [contaminated blood products]

location

[position, place]: [the property is set in a convenient location] [the movie was filmed entirely on location] [the location of new housing beyond the existing built-up areas]

pole

[post, mad, extremity, completely different]: [a tent pole] [new poles should be protected from grazing livestock] [they tell you on the tin that their tuna is entirely caught with pole and line] [the boatman appeared, poling a small gondola] [they poled slowly across to the other bank]

hoax

[practical joke, play a practical joke on]: [the evidence had been planted as part of an elaborate hoax] [a hoax 999 call]

pragmatic

[pragmatic sanction]: [a pragmatic approach to politics]

realism

[pragmatism, authenticity]: [the summit was marked by a new mood of realism] [political realism is the oldest approach to global politics] [modern jurists have tended to underestimate the scope of American legal realism] [British soaps will stay because of their gritty realism]

cliff

[precipice]: [a coast path along the top of rugged cliffs]

microscopic

[precise]: [microscopic algae] [a microscopic skirt] [such a vision is as microscopic as his is panoramic] [microscopic soil analysis]

exactly

[precisely, accurately, verbatim, precisely, by no means]: [they met in 1989 and got married exactly two years later] [what exactly are you looking for?] ['You mean that you're going to tell me the truth?' 'Exactly.'] [that too was not exactly convincing] [not exactly agitated, but disturbed]

preordain

[predestine]: [you might think the company's success was preordained] [a divinely preordained plan of creation]

prophesy

[predict]: [Jacques was prophesying a bumper harvest] [the papers prophesied that he would resign after the weekend] [he was prophesying a bumper harvest] [a bleak prophecy of war and ruin]

foreseeable

[predictable]: [the situation is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future]

penchant

[predilection, preference, taste]: [he has a penchant for adopting stray dogs]

discrimination

[prejudice, differentiation, discernment, selectivity]: [victims of racial discrimination] [discrimination against homosexuals] [discrimination between right and wrong] [young children have difficulties in making fine discriminations] [those who could afford to buy showed little taste or discrimination]

prelude

[preliminary, overture, introduction]: [a ceasefire had been agreed as a prelude to full peace negotiations] [the bombardment preluded an all-out final attack]

chancellor

[premier, prime minister]: [the Lord chancellor and the judges will consider the application] [the Chancellor's Budget speech]

maintenance

[preservation, upkeep, nurture, financing, financial support]: [crucial conditions for the maintenance of democratic government] [car maintenance] [essential maintenance work] [a chance of going to university with fees and maintenance paid] [a divorced man paying his ex-wife £2,500 a year maintenance]

sting

[prick, smarting, heartache, sharpness, swindle, prick, smart, upset, provoke, swindle]: [a nettle-like plant with no sting] [a wasp or bee sting] [she felt the sharp sting of tears behind her eyelids] [I recalled the sting of his betrayal] [she smiled to take the sting out of her words]

jail

[prison, imprison]: [he spent 15 years in jail] [a jail sentence] [the driver was jailed for two years]

provisional

[probationary, provisionary, tentative]: [a provisional government] [provisional bookings] [Norman as yet had only a provisional licence] [the Provisional IRA]

declare

[proclaim, assert]: [the prime minister declared that the programme of austerity had paid off] ['I was under too much pressure,' he declared] [Spain declared war on Britain in 1796] [the mansion was declared a fire hazard] [the president had declared for denuclearization of Europe]

yield

[produce, surrender, accede to, relinquish, bend, profit]: [the land yields grapes and tobacco] [this method yields the same results] [such investments yield direct cash returns] [the Western powers now yielded when they should have resisted] [he yielded to the demands of his partners]

proceeds

[profits]: [proceeds from the event will go to aid the work of the charity]

swagger

[strut, boast, strut, boasting]: [he swaggered along the corridor] [a swaggering gait] [they strolled around the camp with an exaggerated swagger] [I'll take you somewhere swagger]

obstinate

[stubborn]: [her obstinate determination to pursue a career in radio] [the obstinate problem of unemployment]

daze

[stun, astound, stupor]: [she was dazed by his revelations] [a dazed expression] [he was walking around in a daze]

urbane

[suave, courteous]: [he is charming and urbane] [a sophisticated, urbane man]

debonair

[suave]: [all the men looked debonair and handsome in white tie and tails]

subliminal

[subconscious]:

underlying

[subjacent]:

stifle

[suffocate, very hot, suppress, constrain]: [those in the streets were stifled by the fumes] [she stifled a giggle] [high taxes were stifling private enterprise]

appropriate

[suitable, relevant, seize, steal, plagiarize, allocate]: [this isn't the appropriate time or place] [a measure appropriate to a wartime economy] [the accused had appropriated the property] [there can be problems in appropriating funds for legal expenses]

convenient

[suitable, trouble-free, within easy reach of]: [I phoned your office to confirm that this date is convenient] [the new car park will make shopping much more convenient] [the site would have to be convenient for London] [guests were relaxing beneath a convenient palm tree]

besmirch

[sully]: [he had besmirched the good name of his family] [the ground was besmirched with blood]

sunshine

[sunlight, happiness]: [we walked in the warm sunshine] [their colourful music can bring a ray of sunshine] [hand it over, sunshine]

supervise

[superintend]: [the sergeant left to supervise the loading of the lorries] [nurses were supervised by a consultant psychiatrist] [the prisoners were supervised by two officers]

miraculous

[supernatural, amazing]: [a miraculous cure] [I felt amazed and grateful for our miraculous escape]

appendix

[supplement]: [I'm merely standing in while Stella is having her appendix out] [a list of such activities was published as an appendix to the report] [outline answers may be found in Appendix 2]

adjunct

[supplement]: [computer technology is an adjunct to learning] [a talented adjunct desperately grabbing at officer status] [other adjunct therapies include immunotherapy] [an adjunct professor of entomology]

alleged

[supposed]: [the alleged conspirators]

outshine

[surpass]: [a supernova would outshine all the other stars in its galaxy] [it is a shame when a mother outshines a daughter]

cession

[surrender]: [the cession of twenty important towns]

encompass

[surround, cover]: [this area of London encompasses Piccadilly to the north and St James's Park to the south] [no studies encompass all sectors of medical care] [an act designed to encompass the death of the king]

suggestible

[susceptible]: [a suggestible client would comply]

endearment

[sweet nothings, affection]: [she was whispering endearments and repeatedly kissing him] [a term of endearment]

mellifluous

[sweet-sounding]: [her low mellifluous voice]

dulcet

[sweet]: [record the dulcet tones of your family and friends]

defraud

[swindle]: [he used a second identity to defraud the bank of thousands of pounds]

aptitude

[talent]: [children with an aptitude for painting and drawing] [his aptitude for deceit]

tapestry

[tapis]: [panelled walls hung with old tapestries] [motifs and compositions used in Indian tapestry] [tapestry bags] [the loopiness of the Commons adds to life's rich tapestry]

tense

[taut, anxious, nerve-racking, tighten]: [she tried to relax her tense muscles] [he was tense with excitement] [they waited in tense silence] [relations between the two neighbouring states were tense] [her body tensed up]

education

[teaching, learning]: [a course of education] [colleges of education] [his education is encyclopedic and eclectic] [health education] [Petrus is a good workman—it is an education to watch him]

boring

[tedious]: [I've got a boring job in an office] [my boringly respectable uncle]

telex

[teleprinter, teletype machine, teletypewriter, telex machine]: [networks can be set up to send and receive text by telex] [telex messages] [I found it waiting on the telex in Mitch's office] [I received your telex yesterday] [he had telexed Ms Starnes from Zurich]

rage

[temper, fury, craze, very popular, be angry, protest strongly at, be violent]: [her face was distorted with rage] [he flew into a rage] [office rage is on the increase] [the rising rage of the sea] [a rage for absolute honesty informs much western art]

excitable

[temperamental]: [a rather excitable young man] [these alkaloids act on nerve cells to make them more excitable]

concussion

[temporary unconsciousness, force]: [he was carried off the pitch with concussion] [nothing more serious than a mild concussion] [the ground shuddered with the concussion of the blast]

elliptical

[terse, oval]: [elliptical colloquial exchanges] [she had completely misunderstood his elliptical declaration]

parliament

[the Houses of Parliament, legislature]: [the Secretary of State will lay proposals before Parliament] [an Act of Parliament] [the act was passed by the last parliament of the reign] [the Russian parliament] [it is uncommon to see a parliament of owls in the wild]

hinterland

[the back of beyond]: [the hinterland of southern Italy] [a market town serving its rich agricultural hinterland] [the strange hinterland where life begins and ends]

spotlight

[the public eye, focus attention on]: [the knife flashed in the spotlight] [she was constantly in the media spotlight] [the dancers are spotlighted from time to time throughout the evening] [the protest spotlighted the overcrowding in British prisons]

hypothetical

[theoretical, speculative]: [let us take a hypothetical case] [the hypothetical tenth planet] [officials refuse to discuss military policy except in coy hypotheticals]

intensive

[thorough]: [she undertook an intensive Arabic course] [eight days of intensive arms talks] [intensive farming] [less intensive, more environmentally friendly forms of farming] [computer-intensive methods]

ominous

[threatening]: [there were ominous dark clouds gathering overhead]

excite

[thrill, arouse, provoke]: [flying still excites me] [Gould was excited by these discoveries] [his Mediterranean vibrancy excited and stimulated her] [the ability to excite interest in others] [the energy of an electron is sufficient to excite the atom]

thoroughfare

[through route, street]: [a scheme to stop the park being used as a thoroughfare] [the middle bedroom is a thoroughfare to the bathroom] [the teeming thoroughfares of central London] [the main thoroughfares are crowded with tourists]

disrupt

[throw into confusion, distort]: [flooding disrupted rail services] [alcohol can disrupt the chromosomes of an unfertilized egg]

cast

[throw, emit, form, direct, discard, shed, mould, register, bewitch, calculate, mould, type, squint, shipwreck, depressed, choose]: [he cast the book down on to the chair angrily] [the fishermen cast a large net around a school of tuna] [individuals who do not accept the norms are cast out from the group] [the moon cast a pale light over the cottages] [she cast down her eyes]

donee

[beneficiary]:

mournful

[sad]: [her large, mournful eyes] [mournful music]

apartheid

[]: [sexual apartheid]

defecate

[excrete]:

mammoth

[huge]: [a mammoth corporation]

intransigent

[uncompromising]: [her father had tried persuasion, but she was intransigent]

innovation

[change]: [innovation is crucial to the continuing success of any organization] [technological innovations designed to save energy]

virile

[manly]: [he was a powerful, virile man] [a strong, virile performance of the Mass]

isolated

[remote, solitary, unique]: [isolated farms and villages] [he lived a very isolated existence] [isolated incidents of student unrest]

tentative

[provisional, hesitant]: [a tentative conclusion] [he eventually tried a few tentative steps round his hospital room]

curfew

[]: [a dusk-to-dawn curfew] [the whole area was immediately placed under curfew] [to be abroad after curfew without permission was to risk punishment] [they had to return before the curfew sounded]

orwellian

[]: [a frightening view of an Orwellian future]

lunar

[]: [a lunar eclipse] [a lunar landscape]

pyramid

[]: [a pyramid of logs] [a pyramid roof] [a three-sided pyramid] [the lowest strata of the social pyramid] [the eventual collapse of illegal pyramids]

squamous

[]: [a squamous black hide] [squamous cell carcinoma]

trade off

[]: [a trade-off between objectivity and relevance]

vegetarian

[]: [a vegetarian restaurant]

viral

[]: [a viral ad campaign] [the video went viral and was seen by millions] [the rise of virals in online marketing]

interact

[]: [all the stages in the process interact] [the user interacts directly with the library] [people who interact daily]

elizabethan

[]: [an Elizabethan manor house]

loch

[]: [Loch Lomond]

guinea

[Numida meleagris, guinea fowl]:

nectarine

[Prunus persica nectarina, nectarine tree]:

municipal

[civic]: [national and municipal elections] [municipal offices]

underrate

[undervalue]: [a very underrated film]

couture

[]: [designer ready-to-wear has taken over from couture as the focus of interest] [London couture houses] [they were dressed in size eight printed-silk couture]

investor

[]: [foreign investors in the British commercial property sector] [its breakneck rate of growth attracted investors in their droves]

fracking

[]: [fracking has created a shale gas boom in the United States] [are you out of your fracking mind?]

amputation

[]: [gangrene may appear and make amputation necessary] [in the United Kingdom there are about 5,000 major amputations a year]

madonna

[]: [he describes Evelyn as a madonna]

sequacious

[]:

stanza

[]:

statistics

[]:

stipend

[]:

supernature

[]:

symposium

[]:

therefor

[]:

trestle

[]:

unconscionability

[]:

utilitarianism

[]:

wear one's heart on one's sleeve

[]:

briticism

[]: ['Toy boy' is a Briticism for a 'gigolo.']

fatally

[]: [21,000 soldiers died or were fatally wounded] [the whole concept is fatally flawed] [the revelation fatally undermined the prosecution's case] [Katharine's sister is fatally attractive to men]

chateau

[]: [Château Margaux]

versus

[]: [England versus Australia] [weighing up the pros and cons of organic versus inorganic produce]

roust

[]: [I rousted him out of his bed with a cup of tea] [the detectives who had rousted him the night of the murder]

syllable

[]: [I'd never have breathed a syllable if he'd kept quiet] [many-syllabled words]

baize

[]: [a baize apron]

towel

[]: [a bath towel] [a paper towel] [she towelled her hair dry] [they've dragged her off the bus and towelled her up]

braze

[]: [a brazed joint] [a disc is brazed to the cut-off end of the drill shank]

continuum

[]: [a continuum of special educational needs] [the continuum from third world economies to advanced nations]

carrion

[]: [a crow wheeled over the hills in search of carrion]

destitute

[penniless, devoid]: [the charity cares for destitute children] [towns destitute of commerce]

poverty

[penury, scarcity, inferiority]: [thousands of families are living in abject poverty] [the poverty of her imagination]

ginger

[pep, peppiness]: [the ginger had gone out of the men] [a ginger tom] [gingered sweet-potato salad] [she slapped his hand lightly to ginger him up]

noticeable

[perceptible, distinct]: [a noticeable increase in staff motivation] [noticeable grey hairs] [the church is noticeable for the fresco above the door]

porcelain

[]: [a porcelain bowl] [the paintings, porcelains, and prints that go on the block] [a collection of Chinese porcelain]

unbridgeable

[]: [a seemingly unbridgeable cultural abyss]

notoriously

[]: [the company is notoriously difficult to contact] [a notoriously overcrowded prison]

metallurgy

[]: [the constituents of bronze can be scientifically analysed to gain information on ancient metallurgy]

the distaff side

[]: [the family title could be passed down through the distaff side]

geology

[]: [the geology of the Outer Hebrides] [an article on the Moon's geology]

underman

[]: [the public prosecutor's offices are hopelessly undermanned]

undercharge

[]: [the retailer has been undercharged and actually owes the supplier more money]

as far as

[]: [the river stretched away as far as he could see] [I decided to walk as far as the village] [as far as I am concerned it is no big deal]

overtly

[]: [the selection policy was not overtly stated] [some of the narrative is overtly sexual]

phosphorescence

[]: [the stones overhead gleamed with phosphorescence]

albino

[]: [these individuals have normal-coloured eyes and are thus easily distinguished from albinos] [an albino tiger]

civil war

[]: [they signed a peace accord ending the country's 12-year civil war] [the country is on the brink of civil war]

undeceive

[]: [they took her for a nun and Mary said nothing to undeceive them]

in accord with

[]: [things didn't happen quite in accord with expectations]

lovable

[adorable]: [a naughty but lovable child] [he has a lovable, sweet personality]

promoter

[advocate]: [a boxing promoter] [Mitterrand was a fierce promoter of European integration]

aviator

[aeronaut, airman, flier, flyer]: [he has a short grey beard and wears a flannel shirt, jeans, and aviator glasses] [I wear aviators, but it's purely because they are practical sunglasses as opposed to being fashion accessories]

epiphyte

[aerophyte, air plant, epiphytic plant]:

militant

[aggressive, activist]: [the army are in conflict with militant groups] [militants became increasingly impatient of parliamentary manoeuvres]

warlike

[aggressive]: [a warlike clan] [warlike preparations could be made quickly]

accede

[agree to, succeed to, join]: [the authorities did not accede to the strikers' demands] [Elizabeth I acceded to the throne in 1558] [Albania acceded to the IMF in 1990]

placate

[appease, assuage, conciliate, gentle, gruntle, lenify, mollify, pacify]: [they attempted to placate the students with promises]

addendum

[appendix]:

starry

[comet-like, sparkling, starlike, starlit]: [a starry sky] [tiny white starry flowers] [the series had the benefit of a starry cast]

candidate

[applicant, examinee, prospect]: [candidates applying for this position should be computer-literate] [the Green Party candidate] [an A-level candidate] [she was the perfect candidate for a biography]

unwillingness

[disinclination, reluctance]: [he deplored the Government's unwillingness to provide adequate funds]

determinate

[fixed]: [the longest determinate prison sentence ever upheld by English courts]

arborescent

[arboreal, arboreous, arboresque, arboriform, dendriform, dendroid, dendroidal, tree-shaped, treelike]: [arborescent succulents]

archaeology

[archeology]:

abbot

[archimandrite]:

lackadaisical

[careless, lazy]: [a lackadaisical defence left Spurs adrift in the second half]

presentient

[]:

pyromania

[]:

reliquary

[]:

renumeration

[]:

cadaverous

[(deathly) pale]: [he was gaunt and cadaverous]

pressure

[(physical) force, coercion, strain, coerce]: [the gate was buckling under the pressure of the crowd outside] [gas can be fed to the turbines at a pressure of around 250 psi] [backbenchers put pressure on the government to provide safeguards] [the many pressures on girls to worry about their looks] [oil prices came under some downwards pressure]

wildlife

[(wild) animals]: [you can watch the wildlife] [a wildlife refuge]

corona

[Saint Elmo's fire, Saint Elmo's light, Saint Ulmo's fire, Saint Ulmo's light, St. Elmo's fire, corona discharge, corposant, electric glow]:

abed

[]:

adhorn

[]:

antistrophe

[]:

badminton

[]:

bailiff

[]:

bolero

[]:

epode

[]:

fuller

[]:

incest

[]:

inchmeal

[]:

inconsonant

[]:

kangaroo

[]:

ligament

[]:

lyre

[]:

magistrate

[]:

maple

[]:

microscopy

[]:

narcissus

[]:

newtonian

[]:

oakum

[]:

optometry

[]:

overstride

[]:

parricide

[]:

passover

[]:

perigee

[]:

philadelphia lawyer

[]:

photosynthesis

[]:

viability

[]: [an interest in the long-term viability of British companies] [studies to ensure the viability of the project] [pregnancy depends on the viability of the sperm and egg] [the viability of maize pollen is related to its water content]

irrefrangible

[]: [an irrefrangible law of country etiquette]

sylph

[]: [an oh-so-slim sylph dressed in a black leotard]

refinery

[]: [an oil refinery]

artisanal

[]: [artisanal skills] [artisanal workshops] [artisanal cheeses]

loaded for bear

[]: [as my ancestors were wont to say, watch out, John Bull, I'm loaded for bear!]

microscope

[]: [aspects of our operations will be put under the microscope] [love, marriage, and money come under the microscope]

obsolescence

[]: [computers are infamous for their rapid obsolescence] [gunpowder brought about the obsolescence of many weapons]

coexist

[]: [dwarf mammoths may have survived in north-east Siberia to coexist with the Egyptian pharaohs] [the task of diplomacy was to help different states to coexist]

objectively

[]: [events should be reported objectively] [the researchers are objectively assessing risk factors] [the physical world we think of as objectively true]

furiously

[]: [he furiously denies the claims] [I was furiously opposed to the cuts] [Terry was furiously scribbling away] [Charlie pedalled furiously for six miles]

modestly

[]: [he modestly shrugged off the tributes from his manager] [sales and profits have grown modestly in recent years] [a modestly furnished flat] [he lived modestly in a small house] [women are expected to dress modestly]

sufficiently

[]: [he recovered sufficiently to resume his duties] [a sufficiently large working force]

confession

[]: [he signed a confession to both the murders] [proof of this crime must be established by confession] [by his own confession, he had strayed perilously close to alcoholism] [she still had not been to confession] [confessions of a driving instructor]

vehemently

[]: [he vehemently denied any suggestion of improper conduct] [the entire community protested vehemently against the cuts]

laudation

[]: [he was singled out for laudation] [laudations of her beauty]

self imposed

[]: [he went into self-imposed exile]

bent out of shape

[]: [he'd changed a few things around, and Glen was a little bent out of shape about it]

tongue in cheek

[]: [her delightful tongue-in-cheek humour] ['I swear there's a female conspiracy against men!' he complained, tongue-in-cheek]

mass consumption

[]: [industrialization allowed for mass consumption of material goods]

correspondingly

[]: [it has fewer problems and correspondingly requires less maintenance]

cynically

[]: [many cynically dismiss the way of peace as naive and impossible] [the public has cynically disregarded the good news] [he was accused of cynically exploiting a terrible tragedy]

forejudge

[]: [no man should be forejudged]

passible

[]: [only the humanity of Jesus is regarded as passible]

organically

[]: [organically enriched soil] [organically grown crops] [incentives offered to farmers to farm organically] [it's not a definable illness; there is nothing organically wrong] [workers in both parts of the new economy are organically connected]

decimation

[]: [our growing hunger for fish has resulted in the decimation of fish stocks] [the decimation of our rainforests] [we need to halt the decimation of this country's manufacturing base] [economic and financial decimation from two world wars]

reconvene

[]: [parliament reconvenes on 1st June] [it was agreed to reconvene the permanent commission]

consciously

[]: [she consciously chose to ignore him] [a vicious and consciously dishonest hatchet job] [most players don't think consciously about a throw] [we don't consciously perceive everything that happens to us]

lobster

[]: [she ordered lobster and a glass of white wine] [lobster bisque] [a heavily built man with a lobster nose] [he has been lobstering in Maine for 50 years]

samaritan

[]: [suddenly, miraculously, a Good Samaritan leaned over and handed the cashier a dollar bill on my behalf] [I began volunteer work for the Samaritans] [Jesus's words to the Samaritan woman]

septennial

[]: [the Septennial Act of 1716 extended the life of Parliament to seven years]

durance

[]: [the actor's years of durance vile in soap operas]

plutocracy

[]: [the attack on the Bank of England was a gesture against the very symbol of plutocracy] [no one can accept public policies which turn a democracy into a plutocracy] [officials were drawn from the new plutocracy]

antichrist

[]: [the battle between Christ and the Antichrist] [St Paul really did have to fear for his life at the hands of an Antichrist named Nero] [they regard feminists like me as the Antichrist]

respectfully

[]: [the butler bowed respectfully to them both] [I must respectfully disagree with your claim] [I respectfully declined their invitation]

norman

[]: [the castle goes right back to the Normans] [born circa 1080, he was presumably a Norman from Calvados] [the Norman invasion] [the 11th-century Norman crypt of Winchester Cathedral] [Willy rambled on about Norman archways and Perpendicular naves]

portfolio

[]: [under his arm he carried a large portfolio of drawings] [she had a portfolio of crayon portraits] [entrants must not have done any professional modelling or have an existing portfolio] [a portfolio of insured municipal securities] [an unrivalled portfolio of quality brands]

bricks-and-mortar

[]: [untold acres are being buried under bricks and mortar] [a simple re-mortgage can release the value tied up in your bricks and mortar] [the bricks-and-mortar banks]

accurately

[]: [we are simply unable to predict long-term trends accurately] [every single vote was accurately counted]

ambulance

[]: [we called an ambulance] [he taken by ambulance to the district hospital] [the ambulance service] [he was ambulanced to accident and emergency]

radically

[]: [you must radically change the way you do business] [the two situations are radically different]

somewhat

[a little, slightly]: [matters have improved somewhat since then] [a somewhat thicker book] [it must have changed more than somewhat since then] [it was somewhat of a disappointment]

desert

[abandon, renounce, abandoned, empty, abscond, wasteland, uninteresting place/period, arid, uninhabited]: [he deserted his wife and daughter and went back to England] [the tourists have deserted the beaches] [her luck deserted her] [his life in the regiment had been such a hell that he decided to desert] [the desert of the Sinai peninsula is a harsh place]

deviant

[aberrant, nonconformist]: [deviant behaviour] [a deviant ideology] [killers, deviants, and those whose actions are beyond most human comprehension]

mobility

[ability to move, transportability, adaptability]: [this exercise helps retain mobility in the damaged joints] [industrialization would open up increasing chances of social mobility]

afire

[ablaze, aflame, aflare, alight, on fire]: [the whole mill was afire]

free

[able to, allowed, independent, on the loose, unobstructed, unattached, unoccupied, vacant, unencumbered by, generous, easy-going, impudent, release, extricate, exempt, easy-going, free rein, help oneself to]: [I have no ambitions other than to have a happy life and be free] [a free choice] [you are free to leave] [a free press] [the poor among the free men joined the slaves against the rich]

alongside

[aboard]: [she was sitting alongside him] [the boat came alongside] [a care assistant was working alongside him] [they aim to encourage coverage of disabled sport alongside able-bodied achievement]

unmitigated

[absolute]: [the tour had been an unmitigated disaster]

acquit

[absolve, conduct oneself, discharge]: [she was acquitted on all counts] [the jury acquitted Bream of murder] [the goalkeeper acquitted himself well] [they acquitted themselves of their charge with vigilance]

exonerate

[absolve, release]: [an inquiry exonerated those involved] [they should exonerate these men from this crime] [Pope Clement V exonerated the king from his oath to the barons]

eschew

[abstain from]: [he appealed to the crowd to eschew violence]

copious

[abundant]: [she took copious notes] [I had been a little too copious in talking of my country]

scholastic

[academic, scholarly]: [scholastic achievement] [scholastic sports events] [to distinguish between them is little more than a scholastic exercise] [I don't think the school was anything very much scholastically]

fortuity

[accident, chance event, stroke]:

midwife

[accoucheuse]: [he survived to be one of the midwives of the Reformation] [these women midwifed her] [Gruber midwifed the deal]

accusing

[accusative, accusatory, accusive]: [she stared at him with accusing eyes]

jaundice

[acerbity, acrimony, bitterness, tartness, thorniness]:

feat

[achievement, feats]: [the new printing presses were considerable feats of engineering]

attainment

[achievement, proficiency]: [the attainment of corporate aims] [he spoke of the low educational attainments of his workforce]

compliant

[acquiescent]: [a compliant labour force] [food which is compliant with safety regulations] [the conversion of the gel to a much less compliant, rigid glass]

trigger

[activate, precipitate]: [he pulled the trigger of the shotgun] [the trigger for the strike was the closure of a mine] [burglars fled empty-handed after triggering the alarm] [an allergy can be triggered by stress or overwork]

urgent

[acute, emergency, insistent]: [an urgent demand for more state funding] [she needs urgent treatment] [an urgent whisper]

extemporaneous

[ad-lib, extemporary, extempore, impromptu, off-the-cuff, offhand, offhanded, unrehearsed]:

auxiliary

[additional, ancillary, assistant]: [auxiliary airport staff] [the ship has an auxiliary power source] [an auxiliary schooner] [a nursing auxiliary] [there are two main fuel tanks and two auxiliaries]

satisfactory

[adequate]: [he didn't get a satisfactory answer] [Mrs Reeves was 'satisfactory and improving slightly' in Middlesbrough General Hospital last night] [the verdict is safe and satisfactory]

bureaucratic

[administrative, rule-bound]: [well-established bureaucratic procedures] [the scheme is overly bureaucratic and complex]

confess

[admit, own up, acknowledge]: [he confessed that he had attacked the old man] [he wants to confess to Caroline's murder] ['I damaged your car,' she confessed] [I must confess that I half believed you] [he confessed to a lifelong passion for food]

puerile

[adolescent, jejune, juvenile]: [a puerile argument]

concur

[agree, coincide]: [the authors concurred with the majority] ['That's right,' the chairman concurred] [we strongly concur with this recommendation] [in tests, cytogenetic determination has been found to concur with enzymatic determination]

consensus

[agreement, general opinion/view]: [there is a growing consensus that the current regime has failed] [a consensus view]

contract

[agreement, shrink, tighten, wrinkle, shorten, undertake, opt out, subcontract, develop, incur]: [he has just signed a contract keeping him with the club] [much of the produce is grown under contract] [the law of contract] [smuggling bosses routinely put out contracts on witnesses] [South can make the contract with correct play]

concord

[agreement, treaty]: [a pact of peace and concord] [a concord was to be drawn up]

goal

[aim]: [the decisive opening goal] [we won by three goals to two] [he achieved his goal of becoming King of England] [the aircraft bumped towards our goal some 400 miles to the west]

stuffy

[airless, blocked, staid]: [a stuffy, overcrowded office] [inhaling vapour from a bowl of hot water may help to clear a stuffy nose] [he was steady and rather stuffy]

consanguineous

[akin, blood-related, cognate, consanguine, consanguineal, kin]: [consanguineous marriages may give rise to recessive syndromes]

dismay

[alarm, appal]: [to his dismay, she left him] [they were dismayed by the U-turn in policy] [to most experts, such findings have been somewhat dismaying]

siren

[alarm, seductress, flirt]: [ambulance sirens] [a mountaineer who hears the siren song of K2]

liquor

[alcohol, stock]: [he got liquored up again on Friday]

grantee

[alienee]:

omniscient

[all-knowing]: [a third-person omniscient narrator]

omnipotent

[all-powerful]: [God is described as omnipotent and benevolent] [an omnipotent sovereign]

fealty

[allegiance]: [they owed fealty to the Earl rather than the King] [a property for which she did fealty]

palliate

[alleviate, disguise]: [treatment works by palliating symptoms] [pharmaceutical drugs palliate, they do not cure] [there is no way to excuse or palliate his dirty deed] [this eliminated, or at least palliated, suspicions aroused by German unity]

allot

[allocate, share out]: [equal time was allotted to each] [I was allotted a little room in the servant's block]

tolerate

[allow, consume]: [a regime unwilling to tolerate dissent] [how was it that she could tolerate such noise?] [lichens grow in conditions that no other plants tolerate]

likewise

[also, the same]: [the programmes of study will apply from five years of age, likewise the attainment targets] [The banks advise against sending cash. Likewise, sending British cheques may cause problems] [I stuck out my tongue and Frankie did likewise]

perpetually

[always, constantly, forever, incessantly]: [perpetually hungry teenage boys] [she seems perpetually to have a mournful look on her face]

diplomatic

[ambassadorial, tactful]: [diplomatic relations with Britain were broken] [he tried his best to be diplomatic] [a diplomatic transcription]

constitute

[amount to, be equivalent to, inaugurate]: [lone parents constitute a great proportion of the poor] [there were enough members present to constitute a quorum] [his failure to act constituted a breach of duty] [the superior courts were constituted by the Judicature Acts 1873-5]

sum

[amount, amount of money, total, entirety, arithmetical problem, sums, in short, summarize, summarize the evidence, evaluate]: [they could not afford such a sum] [the sum of two prime numbers] [the sum of his own knowledge] [we did sums at school, Mummy] [do your sums, then the shock will not be too great]

rundown

[analysis, reduction, unwell]: [he gave his teammates a rundown on the opposition] [a rundown in the business would be a devastating blow to the local economy] [a run-down Edwardian villa] [a run-down business that had been making losses for five years] [she felt tired and generally run-down]

dissect

[anatomize, analyse]: [an animal's eye can be easily dissected] [he dissected the Prime Minister's statement and revealed the truth behind it]

plus

[and, added to, as well as, advantage]: [two plus four is six] [he was awarded the full amount plus interest] [all apartments have a small kitchen plus private bathroom] [the temperature is frequently plus 35 degrees at midday] [companies put losses at $500,000 plus]

provocative

[annoying, sexy]: [a provocative article] [his provocative remarks on race] [a provocative sidelong glance]

hostility

[antagonism, opposition, fighting]: [their hostility to all outsiders] [he called for an immediate cessation of hostilities]

anteroom

[antechamber]:

antidote

[antitoxin, remedy]: [there is no known antidote to the poison of the pufferfish] [laughter is a good antidote to stress]

agitation

[anxiety, stirring, campaigning]: [she was wringing her hands in agitation] [the techniques mostly involve agitation by stirring] [widespread agitation for social reform]

equipment

[apparatus]: [suppliers of office equipment] [the construction and equipment of new harbour facilities] [they lacked the intellectual equipment to recognize the jokes]

seemingly

[apparently]: [a seemingly competent and well-organized person] [it's touch-and-go, seemingly, and she's asking for you]

mollify

[appease, allay]: [nature reserves were set up around the power stations to mollify local conservationists] [the women hoped to mollify the harsh wilderness environment]

territory

[area of land, domain, sphere of operations, terrain]: [the government was prepared to give up the nuclear weapons on its territory] [sorties into enemy territory] [male blackbirds try to attract as many females to their territory as possible] [don't go committing murders on my territory] [woodland territory]

extent

[area, degree]: [an enclosure ten acres in extent] [the extent of global warming] [everyone will have to compromise to some extent] [decision-making was to a large extent outside his control]

expanse

[area]: [the green expanse of the forest] [the moth has a wing expanse of 20 to 24 mm]

lingo

[argot, cant, jargon, patois, slang, vernacular]: [it doesn't matter if you can't speak the lingo] [computer lingo]

wrangle

[argument, dispute, argue]: [an insurance wrangle is holding up compensation payments] [the bureaucrats continue wrangling over the fine print] [weeks of political wrangling] [the horses were wrangled early]

aspirant

[aspiring, wishful]: [an aspirant politician] [an aspirant to the throne]

muster

[assemble, congregate, summon up, roll call, assembly, be good enough]: [17,000 men had been mustered on Haldon Hill] [the cavalrymen mustered beside the other regiments] [reporters mustered outside her house] [my father needed help with mustering sheep] [he could fail to muster a majority]

appraisal

[assessment]: [she carried out a thorough appraisal] [the report has been subject to appraisal] [all appraisals will be held in the next couple of weeks] [an appraisal system]

resource

[assets, facility, expedient, initiative]: [local authorities complained that they lacked resources] [Japan's exploitation of commercially important marine resources] [census records are an invaluable resource for the historian] [the database could be used as a reference and teaching resource] [sometimes anger is the only resource left in a situation like this]

transferable

[assignable, conveyable, negotiable, transferrable]: [balances are not transferable by cheque] [transferable skills]

connect

[attach, associate]: [the electrodes were connected to a recording device] [a connected series of cargo holds] [all the buildings are connected by underground passages] [the motorway connects with major routes from all parts of the country] [by 1892 most of the village had been connected to the mains]

fitting

[attachment, furnishings, installation, apt, appropriate]: [the wooden fittings were made of walnut] [little remains of the house's Victorian fittings] [the fitting of new engines by the shipyard] [she's coming tomorrow for a fitting] [a fitting reward]

vouch

[attest to]: [the explosive used is of my own formulation, and I can vouch for its efficiency] [he was refused entrance until someone could vouch for him]

permission

[authorization]: [they had entered the country without permission] [he received permission to go to Brussels] [permissions to reproduce copyright material]

empower

[authorize, emancipate]: [members are empowered to audit the accounts of limited companies] [movements to empower the poor]

automate

[automatise, automatize]: [industry is investing in automating production] [a fully automated process]

prehensile

[avaricious, covetous, grabby, grasping, greedy]: [many monkeys have long, prehensile tails which they use in swinging through the trees]

presentation

[awarding, appearance, introduction, demonstration]: [the presentation of certificates to new members] [the Lord Lieutenant made the presentations] [the presentation of foods is designed to stimulate your appetite] [the Earl of Pembroke offered Herbert the presentation of the living of Bremerton] [a sales presentation]

absent

[away, distracted, stay away]: [most pupils were absent from school at least once] [absent colleagues] [wings are absent in several species of crane flies] [she looked up with an absent smile] [halfway through the meal, he absented himself from the table]

to and fro

[back and forth, backward and forward]: [she cradled him, rocking him to and fro] [the ducks were toing and froing] [it does cost a lot, all this toing and froing up to London] [all the toing and froing in Christian periodicals regarding women in leadership roles] [Wilkie watched the to and fro of their dancing]

left-handed

[backhanded]: [a left-handed batsman] [left-handed golf clubs] [my left-handed scrawl] [Newbury's left-handed track] [we take a left-handed pleasure in our errors]

accompaniment

[backing, complement]: [she sang to a guitar accompaniment] [sonatas for piano with violin accompaniment] [lush string accompaniments to romantic scenes in films] [we filed out to the accompaniment of the organ] [these biscuits are a lovely accompaniment to tea]

bacterium

[bacteria]: [the bacteria causing salmonella are killed by thorough cooking] [the bacteria causing salmonella is killed by thorough cooking]

nightmare

[bad dream]: [I had nightmares after watching the horror movie] [the nightmare of racial hatred] [developing thunderclouds are a balloonist's worst nightmare] [buying wine can be a nightmare if you don't know enough about it]

equilibrium

[balance, composure]: [the task is the maintenance of social equilibrium] [I stumbled over a rock and recovered my equilibrium] [his intensity could unsettle his equilibrium] [ice is in equilibrium with water] [the market is in equilibrium]

spacecraft

[ballistic capsule, space vehicle]:

ballot

[balloting, vote, voting]: [a strike ballot] [the commissioners were elected by ballot] [he won 54 per cent of the ballot] [there were fifty-three abstentions and twenty-eight spoilt ballots] [a ballot decides which investors will be successful in buying the stock]

pestilent

[baneful, deadly, pernicious]: [pestilent diseases] [he regarded journalists as a whole as a pestilent race] [the pestilent sect of Luther]

knock

[bang, collide with, bump, criticize, tap, bump, blow, setback, criticism, stop it, wander, associate, beat up, swallow, fell, reduce, stop work, kill, produce, deduct, steal, stun, exhaust, eliminate, warm up, wake, make pregnant, make quickly, achieve]: [he strolled over and knocked on a door marked Enquiries] [her heart knocked painfully behind her ribs] [he deliberately ran against her, knocking her shoulder] [he knocked into an elderly man with a walking stick] [he'd knocked over a glass of water]

strike

[bang, hit, clout, crash into, hit, affect, attack, occur to, seem to, ignite, take industrial action, achieve, agree, discover, go, take down, lower, industrial action, attack, find, assume, fight back, begin to play, begin]: [he raised his hand, as if to strike me] [one man was struck on the head with a stick] [Ewan struck out at her] [he struck her two blows on the leg] [she fell, striking her head against the side of the boat]

batten

[bar, fasten, flourish at the expense of]: [Stephen was battening down the shutters] [a natural tendency in times of recession is to batten down the hatches] [multinational monopolies batten on the working classes]

obstacle

[barrier]: [the major obstacle to achieving that goal is money]

haggle

[barter]: [the two sides are haggling over television rights] [an inevitable and lengthy haggle over compensation]

infrastructure

[base]: [the social and economic infrastructure of a country]

cellar

[basement]: [the servants led us down into a cellar] [a wine cellar] [he spent years building up a remarkable cellar of aged Riojas] [it is drinkable now but can be cellared for at least five years]

sock

[bash, bonk, bop, whap, whop]: [a Welsh pony mare, black with four white socks] [a sock on the jaw] [we have enough speed and sock in our line-up to score runs] [Jess socked his father across the face] [you're so sweet, bless your little cotton socks]

rudiment

[basic principles]: [she taught the girls the rudiments of reading and writing] [the rudiments of a hot-water system] [the fetal lung rudiment]

elementary

[basic, easy]: [an elementary astronomy course] [the elementary rights of citizenship] [a series of elementary exercises]

criterion

[basis]: [they award a green label to products that meet certain environmental criteria] [a further criteria needs to be considered]

concern

[be about, affect, interested, involve oneself in, worry, anxiety, solicitude, affair, responsibility, business, interest, company]: [the story concerns a friend of mine] [the report is mainly concerned with 1984 onwards] [she was prying into that which did not concern her] [many thanks to all concerned] [it is not necessary for us to concern ourselves with this point]

believe

[be convinced by, regard as true, think, be convinced of the existence of, have faith in]: [the superintendent believed Lancaster's story] [some 23 per cent believe that smoking keeps down weight] [he didn't believe her] [there are those on the fringes of the Church who do not really believe] [I wouldn't have believed it of Lavinia—what an extraordinary woman!]

lose

[be deprived of, mislay, stray from, escape from, be defeated by, neglect]: [I've lost my appetite] [Linda was very upset about losing her job] [the company may find itself losing customers to cheaper rivals] [you lost me my appointment at London University] [she lost her husband in the fire]

represent

[be elected by, appear for, play for, deputize for, constitute, be a typical sample of, depict, describe as, stand for, symbolize, point out, claim]: [for purposes of litigation, an infant can and must be represented by an adult] [Wade represented Great Britain] [she became the first woman to represent a South Wales mining valley] [the Duke of Edinburgh was represented by the Countess Mountbatten] [this figure represents eleven per cent of the company's total sales]

qualify

[be eligible, certified, gain qualifications, authorize, limited, modify]: [a pensioner who does not qualify for income support] [England are in danger of failing to qualify] [he qualifies as a genuine political refugee] [the training necessary to qualify as a solicitor] [I've only just qualified]

signify

[be evidence of, mean, express, mean anything/something]: [this decision signified a fundamental change in their priorities] [the church used this image to signify the Holy Trinity] [signify your agreement by signing the letter below] [the locked door doesn't necessarily signify] [I wasn't signifying at her]

owe

[be in debt (to)]: [they have denied they owe money to the company] [you owe me £19.50 for the electricity bill] [I owe you for the taxi] [I owe it to him to explain what's happened] [I owe you an apology]

apply

[be relevant, put on, exert, be diligent]: [you need to apply to the local authority for a grant] [a number of people have applied to vote by proxy] [she had applied for a number of positions] [prices do not apply to public holiday periods] [normal rules apply]

wagon

[beach waggon, beach wagon, estate car, station waggon, station wagon, waggon]: [a timber wagon] [a breakdown wagon] [a hay wagon] [a milk wagon] [a chip wagon]

rhythm

[beat, metre]: [Ruth listened to the rhythm of his breathing] [he made her count beats to the bar and clap the rhythm] [melodies with deep African rhythms] [they've got no rhythm] [the rhythm, pattern, and cadence of words]

circumvent

[beat, outfox, outsmart, outwit, overreach]: [if you come to an obstruction in a road you can seek to circumvent it] [it was always possible to circumvent the regulations] [he's circumvented her with some of his stories]

defeat

[beat, thwart, reject, baffle, loss, failure]: [Garibaldi defeated the Neapolitan army] [she was defeated by the last steep hill] [don't cheat by allowing your body to droop—this defeats the object of the exercise] [the amendment was defeated] [this line of reasoning defeats me, I must confess]

circus

[carnival]: [I was thrilled by the annual visits of the circus] [a circus elephant] [the Formula One grand prix circus] [a media circus] [the Circus Maximus]

inherit

[become heir to, succeed to]: [she inherited a fortune from her father] [inherited diseases] [spending commitments inherited from previous governments] [she inherits all her clothes from her older sisters] [master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?]

chap

[become raw, man]: [his skin is very dry and chaps easily] [chapped lips] [he sounded like a nice, caring sort of chap] [best of luck, old chap]

sink

[become submerged, founder, scupper, destroy, ignore, descend, set, lower oneself, fall, deteriorate, embed, dig, drink, register, invest]: [he saw the coffin sink below the surface of the waves] [the trawler sank with the loss of all six crew] [a freak wave sank their boat near the shore] [the film sank virtually without trace] [this pledge could sink the government]

antediluvian

[before the flood, prehistoric, out of date]: [gigantic bones of antediluvian animals] [they maintain antediluvian sex-role stereotypes]

supposition

[belief]: [they were working on the supposition that his death was murder] [their outrage was based on supposition and hearsay]

disparage

[belittle, derogatory]: [he never missed an opportunity to disparage his competitors]

curve

[bend, bend, bent]: [the parapet wall sweeps down in a bold curve] [the vehicle rounded a curve] [her dress twisted tightly round her generous curves] [the population curve] [he relies on a couple of curves and a modest fastball]

convenience

[benefit, expedience, ease of use, accessibility, appliance, at a convenient time]: [services should be run to suit the convenience of customers, not of staff] [the success of the food halls in large stores is due to their convenience] [voicemail was seen as one of the desktop conveniences of the electronic office] [the large council car park next to the public conveniences] [do make an appointment at your convenience]

bedaub

[besmear]: [a dozen maidens, all bedaubed with paint]

confer

[bestow on, consult]: [the Minister may have exceeded the powers conferred on him by Parliament] [the officials were conferring with allies]

gamble

[bet, take a chance, act in the hope of, bet, risk]: [he gambles on football] [they gambled their money on cards] [he was gambling on the success of his satellite TV channel] [Dad likes a bit of a gamble] [we decided to take a gamble and offer him a place on our staff]

preferable

[better]: [lower interest rates were preferable to higher ones]

invoice

[bill, bill]:

ligature

[binder]: [there was no sign of the ligature which strangled her] [he ligatured the duodenum below the pylorus]

fraternal

[biovular]: [his lack of fraternal feeling shocked me] [a network of political clubs and fraternal organizations]

biped

[bipedal, two-footed]:

intersect

[bisect, cross]: [the area is intersected only by minor roads] [lines of latitude and longitude intersect at right angles]

particle

[bit, iota]: [tiny particles of dust] [he agrees without hearing the least particle of evidence]

bitterly

[bitingly, bitter, piercingly]: [passengers complained bitterly about grand promises made by the company] [the two governments quarrelled bitterly over the terms of the loan] [he was bitterly opposed by the majority shareholder] [its humour is cutting and bitterly sarcastic] [a bitterly cold day]

encamp

[bivouac, camp, camp out, tent]: [we encamped for the night by a river]

amnesia

[blackout, memory loss]: [they were suffering from amnesia]

impassable

[blocked]: [the narrow channels are impassable to ocean-going ships]

indistinct

[blurred, indecipherable, muffled]: [his speech was slurred and indistinct]

bombast

[bluster, pomposity]: [the bombast of gung-ho militarism]

physical

[bodily, manual, earthly, material]: [a range of physical and mental challenges] [less physical sports such as bowls] [a physical relationship] [the physical world] [physical laws]

corporeal

[bodily, physical]: [he was frank about his corporeal appetites] [a corporeal God] [in Scotland 'goods' includes all corporeal movables except money]

hardihood

[boldness, daring, hardiness]:

novel

[book, new]: [the novels of Jane Austen] [a paperback novel] [the novel is the most adaptable of all literary forms] [he hit on a novel idea to solve his financial problems]

bibulous

[boozy, drunken, sottish]:

municipality

[borough]: [voters in each municipality choose between four candidates] [locally elected municipalities]

carton

[box]: [a carton of milk]

brazier

[brasier]:

respire

[breathe, suspire, take a breath]: [he lay back, respiring deeply] [a country where fresh air seems impossible to respire] [lichens respire at lower levels of temperature and moisture] [the archduke, newly respiring from so long a war]

propagate

[breed, reproduce, spread]: [try propagating your own houseplants from cuttings] [the plant propagates freely from stem cuttings] [the French propagated the idea that the English were drunkards] [electromagnetic effects can be propagated at a finite velocity only through material substances]

legion

[brigade, horde, numerous]: [legions of photographers and TV cameras] [her fans are legion]

offspring

[children, child]: [the offspring of middle-class parents] [German nationalism was the offspring of military ambition]

brilliant

[bright, vivid, gifted, superb, excellent]: [brilliant sunshine illuminated the scene] [he was quite brilliant and was promoted almost at once] [the germ of a brilliant idea hit her] [his brilliant career at Harvard] [we had a brilliant time]

luminosity

[brightness, brightness level, light, luminance, luminousness]: [acrylic colours retain freshness and luminosity] [Altair has ten times the luminosity of the sun] [the luminosities of galaxies]

precipitate

[bring about, hurl, hasty]: [the incident precipitated a political crisis] [suddenly the ladder broke, precipitating them down into a heap] [they were precipitated into a conflict for which they were quite unprepared] [cell proteins were then precipitated and washed in 10% trichloroacetic acid] [excess moisture is precipitated as rain, fog, mist, or dew]

widen

[broaden, increase]: [we should widen the scope of our investigation] [his grin widened] [the lane widened out into a small clearing]

incubation

[brooding]: [the chick hatches after a month's incubation]

henpeck

[browbeaten]: [henpecked husbands]

cruel

[brutal, harsh]: [people who are cruel to animals] [a cruel remark] [the winters are long, hard, and cruel] [Ernie nearly cruelled the whole thing by laughing] [George did not like being firm with Lennie but he knew that he had to be cruel to be kind]

violence

[brutality, forcefulness, intensity]: [violence erupted in protest marches] [domestic violence against women] [the fear of physical violence] [screen violence] [the violence of her own feelings]

construct

[build, formulate]: [a company that constructs oil rigs] [poetics should construct a theory of literary discourse] [these rules tell us how to construct a grammatical sentence in a given language] [construct a square equal in area to a given circle] [history is largely an ideological construct]

construction

[building, structure, interpretation, composition]: [there was a skyscraper under construction] [50,000 more jobs will go from construction] [the mill is of brick construction] [the central waterway was a spectacular construction] [language plays a large part in our construction of reality]

protuberance

[bump, sticking out]: [some dinosaurs evolved protuberances on top of their heads] [the large size and protuberance of the incisors]

afloat

[buoyant]: [they trod water to keep afloat] [the canoes were still afloat] [he hopes to find a second-hand craft and be afloat by the end of the month] [professional management will be needed to keep firms afloat] [there are various rumours afloat connected with his disappearance]

murmur

[burble, hum, whisper, complaint, complain, mutter, rustle]: [the distant murmur of traffic] [a quiet murmur of thanks] [there were murmurs of dissent from his colleagues] [she had been born with a heart murmur] [Nina murmured an excuse and hurried away]

onus

[burden]: [the onus is on you to show that you have suffered loss]

necropolis

[burial ground, burial site, burying ground, cemetery, graveyard, memorial park]:

funeral

[burial, responsibility]: [in the afternoon, he'd attended a funeral] [a funeral service] [the community would call him to preach the funeral] [her funeral had to pass] ['I won't discuss it.' 'Don't then—it's your funeral.']

osculate

[buss, kiss, snog]: [the plots have been drawn using osculating orbital elements]

gourd

[calabash]:

sedate

[calm, dignified, slow, tranquillize]: [in the old days, business was carried on at a rather more sedate pace] [sedate suburban domesticity] [she was heavily sedated]

serene

[calm, peaceful, cloudless]: [her eyes were closed and she looked very serene] [serene certainty] [not a cloud obscured the deep serene]

fodder

[cannon fodder, fresh fish]: [young people ending up as factory fodder] [the animals need foddering]

competent

[capable, adequate, fit]: [a highly competent surgeon] [make sure the firm is competent to carry out the work] [an infinitely competent mother of three] [she spoke quite competent French] [the London Stock Exchange is the competent authority under the Financial Services Act]

condenser

[capacitance, capacitor, electrical condenser]:

cloak

[cape, cover, veil, conceal]: [he threw his cloak about him] [preparations had taken place under a cloak of secrecy] [ground-floor accommodation comprises hall, cloaks, lounge, kitchen] [they sat cloaked and hooded] [she cloaked her embarrassment by rushing into speech]

peninsula

[cape]: [the end of the Cape Peninsula] [the peninsular part of Malaysia]

capitalization

[capitalisation]:

arbitrary

[capricious, unmotivated, despotic]: [an arbitrary decision] [a country under arbitrary government]

hostage

[captive]: [they were held hostage by armed rebels] [making objectives explicit is to give a hostage to fortune]

catch

[capture, become trapped, be in time for, engage, perceive, hear, evoke, hit, become infected with, ignite, start, haul, latch, snag, eligible man/woman, tremor, be reprimanded, become popular, understand, draw level (with)]: [she threw the bottle into the air and caught it again] [he fell forwards and Linda caught him] [he caught hold of her arm as she tried to push past him] [his hands caught at her arms as she tried to turn away] [I was caught on the square-leg boundary for 96]

thrifty

[careful with money]: [he had been brought up to be thrifty and careful] [the sheep are vigorous and thrifty]

scrupulous

[careful, honest]: [the research has been carried out with scrupulous attention to detail] [she's too scrupulous to have an affair with a married man]

reason

[cause, rationality, good sense, sanity, think rationally, calculate, thinking, work out, talk round, because of]: [she asked him to return, but didn't give a reason] [I resigned for personal reasons] [Giles is the reason that I am here] [we have reason to celebrate] [there is a close connection between reason and emotion]

circumspect

[cautious]: [the officials were very circumspect in their statements]

collapse

[cave in, faint, break down, cave-in, breakdown, breakdown]: [the roof collapsed on top of me] [it feels as if the slightest pressure would collapse it] [many people tend to collapse the distinction between the two concepts] [a collapsed lung] [he had an operation to collapse his lung]

battery

[cell, gun emplacement, batteries, array, series, violence]: [a camera battery] [battery power] [anti-aircraft missile batteries] [a mobile battery of 105 mm guns] [a battery of equipment to monitor blood pressure]

violoncello

[cello]:

respiration

[cellular respiration, internal respiration]: [opiates affect respiration] [observation of the patient's respirations will gradually be decreased]

centenary

[centennial]: [the society has just celebrated its centenary] [the stunning vitality of a musician who is nearing his centenary] [the centenary year of the artist's birth]

axis

[centre line, alliance]: [the Earth revolves on its axis once every 24 hours] [the variable that is thought of as a cause is placed on the horizontal axis, and the variable that is thought of as an effect on the vertical axis] [the leaflets are arranged in rows on a slender axis] [the Anglo-American axis] [the Axis Powers]

focus

[centre, emphasis, subject, focal point, sharp, blurred, bring into focus, concentrate]: [this generation has made the environment a focus of attention] [our focus on the customer's requirements] [his face is rather out of focus] [the incident brought her feelings for Alexander sharply into focus] [try to focus on a stationary object]

navel

[centre]: [the Incas saw Cuzco as the navel of the world] [the Post Office cannot stop the world while the unions contemplate their navels]

hemisphere

[cerebral hemisphere]: [the left hemisphere plays a dominant role in the comprehension of language]

official

[ceremonial, authorized, officer]: [the prime minister's official engagements] [members would know when industrial action is official] [official statistics] [an official spokesman] [a union official]

ritual

[ceremony, ceremonial]: [ancient fertility rituals] [the role of ritual in religion] [she likes the High Church ritual] [her visits to Joy became a ritual] [ritual burial]

security

[certainty, safety, safety measures, feeling of safety, guarantee]: [the system is designed to provide maximum security against toxic spills] [job security] [a matter of national security] [amid tight security the presidents met in the Colombian resort] [this man could give her the emotional security she needed]

fortuitous

[chance, lucky]: [the similarity between the paintings may not be simply fortuitous] [the ball went into the goal by a fortuitous ricochet] [fortuitous meeting] [the ball went into the goal by a fortuitous ricochet]

opportunity

[chance]: [increased opportunities for export] [the night drive gave us the opportunity of spotting rhinos] [career opportunities in our New York headquarters] [with the right support, opportunity knocks]

conversion

[change, adaptation, spiritual rebirth]: [the conversion of food into body tissues] [the conversion of a house into flats] [they were carrying out a loft conversion] [high-quality cottages and barn conversions] [he insists that real conversion is a matter of the heart]

convertible

[changeable, soft-top]: [a convertible sofa] [nationalism is too easily convertible into bitterness and selfishness] [a formal commitment by the East European countries to convertible currencies] [currencies were officially convertible into gold via the dollar] [a sale of shares and convertible bonds]

butterfly

[chat up, coquet, coquette, dally, flirt, mash, philander, romance]: [a butterfly clip] [a social butterfly] [butterflied shrimp]

freshness

[cheekiness, crust, gall, impertinence, impudence, insolence]: [the restaurant's selling point is the freshness of its ingredients] [he brings freshness to a familiar story] [the commentary should display freshness of insight] [the freshness of the memory] [he has the enthusiasm and freshness of youth]

gaiety

[cheerfulness, merrymaking]: [the sudden gaiety of children's laughter] [he seemed to be a part of the gaiety, having a wonderful time] [people long for the enchantments and gaieties of the European cities] [editors added to the gaiety of nations by suing each other]

knight

[chevalier, Sir Galahad]: [in all your quarrels I will be your knight] [he was knighted for his services to industry]

gnaw

[chew, erode, prey on someone's mind, persistent]: [watching a dog gnaw at a big bone] [the grubs tunnel into the wood and gnaw it away] [the doubts continued to gnaw at me]

nestling

[chick]: [buntings, their throats bulging with food for hungry nestlings] [cuckoo nestlings]

protagonist

[chief character, supporter]: [the novel's main protagonist is an American intelligence officer] [the hard-boiled protagonist of the movie Blade Runner] [in this colonial struggle the main protagonists were Great Britain and France] [he's a strenuous protagonist of the new agricultural policy] [the play's half-dozen protagonists were well cast]

prodigy

[child genius, model]: [a Russian pianist who was a child prodigy in his day] [Germany seemed a prodigy of industrial discipline] [omens and prodigies abound in Livy's work]

travail

[childbed, confinement, labor, labour, lying-in, parturiency]: [advice for those who wish to save great sorrow and travail] [a woman in travail] [creation may travail in pain but it cannot escape its destiny]

select

[choose, choice, exclusive]: [children must select their GCSE subjects] [he has been selected to take part] [you can select from a range of quality products] [the commonest phenotype in a population can be selected against] [you can move and copy text by selecting it and then holding down the mouse button]

adopt

[choose]: [there are many people eager to adopt a baby] [this approach has been adopted by many big banks] [he adopted a patronizing tone] [she was recently adopted as Labour candidate for the constituency] [the committee voted 5-1 to adopt the proposal]

code

[cipher, law, set of principles]: [the Americans cracked their diplomatic code] [messages written in code] [researching 'the family' is usually a code for studying women] [each box had a label with the code SC 90] [I was given the number, but not the code for Guildford]

allege

[claim]: [he alleged that he had been assaulted] [he is alleged to have assaulted five men]

buckle

[clasp, fasten, warp, get (down) to work]: [most rucksacks have quick release buckles] [a belt buckle] [black shoes with ornate buckles] [he buckled his belt] [it is advisable to buckle up as some of the mountain roads require skilful manoeuvring]

immaculate

[clean, perfect, unblemished]: [an immaculate white suit] [an immaculate safety record]

obvious

[clear]: [unemployment has been the most obvious cost of the recession] [it was obvious a storm was coming in] [it was an obvious remark to make]

scribe

[clerk, writer]: [he scribed a note that he passed to Dan] [mark the position of the lock body on the door edge, then scribe a centre mark]

intelligent

[clever, be intelligent, rational, robotic]: [Anna is intelligent and hard-working] [an intelligent guess]

crag

[cliff]:

finale

[climax]: [the finale of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony] [a fireworks finale] [the festival ends with a grand finale]

ascent

[climb, (upward) slope, rise]: [the first ascent of the Matterhorn] [the ascent grew steeper] [the first balloon ascent was in 1783] [his ascent to power]

liquidate

[close down, convert to cash, pay off]: [if the company was liquidated, there would be enough funds released to honour the debts] [the company would have the strength to reorganize and not be forced to liquidate] [a plan to liquidate £1 billion worth of property over seven years] [the fund was raided for purposes other than liquidating the public debt] [nationalist rivals and critics were liquidated in bloody purges]

cudgel

[club, bludgeon]: [they would lie in wait and cudgel her to death] [she cudgelled her brain, trying to decide what had caused such an about-face] [there was no one else to take up the cudgels on their behalf]

hint

[clue, trace, tip, imply, allude to]: [he has given no hint of his views] [Randall smiled with a hint of mockery] [handy hints on saving energy in your home] [the Minister hinted at a possible change of heart] [he hinted that the sale might be delayed]

ponderous

[clumsy, laboured]: [a swarthy, ponderous giant of a man] [the show is loaded down with ponderous one-liners]

kerosene

[coal oil, kerosine, lamp oil]:

wheedle

[coax]: [she wheedled her way on to the guest list] [she had wheedled us into employing her brother] ['Please, for my sake,' he wheedled]

helical

[coiling, spiral, spiraling, turbinate, volute, voluted, whorled]: [helical molecules]

cooperate

[collaborate, be of assistance]: [the leaders promised to cooperate in ending the civil war] [staff need to cooperate with each other] [his captor threatened to kill him if he didn't cooperate]

corporate

[collective]: [airlines are very keen on their corporate identity] [local authorities, like other corporate bodies, may reduce capital spending] [the rules set by the corporate organization] [the service emphasizes the corporate responsibility of the congregation]

impact

[collision, effect, crash into, affect]: [there was the sound of a third impact] [bullets which expand and cause devastating injury on impact] [our regional measures have had a significant impact on unemployment] [the shell impacted twenty yards away] [an asteroid impacted the earth some 60 million years ago]

pugnacious

[combative, aggressive]: [the increasingly pugnacious demeanour of right-wing politicians]

unite

[combine]: [he called on the party to unite] [they are united by their love of cars] [the two Germanys officially united] [his work unites theory and practice] [Lady Midlothian united herself to a man of bad character]

integrate

[combine]: [transport planning should be integrated with energy policy] [a fully equipped laboratory is being integrated into the development] [the problem of integrating the two approaches] [the stone will blend with the environment and integrate into the landscape] [integrating children with special needs into ordinary schools]

emerge

[come out, become known]: [black ravens emerged from the fog] [the larvae pupate among the roots of trees to emerge as the adults] [United have emerged as the bookies' clear favourite] [established and emerging artists] [reports of a deadlock emerged during preliminary discussions]

culminate

[come to a climax]: [weeks of violence culminated in the brutal murder of a magistrate] [her book culminated a research project on the symmetry studies of Escher] [the star culminates at midnight on about the 30th April]

become

[come to be, be appointed as, happen to, suit, befit]: [she became angry and sulked all day] [it is becoming clear that we are in a new situation] [the child will become an adult] [she wanted to become a doctor] [what would become of her now?]

skit

[comedy sketch, parody]: [a skit on daytime magazine programmes] [students will create skits about bullying and go to each elementary school to perform them]

impound

[confiscate, pen in, lock up]: [vehicles parked where they cause an obstruction will be impounded] [the cattle were rounded up and impounded] [almost forgotten were the poor unfortunates impounded in the prison] [it will impound a reservoir 130 miles long]

confrontation

[conflict]: [a confrontation with the legislature] [four months of violent confrontation between government and opposition forces] [the race promised a classic confrontation between the two top runners in the world]

face-off

[confrontation, encounter, showdown]: [close to a million soldiers face off in the desert] [last night's vice presidential face-off]

showdown

[confrontation]: [he and his government were lurching towards an angry showdown with their critics]

puzzling

[confusing, perplexing]: [only one very puzzling question remains unanswered] [puzzlingly, he was never able to attend gatherings of contributors in Oxford] [prices for Goya paintings are still puzzlingly low]

conference

[congress, discussion]: [an international conference on the environment] [the Labour Party Conference] [he gathered all the men around the baize table for a conference] [a conference call] [an international authority or, if that was not possible, a regional operators' conference]

speculative

[conjectural, risky]: [he gave her a speculative glance] [the bonuses cannot be put at risk due to some speculative investment] [he was involved in speculative building]

conjugate

[conjugate solution]: [conjugating verbs forms part of language study] [E. coli only conjugate when one of the cells possesses fertility genes] [bilirubin is then conjugated by liver enzymes and excreted in the bile]

relate

[connect (with), apply to, have a rapport with, tell]: [the study examines social change within the city and relates it to developments in the country as a whole] [a supercomputer could relate all those factors] [high unemployment is related to high crime rates] [he was related to my mother] [people who are distantly related]

awareness

[consciousness]: [we need to raise public awareness of the issue] [there is a lack of awareness of the risks] [a growing environmental awareness] [his political awareness developed]

corollary

[consequence]: [the huge increases in unemployment were the corollary of expenditure cuts] [the court did not answer a corollary question]

thus

[consequently, like this/that, so far]: [Burke knocked out Byrne, thus becoming champion] [she rang up Susan, and while she was thus engaged Chignell summoned the doctor] [the Ryder Cup is the highlight of Torrance's career thus far]

obtrusive

[conspicuous]: [a large and obtrusive works where ammonia is produced]

collusion

[conspiracy]: [the armed forces were working in collusion with drug traffickers]

infection

[contamination, septicity, disease]: [strict hygiene will limit the risk of infection] [a reddening of the skin at the site of infection] [a chest infection]

meditate

[contemplate]: [I set aside time every day to write and meditate] [it was here that the monk spent much of the day reading and meditating on Scripture] [he went off to meditate on the new idea] [they had suffered severely, and they began to meditate retreat]

match

[contest, equal, replica, prospective husband/wife, marriage, go with, be a pair, correspond, corresponding, combine, equal, come up to, draw against]: [a boxing match] [they were no match for the mercenaries] [the child's identical twin would be a perfect match for organ donation] [when the software finds a match, it writes the correct character] [the headdresses and bouquet were a perfect match]

foil

[contrast]: [a brave policewoman foiled the armed robbery] [their rivals were foiled by the weather] [aluminium foil] [his white cravat was a perfect foil for his bronzed features]

infringe

[contravene, undermine, trespass on]: [making an unauthorized copy would infringe copyright] [such widespread surveillance could infringe personal liberties] [I wouldn't infringe on his privacy]

breach

[contravention, rift, break, break (through), break]: [a breach of confidence] [they alleged breach of copyright] [a widening breach between government and Church] [a breach in the mountain wall] [the river breached its bank]

bruise

[contusion, contuse, mark, upset]: [his body was a mass of bruises after he had been attacked] [a bruised knee] [potatoes bruise easily, so treat them with care] [she tried to bolster her bruised pride] [the mix contains bruised oats]

formulaic

[conventional]: [formulaic expressions such as 'Once upon a time'] [formulaic, disposable pop]

conformist

[conventionalist]: [organizations where employees are loyal without being unthinking conformists] [the poet became more conformist in his later years]

collaborative

[cooperative]: [collaborative research]

imitator

[copier, impersonator]: [the show's success has sparked off many imitators]

replica

[copy, model, dummy, perfect likeness]: [a replica of the Empire State Building]

monopolize

[corner, dominate, take up all the attention of]: [they instituted press censorship and monopolized the means of communication] [the bigger clubs monopolize the most profitable sponsorships and TV deals] [Sophie monopolized the guest of honour for most of the evening]

parallelism

[correspondence]: [Greek thinkers who believed in the parallelism of microcosm and macrocosm] [parallelism suggests a connection of meaning through an echo of form] [the parallelisms are reinforced by frequent alliteration] [massive parallelism gives neural networks a high degree of fault tolerance]

bribery

[corruption]: [his opponent had been guilty of bribery and corruption] [a bribery scandal]

price

[cost, consequence, fix/set the price of, whatever the price, at a high price/cost, of incalculable value/worth, reward]: [land could be sold for a high price] [house prices have fallen] [large cars are dropping in price] [the parable of the pearl of great price] [the price of their success was an entire day spent in discussion]

expensive

[costly]: [keeping a horse is expensive] [an expensive bottle of wine]

homely

[cosy, unsophisticated, unattractive]: [a modern hotel with a homely atmosphere] [homely pleasures]

clique

[coterie]: [his flat became a haven for a clique of young men of similar tastes] [the old-school clique]

neutralize

[counteract, cancel out]: [impatience at his frailty began to neutralize her fear] [splashes on skin should be neutralized immediately] [120 bombs were neutralized] [counter-intelligence programmes designed to neutralize individuals]

pave

[cover, prepare for]: [the yard at the front was paved with flagstones] [a paved area] [the proposals will pave the way for a resolution to the problem] [few people now imagine that the streets of New York, Paris, or London are paved with gold] [a solid diamond pavé]

rock

[crag, boulder, diamond, foundation, in difficulty, with ice, move to and fro, shake, stun]: [the beds of rock are slightly tilted] [a piece of rock] [a spectacular rock arch] [there are dangerous rocks around the island] [the stream flowed through a jumble of rocks]

sneak

[creep, bring/take surreptitiously, snatch, inform (on/against), informer, furtive]: [I sneaked out by the back exit] [someone sneaked a camera inside] [she sneaked a glance at her watch] [he sneaks up on us slyly] [she sneaked on us]

spook

[creep, weirdie, weirdo, weirdy]: [a CIA spook] [they spooked a couple of grizzly bears] [he'll spook if we make any noise]

iceberg

[crisphead lettuce, iceberg lettuce]: [detected fraud is only the tip of the iceberg]

revile

[criticize]: [he was now reviled by the party that he had helped to lead]

diagonal

[crossways]: [a tie with diagonal stripes] [the bars of light made diagonals across the entrance] [tiles can be laid on the diagonal]

squat

[crouch (down), stocky, low]: [I squatted down in front of him] [he can squat 850 pounds] [eight families are squatting in the house] [Clare, Briony, and the others had squatted the old council house] [many people moved further out and squatted on the land]

coronation

[crowning]: [the Queen's coronation]

crumple

[crush, crease, collapse, pucker]: [he crumpled up the paper bag] [a crumpled sheet] [the bumper crumpled as it glanced off the wall] [she crumpled to the floor in a dead faint] [her composure crumpled]

grind

[crush, sharpen, rub, gnash, move laboriously, chore, oppress, drag on, produce]: [grind some black pepper over the salad] [she ground up the rice prior to boiling] [power from a waterwheel was used to grind cutlery] [she was grinding a coffee mill] [the old mill was grinding again]

exclaim

[cry out]: ['Well I never,' she exclaimed] [she looked in the mirror, exclaiming in dismay at her appearance]

quartz

[crystal, lechatelierite, quartz glass, vitreous silica]:

laddie

[cub, lad, sonny, sonny boy]: [he's just a wee laddie]

cucumber

[cuke]: [he leaps up the six flights of stairs and arrives at the top as cool as a cucumber] [she looked as efficient as a hospital matron, as cool as a cucumber]

apogee

[culmination]: [a film which was the apogee of German expressionist cinema]

guilt

[culpability, self-reproach, remorse]: [it is the duty of the prosecution to prove the prisoner's guilt] [he remembered with sudden guilt the letter from his mother that he had not yet read] [Celeste had been guilted into going by her parents]

guile

[cunning]: [he used all his guile and guts to free himself from the muddle he was in]

inquisitive

[curious]: [his poems reveal an intensely inquisitive mind] [I didn't like to seem inquisitive]

syllabus

[curriculum]: [there isn't time to cover the syllabus] [the history syllabus]

diminution

[curtailment, decline]: [a permanent diminution in value] [the disease shows no signs of diminution]

arc

[curve, curl]: [the point where a tangential line touches the arc of a circle] [the huge arc of the sky] [he swung his torch in a wide arc] [modern welding generators are designed so that there is a high voltage for striking the arc] [his transformation provides the emotional arc of the story]

pare

[cut (off), reduce]: [Carlo pared his thumbnails with his knife] [pare off the rind using a peeler] [union leaders publicly pared down their demands] [we pared costs by doing our own cleaning]

dawn

[daybreak, beginning, begin, begin, occur to]: [he set off at dawn] [the dawn of civilization] [Thursday dawned bright and sunny] [a new age was dawning in the Tory party] [the awful truth was beginning to dawn on him]

deceased

[dead]: [the judge inferred that the deceased was confused as to the extent of his assets] [the deceased man's family] [the will of Christopher Smith deceased]

coup de grace

[death blow]: [he administered the coup de grâce with a knife] [Howarth delivered the coup de grâce with a penalty two minutes from time]

decompose

[decay, break up]: [the body had begun to decompose] [decomposing fungi] [dead plant matter can be completely decomposed by micro-organisms] [many chemicals decompose rapidly under high temperature] [living organisms are used to decompose water into hydrogen and oxygen]

contradiction

[denial, conflict]: [the proposed new system suffers from a set of internal contradictions] [the paradox of using force to overcome force is a real contradiction] [the second sentence appears to be in flat contradiction of the first] [the experiment provides a contradiction of the hypothesis] [she has demonstrated that the term 'student-athlete' isn't always a contradiction in terms]

negation

[denial, opposite]: [there should be confirmation—or negation—of the findings] [the negation of A is, briefly, 'not A'] [these formulae and their negations] [evil is not merely the negation of goodness]

disclaim

[deny, renounce]: [the school disclaimed any responsibility for his death] [the earl disclaimed his title]

reliably

[dependably, faithfully]: [few of these paintings can be reliably dated]

helpless

[dependent, incapable, defenceless]: [the cubs are born blind and helpless] [they burst into helpless laughter]

pendant

[dependent, pendent]: [a jade-green pendant on a gold chain] [I slipped the pendant over my neck] [decorative pendants may need a special ceiling fitting] [the triptych's pendant will occupy the corresponding wall in the south transept] [pendant flowers on frail stems]

extradite

[deport, have someone deported]: [Brazil refused to extradite him to Britain]

extradition

[deportation]: [they fought to prevent his extradition to the US] [emergency extraditions]

bereave

[deprive, orphaned, widowed]: [she had recently been bereaved] [bereaved families] [those who counsel the bereaved]

bereft

[deprived of]: [her room was stark and bereft of colour] [his death in 1990 left her bereft]

proxy

[deputy]: [Britons overseas may register to vote by proxy] [the use of a US wealth measure as a proxy for the true worldwide measure]

demolition

[destruction, destruction, refutation, defeat]: [the monument was saved from demolition] [Ireland's demolition of England]

monitor

[detector, observer, screen, prefect, observe]: [a heart monitor] [a monitor aboard the vessel said he had measured radiation levels ten times the normal level] [the deployment of troops went ahead despite the shooting down of an EC monitor's helicopter] [the independent judicial monitor] [radio monitors reported they heard the pilot say he was heading for Paris]

critic

[detractor, commentator, reviewer]: [critics of the new legislation say it is too broad] [a theatre critic]

havoc

[devastation, disorder, disturb]: [the hurricane ripped through Florida causing havoc] [if they weren't at school they'd be wreaking havoc in the streets] [shift work plays havoc with the body clock]

progression

[development, succession]: [good opportunities for career progression] [a steady progression towards your goals] [their mode of progression through the forest] [a blues progression] [the vista unfolds in a progression of castles and vineyards as seemingly endless as the Rhine itself]

religious

[devout, spiritual, scrupulous]: [both men were deeply religious and moralistic] [religious music] [she has strong religious convictions] [religious houses were built on ancient pagan sites] [I have a religious aversion to reading manuals]

variance

[difference, inconsistent, conflicting]: [her light tone was at variance with her sudden trembling] [the stylistic variances of classical dance] [they were at variance with all their previous allies]

predicament

[difficult situation]: [the club's financial predicament]

excavate

[dig, unearth]: [the cheapest way of doing this was to excavate a long trench] [the ground was largely excavated by hand] [a large amount of gravel would be excavated to form the channel] [the site was excavated in 1975] [clothing and weapons were excavated from the burial site]

ceremonious

[dignified, majestic]: [a Great Hall where ceremonious and public appearances were made] [he accepted the gifts with ceremonious dignity]

stately

[dignified, majestic]: [a stately 19th-century mansion] [a stately procession]

gravitas

[dignity]: [a post for which he has the expertise and the gravitas]

digraph

[digram]:

decrepit

[dilapidated, feeble, old]: [a row of decrepit houses] [a rather decrepit old man]

assiduous

[diligent]: [she was assiduous in pointing out every feature]

conductor

[director, music director]: [he was appointed principal conductor of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra] [most polymers are poor conductors]

paralyse

[disable, immobilized, immobilize, bring to a standstill]: [Mrs Burrows had been paralysed by a stroke] [some people are paralysed by the thought of failure] [her paralysing shyness] [the regional capital was paralysed by a general strike]

discountenance

[disapprove of, disconcert]: [the best solution to alcohol abuse is a healthy family life where alcohol consumption is discountenanced] [Amanda was not discountenanced by the accusation]

saucer

[dish, dish aerial, dish antenna]: [she saw the child looking at her with eyes like saucers]

bowl

[dish, hollow, stadium, pitch, hurtle, knock down, overwhelm]: [a mixing bowl] [a sugar bowl] [they ate huge bowls of steaming spaghetti] [the McGeorge Rose Bowl] [a toilet bowl]

corrupt

[dishonest, corruptible, sinful, immoral, bribe, pervert, alter, falsify]: [unscrupulous logging companies assisted by corrupt officials] [the old corrupt order] [a progressively corrupt magnetic record is usable nonetheless] [a corrupt and rotting corpse] [there is a continuing fear of firms corrupting politicians in the search for contracts]

discharge

[dismiss, release, send out, fire, unload, carry out, pay, dismissal, release, leak, emission, shot, discharges, unloading, carrying out, payment]: [Mark was taken away in an ambulance but later discharged] [his memory was impaired and he was discharged from the RAF] [she was conditionally discharged for two years at Oxford Crown Court] [if the jury cannot agree, it should be discharged] [industrial plants discharge highly toxic materials into rivers]

spectacle

[display, sight, exhibition]: [the acrobatic feats make a good spectacle] [the show is pure spectacle] [the spectacle of a city's mass grief] [she was making a spectacle of herself with her childish outburst]

deprive

[dispossess]: [the city was deprived of its water supplies] [the Archbishop deprived a considerable number of puritan clergymen]

refute

[disprove, deny]: [these claims have not been convincingly refuted] [his voice challenging his audience to rise and refute him] [a spokesman totally refuted the allegation of bias] [attempts to refute Einstein's theory] [I absolutely refute the charges made against me]

disturbance

[disruption, riot, trouble, agitation]: [a helicopter landing can cause disturbance to residents] [the disturbances were precipitated when four men were refused bail] [children with learning difficulty and personality disturbance]

decadent

[dissolute]: [a decaying, decadent Britain] [a decadent soak in a scented bath] [for half a million dollars, he offers rich decadents the chance to lead a deadly safari]

divorce

[dissolution, separation, split up (with), separate]: [her divorce from her first husband] [one in three marriages ends in divorce] [my divorce comes through in two weeks] [a divorce between ownership and control in the typical large company] [she divorced him in 1965]

fretful

[distressed, irritable]: [the baby was crying with a fretful whimper]

dispense

[distribute, prepare, waive, get rid of, exempt]: [orderlies went round dispensing drinks] [the machines dispense a range of drinks] [a dispensing machine] [he was stopped from dispensing prescriptions] [let's dispense with the formalities, shall we?]

deal

[distribute, trade in, concern, cope with, treat, deliver, agreement, a lot]: [the cards were dealt for the last hand] [fate dealt her a different hand] [he shuffled and dealt] [the punishments dealt out to the rioters were hideous] [directors were prohibited from dealing in the company's shares]

quarter

[district, source, accommodation, mercy, accommodate, patrol]: [she cut each apple into quarters] [a page and a quarter] [a quarter of a mile] [the first quarter of the fiscal year] [he sat with his pint until a quarter past nine]

disruption

[disturbance]: [the scheme was planned to minimize disruption] [there had been no delays or disruptions to flights]

heterogeneous

[diverse]: [a large and heterogeneous collection] [heterogeneous catalysis]

partition

[dividing up, screen, divider, divide, subdivide]: [the country's partition into separate states] [partition chromatography] [the cafe was divided up by glass partitions] [this takes a copy of hard disk partition information during installation] [an agreement was reached to partition the country]

forgo

[do without]: [she wanted to forgo the tea and leave while they could] [we forgo any comparison between the two men]

tame

[domesticated, docile, amenable, unexciting, domesticate, subdue]: [the fish are so tame you have to push them away] [every businessman needs a tame lawyer at his elbow] [network TV on Saturday night is a pretty tame affair] [a big field of tame hay] [wild rabbits can be kept in captivity and eventually tamed]

prevailing

[dominant, predominant, prevalent, rife]: [the unfavourable prevailing economic conditions] [the prevailing mood within Whitehall circles] [fourteen years of prevailingly happy marriage]

threshold

[doorstep, start, lower limit]: [he stood on the threshold of Sheila's bedroom] [she was on the threshold of a dazzling career] [nothing happens until the signal passes the threshold] [a threshold level] [their water would meet the safety threshold of 50 milligrams of nitrates per litre]

fold

[double, mix, enfold, fail, pleat, enclosure, community]: [Sam folded up the map] [fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture] [the deckchair folds flat] [a folding chair] [the small card table was folded up and put away]

extinguish

[douse, destroy, end]: [firemen were soaking everything to extinguish the blaze] [hope is extinguished little by little] [a look which would have extinguished any man] [the debt was absolutely extinguished] [rights of common pasture were extinguished]

along

[down, onwards, on, beside, as company, together with]: [soon we were driving along a narrow road] [he saw Gray run along the top of the wall] [we continued to plod along] [you'll pick up some valuable tips along the way] [they asked how the construction was coming along]

evoke

[draw out, educe, elicit, extract]: [the sight evoked pleasant memories of his childhood] [the Green Paper evoked critical reactions from various bodies] [Akasha is evoked in India when a house is being built to ensure its completion]

sketch

[drawing, outline, summary, description, skit, draw, describe, summarize]: [a charcoal sketch] [a biographical sketch of Ernest Hemingway] [you can see how the first movement evolved from the composer's sketches] [a hilarious sketch for their latest BBC series] [as they talked, Modigliani began to sketch her]

strained

[drawn, awkward, tense, forced, artificial]: [Jean's pale, strained face] [there was a strained silence] [relations between the two countries were strained] [she gave a strained laugh] [my example may seem a little strained]

imbrue

[drench]: [they were unwilling to imbrue their hands in his blood]

zenith

[highest point]: [in 1977, punk was at its zenith] [the sun was well past the zenith]

disguise

[dress oneself up as, in disguise, false appearance, facade]: [he disguised himself as a girl] [Bryn was disguised as a priest] [a disguised reporter] [does holding a handkerchief over the mouthpiece really disguise your voice?] [he made no effort to disguise his contempt]

receivable

[due]:

payable

[due]: [interest is payable on the money owing] [it costs just $195, payable in five monthly instalments] [accounts payable (excluding customer refunds and construction payables)]

cell

[dungeon, caucus]: [the authorities locked all remaining inmates in their cells] [terrorist cells] [a button cell for a quartz watch] [a single-celled organism]

tough

[durable, chewy, resilient, arduous, difficult, strict, ruffian]: [tough rucksacks for climbers] [the hastily prepared steak was tough] [she was as tough as old boots] [he liked editors who were tough enough to make the grade] [we have six tough matches in a row]

robust

[durable, sturdy, strong, healthy, strong]: [a robust metal cabinet] [the Caplan family are a robust lot] [the country's political system has continued to be robust in spite of its economic problems] [he took quite a robust view of my case] [a robust mixture of fish, onions, capers and tomatoes]

alacrity

[eagerness]: [she accepted the invitation with alacrity]

timid

[easily frightened]: [I was too timid to ask for what I wanted]

squeamish

[easily nauseated, be squeamish about, scrupulous]: [I've always been squeamish about bugs] [she was not squeamish about using her social influence in support of her son]

sinecure

[easy job]: [political sinecures for the supporters of ministers]

quirky

[eccentric]: [her sense of humour was decidedly quirky]

economics

[economic science, political economy]: [he is responsible for the island's modest economics]

retrench

[economize, reduce]: [as a result of the recession the company retrenched] [if people are forced to retrench their expenditure trade will suffer] [if there are excess staff they should be retrenched] [right-wing parties which seek to retrench the welfare state]

blissful

[ecstatic]: [a blissful couple holding a baby] [the blissful caress of cool cotton sheets] [her blissful ignorance of the politicized academic climate]

in seventh heaven

[ecstatic]: [he was in seventh heaven, so excited]

hem

[edge, edge, surround, restrict]: [the hem of her dress] [she took up the hem] [she began to hem a border] [he was hemmed in by the tables] [Jane, if any one is about, come to the foot of the stairs and hem]

edify

[educate, enlighten]: [Rachel had edified their childhood with frequent readings from Belloc]

virtual

[effective]: [the virtual absence of border controls] [virtual images] [a virtual library] [virtual learning]

productivity

[efficiency, fruitfulness]: [the long-term productivity of land] [workers have boosted productivity by 30 per cent] [nutrient-rich waters with high primary productivity]

riddance

[ejection, exclusion, expulsion]: [the new movement emphasized discipline, not riddance or punishment as a method of solving the criminal problem] [good riddance to all the fanatical hangers-on] [as for the '70s, good riddance]

factor

[element, agent]: [his skill was a factor in ensuring that so much was achieved] [she worked fast, conscious of the time factor] [the Rhesus factor] [an amount that exceeds it by a factor of 1000 or more] [factor 30 sun cream]

snobbish

[elitist]: [the writer takes a rather snobbish tone]

liniment

[embrocation]:

radiate

[emit, shine, display, spread out]: [the hot stars radiate energy] [the continual stream of energy which radiates from the sun] [she lifted her chin, radiating defiance] [leadership and confidence radiate from her] [he ran down one of the passages that radiated from the room]

heart

[emotions, compassion, enthusiasm, wholeheartedly, centre, essence, like-minded, basically, from memory, sincerely, fall in love with, be compassionate, inwardly]: [holding hand on heart for the Pledge of Allegiance] [hardening his heart, he ignored her entreaties] [he poured out his heart to me] [he has no heart] [they had a change of heart]

practical

[empirical, feasible, functional, realistic, virtual]: [there are two obvious practical applications of the research] [neither of these strategies are practical for smaller businesses] [a practical, stylish kitchen] [I'm merely being practical—we must find a ground-floor flat] [Steve'll fix it—he's quite practical]

drain

[empty (out), draw off, flow, drink (up/down), use up, sewer, strain]: [we drained the swimming pool] [fry the pork and drain off any excess fat] [the land was drained and the boggy ground reclaimed] [the stream drains a wide moorland above the waterfall] [the river drains into the Pacific]

kinetic

[energising, energizing]:

vigour

[energy, muscularity, vigor, vim]: [the springing curls were a sign of vigour and health] [they set about the new task with vigour]

certification

[enfranchisement]: [a fundamental requirement for organic certification] [the certification of teachers] [graduates who want to gain industry-recognized certifications]

fascinate

[engross]: [I've always been fascinated by computers] [a crowd of fascinated onlookers] [the serpent fascinates its prey]

complete

[entire, absolute, finish, finish off, fill in]: [a complete list of courses offered by the university] [no woman's wardrobe is complete without this pretty top] [I only managed one complete term at school] [the complete works of Shakespeare] [the house comes complete with gas central heating and double glazing]

lobby

[entrance hall, pressure group, seek to influence, campaign]: [they went into the hotel lobby] [members of the anti-abortion lobby] [a recent lobby of Parliament by pensioners] [they insist on their right to lobby Congress] [the organization was formed to lobby for student concerns]

protocol

[etiquette, agreement]: [protocol forbids the prince from making any public statement in his defence] [what is the protocol at a smart lunch if one's neighbour dozes off during the speeches?] [signatories to the Montreal Protocol] [Hungary and the Soviet Union signed a trade protocol] [a protocol to the treaty allowed for this Danish referendum]

elude

[evade]: [he tried to elude the security men by sneaking through a back door] [we need to ensure that bad cases do not elude tough penalties] [sleep still eluded her] [the logic of this eluded most people]

vernacular

[everyday language]: [he wrote in the vernacular to reach a larger audience] [gardening vernacular] [buildings in which Gothic merged into farmhouse vernacular] [vernacular literature] [vernacular buildings]

wicked

[evil, disagreeable, mischievous, excellent]: [a wicked and unscrupulous politician] [he pulled the long, wicked-looking dagger from its sheath] [despite the sun, the wind outside was wicked] [a wicked sense of humour] [Sophie makes wicked cakes]

instance

[example, cite, instigation, place]: [a serious instance of corruption] [the search finds every instance where the word appears] [in this instance it mattered little] [I instanced Bob as someone whose commitment had certainly got things done] [prosecution at the instance of the police]

fine

[excellent, worthy, all right, in good health, fair, impressive, thin, sheer, sharp, fine-grained, delicate, intricate, subtle, financial penalty, fines, penalize]: [this was a fine piece of film-making] [fine wines] [what a fine human being he is] [a fine musician] [relations in the group were fine]

phenomenal

[exceptional]: [the town expanded at a phenomenal rate] [the phenomenal world]

smog

[exhaust fumes]: [exhaust emissions are mainly responsible for the smog] [the fires caused widespread smogs]

presence

[existence, attendance, ghost, bearing, aura, composure]: [my presence in the flat made her happy] [the presence of chlorine in the atmosphere] [the memorial was unveiled in the presence of 24 veterans] [the monks became aware of a strange presence] [the US would maintain a presence in the Indian Ocean region]

deport

[expel, behave]: [he was deported for violation of immigration laws] [he was deported to Turkey for his public condemnation of the Shah] [he has deported himself with great dignity]

connoisseur

[expert judge (of)]: [a connoisseur of music]

elucidate

[explain]: [work such as theirs will help to elucidate this matter] [in what follows I shall try to elucidate what I believe the problems to be]

extensible

[extensile]: [an extensible architecture designed to accommodate changes]

spare

[extra, surplus, free, slender, afford, not harm, become very angry, left over]: [few people had spare cash for inessentials] [a spare seat] [he tried to write poetry in his spare time] [a spare, bearded figure] [her clothes are smart and spare in style]

profoundly

[extremely]: [a profoundly disturbing experience] [he profoundly altered the whole course of my life]

ebullient

[exuberant]: [she sounded ebullient and happy] [misted and ebullient seas]

veil

[face covering, covering, envelop, covert]: [a white bridal veil] [shrouded in an eerie veil of mist] [she veiled her face] [a thinly veiled threat] [Billy realized that his father had passed irrevocably beyond the veil]

dim

[faint, indistinct, dark, vague, gloomy, grow faint, grow dark, turn down, fade]: [the dim glow of the fire] [a dim figure in the dark kitchen] [long dim corridors] [his eyes became dim] [the dim drone of their voices]

celebrity

[famous person, fame]: [he became a sporting celebrity] [a celebrity chef] [his prestige and celebrity grew]

by far

[far and away, out and away]: [this was by far the largest city in the area]

countryman

[farmer, compatriot]: [he was a complete countryman, with a pronounced affinity with nature] [they trust a fellow countryman]

colleague

[fellow worker]:

carnival

[festival, funfair, circus]: [the culmination of the week-long carnival] [Mardi Gras is the last day of carnival] [a carnival parade] [children from Wroughton are getting ready for the village carnival] [the film is a visual and aural carnival]

metaphor

[figure of speech]: [when we speak of gene maps and gene mapping, we use a cartographic metaphor] [her poetry depends on suggestion and metaphor] [the amounts of money being lost by the company were enough to make it a metaphor for an industry that was teetering]

securely

[firmly]: [keep the lid securely fastened] [make sure keys are stored securely] [prisoners held securely behind bars] [the data remains securely protected] [he is securely employed]

fetish

[fixation, juju]: [a man with a fetish for surgical masks] [a foot fetish] [some may have fetishes, like dressing up in women's clothes] [Victorian men developed fetishes focusing on feet, shoes, and boots] [men will never understand a woman's fetish for shoes and handbags]

obsession

[fixation]: [she cared for him with a devotion bordering on obsession] [he was in the grip of an obsession he was powerless to resist]

fixture

[fixed appliance, match]: [plumbing fixtures] [the hotel retains many original fixtures and fittings] [the midfielder is set to become a permanent fixture in the England line-up] [the team's last away fixture of the season]

spark

[flash, particle, liveliness, give rise to]: [a log fire was sending sparks on to the rug] [angry sparks were flashing in her eyes] [there was a spark of light] [a tiny spark of anger flared within her] [there was a spark between them at their first meeting]

supine

[flat on one's back, weak]: [the government was supine in the face of racial injustice]

armada

[fleet]:

resilience

[flexibility, durability, strength of character]: [the often remarkable resilience of so many British institutions] [nylon is excellent in wearability, abrasion resistance and resilience]

strapped

[flog, lash, lather, slash, trounce, welt, whip]: [I'm constantly strapped for cash]

deluge

[flood, downpour, barrage, flood, flood, inundate]: [this may be the worst deluge in living memory] [the world appeared to be emerging still from the waters of the Deluge] [a deluge of rain hit the plains] [a deluge of complaints] [caravans were deluged by the heavy rains]

booming

[flourishing, resonant]: [the booming economy of the 1920s] [his booming voice] [a booming laugh] [a booming kick from the touchline]

effuse

[flow out]: [the gardens effuse spacious elegance] [this was the type of material that they effused about]

overpass

[flyover]: [did not its sublimity overpass a little the bounds of the ridiculous?]

compel

[force, exact]: [a sense of duty compelled Harry to answer her questions] [they may compel a witness's attendance at court by issue of a summons] [his striking appearance compelled attention] [by heav'n's high will compell'd from shore to shore]

forefather

[forebear]: [the duchy which her forefathers had ruled since the tenth century] [the forefathers of modern British socialism]

prediction

[forecast]: [a prediction that economic growth would resume] [the prediction of future behaviour]

foreground

[front, forefront]: [the intricate garden depicted in the foreground] [issues which have occupied the political foreground in recent years] [sexual relationships are foregrounded and idealized]

outpost

[frontier settlement]: [troops in some outposts have surrendered] [a few scattered outposts along the west coast] [the community is the last outpost of civilization in the far north]

border

[frontier, surround, edge, adjoin, verge on]: [Panama's western border with Costa Rica] [border controls] [a refugee camp on the border] [the northern border of their distribution area] [the unknown regions at the borders of physics and electronics]

futile

[fruitless]: [a futile attempt to keep fans from mounting the stage] [it is futile to allocate blame for this]

duration

[full length]: [bicycle hire for the duration of your holiday] [a flight of over eight hours' duration] [once she sits down on that settee, she'll be there for the duration]

inveigh

[fulminate]: [he liked to inveigh against all forms of academic training]

grope

[fumble, fondle, molest]: [she groped for her spectacles] [she blew out the candle and groped her way to the door] [she was groping for the words which would express what she thought] [he was accused of groping office girls] [she and Steve sneaked off for a quick grope]

retch

[gag, vomit]: [the sour taste in her mouth made her retch] [he retched up a thin stream of vomit] [with a sudden retch he vomited all over the floor]

gaudy

[garish]: [silver bows and gaudy ribbons] [administratively, the college cannot cope with more than one gaudy per year]

amass

[gather]: [he amassed a fortune estimated at close to a million pounds] [the soldiers were amassing from all parts of Spain]

accumulate

[gather]: [investigators have yet to accumulate enough evidence] [her goal was to accumulate a huge fortune] [the toxin accumulated in their bodies]

widespread

[general]: [there was widespread support for the war] [drug use is widespread]

munificence

[generosity]: [we must be thankful for his munificence]

magnanimous

[generous, unselfish]: [she should be magnanimous in victory]

virtuoso

[genius, skilful]: [a celebrated clarinet virtuoso] [virtuoso guitar playing]

era

[geological era]: [his death marked the end of an era] [leading photographers of the Victorian era] [the dawn of the Christian era] [the Mesozoic era] [the landing of this English governor was an era in their lives]

conceive

[get pregnant, think up, imagine]: [she was conceived when her father was 49] [five months ago Wendy conceived] [the dam project was originally conceived in 1977] [a brilliantly conceived and executed robbery] [without society an individual cannot be conceived as having rights]

undergo

[go through]: [he underwent a life-saving brain operation]

pass

[go, elapse, occupy, come to an end, happen, go unnoticed, hand, be transferred, kick, be successful in, be mistaken for, approve, declare, discharge, permit, kick, make sexual advances to, reach a regrettable/bad state (of affairs), take place, misrepresent, faint, disregard, fail to take advantage of, route]: [he passed through towns and villages] [a plane was passing lazily overhead] [he passed a weary hand across his forehead] [pass an electric current through it] [homes which have passed from public to private ownership]

impious

[godless]: [the emperor's impious attacks on the Church] [impious villains]

connote

[imply]: [the term 'modern science' usually connotes a complete openness to empirical testing] [spinsterhood connoted failure]

descent

[going down, downward climb, slope, degeneration, ancestry, inheritance, attack]: [the plane had gone into a steep descent] [a steep, badly eroded descent] [the ancient empire's slow descent into barbarism] [the settlers were of Cornish descent] [a descent on the Channel ports]

air

[going on, sky, breeze, expression, tune, express, broadcast, ventilate, affectations, uncertain]: [the air was stale] [the doctor told me to get some fresh air] [he celebrated by tossing his hat high in the air] [air traffic] [all goods must come in by air]

congratulation

[good wishes, praise]: [our congratulations to the winners] [congratulations on a job well done!] [he began pumping the hand of his son in congratulation]

virtue

[goodness, good point, merit, because of]: [paragons of virtue] [patience is a virtue] [Mike was extolling the virtues of the car] [there's no virtue in suffering in silence] [they achieved pre-eminence by virtue of superior military strength]

righteousness

[goodness]: [we had little doubt about the righteousness of our cause] [conviction of his own moral righteousness gave his oratory an irresistible power]

ministry

[government department, holy orders, period of office, teaching]: [the Ministry of Defence] [he is training for the ministry] [a tablet in the church commemorates his ministry there] [a ministry of Christian healing] [Gladstone's first ministry was outstanding]

reprieve

[grant a stay of execution to, save, stay of execution]: [under the new regime, prisoners under sentence of death were reprieved] [the threatened pits could be reprieved] [he accepted the death sentence and refused to appeal for a reprieve] [a mother who faced eviction has been given a reprieve]

subsidy

[grant]: [a farm subsidy] [the rail service now operates without subsidy] [she was anxious about her Arts Council subsidy] [the arts continued to thrive through public subsidy] [the position is generously rewarded and benefits include a mortgage subsidy]

dun

[greyish-brown, importune]: [a dun cow] [when the dun evening comes] [after he left Oxford he was frequently dunned for his debts]

plantation

[grove, orchard, woodlet]: [new conifer plantations] [the Plantation of Ulster]

orchard

[grove, plantation, woodlet]: [an apple orchard] [a cider orchard]

hirsute

[hairy]: [their hirsute chests]

intermediate

[halfway]: [an intermediate stage of development] [a cooled liquid intermediate between liquid and solid] [intermediate skiers] [an intermediate course] [photography courses for beginners and intermediates]

drudgery

[hard work]: [domestic drudgery]

scarcely

[hardly, rarely, surely not]: [her voice is so low I can scarcely hear what she is saying] [she had scarcely dismounted before the door swung open] [they could scarcely all be wrong]

proportionate

[harmonious, symmetrical]:

pick

[harvest, choose, choose, nibble, strum, choice, best, provoke, find fault with, find fault with, force open, shoot (down), bully, see, improve, get stronger, fetch, arrest, strike up a casual acquaintance/relationship with, find, learn, hear, catch, receive, begin again]: [I went to pick some flowers for Jenny's room] [he picked a match out of the ashtray] [picking her up, he carried her from the room] [maybe I picked the wrong career] [he was picked for the England squad]

loathsome

[hateful]: [this loathsome little swine]

detestation

[hatred]: [Wordsworth's detestation of aristocracy] [he is the detestation of the neighbourhood]

meadow

[hayfield]: [a meadow ready for cutting] [143 acres of meadow and pasture] [a pleasant campsite in a meadow, complete with sparkling stream]

mane

[head of hair]: [the horse was rushing about in the field, tossing its mane] [he had a mane of white hair] [a black-maned lion]

promontory

[headland]: [a rocky promontory]

cure

[heal, rectify, preserve, remedy, healing, solution]: [he was cured of the disease] [this technology could be used to cure diabetes] [a bid to trace and cure the gearbox problems] [home-cured ham] [the early synthetic rubbers were much more difficult to cure than natural rubber]

fitness

[health, suitability]: [disease and lack of fitness are closely related] [a fitness test] [if sharp teeth increase fitness, then genes causing teeth to be sharp will increase in frequency] [the medical board assessed his fitness for active service]

wholesome

[healthy, moral]: [the food is plentiful and very wholesome] [good wholesome fun]

hale

[healthy]: [he's only just sixty, very hale and hearty] [he haled an old man out of the audience]

blithe

[heedless, happy]: [a blithe disregard for the rules of the road] [a blithe seaside comedy]

stature

[height, reputation]: [a man of short stature] [she was small in stature] [an architect of international stature] [a short-statured fourteen-year-old]

successor

[heir]: [Schoenberg saw himself as a natural successor to the German romantic school]

adulation

[hero-worship]: [he found it difficult to cope with the adulation of the fans]

conceal

[hide, hidden, hide]: [a line of sand dunes concealed the distant sea] [they were at great pains to conceal that information from the public]

superior

[higher-ranking, better, good-quality, high-class, finer, condescending, manager]: [a superior officer] [the new model is superior to every other car on the road] [superior malt whiskies] [deploying superior force] [I felt superior to any accusation of anti-Semitism]

employ

[hire, working, occupy, use]: [the firm employs 150 people] [temporary staff can be employed to undertake the work] [83 percent of employed people were working in full-time jobs] [the newcomers are employed in developing the technology into a product] [the methods they have employed to collect the data]

punch

[hit, blow, vigour, make a hole in]: [he punched her in the face and ran off] [I punched the button to summon the lift] [he crossed to the VDU on his other desk and punched in a series of numbers] [he reeled under the well-aimed punch] [he has the punch to knock out anyone in his division]

sanctity

[holiness, sacrosanctity]: [the site of the tomb was a place of sanctity for the ancient Egyptians] [the sanctity of human life]

optimism

[hopefulness]: [the talks had been amicable and there were grounds for optimism]

despair

[hopelessness, lose hope, hopeless, be the bane of]: [a voice full of self-hatred and despair] [in despair, I hit the bottle] [we should not despair] [she despaired of finding a good restaurant nearby] [such students can be the despair of conscientious teachers]

greenhouse

[hothouse]:

accommodation

[housing, space, arrangement, understanding, adjustment]: [they were living in temporary accommodation] [the company offers a number of guest house accommodations in Oberammergau] [there was lifeboat accommodation for 1,178 people] [the building is used exclusively for the accommodation of guests] [the prime minister was seeking an accommodation with Labour]

sultry

[humid, hot, passionate]: [the sultry late summer weather had brought swarms of insects] [the air was warm, slightly humid but not sultry] [a sultry French au pair]

ignominious

[humiliating]: [no other party risked ignominious defeat]

witty

[humorous]: [a witty remark] [Marlowe was charming and witty]

injure

[hurt, harm, damage, wrong]: [the explosion injured several people] [he injured his back helping the girl] [a libel calculated to injure the company's reputation]

censorious

[hypercritical]: [censorious champions of morality]

allergy

[hypersensitivity, aversion]: [their allergy to free enterprise]

floe

[ice floe]:

parlance

[idiom]: [dated terms that were once in common parlance] [medical parlance]

ignition

[ignition system]: [three minutes after ignition, the flames were still growing] [a small amount of diesel fuel must be injected to allow ignition] [she turned off the ignition]

undernourished

[ill-fed, underfed]: [undernourished children]

ailment

[illness]: [the doctor diagnosed a common stomach ailment]

light

[illumination, daylight, lamp, torch, talent, aspect, understanding, match, (cigarette) lighter, expert, make bright, become bright, set alight, bright, light-coloured, fair, reveal, be discovered, taking into consideration, understand, understand, explain, easy to lift, friable, flimsy, small, gentle, entertaining, lightweight, gentle, playful, carefree, easy, nimble, play down, come across, assault, scold]: [the light of the sun] [the lamps in the street shed a faint light into the room] [a light came on in his room] [Christmas lights] [turn right at the lights]

glorious

[illustrious, wonderful]: [the most glorious victory of all time] [a glorious autumn day] [glorious platters of succulent crabs]

imagery

[imagination, imaging, mental imagery]: [Tennyson uses imagery to create a lyrical emotion] [the film's religious imagery] [the impact of computer-generated imagery on contemporary art]

emulate

[imitate]: [most rulers wished to emulate Alexander the Great] [hers is not a hairstyle I wish to emulate] [the adaptor is factory set to emulate a Hercules graphics board]

forthwith

[immediately]: [we undertake to pay forthwith the money required]

enormity

[immensity, wickedness, outrage]: [a thorough search disclosed the full enormity of the crime] [I began to get a sense of the enormity of the task] [the enormities of war] [residents of the town were struggling to deal with the enormity of the crime] [he soon discovered the enormity of the task]

excessive

[immoderate, exorbitant]: [he was drinking excessive amounts of brandy]

intemperate

[immoderate]: [intemperate outbursts concerning global conspiracies] [an intemperate social occasion]

vaccinate

[immunise, immunize, inoculate]: [all the children were vaccinated against tuberculosis]

fervent

[impassioned]: [a fervent supporter of the revolution]

hindrance

[impediment]: [a hindrance to the development process] [the visitor can wander around without hindrance]

endanger

[imperil, threaten]: [he was driving in a manner likely to endanger life]

impudence

[impertinence]: [his arrogance and impudence had offended many]

insolent

[impertinent]: [she hated the insolent tone of his voice]

freshly

[impertinently, impudently, pertly, saucily]: [freshly ground black pepper]

impulsively

[impetuously]: [avoid reacting impulsively to events around you] [I impulsively grabbed her wrist]

instrument

[implement, measuring device, agent, pawn, stooge]: [a surgical instrument] [instruments of torture] [writing instruments] [a new instrument for measuring ozone levels] [myriad instruments and switches]

responsible

[in charge of, be responsible for, answerable, accountable, important, trustworthy]: [the cabinet minister responsible for Education] [the Prime Minister and cabinet are responsible to Parliament] [Gooch was responsible for 198 of his side's 542 runs] [the progressive emergence of the child as a responsible being] [she had risen rapidly to a high and responsible position in the civil service]

nominal

[in name/title only, token]: [Thailand retained nominal independence under Japanese military occupation] [the streets have names like Third Avenue, but the resemblance to Manhattan is only nominal] [a nominal roll of the Grenadier Company shows a total of 86 men] [they charge a nominal fee for the service] [EU legislation allowed variation around the nominal weight (that printed on each packet)]

on pins and needles

[in suspense, anxious]:

behalf

[in the interests of, as a representative of]: [he campaigned on behalf of the wrongly convicted four] [he had to attend the funeral on Mama's behalf] [this wasn't simply a philanthropic gesture on his behalf]

unalienable

[inalienable]:

insentient

[inanimate]: [it's arrogant to presume animals to be insentient]

improper

[inappropriate, indecent, unseemly]: [the improper use of public funds] [it was considered improper to leave one's house on Christmas Day] [an improper suggestion]

unpromising

[inauspicious]: [the boy's natural intellect had survived in unpromising circumstances]

innate

[inborn]: [her innate capacity for organization]

disable

[incapacitate, deactivate, disqualify]: [it's an injury that could disable somebody for life] [a progressively disabling disease] [the raiders tried to disable the alarm system] [their choice disables them from pursuing certain avenues]

imprisonment

[incarceration]: [he was sentenced to two months' imprisonment]

peerless

[incomparable]: [a peerless cartoonist]

ignorance

[incomprehension, lack of knowledge]: [he acted in ignorance of basic procedures] [I don't want to hear about them: ignorance is bliss in this case]

discrepancy

[inconsistency]: [there's a discrepancy between your account and his]

indisputable

[incontrovertible]: [a far from indisputable fact]

inopportune

[inconvenient]: [a storm blew up at an inopportune moment]

augment

[increase]: [her secretarial work helped to augment her husband's income]

implied

[incriminate, inculpate]: [she was aware of his implied criticism]

indivisible

[indiscrete, indivisible by, undividable, inseparable]: [privilege was indivisible from responsibility]

necessity

[indispensability, inevitability, force/pressure of circumstance, necessarily]: [the necessity of providing parental guidance] [the necessity of growing old] [political necessity induced him to consider it] [a good book is a necessity when travelling] [to alleviate labour shortages employers will, of necessity, offer better deals for part-timers]

faint

[indistinct, quiet, slight, unenthusiastic, dizzy, pass out, blackout]: [the faint murmur of voices] [there is a faint chance that the enemy may flee] [she sent him a faint answering smile] [the heat made him feel faint] [I fainted from loss of blood]

diligent

[industrious]: [after diligent searching, he found a parcel]

contagious

[infectious]: [a contagious disease] [it is a relatively new disease and very contagious] [precautions are taken with anyone who seems contagious] [her enthusiasm is contagious]

prosody

[inflection]: [the translator is not obliged to reproduce the prosody of the original] [a general theory of prosody] [the salience of prosody in child language acquisition] [early English prosodies]

instructive

[informative]: [it is instructive to compare the two projects]

resourceful

[ingenious]: [he maintained her reputation for being a resourceful problem-solver] [you will become stronger and more resourceful in the face of adversity]

occupy

[inhabited, live in, in use, take up, hold, engage, busy, capture]: [the rented flat she occupies in Hampstead] [two long windows occupied almost the whole of the end wall] [the Bank of England occupies a central position in the UK financial system] [a very different job from any that he had occupied before] [her mind was occupied with alarming questions]

inhalation

[inhalant]: [the inhalation of airborne particles] [with every inhalation air passes over the vocal cords]

inconsiderable

[insignificant]: [a not inconsiderable amount of money] [a not inconsiderable artist]

innuendo

[insinuation]: [she's always making sly innuendoes] [a constant torrent of innuendo, gossip, lies, and half-truths]

mandate

[instruction, authority]: [a mandate to seek the release of political prisoners] [the end of the British mandate in Palestine] [he called an election to seek a mandate for his policies] [the last mandate of Trudeau, from 1980 to 1984, was a remarkable chapter in Canadian history] [the rightful king was mandated and sanctioned by God]

premium

[insurance charge, surcharge, superior, bonus, scarce, value greatly, make valuable]: [customers are reluctant to pay a premium for organic fruit] [premium lagers] [the shares jumped to a 70 per cent premium on the first day] [the Society of Arts awarded him a premium] [space was at a premium]

scholarship

[learning, grant]: [the intellectual dishonesty has nothing to do with lack of scholarship] [Tim held a Humboldt scholarship] [he went on a state-sponsored scholarship to study engineering]

character

[integrity, reputation, eccentric, letter]: [running away was not in keeping with her character] [gas lamps give the area its character] [the island is full of character] [she had character as well as beauty] [to what do I owe this attack on my character?]

intervene

[intercede, occur]: [he acted outside his authority when he intervened in the dispute] [their forces intervened to halt the attack] [Christmas intervened and the investigation was suspended] ['It's true!' he intervened] [to occupy the intervening months she took a job in a hospital]

narrow-minded

[intolerant]: [it would be narrow-minded not to welcome these developments] [narrow-minded provincialism]

preamble

[introduction]: [he could tell that what she said was by way of a preamble] [I gave him the bad news without preamble]

prologue

[introduction]: [the suppressed prologue to Women in Love] [the events from 1945 to 1956 provided the prologue to the post-imperial era] [I got third in the prologue and eighth on the hardest stage]

interloper

[intruder]: [Japanese consumers have in the past been unreceptive to foreign interlopers in the cell phone market] [to her I was always an outsider, an interloper]

insight

[intuition, understanding of]: [his mind soared to previously unattainable heights of insight] [his work provides important insights into language use] [the town offers some insight into Finnish rural life]

refreshing

[invigorating, welcome]: [a refreshing drink] [it makes a refreshing change to be able to write about something nice] [her directness is refreshing]

bill

[invoice, draft law, programme (of entertainment), banknote, poster, describe as, beak, promontory]: [the bill for their meal came to £17] [a debate over the civil rights bill] [she was top of the bill at America's leading vaudeville house] [a ten-dollar bill] [he has been hard at work bill posting in a poster and sticker campaign]

incompatible

[irreconcilable, unsuited, inconsistent with]: [cleverness and femininity were seen as incompatible] [although convinced that they were incompatible, she loved him] [long hours are simply incompatible with family life] [all four prototype camcorders used special tapes and were incompatible with each other]

occupation

[job, pastime, conquest, residence]: [people in professional occupations] [a game of cards is a pretty harmless occupation] [the Roman occupation of Britain] [the workers remained in occupation until 16 October] [a property suitable for occupation by older people]

slaughter

[kill, massacre, defeat utterly, trounce, massacre, murder, carnage, crushing defeat]: [the animals have been slaughtered according to Islamic laws] [innocent civilians are being slaughtered] [the first team were slaughtered] [thousands of calves were exported to the continent for slaughter] [the slaughter of 20 peaceful demonstrators]

benevolent

[kind, charitable]: [he was something of a benevolent despot] [a benevolent smile] [a benevolent fund]

tinder

[kindling, punk, spunk, touchwood]: [they slashed down the undergrowth for tinder] [he lit it with a tinder]

realm

[kingdom, domain]: [the defence of the realm] [the realm of applied chemistry] [an overall Labour majority is not beyond the realms of possibility] [this zoogeographical realm includes Africa south of the Atlas Mountains]

lap

[knee, out of one's hands, lead a very comfortable life, circuit, overtake, wrap, drink, relish, splash]: [come and sit on my lap] [she stood up and brushed the crumbs from the lap of her dress] [women fall at his feet, power falls into his lap] [she dumped the problem in my lap] [Katie was living in the lap of luxury in Paris]

heavily

[laboriously, decisively, excessively, densely, deeply]: [it was raining heavily] [he had been drinking heavily for six months] [she is heavily pregnant] [the country is heavily dependent on banana exports] [he was heavily influenced by the Impressionists]

indifference

[lack of concern about, mediocrity]: [she shrugged, feigning indifference] [it cannot be regarded as a matter of indifference] [the indifference of Chelsea's midfield]

languor

[lassitude, stillness]: [her whole being was pervaded by a dreamy languor] [the afternoon was hot, quiet, and heavy with languor]

subsequently

[later]: [the officer decided to stop and subsequently made an arrest] [the work was accepted for inclusion in the Paris Salon of 1880 and was subsequently sold to an important collector]

risible

[laughable, ridiculous]: [a risible scene of lovemaking in a tent]

plush

[lavish, lucullan, lush, plushy]: [plush upholstery] [a plush Mayfair flat]

legislation

[law-making, law]: [housing legislation] [it will require legislation to change this situation]

legislator

[lawmaker]: [statutes went unread by the legislators who passed them] [24 incumbent legislators lost their seats]

spell

[lead to, explain, specify, incantation, spells, irresistible influence, period, stint]: [Dolly spelled her name] [journals have a house style about how to spell] [the letters spell the word 'how'] [she had the chic, efficient look that spells Milan] [the plans would spell disaster for the economy]

leash

[lead, control, put a leash on, curb, eager]: [her bristling temper was kept on a leash] [the state needs to let business off the leash] [I saw a leash of foxes killed without a run] [he called Azor to heel so that he could leash him] [his violence was barely leashed]

luminary

[leading light]: [one of the luminaries of child psychiatry]

tilt

[lean, charge, joust, slope, nod, joust, attempt on, (at) full speed, with great force]: [the floor tilted slightly] [he tilted his head to one side] [the balance of industrial power tilted towards the workers] [tilting the camera causes convergence of upright lines] [he tilts at his prey]

permissive

[liberal]: [a permissive parent] [the permissive society of the 60s and 70s] [the Hague Convention was permissive, not mandatory] [using permissive footpaths, you can visit meadows on both the banks of the river] [the mutants grow well at the permissive temperature]

emancipate

[liberated, free]: [the citizen must be emancipated from the obsessive secrecy of government] [the plaintiffs had not been entirely emancipated from their father's control] [an emancipated minor] [it is estimated that he emancipated 8,000 slaves]

elevator

[lift]: [in the elevator she pressed the button for the lobby] [in the harbour a giant elevator stores prairie grain] [first you trim the rudder, then the ailerons, and finally the elevator] [elevators of the upper lip] [something in his gait made me sure he was wearing elevator shoes]

paly

[light, light-colored]: [paly of six, argent and gules]

barge

[lighter, push, burst in]: [we can't just barge into a private garden] [sorry to barge in on your cosy evening] [you can use this method to barge an opponent] [just barge the other skater off the ball]

prefer

[like better, bring, promote]: [I prefer Venice to Rome] [I would prefer to discuss the matter in private] [Val would presumably prefer that you didn't get arrested] [the police will prefer charges] [he was eventually preferred to the bishopric of Durham]

linen

[linen paper]: [a linen suit] [he dealt in Irish linens] [the linen cupboard]

elimination

[liquidation]: [the elimination of extreme poverty is a key objective] [a global commitment to the elimination of nuclear weapons] [a 1-1 draw confirmed their elimination from the tournament] [after the initial elimination rounds, 16 boys qualified for the final] [the treatment promotes the elimination of toxins]

actually

[literally, really]: [we must pay attention to what young people are actually doing] [he actually expected me to be pleased about it!] ['Tom's happy anyway.' 'He isn't, actually, not any more.'] [he had a thick Cockney accent—he sounded like my grandad actually]

pettiness

[littleness, smallness]: [the sheer pettiness of the officials was quite startling] [try to overlook insults and pettinesses] [these awesome moments lift us above the pettiness of the world]

sprightly

[lively]: [she was quite sprightly for her age]

abominable

[loathsome]: [the uprising was suppressed with abominable cruelty] [what an abominable mess!]

solitary

[lonely, isolated, single, loner]: [I live a pretty solitary life] [tigers are essentially solitary] [solitary farmsteads] [a solitary wasp] [each spider-like bloom is solitary]

investigate

[look into]: [police are investigating a claim that the man was beaten unconscious by a gang] [future studies will investigate whether long-term use of the drugs could prevent cancer] [everyone with a possible interest in your brother's death must be thoroughly investigated] [when you didn't turn up I thought I'd better come back to investigate]

bait

[lure, enticement, taunt]: [herrings make excellent bait for pike] [fishing with live baits] [many potential buyers are reluctant to take the bait] [the other boys revelled in baiting him about his love of literature] [people who bait badgers]

macadamize

[macadamise, tarmac]: [macadamized roads]

artery

[main/trunk route]: [George Street, main artery of Edinburgh's Golden Mile]

improve

[make better, get better, surpass]: [efforts to improve relations between the countries] [an improved design] [communications improved during the 18th century] [I subscribed to two magazines to improve my mind] [they are trying to improve on the tired old style]

manufacture

[make, make up, production]: [firms who manufacture ball bearings] [even in manufacturing they no longer dominate] [most plants use the sun's light to manufacture their food through photosynthesis] [manufactured love songs] [claims that the entire row had been manufactured by the press]

manufacturer

[maker, producer]: [the manufacturers supply the goods to the distribution centre]

son

[male child]: [the sons of Adam] [one of Norfolk's most famous sons] [sons of the church] [you're on private land, son] [he's a pretentious son of a gun, but he's got a heart of gold]

breakdown

[malfunction, failure, nervous breakdown, analysis]: [breakdowns could totally disrupt production] [a breakdown in military discipline] [a communications breakdown] [some of these women will have experienced marital breakdown] [Heather had a breakdown following the death of her sister]

mode

[manner, function, fashion, vogue]: [his preferred mode of travel was a kayak] [a camcorder in automatic mode] [some computers provide several so-called processor modes] [in the Seventies the mode for active wear took hold]

style

[manner, type, phraseology, fashion, flair, comfort, design, call]: [different styles of management] [the concerto is composed in a neoclassical style] [a striking feature of Swift's style is his use of conjunctions] [he never wrote in a journalistic style] [students should pay attention to style and idiom]

wedding

[marriage]:

stuff

[material, items, belongings, rubbish, facts, fill, shove, fill, block]: [I prefer to buy stuff in sales] [we all offer to do stuff for each other] [green stuff in stagnant water] [the mud was horrible stuff] [a girl who's good at the technical stuff]

statistician

[mathematical statistician]:

matriarchy

[matriarchate]: [a matriarchy run by morally superior women] [feminism has revived an interest in matriarchy]

material

[matter, things, information, fabric, physical, sensual, significant, relevant]: [goats can eat more or less any plant material] [highly flammable materials] [cleaning materials] [he's not really Olympic material] [his colonial experiences gave him material]

detachment

[objectivity, dispassion, unit, loosening]: [he felt a sense of detachment from what was going on] [a detachment of Marines] [the Squadron went on detachment to Malta] [a truck containing a detachment of villagers] [structural problems resulted in cracking and detachment of the wall]

mandatory

[obligatory]: [wearing helmets was made mandatory for pedal cyclists]

detection

[observation, discovery, solving, capture]: [the early detection of fetal abnormalities] [modern technology is essential to crime detection]

fixate

[obsessed with]: [he became fixated on the idea of a Third World War] [erotomaniacs are convinced that the person they have fixated on loves them in return] [an individual may have been fixated at one stage of development] [subjects fixated a central point]

preoccupy

[obsessed, lost in thought, engross]: [his mother was preoccupied with paying the bills] [she seemed a bit preoccupied]

procure

[obtain, be a pimp, bring about]: [food procured for the rebels] [he persuaded a friend to procure him a ticket] [he haunted railway stations to procure young girls for immoral purposes] [he procured his wife to sign the mandate for the joint account] [he was charged with procuring the death of the Earl of Lancaster]

arduous

[onerous]: [an arduous journey]

seep

[ooze]: [water began to seep through the soles of his boots]

negotiable

[open to discussion, transferable, passable]: [the price was not negotiable] [negotiable certificates of deposit] [walkways must be accessible and negotiable for all users]

open up

[open]: [the enemy artillery had opened up]

gap

[opening, pause, omission, chasm]: [he peeped through the gap in the curtains] [Watford Gap] [there are many gaps in our understanding of what happened] [the media were bridging the gap between government and people]

opera

[opera house]: [it was the best performance of the opera he had ever heard] [a very grand programme of opera and ballet] [you will enjoy a visit to the opera]

activate

[operate]: [fumes from cooking are enough to activate the alarm] [a DNA-repair enzyme that is activated by visible light] [activated chlorine]

adversary

[opponent]: [Davis beat his old adversary in the quarter-finals] [the confrontations of adversary politics]

contradictory

[opposed]: [the two studies came to contradictory conclusions] [politically he exhibited contradictory behaviour]

resistance

[opposition to, opposition, underground, ability to fight off]: [they displayed a narrow-minded resistance to change] [government forces were unable to crush guerrilla-style resistance] [she put up no resistance to being led away] [he went underground and joined the resistance] [some of us have a lower resistance to cold than others]

persecution

[oppression, harassment]: [her family fled religious persecution] [his persecution at the hands of other students]

oppression

[oppressiveness]: [a region shattered by oppression and killing] [a response to collective poverty and oppression] [Beatrice's mood had initially been alarm and a sense of oppression]

voluntary

[optional, unpaid]: [we are funded by voluntary contributions] [voluntary contraction of the calf muscles] [a voluntary helper]

luxurious

[opulent, self-indulgent]: [the island's most luxurious hotel] [a luxurious wallow in a scented bath] [a luxurious hotel] [acres of luxuriant gardens]

otherwise

[or else, in other respects, differently]: [the collection is a good draw that brings visitors who might not come otherwise] [I'm not motivated by money, otherwise I would have quit] [an otherwise totally black cat with a single white whisker] [he means mischief—it's no good pretending otherwise] [all the staff were otherwise engaged]

eloquence

[oratory]: [a preacher of great power and eloquence]

prescribe

[order, advise, stipulate]: [her doctor prescribed sleeping tablets] [he was prescribed a course of antibiotics] [marriage is often prescribed as a universal remedy] [rules prescribing five acts for a play are purely arbitrary] [the doctor prescribed antibiotics]

instruction

[order, directions, teaching]: [he issued instructions to the sheriff] [he was acting on my instructions] [always study the instructions supplied] [instruction in the Roman Catholic faith]

instruct

[order, teach, employ, inform]: [she instructed him to wait] ['Look at me,' he instructed] [I instructed that she should be given hot, sweet tea] [he instructed them in the use of firearms] [instructing electors how to record their votes]

workaday

[ordinary]: [your humble workaday PC] [the workaday world of timecards and performance reviews]

eye

[organ of sight, eyesight, watch, opinion, centre, hole, look at, see, see, appreciation, agree, very busy]: [my cat is blind in one eye] [closing her eyes, she tried to relax] [her eyes were swollen with crying] [his sharp eyes had missed nothing] [in the eyes of his younger colleagues, Mr Arnett was an eccentric]

impresario

[organizer]:

genesis

[origin, formation]: [this tale had its genesis in fireside stories]

prototype

[original]: [the firm is testing a prototype of the weapon] [these objects are the prototypes of a category of rapidly spinning neutron stars] [the construction of bandpass networks from low-pass prototypes] [Mercedes is prototyping a car sunroof which changes from clear to tinted]

founder

[originator, sink, fail, stumble]: [an iron founder] [he was the founder of modern Costa Rica] [six drowned when the yacht foundered off the Cornish coast] [the talks foundered on the issue of reform] [some of their horses foundered and damaged themselves in the stones of the riverbed]

inflation

[ostentation, ostentatiousness, pomposity, pompousness, pretentiousness, puffiness, splashiness]: [the inflation of a balloon] [the gross inflation of salaries] [policies aimed at controlling inflation] [tax allowances and excise duties were increased in line with inflation] [a reduction in annual inflation from 84 per cent to 7 per cent]

forth

[out, onward]: [we rose at dawn and sallied forth] [a paper setting forth their grievances] [from that day forth he gave me endless friendship]

antiquated

[outdated]: [this antiquated central heating system]

suit

[outfit, businessman, businesswoman, legal action, courtship, be convenient for, make appropriate to/for, be suited to, look attractive on]: [a pinstriped suit] [a jogging suit] [a suit of armour] [maybe now the suits in Washington will listen] [he could not compete with John in Marian's eyes and his suit came to nothing]

costume

[outfit, dress, swimsuit]: [authentic Elizabethan costumes] [dancers in national costume] [he was in charge of costumes and scenery for plays and masques] [a chic black costume and white fur wrap] [an all-woman troupe elaborately costumed in clinging silver lamé]

vent

[outlet, inlet, let out]: [remove any debris blocking the vents] [pumice fragments pile up to form a conical heap round the vent] [children give vent to their anger in various ways] [we vent our spleen on drug barons] [tumble-dryers must be vented to the outside]

scandal

[outrageous wrongdoing, shame, malicious gossip, disgrace]: [a bribery scandal involving one of his key supporters] [divorce was cause for scandal in the island] [I know that you would want no scandal attached to her name] [it's a scandal that many older patients are dismissed as untreatable]

profiteer

[overcharge, extortion, extortionist]: [seven food merchants were charged with profiteering] [a war profiteer]

overestimate

[overestimation, overrating, overreckoning]: [his influence cannot be overestimated] [the figure of 30 per cent was an overestimate]

proprietor

[owner]: [Chinese restaurant proprietors] [by 1640 he was himself the proprietor of a three-hundred-acre tract]

ache

[pain, sorrow, longing, hurt, painful, grieve, sorrowful, grieving, long for]: [the ache in her head worsened] [a handful of salt in the bath water is good for aches and pains] [he had stomach ache] [an ache in her heart] [my legs ached from the previous day's exercise]

gild the lily

[paint the lily]:

portray

[paint, describe, represent, play the part of]: [the ineffectual Oxbridge dons portrayed by Evelyn Waugh] [the book portrayed him as a self-serving careerist] [he chose Trevor Howard to portray Captain Bligh]

ashen

[pale]: [Eleanor's ashen face] [the ashen colour of the landscape] [the ashen morning sky]

palette

[pallette]: [Pollock's hard, bright palette] [he commands the sort of tonal palette which this music needs]

trembling

[palpitation, quiver, quivering, shakiness, shaking, vibration]: [she passed the letter with a trembling hand to Henry] [he spoke with a trembling voice]

brochure

[pamphlet]: [a holiday brochure]

pageant

[parade]: [they brought the history books to life at the town's pageant] [the pageant of public life] [it's all part of life's rich pageant]

supernatural

[paranormal, ghostly]: [a supernatural being] [a woman of supernatural beauty] [a frightening manifestation of the supernatural] [the monster was supernaturally strong]

peel

[pare, trim (off), take off, flake (off), rind]: [she watched him peel an apple with deliberate care] [peel off the skins and thickly slice the potatoes] [oranges that peel easily] [I peeled off the tissue paper] [Suzy peeled off her white pullover]

component

[part, constituent]: [an assembly plant for imported components] [hydrogen is a component of all organic compounds] [he resolved the motion into horizontal and vertical components] [the component elements of the armed forces]

specialize

[particularise, particularize, specialise, specify]: [he could specialize in tropical medicine] [the firm specialized in commercial brochures] [a group of writers have specialized in attacking the society they live in] [zooids specialized for different functions]

get through

[pass, consume, communicate with]: [I need these lessons to get me through my exam] [we got through four whole jars of mustard] [I just don't think anyone can get through to these kids]

alley

[passage]: [he took a short cut along an alley] [there were a few muggings in the backstreets and alleys] [alleys of standing stones] [a skittle alley] [he is trying to square them off to make his alley good with supporters]

bygone

[past]: [relics of a bygone age] [the museum consists of a fascinating collection of rural bygones]

aegis

[patronage]: [the negotiations were conducted under the aegis of the UN]

remunerate

[pay]: [they should be remunerated fairly for their work]

fee

[payment, price, fees]: [they were faced with legal fees of £3000] [an annual membership fee] [tuition fees have now reached $9000 a year]

remuneration

[payment]: [they work in excess of their contracted hours for no additional remuneration]

peter

[pecker, prick, putz, tool]: [the storm had petered out] [he tickled the peter of a West End company] [West started by cashing two top diamonds, on which East petered]

bookworm

[pedant, scholastic]:

punitive

[penal, harsh]: [he called for punitive measures against the Eastern bloc] [a current punitive interest rate of 31.3 per cent]

taboo

[prohibition, forbidden]: [many taboos have developed around physical exposure] [the use of violence must remain a taboo in our society] [Freud applies his notion of taboo in three ways] [speaking about sex is a taboo in his country] [sex was a taboo subject]

interdict

[prohibition, prohibit, intercept]: [a papal interdict] [society will never interdict sex] [I have not been interdicted from consuming alcoholic beverages] [army efforts to interdict enemy supply shipments]

missile

[projectile]: [one of the players was hit on the head by a missile thrown by a spectator] [the plane disintegrated after being hit by a missile launched from the ground] [the USAF approach uses small missiles fired from conventional fighter aircraft]

accent

[pronunciation, stress, mark, emphasis, focus attention on]: [a strong American accent] [she never mastered the French accent] [the accent falls on the middle syllable] [a circumflex accent] [short fortissimo accents]

seer

[prophet, prophetess]: [a seer had foretold that the earl would assume the throne] [our seers have grown gloomier about prospects for growth] [a seer of the future] [ghost-seers]

ratio

[proportion]: [the ratio of men's jobs to women's is 8 to 1]

nominate

[propose, appoint]: [the film was nominated for several Oscars] [the company nominated her as a delegate to the convention] [a day was nominated for the exchange of contracts] [the nominate race and two subspecies occur]

premise

[proposition, postulate]: [if the premise is true, then the conclusion must be true] [the fundamental premise of the report] [the reforms were premised on our findings] [one school of thought premised that the cosmos is indestructible] [I will premise generally that I hate lecturing]

safeguard

[protection, protect, preserve]: [the charity called for tougher safeguards to protect Britain's remaining natural forests] [a framework which safeguards employees from exploitation]

cater

[provide food for, serve, take into account, satisfy]: [my mother helped to cater for the party] [high standards of catering] [he catered a lunch for 20 people] [the school caters for children with learning difficulties] [the scheme caters for interest rate fluctuations]

equip

[provide, prepare]: [all bedrooms are equipped with a colour TV] [they equipped themselves for the campaign] [I don't think he's equipped for the modern age]

advertise

[publicize]: [a billboard advertising beer] [for every job we advertise we get a hundred applicants] [he advertised for dancers in the trade papers] [Meryl coughed briefly to advertise her presence] [some prisoners advertised the French of this terrible danger]

acquisition

[purchase, obtaining]: [the legacy will be used for new acquisitions] [there were many acquisitions among travel agents] [the company intends to grow within itself rather than by acquisition] [western culture places a high value on material acquisition] [the acquisition of management skills]

scruple

[qualms, principles, hesitate]: [I had no scruples about eavesdropping] [without scruple, politicians use fear as a persuasion weapon] [give, daily, one scruple of sulphate of quinine] [in the choice of a second wife, one scruple of prudence is worth a pound of passion] [she doesn't scruple to ask her parents for money]

query

[question, doubt, ask, question]: [if you have any queries please telephone our office] [many people queried whether any harm had been done] [I rang the water company to query my bill] ['Why not?' he queried] [when these officers were queried, they felt unhappy]

essence

[quintessence, extract, basically, vital]: [conflict is the essence of drama] [Locke's scepticism about our ability to penetrate to the real essences of things] [vanilla essence] [in detail the class system is complex but in essence it is simple] [time will be of the essence during negotiations]

cite

[quote, commend, summon]: [authors who are highly regarded by their peers tend to be cited] [he does not cite any source for this assertion] [medics have been cited as a key example of a modern breed of technical expert] [he has been cited many times for his contributions in the intelligence area] [the writ cited only four of the signatories of the petition]

demagogue

[rabble-rouser]: [the Senator was a gifted demagogue, with particular skill in manipulating the press] [the Athenian demagogues had definite and valuable functions within the state]

proper

[real, complete, right, respectable, belonging]: [she's never had a proper job] [a proper meal] [after this event, three countries will progress to the World Cup proper] [a proper little do-gooder, aren't I?] [an artist needs the proper tools]

lifelike

[realistic]: [the artist had etched a lifelike horse]

bounce

[rebound, recover, bound, springiness, rebound, vitality]: [the ball bounced away and he chased it] [he was bouncing the ball against the wall] [short sound waves bounce off even small objects] [I tried to email him, but the message bounced] [the savings rate has already started to bounce back and is sure to rise further]

reconstruct

[rebuild, recreate]: [a small area of painted Roman plaster has been reconstructed] [later emperors reconstructed the army] [from copies of correspondence it is possible to reconstruct the broad sequence of events]

reciprocity

[reciprocality]: [the Community intends to start discussions on reciprocity with third countries]

recognizance

[recognisance]: [the Lord Chancellor asked them to enter into recognizances to appear in court] [he was released on his own recognizance of £30,000]

rebuild

[reconstruct]: [after the earthquake people set about rebuilding their homes] [we try to help them rebuild their lives] [the Trust have recognized the hard work of all who were involved in this daunting rebuild] [the rebuilds include a number of Delage cars]

untouched

[uneaten, unspoilt, pristine]: [Annabel pushed aside her untouched plate] [no detail is left untouched] [Prague was relatively untouched by the war]

recover

[recuperate, retrieve, salvage, pull oneself together, rally]: [Neil is still recovering from shock] [the economy has begun to recover] [you'll be fully recovered before you know it] [police recovered a stolen video] [he recovered his balance and sped on]

convalesce

[recuperate]: [he spent eight months convalescing after the stroke]

recovery

[recuperation, improvement, retrieval]: [signs of recovery in the housing market] [it is hoped that Lawrence can make a full recovery] [a team of salvage experts to ensure the recovery of family possessions] [debt recovery] [the recoveries included gold jewellery]

abstain

[refrain, be teetotal, not vote]: [she intends to abstain from sex before marriage] [most pregnant women abstain or drink very little] [forty-one voted with the Opposition, and some sixty more abstained]

disprove

[refute]: [he has given the Department of Transport two months to disprove the allegation]

finery

[regalia]: [officers in their blue, gold, and scarlet finery]

deem

[regard as]: [the event was deemed a great success] [the strike was deemed to be illegal]

repudiate

[reject, cancel, divorce, deny]: [she has repudiated policies associated with previous party leaders] [breach of a condition gives the other party the right to repudiate a contract] [Philip was excommunicated in 1095 because he had repudiated his wife] [the minister repudiated allegations of human rights abuses]

rebuff

[reject, rejection]: [I asked her to be my wife, and was rebuffed in no uncertain terms] [his reserve was not intended as a rebuff] [callers phoning a chatline need have no fear of rebuff]

disallow

[reject]: [he was offside and the goal was disallowed]

exult

[rejoice, rejoice at/in, crow about]: [exulting in her escape, Lisa closed the door behind her]

languid

[relaxed, leisurely, sickly]: [his languid demeanour irritated her] [the terrace was perfect for languid days in the Italian sun] [she was pale, languid, and weak, as if she had delivered a child]

relevance

[relevancy]: [this film has contemporary relevance] [the quantity, quality, and relevance of links count towards your rating] [the Web does allow us to produce more articles of relevance to our readers]

pertinent

[relevant]: [she asked me a lot of very pertinent questions] [practitioners must consider all factors pertinent to a situation]

assuage

[relieve, satisfy]: [the letter assuaged the fears of most members] [an opportunity occurred to assuage her desire for knowledge]

hymn

[religious song, anthem]: [a Hellenistic hymn to Apollo] [the traditional Easter hymn of rejoicing] [the film is a hymn to blue-collar mateyness] [the joys of domesticity were being hymned in magazines] [they were hymning to their god]

utterance

[remark, voicing]: [he whispered, as if to lend his utterances an added confidentiality] [the simple utterance of a few platitudes]

vestige

[remnant, trace]: [the last vestiges of colonialism] [he waited patiently, but without a vestige of sympathy]

replacement

[renewal, successor, substitute]: [the replacement of religion by poetry] [a hip replacement] [please stay until we find a replacement for you]

relinquish

[renounce, leave, discontinue]: [he relinquished his managerial role to become chief executive]

abjure

[renounce]: [MPs were urged to abjure their Jacobite allegiance] [prior to transportation, offenders were sometimes permitted to abjure the realm]

abnegate

[renounce]: [he attempts to abnegate personal responsibility]

forswear

[renounce]: [the country has not forsworn nuclear weapons] [I swore that I would lead us safely home and I do not mean to be forsworn]

revamp

[renovate]: [an attempt to revamp the museum's image] [a revamped magazine] [the brand was given a $1 million revamp] [the show was a revamp of an old idea]

fame

[renown]: [the song's success rocketed him to stardom and fame] [the village is the birthplace of Mrs Beeton, of cookery fame]

apostasy

[renunciation of belief]: [the execution of their leader for apostasy brought widespread criticism]

tautology

[repetition]:

displace

[replace, dislodge, depose]: [he believes that books may be displaced by the electronic word] [he seems to have displaced some vertebrae] [thousands of people have been displaced by the civil war] [his aides were discredited and displaced]

rearrange

[reposition, reorganize]: [she rearranged her skirt as she sat back in her chair] [he had rearranged his schedule]

admonish

[reprimand, advise]: [she admonished me for appearing at breakfast unshaven] [she admonished him to drink no more than one glass of wine] [he admonished the people against the evil of such practices]

rebuke

[reprimand, reprimand]: [she had rebuked him for drinking too much] [the judge publicly rebuked the jury] [he hadn't meant it as a rebuke, but Neil flinched]

castigate

[reprimand]: [he was castigated for not setting a good example]

breed

[reproduce, rear, bring up, cause, variety, type]: [toads are said to return to the pond of their birth to breed] [bitches may not be bred from more than once a year] [these horses are bred for this sport] [Theodora had been beautifully bred] [success had bred a certain arrogance]

azure

[sky-blue]: [thin streaks of cloud trailed across an azure sky] [white beaches surrounded by azure seas] [the adult male's back and flanks are azure blue] [a saltire azure] [a flash of azure drew my eye to a kingfisher]

diversion

[rerouting, detour, entertainment, distraction]: [the diversion of resources from defence to civil research] [the diversion of funds to the Contras] [the road was closed and diversions put into operation] [our chief diversion was reading] [people in search of diversion]

similitude

[resemblance]: [Conrad uses a range of constructions which express or imply similitude] [there is a striking similitude between the brother and sister]

dwell

[reside, linger over]: [groups of gypsies still dwell in these caves] [bottom-dwelling fish] [I've got better things to do than dwell on the past] [she let her eyes dwell on them for a moment]

unflinching

[resolute]: [he has shown unflinching determination throughout the campaign]

settle

[resolve, decide on, accept, pay, make one's home, colonize, apply oneself to, calm down, calm, sit down, land, make comfortable, sink]: [the unions have settled their year-long dispute with Hollywood producers] [if the dispute was not settled it was possible there would be strike action] [he sued for libel and then settled out of court] [exactly what goes into the legislation has not been settled] [they had not yet settled on a date for the wedding]

duty

[responsibility, job, tax, not working, working]: [it's my duty to uphold the law] [she was determined to do her duty as a citizen] [a strong sense of duty] [a fifteen-minute duty visit] [the queen's official duties]

repose

[rest, relaxation, peace, composure, lie, lie, put]: [in repose her face looked relaxed] [he had lost none of his grace or his repose] [many of the qualities of the great Piero della Francescas—the sense of grand stasis, of timeless repose—seem strongly reincarnated in this work] [the diamond now reposes in the Louvre] [how sweetly he would repose in the four-poster bed]

canteen

[restaurant, container]:

limitation

[restriction, imperfection]: [severe limitations on water use] [she knew her limitations better than she knew her worth] [the limitation of local authorities' powers]

revive

[resuscitate, regain consciousness, reinvigorate, reintroduce]: [both men collapsed, but were revived] [she was beginning to revive from her faint] [the cool, refreshing water revived us all] [many pagan traditions are being revived] [the paper made panicky attempts to revive falling sales]

reconcile

[reunite, settle, make compatible, accept]: [the king and the archbishop were publicly reconciled] [she wanted to be reconciled with her father] [advice on how to reconcile the conflict] [the agreement had to be reconciled with the city's new international relations policy] [he was reconciled to leaving]

backward

[reverse, retrograde, underdeveloped, reticent about]: [she left the room without a backward glance] [the decision was a backward step] [a backward agricultural country] [a lively child but a bit backward] [he was not backward in displaying his talents]

vituperation

[revilement]: [no one else attracted such vituperation from him]

amend

[revise]: [the rule was amended to apply only to non-members] [amend your soil with peat moss or compost] [a few things had gone wrong, but these had been amended]

invigorate

[revitalize, revitalizing]: [the shower had invigorated her]

regenerate

[revive, revitalize]: [the lizard has to find the wherewithal to regenerate its tail] [once destroyed, brain cells do not regenerate] [the money will be used to regenerate the heart of the town] [he believed that it was possible to regenerate people] [regenerated cellulose]

rebel

[revolutionary, insurgent, nonconformist, revolt, defy, recoil]: [Tory rebels] [rebel forces] [the Earl of Pembroke subsequently rebelled against Henry III] [respect did not prevent children from rebelling against their parents] [as I came over the hill my legs rebelled—I could walk no further]

mockery

[ridicule, travesty]: [stung by her mockery, Frankie hung his head] [after a mockery of a trial in London, he was executed] [in her bitterness she felt that all rejoicing was mockery] [new technology is making a mockery of our outdated laws]

stiff

[rigid, aching, formal, harsh, strong, difficult, strong]: [a stiff black collar] [stiff cardboard] [add wheat until the mixture is quite stiff] [a stiff drawer] [the shower tap is a little stiff]

streamlet

[rill, rivulet, run, runnel]:

binder

[ring-binder]:

whirl

[rotate, hurry, spin, swirl, hurly-burly, succession, try, spin]: [leaves whirled in eddies of wind] [I whirled her round the dance hall] [a vigorous whirling jig] [Sybil stood waving as they whirled past] [a kaleidoscope of images whirled through her brain]

course

[route, progression, plan (of action), dish, track, programme of study, programme, layer, flow, hunt, duration, naturally, yes, on track]: [the road adopts a tortuous course along the coast] [the new fleet changed course to join the other ships] [the course of history] [my decision had seemed to be the wisest course open to me at the time] [guests are offered a choice of main course]

wise

[sage, aware of]: [she seems kind and wise] [a wise precaution] [it would be wise to discuss the matter with the chairman] [he is wise in the ways of haute couture] [at seven she was already wise to the police]

hypocrisy

[sanctimoniousness]: [his target was the hypocrisy of suburban life] [she was irritated to be accused of hypocrisy] [spokesmen unversed in the smoother hypocrisies of diplomacy]

bunker

[sand trap, trap]: [a coal bunker] [he was bunkered at the fifth hole] [he bunkered his second shot] [he may find his new sporting pursuits bunkered by activities he hadn't planned on] [his family had bunkered down inside their home]

lampoon

[satirize, satire]: [the actor was lampooned by the press] [the magazine fired at God, Royalty, and politicians, using cartoons and lampoons]

uneventful

[unexciting]: [a place where dull people lead uneventful lives]

indulgence

[satisfaction, self-gratification, pampering, tolerance, extravagance]: [indulgence in self-pity] [she regarded his affairs with a casual, slightly amused indulgence] [Claire collects shoes—it is her indulgence] [the notice given granted a final indulgence of four weeks]

perfume

[scent, smell, sweet-smelling]: [I caught a whiff of her fresh lemony perfume] [musk-based perfumes] [the heady perfume of lilacs] [just one bloom of jasmine has the power to perfume a whole room] [the cream is perfumed with rosemary and iris extracts]

bane

[scourge]: [the telephone was the bane of my life]

grimace

[scowl, scowl]: [she gave a grimace of pain] [I sipped the coffee and grimaced]

transparent

[see-through, filmy, obvious, blatant, frank]: [transparent blue water] [fine transparent fabrics] [the residents will see through any transparent attempt to buy their votes] [the meaning of the poem is by no means transparent] [you'd be no good at poker—you're too transparent]

coup

[seizure of power, success]: [he was overthrown in an army coup] [it was a major coup to get such a prestigious contract]

rarely

[seldom]: [I rarely drive above 50 mph] [you can write rarely now, after all your schooling] [the rarely fine Sheraton bookcase]

composure

[self-control]: [she was struggling to regain her composure]

self-respect

[self-esteem]: [I want to work again to keep up my self-respect] [the days when men had some self-respect and went to the barber's]

autonomy

[self-government, independence]: [between the First and Second World Wars, Canada gained greater autonomy from Britain] [the national autonomies of the Russian Republic] [the courts enjoy a considerable degree of autonomy] [economic autonomy is still a long way off for many women]

chronological

[sequential]: [the entries are in chronological order] [medical decisions should be based on the individual's biological age, not chronological age] [the diary provided a chronological framework for the events]

seclude

[sequester, sequestrate, withdraw]: [I secluded myself up here for a life of study and meditation]

spate

[series]: [a spate of attacks on holidaymakers] [the headmaster was in full spate]

grievous

[serious, disastrous, heinous]: [his death was a grievous blow] [the American fleet suffered grievous losses]

seance

[session, sitting]:

liberate

[set free]: [the serfs had been liberated] [twelve months earlier Paris had been liberated] [she is liberated from the constraints of an unhappy marriage] [the arts can have a liberating effect on people] [ways of working politically that liberate women]

needlework

[sewing]: [I took up needlework] [exhibits include Eastern needlework]

quake

[shake, tremble]: [the rumbling vibrations set the whole valley quaking] [those words should have them quaking in their boots] [a big quake east of the Rocky Mountains]

shuffle

[shamble, scrape, mix]: [I stepped into my skis and shuffled to the edge of the steep slope] [she heard Gran's shuffling steps] [Christine shuffled uneasily in her chair] [Ben shuffled his feet in the awkward silence] [she shuffled her feet into a pair of shoes]

low

[short, low-lying, low-cut, cheap, unambitious, scarce, humble, crude, inferior, despicable, unfavourable, quiet, bass, depressed, nadir, moo]: [the school is a long, low building] [a low table] [the sun was low in the sky] [low back pain] [he smashed a pane low down in the window]

performance

[show, rendition, fuss, carrying out, functioning]: [Don Giovanni had its first performance in 1787] [Bailey gives a sound performance as the doctor] [he stopped to fasten his shoelace and seemed to be making quite a performance of it] [the continual performance of a single task reduces a man to the level of a machine] [pay increases are now being linked more closely to performance]

spray

[shower, atomizer, spout, sprig, bouquet]: [a torrent of white foam and spray] [a fine spray of mud] [a can of insect spray] [refresh your flowers with a quick spray] [the product can be sprayed on to wet or dry hair]

termagant

[shrew]:

because

[since, on account of]: [we did it because we felt it our duty] [just because I'm inexperienced doesn't mean that I lack perception] [there's probably somebody out there who would argue the point because Internet] [making a bag of popcorn with hot sauce for lunch because hungry] [he did not go because he was ill]

suck

[sip, draw, draw, implicate in, be very bad, drain, grovel]: [they suck mint juleps through straws] [he sucked in air between sentences] [she sucked a mint] [the child sucked on her thumb] [she sucked each segment of the orange carefully]

syrup

[sirup]: [cough syrup] [Mr Gurney's poems are almost all of them syrup] [he has been bald for the past twenty years, his shame concealed by a syrup of some opulence]

bulk

[size, majority, make bigger, be important]: [residents jump up and down on their rubbish to reduce its bulk] [he moved quickly in spite of his bulk] [bulk orders of over 100 copies] [potatoes supply energy, essential protein, and bulk] [the port is specially designed for the largest dry bulk vessels]

skeleton

[skin and bone, framework, outline, minimum]: [the human skeleton] [she was no more than a skeleton at the end] [the chapel was stripped to a skeleton of its former self] [the concrete skeleton of an unfinished building] [the skeleton of a report]

head

[skull, brain, aptitude, front, froth, source, leader, chief, be at the front of, be in charge of, move towards, reach a crisis, intoxicate, outclass, keep/stay calm, lose control of oneself, intercept, forestall]: [whatever comes into my head] [she had a good head for business] [a head for heights] [he was beaten by a head] [heads or tails?]

lean

[slant, rest, depend, intimidate, tend, slim, non-fatty, meagre, unproductive]: [he leaned back in his chair] [a man was leaning against the wall] [he leaned his elbows on the table] [the vehicle has a definite lean to the left] [they have learned to lean on each other for support]

cull

[slaughter, select]: [some of the culled deer will be used for scientific research] [kangaroo culling] [unproductive animals can be identified and culled] [anecdotes culled from Greek and Roman history] [fresh culled daffodils]

slumber

[sleep, sleep]: [Sleeping Beauty slumbered in her forest castle] [the village street slumbered under the afternoon sun] [scaring folk from their slumbers]

insomnia

[sleeplessness]:

dilatory

[slow, delaying, time-wasting]: [he had been dilatory in appointing a solicitor] [they resorted to dilatory tactics, forcing a postponement of peace talks]

lethargic

[sluggish, languid]: [I felt tired and a little lethargic]

lethargy

[sluggishness]: [there was an air of lethargy about him] [a history of weight loss, lethargy, and fluid retention]

clout

[smack, influence, hit]: [a clout round the ear] [I knew she carried a lot of clout] [I clouted him round the head] [he helps the women clout their pans]

crash

[smash into, smash, be hurled, slam, boom, fail, gatecrash, accident, bang, failure, intensive]: [a racing car had crashed, wrecking a safety barrier] [the stolen car she was riding in crashed into a tree] [they crashed a lorry through a fence] [a jet crashed 200 yards from the school] [the test pilot crashed a Hurricane fighter plane]

growl

[snarl, say roughly]: [the dogs yapped and growled at his heels] ['Keep out of this,' he growled] [thunder growls without warning from a summer sky] [the bulldog lumbered to her feet with a threatening growl] [the growl of diesel engines]

sol

[so, soh]:

saturated

[soaked, waterlogged]: [a mass of saturated air decreases in temperature as it rises in the atmosphere] [a saturated barium hydroxide solution] [the glitzy, media-saturated plasticity of Los Angeles] [saturated hydrocarbons] [soybeans are low in saturated fats and sodium]

saponaceous

[soapy]:

glide

[soar]: [a few gondolas glided past] [slide your hands firmly across the shoulders then glide them down] [students learning to glide] [gulls are gliding birds] [the cuckoo makes its approach in a hawklike glide]

gregarious

[sociable, social]: [he was a popular and gregarious man] [gregarious species forage in flocks from colonies or roosts] [in the wild, trees are usually gregarious plants]

socialism

[socialist economy]:

modification

[softening, alteration, revision]: [the parts supplied should fit with little or no modification] [a number of modifications are being carried out to the engines]

tincture

[solution, trace]: [the remedies can be administered in form of tinctures] [a bottle containing tincture of iodine] [he's a rough diamond, especially after a tincture or two] [she could not keep a tincture of bitterness out of her voice] [Arthur's affability was tinctured with faint sarcasm]

magician

[sorcerer, conjuror]:

cause

[source, reason, principle, case, bring about]: [the cause of the accident is not clear] [Faye's condition had given no cause for concern] [class size is a cause for complaint in some schools] [she devoted her whole adult life to the cause of deaf people] [I'm raising money for good causes]

jargon

[specialized language]: [legal jargon]

particular

[specific, special, fussy, detail, specific, particularly]: [the action seems to discriminate against a particular group of companies] [when handling or checking cash the cashier should exercise particular care] [she is very particular about cleanliness] [he is wrong in every particular] [a clerk took the woman's particulars]

stipulate

[specify]: [he stipulated certain conditions before their marriage] [the stipulated time has elapsed]

theorize

[speculate]: [he theorized that the atolls marked the sites of vanished volcanoes] [they are more interested in obtaining results than in political theorizing] [women should be doing feminism rather than theorizing it]

oration

[speech]: [Pericles' famous funeral oration] [there is nothing quite like his messianic oration]

jagged

[spiky]: [the jagged edges gashed their fingers] [her jagged nerves]

invertebrate

[spineless]:

mettle

[spirit, calibre]: [the team showed their true mettle in the second half] [Saturday's game will be a tricky one and we'll have to be on our mettle from the start] [there were regular public meetings where local MPs were put on their mettle and remorselessly pilloried]

mystic

[spiritual, cryptic]: [the poetry of the 16th-century Spanish mystic, St John of the Cross]

malignant

[spiteful, virulent, cancerous]: [in the hands of malignant fate]

squirt

[splash, spurt, spurt, impudent person, pipsqueak, squirts]: [she squirted soda into a glass] [some youngsters squirted a water pistol in her face] [she squirted me with scent] [tread on one of these and a jet of water squirts up your leg] [he got his glove on the ball but it squirted away]

march

[stride, stalk, move forward, hike, parade, demonstration, progress, borders]: [thousands marched behind the coffin] [without a word she marched from the room] [she gripped Rachel's arm and marched her through the door] [unemployed workers marched from Jarrow to London] [they planned to march on Baton Rouge]

adultery

[unfaithfulness]: [she was committing adultery with a much younger man]

run

[sprint, compete, go, cast, flow, stream with, stream, extend, travel, drive, be in charge of, carry out, maintain, operate, be valid, be staged, be common in, stand for, publish, smuggle, sprint, route, drive, period, demand for, type, trend, slope, enclosure, unrestricted/free use of, ladder, on the loose, busy, flee, talk incessantly, chase, be in charge, meet (by chance), pursue, go away, flee, run off with, win easily, run away with, evade, run over, criticize, reduce, decline, dilapidated, arrest, collide with, reach, copy, drain, continue, be preoccupied with, be used up, have none left, expire, desert, overflow, exceed, run down, recapitulate, pervade, squander, go over, rehearse, stab, reach, afford, tend to, accumulate]: [the dog ran across the road] [she ran the last few yards, breathing heavily] [he hasn't paid for his drinks—run and catch him] [I run every morning] [she ran in the 200 metres]

bud

[sprout, sprout]: [in certain limbless lizards and snakes a limb bud develops] [I found him outside, smoking some bud] [new blood vessels bud out from the vascular bed] [pale pink flowers which are of deeper colour in bud] [I'll tell you what, bud]

bicker

[squabble, quarrel]: [couples who bicker over who gets what from the divorce] [against the glass the rain did beat and bicker] [the restless wheels whose flashing spokes bicker and burn]

quadrate

[square]: [a broad shell with a quadrate outline] [the materials are there quadrated or formed into rectangular blocks] [he had to make a creed which would quadrate with his immorality]

creak

[squeak]: [the stairs creaked as she went up them] [the garden gate creaked open] [the system started to creak] [the creak of a floorboard broke the silence]

writhe

[squirm]: [he writhed in agony on the ground] [a writhing heap of maggots] [a snake writhing its body] [she bit her lip, writhing in suppressed fury]

imprint

[stamp, fix, impression, impact]: [tyre marks were imprinted in the snow] [clothes imprinted with the logos of sports teams] [he'd always have this ghastly image imprinted on his mind] [the bird thought I was its mother and imprinted on me] [goslings will imprint themselves on inanimate objects such as a cardboard box]

quality

[standard, excellence, feature]: [an improvement in product quality] [these colleges provide a better quality of education] [a masterpiece for connoisseurs of quality] [commanding the admiration of people of quality] [he's dazed at being called on to speak before quality]

begin

[start, appear, open]: [Peter had just begun a life sentence for murder] [it was beginning to snow] [she began by rewriting the syllabus] [a new era had begun] [the cycleway begins at Livingston village]

dignified

[stately]: [she maintained a dignified silence] [a dignified old lady]

diplomacy

[statesmanship, tact]: [an extensive round of diplomacy in the Middle East] [with perfect diplomacy, he divided his attention between Meryl and Anthea]

insidious

[stealthy]: [sexual harassment is a serious and insidious problem]

dour

[stern]: [a hard, dour, humourless fanatic]

cling

[stick, adhere to]: [she clung to Joe's arm] [we sat on the sofa clinging on to one another] [she clung on to life for 16 days] [the smell of smoke clung to their clothes] [the fabric clung to her smooth skin]

rigid

[stiff, fixed, strict]: [a seat of rigid orange plastic] [Beatrice was rigid with terror] [rigid bureaucratic controls] [the College had not wanted to be too rigid in imposing teaching methods]

extant

[still existing]: [an extant letter]

stagnant

[still, inactive]: [a stagnant ditch] [a stagnant economy]

inspire

[stimulate, inspirational, arouse, give rise to]: [his philosophy inspired a later generation of environmentalists] [his passion for literature inspired him to begin writing] [their past record does not inspire confidence] [he inspired his students with a vision of freedom] [the film was successful enough to inspire a sequel]

churn

[stir, be turbulent, disturb, produce]: [the fresh creamy milk sat in a churn in the kitchen] [a milk churn] [the cream is ripened before it is churned] [the women were churning butter and making cheese] [the seas churned]

belly

[stomach, undercarriage, billow (out)]: [his fat belly stuck out over his trousers] [they'll fight all the better on empty bellies] [grasses were said to have been tall enough to brush the bellies of horses] [as she leaned forward her pullover bellied out] [the wind bellied the sail out]

cork

[stopper]: [vinyl-coated cork is practical as a floor covering] [cork tiles] [he pulled out the cork and commenced pouring the wine] [champagne corks popped] [the little steamer was tossed about like a cork]

depot

[storehouse, terminal]: [an arms depot] [only conscripts who lived near a training depot had permission to commute to it]

bestride

[straddle, extend across, dominate]: [he bestrode me, defending my prone body] [creatures that bestride the dividing line between amphibians and reptiles] [he bestrode his horse with the easy grace of a born horseman] [he bestrides Alberta politics today]

reinforce

[strengthen, strengthen, augment]: [the helmet has been reinforced with a double layer of cork] [the next few months reinforced my opinion of Vince as a man of his word] [paratroopers were sent to reinforce the troops already in the area]

concentrated

[strenuous, condensed]: [a concentrated campaign] [pure concentrated fruit juice]

sprawl

[stretch out, spread]: [the door shot open, sending him sprawling across the pavement] [she lay sprawled on the bed] [the town sprawled along several miles of cliff top] [the sprawling suburbs] [she fell into a sort of luxurious sprawl]

system

[structure, method, methodicalness, the establishment]: [the state railway system] [fluid is pushed through a system of pipes or channels] [the digestive system] [you need to get the cholesterol out of your system] [the Devonian system]

fare

[ticket price, food, get on]: [we should go to Seville, but we cannot afford the air fare] [the taxi driver was anxious to pick up a fare] [traditional Scottish fare] [those expecting conventional Hollywood fare will be disappointed] [the party fared badly in the elections]

taut

[tight, flexed, fraught, concise, orderly]: [the fabric stays taut without adhesive] [my voice was taut with anger] [a taut text of only a hundred and twenty pages] [his language was salty and he ran a taut ship]

metallic

[tinny, metallized]: [metallic alloys] [a curious metallic taste] [the blade locked into place with a heavy metallic clunk] [a metallic voice rasped tinnily from a speaker] [a beautiful metallic green sports car]

weary

[tired, tiring, tired of, be weary of, tire, bore, tiring, tire of]: [he gave a long, weary sigh] [the weary journey began again] [she was weary of their constant arguments] [war-weary Americans] [she was wearied by her persistent cough]

gossip

[tittle-tattle, chat, scandalmonger, spread rumours, chat]: [he became the subject of much local gossip] [she just comes round here for a gossip] [they would start gossiping about her as soon as she left]

lavatory

[toilet]: [he locked himself in the downstairs lavatory] [public lavatories] [she flushed the lavatory] [I needed to go to the lavatory]

endurance

[toleration, stamina, continuance]: [she was close to the limit of her endurance]

turnpike

[toll road]:

inarticulate

[tongue-tied, unintelligible, unspoken]: [an inarticulate man of action] [Fay gave a faint, inarticulate cry] [mention of her mother filled her with inarticulate irritation]

stimulant

[tonic, stimulus]: [it is a stimulant that has a direct effect on the nervous system] [a scalp stimulant] [population growth is a major stimulant to industrial development] [caffeine has stimulant effects on the heart]

aggregate

[total, collection, total]: [the council was an aggregate of three regional assemblies] [he set the pace with a one-over-par aggregate of 151] [the result put the sides level on aggregate] [the specimen is an aggregate of rock and mineral fragments] [use aggregate for the first layer when filling the trench]

merchant

[trader]: [a builders' merchant] [a tea merchant] [the credit cards are accepted by 10 million merchants worldwide] [a merchant of death] [prosperous merchants and clothiers had established a middle class]

peaceful

[tranquil, calm, serene, harmonious]: [his peaceful mood vanished] [a soldier was shot at an otherwise peaceful demonstration] [Dad was a peaceful, law-abiding citizen]

passport

[travel document, key]: [a British citizen with a valid passport does not need a visa to visit the US] [a passport photograph] [good qualifications are a passport to success]

tremor

[trembling, frisson, earthquake]: [a disorder that causes tremors and muscle rigidity] [a tremor of unease] [a muscle in my jaw tremored uncontrollably]

artifice

[trickery, device, trick]: [an industry dominated by artifice] [the style is not free from the artifices of the period]

curio

[trinket]: [they had such fun over the wonderful box of curios that Jack had sent from India]

disruptive

[troublemaking, innovative]: [disruptive pupils] [the hours of work are disruptive to home life] [breaking a disruptive technology into the market is never easy]

turn the tables

[turn the tide]: [police invited householders to a seminar on how to turn the tables on burglars]

convolution

[twist, complexity]: [crosses adorned with elaborate convolutions] [the flexibility of the polymer chain allows extensive convolution] [the convolutions of farm policy]

brand

[type, identifying mark, stigma, mark, stigmatize]: [a new brand of soap powder] [the firm will market computer software under its own brand] [it takes a long time to build a brand] [you can still invent your own career, be your own brand] [they entertained millions with their inimitable brand of comedy]

secretive

[uncommunicative]: [she was very secretive about her past] [secretive deals] [a secretive smile]

ferment

[undergo fermentation, brew, cause, fever, turmoil]: [the drink had fermented, turning some of the juice into alcohol] [the politicians and warlords who are fermenting this chaos] [a period of political and religious ferment]

go through

[undergo, search, examine, be completed, spend]: [the country is going through a period of economic instability] [she started to go through the bundle of letters] [the sale of the building is set to go through] [within two years it went through thirty-one editions]

underscore

[underline]: [the company underscored the progress made with fuel cells]

underline

[underscore, emphasize]: [certain phrases had been underlined] [the improvement in retail sales was underlined by these figures] [sub-headings have an underline in blue] [she has a white tail and underline]

submarine

[undersea]: [submarine volcanic activity]

clear

[understandable, obvious, transparent, bright, unblemished, unobstructed, free, untroubled, whole, away from, completely, evacuate, disappear, get rid of, pay off, go over, acquit, authorize, net, restore harmony, go away, empty, tidy, solve]: [clear and precise directions] [her handwriting was clear] [am I making myself clear?] [it was clear that they were in a trap] [a clear case of poisoning]

undoubted

[undisputed, definite]: [her undoubted ability]

doubtless

[undoubtedly]: [the company would doubtless find the reduced competition to their liking] [doubtless you'll solve the problem]

restless

[uneasy, sleepless]: [the audience grew restless and inattentive] [a restless night]

detach

[unfasten, free, dissociate]: [he detached the front lamp from its bracket] [a willingness to detach comment from political allegiance] [the screen detaches from the keyboard] [a figure in brown detached itself from the shadows] [the newspaper detached itself from the political parties]

superstition

[unfounded belief, myth]: [he dismissed the ghost stories as mere superstition] [she touched her locket for luck, a superstition she'd had since childhood]

malaise

[unhappiness]: [a general air of malaise] [a society afflicted by a deep cultural malaise]

forlorn

[unhappy, desolate, hopeless]: [forlorn figures at bus stops] [a forlorn attempt to escape] [he urged them to stay in the forlorn hope of restoring peace]

nonentity

[unimportant person]: [a political nonentity] [the collection of topics is saved from nonentity by the stature of the contributors] [asserting the nonentity of evil]

inadvertent

[unintentional]: [an inadvertent administrative error occurred that resulted in an overpayment] [he was pardoned for inadvertent manslaughter]

oneness

[unity]: [the oneness of all suffering people] [a strong sense of oneness is felt with all things] [holding to the oneness of God the Father as the only God]

unfettered

[unrestrained]: [his imagination is unfettered by the laws of logic]

adamant

[unshakeable]: [he is adamant that he is not going to resign]

taciturn

[untalkative]: [after such gatherings she would be taciturn and morose]

cumbersome

[unwieldy, complicated]: [cumbersome diving suits] [organizations with cumbersome hierarchical structures]

rebellion

[uprising, defiance]: [the authorities put down a rebellion by landless colonials] [the Bretons rose in rebellion against the King] [an act of teenage rebellion]

enjoin

[urge, instruct, prohibit]: [the code enjoined members to trade fairly] [the charitable deeds enjoined on him by religion] [he was enjoined from using the patent]

impulse

[urge, spontaneity, inspiration, pulse, impulsively]: [I had an almost irresistible impulse to giggle] [he was a man of impulse, not premeditation] [an added impulse to this process of renewal] [nerve impulses] [electrical impulses]

usage

[utilization, phraseology, custom, usages]: [a survey of water usage] [the usage of equipment] [there are various derivative usages] [the dictates and usages of polite society]

exploit

[utilize, make use of, take advantage of, feat, exploits]: [500 companies sprang up to exploit this new technology] [the company was exploiting a legal loophole] [women are exploited in the workplace] [despite a series of colourful exploits, his agents obtained little intelligence of value] [if someone you don't know tweets you a link, it's either spam, an exploit, or probably both]

extreme

[utmost, drastic, radical, dangerous, furthest, opposite, limit]: [extreme cold] [in extreme cases the soldier may be discharged] [expulsion is an extreme sanction] [groups of his more extreme supporters rioted in front of parliament] [extreme sports like snowboarding]

appreciate

[value, be grateful for, acknowledge, increase]: [she feels that he does not appreciate her] [I'd appreciate any information you could give me] [they failed to appreciate the pressure he was under] [I appreciate that you cannot be held totally responsible] [the dollar appreciated against the euro by 15 per cent]

worth

[value, benefit, worthiness]: [jewellery worth £450 was taken] [she is worth £10 million] [the museums in the district are well worth a visit] [it's hard work juggling a job with a baby, but it's worth it] [the company's service schemes are worth checking out]

appreciation

[valuing, gratitude, review, acknowledgement, increase]: [I smiled in appreciation] [he had a fine appreciation of drawing] [they would be the first to show their appreciation] [a full appreciation of the professor's life and work will be published in the Scotsman tomorrow] [the bank's lack of appreciation of their problems]

conceit

[vanity, image, idea]: [he was puffed up with conceit] [the idea of the wind's singing is a prime romantic conceit] [the director's brilliant conceit was to film this tale in black and white] [he is alarmed by the widespread conceit that he spent most of the 1980s drunk]

severely

[very badly, sharply, harshly, brutally, sternly, plainly]: [our business has been severely affected by the slowdown] [severely injured patients] [the culprits will be severely punished] ['I hope you're not trying to steal my girlfriend,' I said severely] [her hair was severely pulled back into a bun]

delighted

[very pleased]: [a delighted smile] [we were delighted to see her]

terribly

[very, extremely, very much, very badly]: [I'm terribly sorry] [it was all terribly frustrating] [your father misses you terribly] [he came into the kitchen, swearing terribly]

imperative

[vitally important, peremptory]: [immediate action was imperative] [it is imperative that standards are maintained] [the bell pealed again, a final imperative call] [free movement of labour was an economic imperative] [the biological imperatives which guide male and female behaviour]

capacity

[volume, ability, position, role]: [the capacity of the freezer is 1.1 cubic feet] [the stadium's seating capacity] [the room was filled to capacity] [they played to a capacity crowd] [the cubic capacity is 1171 cc]

optional

[voluntary]: [a wide range of optional excursions is offered]

await

[wait for, be in store for]: [we await the proposals with impatience] [remand prisoners awaiting trial] [an eagerly awaited debut] [many dangers await them]

rouse

[wake, wake up, stir up, provoke, arouse]: [she was roused from a deep sleep by a hand on her shoulder] [she roused and looked around] [once the enemy camp was roused, they would move on the castle] [she'd just stay a few more minutes, then rouse herself and go back] [the crowds were roused to fever pitch by the drama of the race]

cane

[walking stick, stick, stick, beat]: [a cane coffee table] [raspberry canes] [tie the shoot to a cane if vertical growth is required] [wrong answers were rewarded by the cane] [Matthew was caned for bullying by the headmaster]

franchise

[warrant, suffrage]: [Toyota granted the group a franchise] [lagers brewed under franchise] [franchise holders] [fast-food franchises dot the roadside] [the Harry Potter franchise]

ablution

[washing]: [the women performed their ablutions]

vigil

[watch]: [my birdwatching vigils lasted for hours] [as he lay in a coma the family kept vigil] [the group held a candlelight vigil outside the jail]

irrigate

[water]:

impermeable

[watertight]: [an impermeable membrane]

enfeeble

[weaken]: [trade unions are in an enfeebled state]

foible

[weakness]: [they have to tolerate each other's little foibles]

arsenal

[weapons, armoury, array]: [Britain's nuclear arsenal] [we have an arsenal of computers at our disposal]

abrasion

[wearing away/down, graze]: [the metal is resistant to abrasion] [there were cuts and abrasions to the lips and jaw]

reputable

[well thought of]: [a reputable company]

weal

[welt]: [she slapped his cheek and a bright red weal sprang up on it] [his neck was wealed and raw] [I am holding this trial behind closed doors in the public weal] [such things as police protection and national defence are benefits vital to the common weal]

plurality

[wide variety]: [some languages add an extra syllable to mark plurality] [a plurality of critical approaches] [he obtained dispensations to hold several benefices in plurality]

awe

[wonder, revere, filled with wonder]: [they gazed in awe at the small mountain of diamonds] [the sight filled me with awe] [is it any wonder that Christmas Eve has lost its awe?] [they were both awed by the vastness of the forest] [his staff members are in awe of him]

promise

[word of honour, indication, potential, give one's word, indicate]: [what happened to all those firm promises of support?] [I did not keep my promise to go home early] [dawn came with the promise of fine weather] [he showed great promise even as a junior officer] [he promised to forward my mail]

term

[word, language, period, session, conditions, rates, reach (an) agreement/understanding, call, accept, with regard to, in a ... relationship (with)]: [the musical term 'leitmotiv'] [a term of abuse] [a protest in the strongest possible terms] [the President is elected for a single four-year term] [I was really keen to go to term and to have a home birth]

employee

[worker, employees]:

sophistication

[worldliness]: [her air of sophistication and confidence] [the technological sophistication of their products]

sophisticated

[worldly, advanced]: [a chic, sophisticated woman] [a young man with sophisticated tastes] [a sophisticated restaurant] [highly sophisticated computer systems] [discussion and reflection are necessary for a sophisticated response to a text]

anxious

[worried, eager]: [she was extremely anxious about her exams] [an anxious look] [there were some anxious moments] [the company was anxious to avoid any trouble] [my parents were anxious that I get an education]

perturb

[worry, upset]: [they were perturbed by her capricious behaviour] [he was perturbed that his bleeper wouldn't work] [nuclear weapons could be used to perturb the orbit of an asteroid]

packaging

[wrapping]: [all the ingredients and packaging are biodegradable] [they specialized in food packaging] [diplomatic packaging of the key provisions will make a confrontation unlikely]

contributor

[writer, donor]: [he became a regular contributor to the magazine] [Saudi Arabia was the biggest contributor of war costs] [stress is a major contributor to most diseases]

almanac