great excitement and happiness | rapture,_,The boys gazed up at him in rapture. |
to read or look at something very carefully for a long time | pore over,_,She was poring over a book. |
the activity of looking for something | hunting,_,We're going house-hunting later today. |
to prove or officially announce that someone is guilty of a crime after a trial in a law court | convict,_,She was convicted of shoplifting. |
an official process of counting a country’s population and finding out about the people | census,_,We have to complete a census form every ten years. |
a small sign that shows that someone or something was present or existed | trace,_,There was no trace of anyone having entered the room since then. |
language that sounds scientific but is not really, that some people use when talking about their emotional problems | psychobabble,_,I hate it when people start using psychobabble. |
to stop being angry with someone and stop blaming them, although they have done something wrong | forgive,_,He never forgave her for walking out on him. |
to tell someone a story or describe a series of events | recount,_,Alan recounted how he and Joyce had met. |
to leave someone or something and no longer help or support them | desert,_,The price rise caused many readers to desert the magazine. |
a male member of the clergy | clergyman,_,His uncle was a well-known clergyman. |
the bite of a poisonous snake | snakebite,_,They were scared of getting a snakebite in the jungle. |
to believe a story, explanation etc that is not actually true | swallow,_,I found his story a bit hard to swallow. |
to eat humble pie is to admit that you were wrong about something | (eat) humble pie,_,He was forced to eat humble pie when I got into university, as he had never believed I would achieve my goal. |
he things that happen to someone or something, especially unpleasant things that end their existence or end a particular period | fate,_,No one knows what the fate of the hostages will be. |
(deoxyribonucleic acid) a substance that carries genetic information in the cells of the body | DNA,_,A DNA test showed that he was not the baby's father. |
a biscuit served in Chinese restaurants, containing a piece of paper that says what is supposed to happen to you in the future | fortune cookie,_,The children enjoyed opening the fortune cookies when they went to the Chinese restaurant. |
to produce a result, answer, or piece of information | yield,_,Our research has only recently begun to yield important results. |
a short description that gives important details about a person, a group of people, or a place | profile,_,She wrote a short profile of the history of the castle. |
the members of your family who lived a long time ago | ancestry,_,Her mother is of German ancestry. |
involved in or relating to migration | migratory,_,Many birds are migratory and move to warmer countries in winter. |
how easy or difficult it is for people to enter a public building, to reach a place, or talk to someone | access,_,We’re trying to improve access for disabled visitors. |
money that you gain by selling things or doing business, after your costs have been paid | profit,_,She sold the business and bought a farm with the profits. |
the process of comparing two or more people or things | comparison,_,In comparison to other recent video games, this one isn’t very exciting. |
a refusal to accept new ideas or changes | resistance,_,The no-smoking policy was introduced with little resistance from staff. |
a lot of things of the same type that are different from each other in some way | variety,_,The girls come from a variety of different backgrounds. |
the ability to see | vision,_,She suffered temporary loss of vision after being struck on the head. |
unusually good | exceptional,_,She is an exceptional student. |
very angry | furious,_,Residents in the area are furious at the decision. |
very frightened | terrified,_,She was terrified of being caught. |
in a way that produces or shows feelings of great sadness or anger | bitterly,_,The march was bitterly opposed by local residents. |
completely and in every possible way | entirely,_,Her reasons were not entirely clear. |
almost | practically,_,It’s practically impossible to predict what will happen. |
fairly or more than a little | pretty,_,She still looks pretty miserable to me. |
very much or to a great degree | seriously,_,I’m seriously worried about Ben. |
something that happens or exists in society, science, or nature, especially something that is studied because it is difficult to understand | phenomenon,_,Homelessness is not a new phenomenon. |
the medical condition of not being able to remember anything | amnesia,_,She's suffering from amnesia. |
to show that something is definitely true, especially by providing more proof | confirm,_,New evidence has confirmed the first witness’s story. |
reasonable and likely to be true or successful | plausible,_,His story certainly sounds plausible. |
to include a variety of different things or people in addition to those mentioned | range,_,The show had a massive audience, ranging from children to grandparents. |
a very narrow space between two things or two parts of something | crack,_,He squeezed into a crack between two rocks. |
to make food or drink go down your throat and towards your stomach | swallow,_,He swallowed the last of his coffee and asked for the bill. |
a way of selling something in which there is a lot of pressure on you to buy | hard sell,_,The company's success was put down to the hard sell. |
having a lot of experience of life, and good judgment about socially important things such as art, fashion etc | sophisticated,_,Clarissa’s hair was swept up into a sophisticated style. |
involving all your feelings, interest etc | wholeheartedly,_,I agree whole-heartedly with the mayor on this issue. |
letters, especially advertisements, that are sent by organizations to large numbers of people | junk mail,_,Forty-four percent of junk mail is never opened. |
an advantage or profit that you get as a result of doing something | payoff,_,With electric cars there is a big environmental payoff. |
a series of actions intended to achieve a particular result relating to politics or business, or a social improvement | advertising campaign,_,The company's new advertising campaign has certainly caught the public's eye. |
always supporting your friends, principles, country etc | loyal,_,She has given many years of loyal service to the company. |
friendly agreement and understanding between people | rapport,_,He had an excellent rapport with his patients. |