to hold a group discussion in order to get ideas | brainstorm,_,They brainstormed some ideas and came up with a preliminary plan to save the company. |
a radio programme that can be downloaded from the Internet | podcast,_,She downloaded all the podcasts from her favourite programme. |
an area where people live which is away from the centre of a town or city | suburb,_,Don’t you get bored living out here in the suburbs? |
urban renewal is when the poor areas of towns are improved by making new jobs, industries, homes etc | urban renewal,_,Many cities have plans in place for urban renewal schemes. |
the basic systems and structures that a country or organization needs in order to work properly, for example roads, railways, banks etc | infrastructure,_,Some countries lack a suitable economic infrastructure. |
to make someone less confident or less willing to do something | discourage,_,You should not let one failure discourage you. |
a simple, quickly made drawing that does not show much detail | sketch,_,Cantor drew a rough sketch of his apartment on a napkin. |
positive and making you feel that good things will happen | upbeat,_,For all the trouble she's been, she's remarkably upbeat. |
rude, humorous, or political writing and pictures on the walls of buildings, trains etc | graffiti,_,The walls are daubed with graffiti. |
the effect or influence that an event, situation etc has on someone or something | impact,_,We need to assess the impact on climate change. |
the bottom side or surface of something | underside,_,The leaves are green on top and silvery on the underside. |
worried about something | anxious,_,He was a bit anxious about the safety of the machinery. |
a face-to-face meeting, conversation etc is one where you are with another person and talking to them | face-to-face,_,It's important to have regular face-to-face interviews with staff. |
liking something so much that you do not want to stop doing it or having it | addicted,_,Millions of young children are addicted to computer games. |
to end a relationship with someone | dump,_,Vicky dumped Neil yesterday. |
not noticing, or not taking the care to notice, other people’s feelings, and not realizing when they are upset or when something that you do will upset them | insensitive,_,One insensitive official insisted on seeing her husband’s death certificate. |
based on facts or relating to facts | factual,_,Try to keep your account of events as factual as possible. |
a quality or feature of something or someone that is typical of them and easy to recognize | characteristic,_,What are the personal characteristics that a leader requires? |
by only a small amount | narrowly,_,A man narrowly escaped death when a fire broke out in his home on Sunday morning. |
to win a victory over someone in a war, competition, game etc | defeat,_,They hoped to defeat the enemy at sea. |
very unusual or strange | bizarre,_,The dancers were wearing bizarre costumes. |
with your eyes covered by a piece of cloth | blindfolded,_,She managed to find her way around the room blindfolded. |
to succeed in getting past or over a difficult place on a path, road etc | negotiate,_,Guido swung the steering-wheel round to negotiate a corner. |
a line of objects which people have to jump over, climb through etc in a race | obstacle course,_,The first person to complete the obstacle course was the overall winner. |
a meeting, argument, fight etc that will settle a disagreement or competition that has continued for a long time | showdown,_,Britain has a World Cup showdown with Australia next month. |
a short form of a word or expression | abbreviation,_,Dr' is the written abbreviation of ‘Doctor’. |
to write a letter of the alphabet using a capital letter | capitalisation,_,It's important to learn the capitalisation rules in English. |
made, done, seen etc on the internet or on a computer, rather than in the real world | virtual,_,The website allows you to take a virtual tour of the art gallery. |
using a particular person, machine etc to send something | via,_,I sent a message to Kitty via her sister. |
to refuse to consider someone’s idea, opinion etc, because you think it is not serious, true, or important | dismiss,_,He just laughed and dismissed my proposal as unrealistic. |
to surprise someone very much | astonish,_,Her reply astonished me. |
someone who is quiet and shy, and does not enjoy being with other people | introvert,_,Jennifer is an introvert whereas her sister is an extrovert. |
to feel anxious or worried about something that is going to happen or may happen | dread,_,I’m dreading going back to work. |
a report, argument etc that is unbalanced is unfair because it emphasizes one opinion too much | unbalanced,_,The government's report is a totally unbalanced one and should not be taken as true. |
the state of being free from public attention | privacy,_,Freedom of the press has to led a lack of privacy for many people. |
the ability to understand other people’s feelings and problems | sensitivity,_,His comments show a lack of sensitivity. |
worried about something | concerned,_,She is concerned about how little food I eat. |
worried or upset | disturbed,_,Police are very disturbed about the latest trend. |
when someone feels alone and unable to meet or speak to other people | isolation,_,Retirement can often cause feelings of isolation. |
the ability to make yourself do the things you know you ought to do, without someone making you do them | self-discipline,_,A lot of the kids seemed to lack self-discipline. |
making you feel less worried or frightened | reassuring,_,It’s reassuring to know that problems are rare. |
someone who is active and confident, and who enjoys spending time with other people | extrovert,_,Her sister was always more of an extrovert. |
a piece of work that takes a lot of time and effort and is usually boring | slog,_,It’ll be a slog, but I know we can do it. |
tending to disagree with what other people tell you | sceptical,_,I’m extremely sceptical about what I read in the press. |
not seeming to be ashamed of your bad behaviour although other people think you should be ashamed | shameless,_,It was shameless of her to take advantage of him. |
to take someone’s attention away from something by making them look at or listen to something else | distract,_,Try not to distract the other students. |
very strange and unusual, and difficult to understand or explain | weird,_,A really weird thing happened last night. |
a cultivated image is one which has been carefully improved or developed | cultivated,_,Her cultivated image makes her appear more interesting than she really is. |
the opinion people have of a person, organization, product etc, or the way a person, organization etc seems to be to the public | image,_,He is trying to improve his public image. |
something that is invisible cannot be seen | invisible,_,The plane is meant to be invisible to radar. |