a piece of music written for a Christian ceremony in which prayers are said for someone who has died | requiem,_,He has written a modern requiem which is amazing. |
a lot of noise or angry protest about something | uproar,_,The house was in an uproar, with babies crying and people shouting. |
to make someone extremely angry | infuriate,_,It infuriated him that Beth was with another man. |
worried, disappointed, and upset when something unpleasant happens | dismay,_,Ruth was dismayed to see how thin he had grown. |
to let liquid fall in drops | drip,_,Her boots were muddy and her hair was dripping. |
to break with a sudden sharp noise, or to make something do this | snap,_,A twig snapped under my feet. |
to make a short sound like a small explosion, or to make something do this | pop,_,The wood sizzled and popped in the fire. |
if something such as a door, wooden floor, old bed, or stair creaks, it makes a long high noise when someone opens it, walks on it, sits on it etc | creak,_,The floorboards creaked as she walked across the room. |
to make a short hard sound, or make something produce this sound | click,_,The door clicked shut behind me. |
if a liquid splashes, it hits or falls on something and makes a noise | splash,_,The ocean splashed against the pier. |
to speak or say something very quietly, using your breath rather than your voice | whisper,_,You don’t have to whisper, no one can hear us. |
if leaves, papers, clothes etc rustle, or if you rustle them, they make a noise as they rub against each other | rustle,_,She moved nearer, her long silk skirt rustling around her. |
if the wind sighs, it makes a long sound like someone sighing | sigh,_,The wind sighed in the trees. |
the sound a duck makes | quack,_,The ducks on the pond started quacking loudly. |
a bird with large eyes that hunts at night | owl,_,She watched the owl hunting for its food. |
if an owl hoots, it makes a long ‘oo’ sound | hoot,_,We could hear an owl hooting as we waited in the dark. |
to make a deep low sound like the sound a frog makes | croak,_,He loved the sound of the frogs croaking in the tropical night. |
to make a noise which sounds like ‘ssss’ | hiss,_,Snakes only hiss when they are afraid. |
the use of words that sound like the thing that they are describing, for example ‘hiss’ or ‘boom’ | onomatopoeic,_,Poets often employ onomatopoeic words to add drama and atmosphere to their work. |
if costs are prohibitively high, they prevent people from buying or doing something | prohibitively,_,Moving house would be prohibitively expensive. |
a group of people who sing together for other people to listen to | choir,_,He joined a church choir at the age of eight. |
anti-social behaviour is violent or harmful to other people, or shows that you do not care about other people | anti-social,_,She was finding it increasingly hard to cope with her son's anti-social behaviour. |
careful to do everything that it is your job or duty to do | conscientious,_,A conscientious teacher may feel inclined to take work home. |
containing new and interesting ideas | imaginative,_,Using local produce, the food is imaginative, wholesome and substantial. |
someone who is introverted is quiet and shy and does not enjoy being with other people | introverted,_,He is described as an introverted teenager, with a love of horses. |
the quality of being fair | fairness,_,The truth and fairness of an advertising claim can be challenged for a variety of reasons. |
the feeling that an event or place gives you | atmosphere,_,The atmosphere at home was rather tense. |
when people vote to choose someone for an official position | election,_,Elections for the state governorship will be on November 25. |
very sensitive and delicate in the way you behave or do things | exquisite,_,She has exquisite taste in art. |
a book, list, record etc which consists of different pieces of information, songs etc | compilation,_,His new compilation includes all the past hits. |
used to refer to popular music that is performed by new bands or singers, and produced by small independent companies | indie,_,He only listens to indie music. |
to develop as a result of something else | stem from,_,His headaches stemmed from vision problems. |
a song or tune | melody,_,They played some lovely melodies. |
a catchy tune or phrase is easy to remember | catchy,_,Some songs are so catchy that you keep humming them all day long. |
to sing a tune by making a continuous sound with your lips closed | hum1,_,Tony was humming to himself as he drove along. |
one of the songs or pieces of music on a record, cassette, or CD | track,_,I love the last track on their new album. |
too or very | overly,_,Your views on economics are overly simplistic. |
making careful judgments about how good or bad something is | critical,_,His book provides a critical analysis of the television industry in Britain. |
a repeated series of notes in popular or jazz music | riff,_,The guitar riff at the beginning is unforgettable. |
relating to a telephone line that is used to send information from one computer to another | dial-up,_,She's only got a dial-up connection at home and it's so slow! |
a piece of electronic equipment that allows information from one computer to be sent along telephone wires to another computer | modem,_,I'm afraid the modem doesn’t seem to be working at the moment. |
a sound that someone makes, or something that they say, especially a complaint | peep,_,There has not been a peep out of them since bedtime. |
to go somewhere or do something very quickly | zoom,_,Brenda jumped in the car and zoomed off. |
one of the pieces of flesh inside your body that you use in order to move, and that connect your bones together | muscle,_,Relax your stomach muscles, then stretch again. |
to make an angry, unhappy, or confused expression, moving your eyebrows together | frown,_,She frowned as she read the letter. |
involving everyone in the world or in a particular group | universal,_,These stories have universal appeal. |
to behave as if something is true when in fact you know it is not, in order to deceive people or for fun | pretend,_,We can’t go on pretending that everything is OK. |
complete surprise | astonishment,_,She stared at him in astonishment. |
the feeling of being angry, jealous, and upset because you think you have been treated unfairly | bitterness,_,His bitterness grew daily until all he wanted was revenge. |
when you do not understand what is happening or what something means because it is not clear | confusion,_,There was some confusion as to whether we had won or lost. |