Focus On Vocabulary Chapter 11
adapt (CHANGE) Hide phonetics
verb [T]
to change something to suit different conditions or uses:
Many software companies have adapted popular programs to the new operating system.
The recipe here is a pork roast adapted from Caroline O’Neill’s book ‘Louisiana Kitchen’.
[+ to infinitive] We had to adapt our plans to fit Jack’s timetable.
The play had been adapted for (= changed to make it suitable for) children.
Davies is busy adapting Brinkworth’s latest novel for television.
adapted Hide phonetics
adjective
Both trees are well adapted to London’s dry climate and dirty air.
adaptable Hide phonetics
adjective
able or willing to change in order to suit different conditions:
The survivors in this life seem to be those who are adaptable to change.
adaptability Hide phonetics
noun [U]
Adaptability is a necessary quality in an ever-changing work environment.
adaptation Hide phonetics
noun [C or U]
Evolution occurs as a result of adaptation (= the process of changing) to new environments.
Last year he starred in the film adaptation of Bill Cronshaw’s best-selling novel.
adaptive Hide phonetics
adjective SPECIALIZED
possessing an ability to change to suit different conditions
analytical Show phonetics
adjective (FORMAL analytic)
examining or tending to examine things very carefully:
He has a very analytical mind.
Some students have a more analytical approach to learning.
analytically Show phonetics
adverb
approximate Show phonetics
adjective
not completely accurate but close:
The train’s approximate time of arrival is 10.30.
The approximate cost will be about $600.
Can you give me an approximate idea of the numbers involved?
approximate Show phonetics
verb [I + adverb or preposition; T] FORMAL
to be almost the same as:
The newspaper reports of the discussion only roughly approximated to (= were not exactly the same as) what was actually said.
Student numbers this year are expected to approximate 5000 (= to be about 5000).
approximately Show phonetics
adverb
close to a particular number or time although not exactly that number or time:
The job will take approximately three weeks, and cost approximately £1000.
approximation Show phonetics
noun [C] FORMAL
a guess of a number that is not exact but that is close:
Could you give me a rough approximation of how many people will be coming?
What he said bore no approximation whatsoever to the truth (= was not at all like the truth).
assess Show phonetics
verb [T]
to judge or decide the amount, value, quality or importance of something:
The insurers will need to assess the flood damage.
They assessed the cost of the flood damage at £1500.
Examinations are not the only means of assessing a student’s ability.
It’s too early to assess the long-term consequences of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
[+ question word] We need to assess whether the project is worth doing.
assessment Show phonetics
noun [C or U]
Both their assessments of production costs were hopelessly inaccurate.
assessor Show phonetics
noun [C]
The assessor stated that the fire damage was not as severe as the hotel’s owner had claimed.
contract (SHORTEN) Show phonetics
verb [I or T]
to make or become shorter or narrower or generally smaller:
In spoken English, ‘do not’ often contracts to ‘don’t.’
As it cooled, the metal contracted.
contractile Show phonetics
adjective SPECIALIZED
describes body tissue that is able to contract, or something that causes this to happen
contraction Show phonetics
noun
1 [U] when something becomes smaller or shorter:
Cold causes contraction of the metal.
The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.
2 [C] one of the very strong and usually painful movements of the muscles in the womb that help to push the baby out of the mother’s body during the process of birth:
She was having regular strong contractions every four minutes.
3 [C] a shortened form of a word or combination of words which is often used instead of the full form in spoken English:
‘Won’t’ is a contraction of ‘will not’.
discriminate (TREAT DIFFERENTLY) Show phonetics
verb [I]
to treat a person or particular group of people differently, especially in a worse way from the way in which you treat other people, because of their skin colour, religion, sex, etc:
She felt she had been discriminated against because of her age.
In order to increase the number of female representatives, the selection committee decided to discriminate in favour of women for three years.
discrimination Show phonetics
noun [U]
racial/sex discrimination
Until 1986 most companies would not even allow women to take the examinations, but such blatant discrimination is now disappearing.
discriminatory Show phonetics
adjective
discriminatory legislation/laws/practices
establish (DISCOVER) Show phonetics
verb [T] FORMAL
to discover or get proof of something:
Before we take any action we must establish the facts/truth.
[+ question word] Can you establish what time she left home/whether she has left home.
[+ (that)] We have established (that) she was born in 1900.
hence (THEREFORE) Show phonetics
adverb FORMAL
that is the reason or explanation for; therefore:
His mother was Italian, hence his name - Luca.
hence (FROM NOW) Show phonetics
adverb FORMAL
from this time:
The project will be completed at the end of the decade, two years hence.
incorporate Show phonetics
verb [T]
to include something as part of something larger:
Suggestions from the survey have been incorporated into/in the final design.
This aircraft incorporates several new safety features.
incorporation Show phonetics
noun [U]
the regular incorporation of organic material into garden soil
injure Show phonetics
verb [T]
to hurt or cause physical harm to a person or animal:
A bomb exploded at the embassy, injuring several people.
She fell and injured her shoulder.
He was badly injured in the crash.
He claimed that working too hard was injuring his health.
injured Show phonetics
adjective
hurt or physically harmed:
She was told to stay in bed to rest her injured back.
the injured plural noun
people who are injured, considered as a group:
The injured were taken to several nearby hospitals.
injured Show phonetics
adjective
If your feelings are injured, someone has offended or upset you.
injury Show phonetics
noun [C or U]
physical harm or damage to someone’s body caused by an accident or an attack:
a head/back/knee injury
Several train passengers received/sustained serious injuries in the crash.
Injuries to the spine are common amongst these workers.
They were lucky to escape (without) injury.
internal Show phonetics
adjective
existing or happening inside a person, object, organization, place or country:
He sustained injuries to his arms, legs and several internal organs.
The bank conducted its own internal investigation into the robbery.
The government warned its neighbours not to interfere in its internal affairs.
See also interior. Compare external.
internally Show phonetics
adverb
This medicine is for external use only and should not be taken internally.
military Show phonetics
adjective
1 relating to or belonging to the armed forces:
foreign military intervention
military targets/forces
military uniform
2 describes a characteristic that is typical of the armed forces:
military precision
militarily Show phonetics
adverb
the military group noun [S]
the armed forces:
The military has opposed any cuts in defence spending.
militarism Show phonetics
noun [U] DISAPPROVING
the belief that it is necessary to have strong armed forces and that they should be used in order to win political or economic advantages
militarist Show phonetics
noun [C] DISAPPROVING
a person who wants more powerful armed forces in their country
militaristic Show phonetics
adjective DISAPPROVING
a militaristic policy/government
militarized, UK USUALLY militarised Show phonetics
adjective
describes an area, country or organization that has a large strong army and other armed forces and many weapons:
North Korea is said to be the world’s most heavily militarized country, with over 1 million men in the armed forces.
overall Show phonetics
adjective [before noun], adverb
in general rather than in particular, or including all the people or things in a particular group or situation:
The overall situation is good, despite a few minor problems.
Overall, it has been a good year.
The overall winner, after ten games, will receive $250 000.
overlap Show phonetics
verb -pp-
1 [I or T] to cover something partly by going over its edge; to cover part of the same space:
The fence is made of panels which overlap (each other).
2 If two or more activities, subjects or periods of time overlap, they have some parts which are the same:
My musical tastes don’t overlap with my brother’s at all.
overlap Show phonetics
noun [C or U]
the amount by which two things or activities cover the same area:
The roof tiles will need an overlap of several centimetres.
There are some overlaps between the products of the two companies.
overlapping Show phonetics
adjective
The overlapping slates of the roofs in the mountain village resembled fish scales.
The word has two separate but overlapping meanings (= parts of the meanings are the same).
parallel (SIMILARITY) Show phonetics
noun [C]
something very similar to something else, or a similarity between two things:
I’m trying to see if there are any obvious parallels between the two cases.
It would be easy to draw (= make) a parallel between the town’s history and that of its football club.
parallel Show phonetics
adjective
describes an event or situation that happens at the same time as and/or is similar to another one:
a parallel example
Parallel experiments are being conducted in Rome, Paris and London.
parallel Show phonetics
verb [T]
to happen at the same time as something else, or be similar or equal to something else:
The events of the last ten days in some ways parallel those before the 1978 election.
Compare unparalleled.
period (TIME) Show phonetics
noun [C]
1 a length of time:
Her work means that she spends long periods away from home.
Unemployment in the first half of 1993 was 2% lower than in the same period the year before.
Fifteen people were killed in/over a period of four days.
The study will be carried out over a six-month period.
2 in school, a division of time in the day when a subject is taught:
We have six periods of science a week.
3 a fixed time during the life of a person or in history:
Most teenagers go through a rebellious period.
The house was built during the Elizabethan period.
period Show phonetics
adjective
period costume/dress/furniture the clothes or furniture of a particular time in history:
They performed ‘Julius Caesar’ in period dress.
precede Show phonetics
verb [T]
to be or go before something or someone in time or space:
Boutros Boutros-Ghali preceded Kofi Annan as the Secretary-General of the UN.
It would be helpful if you were to precede the report with an introduction.
preceding Show phonetics
adjective [before noun]
existing or happening before someone or something:
The paintings are a development of ideas she explored in the preceding decade.
In conclusion, I hope the preceding arguments have convinced you of the need for action.
series (SET OF BROADCASTS) Show phonetics
noun [C] plural series
a set of television or radio broadcasts on the same subject or using the same characters but in different situations:
The footballer Paul Gascoigne is to host a Channel 4 television series on soccer skills
a comedy series
I missed the second episode of the series so I don’t know what’s going on now. series (SET OF EVENTS) Show phonetics
noun [C] plural series
1 a number of similar or related events or things, one following another:
There has been a series of sexual attacks on women in the area.
She gave a series of lectures at Warwick University last year on contemporary British writers.
2 a number of games played by two teams:
The Yankees have a four-game series against the Orioles at home, after which they start a two-week road trip.
stress (WORRY) Show phonetics
noun [C or U]
great worry caused by a difficult situation, or something which causes this condition:
People under a lot of stress may experience headaches, minor pains and sleeping difficulties.
Yoga is a very effective technique for combating stress.
the stresses and strains of the job
stress-related illness
stressed (out) adjective [after verb]
worried and anxious:
She’s been feeling very stressed since she started her new job.
I was really stressed out before the exam.
stressful Show phonetics
adjective
a stressful day/job
Police work is physically demanding and stressful.
She’s very good at coping in stressful situations.
sufficient Show phonetics
adjective
1 enough for a particular purpose:
This recipe should be sufficient for five people.
It was thought that he’d committed the crime but there wasn’t sufficient evidence to convict him.
NOTE: The opposite is insufficient.
2 FORMAL have had sufficient to have eaten enough:
“Would you like some more stew?” “No thanks, I’ve had sufficient.”
sufficiently Show phonetics
adverb
McGeechan has not recovered sufficiently to play in the semi-final tomorrow.
The case was sufficiently serious to warrant investigation by the police.
sufficiency Show phonetics
noun [S] FORMAL
an amount of something that is enough for a particular purpose:
“More ham, Mr Fletcher?” “No thank you - it was delicious, but I’ve had a sufficiency (= I have eaten enough).”
suffice Show phonetics
verb [I] FORMAL
to be enough:
I’m taking four hundred pounds’ worth of travellers’ cheques - I think that should suffice.
theory Show phonetics
noun [C or U]
a formal statement of the rules on which a subject of study is based or of ideas which are suggested to explain a fact or event or, more generally, an opinion or explanation:
economic theory
scientific theory
Darwin’s theory of evolution
He has a theory that the hole was caused by a meteorite.
transmit Show phonetics
verb -tt-
1 [I or T] to broadcast something, or to send out or carry signals using radio, television, etc:
Radio Seven transmits on 201 medium wave (= uses those particular radio waves to broadcast on).
The information is transmitted electronically to the central computer.
2 [T] to pass something from one person or place to another:
a sexually transmitted disease
Cholera is transmitted through contaminated water.
Some diseases are transmitted from one generation to the next.
[R] Somehow your panic and fear transmits itself to the horse that you’re riding.
transmission Show phonetics
noun
1 [C or U] the process of broadcasting something by radio, television, etc., or something which is broadcast:
We apologize for the interruption to our transmissions this afternoon.
2 [U] the process of passing something from one person or place to another:
the transmission of disease
3 [C or U] the machinery that brings the power produced by the engine to the wheels of a vehicle:
automatic transmission
The car had a faulty transmission.
transmitter Show phonetics
noun [C]
a piece of equipment for broadcasting radio or television signals:
a TV/radio transmitter
undergo Show phonetics
verb [T] undergoing, underwent, undergone
to experience something which is unpleasant or which involves a change:
She underwent an operation on a tumour in her left lung last year.
Cinema in Britain is undergoing a revival of popularity.
volunteer Show phonetics
noun [C]
a person who does something, especially helping other people, willingly and without being forced or paid to do it:
The Health clinic is relying on volunteers to run the office and answer the telephones.
Since it would be a highly dangerous mission, the Lieutenant asked for volunteers.
It’s a volunteer army with no paid professionals.
Compare conscript.
volunteer Show phonetics
verb
1 [I or T] to offer to do something that you do not have to do, often without having been asked to do it and/or without expecting payment:
[+ to infinitive] During the emergency many staff volunteered to work through the weekend.
I volunteered myself for the post of Health and Safety Representative.
My mates volunteered me to do the talking.
He volunteered for the army (= He became a member although he was not forced to by law).
2 [T] to give information without being asked:
If I were you, I wouldn’t volunteer any details of what happened.
[+ speech] “I saw her going out of the main entrance at about half past two, ” he volunteered.
