GLOSSARY
ABBA
ABBA is a Swedish band from the 1960’s and 1970’s.
AIDS
noun [ mass noun ]
a disease in which there is a severe loss of the body's cellular immunity, greatly lowering the resistance to infection and malignancy.
AK-47
a type of assault rifle originally manufactured in the Soviet Union.
Alibi
noun (pl.alibis)
a claim or piece of evidence that one was elsewhere when
an act, typically a criminal one, is alleged to have taken
place: she has an alibi for the whole of yesterday evening.
Anaconda
noun
a semiaquatic snake of the boa family which may grow to a great size, native to tropical South America.
Antarctica
a continent round the South Pole, situated mainly within the Antarctic Circle and almost entirely covered by ice sheets.
Anthrax
noun [ mass noun ]
a serious bacterial disease of sheep and cattle, typically affecting the skin and lungs. It can be transmitted to humans, causing severe skin ulceration or a form of pneumonia (wool-sorters' disease).
Anticipation
noun [ mass noun ]
the action of anticipating something; expectation or prediction: her eyes sparkled with anticipation | they manned the telephones in anticipation of a flood of calls.
Antimatter
noun [ mass noun ] Physics
matter consisting of elementary particles which are the antiparticles of those making up normal matter.
Apocryphal
adjective
(of a story or statement) of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true. an apocryphal story about a former president. his alleged description of opera as ‘fat gits singing’ is probably apocryphal.
Armor
noun [ mass noun ]
1 the metal coverings formerly worn to protect the body in battle: knights in armour
Arrogance
noun [ mass noun ]
the quality of being arrogant: the arrogance of this man is astounding.
Arsenic
Arsenic is used in semiconductors and some specialized alloys; its toxic compounds are widely used as herbicides and pesticides.
Artery
noun (pl.arteries)
Any of the muscular-walled tubes forming part of the circulation system by which
blood (mainly that which has been oxygenated) is conveyed from the heart to all parts of the body.
Articulation
noun [ mass noun ]
the formation of clear and distinct sounds in speech: the articulation of vowels and
consonants.
Artificial
adjective
made or produced by human beings rather than occurring naturally, especially as a
copy of something natural: her skin glowed in the artificial light
• (of a situation or concept) not existing naturally; contrived or false: the artificial division of people into age groups.
Askew
adverb& adjective
not in a straight or level position: [ as predic. adj. ] : her hat was slightly askew.
• wrong; awry: [ as adv. ] : the plan went sadly askew.
Assassin
noun
a person who murders an important person for political or religious reasons.
Assertiveness
adjective
having or showing a confident and forceful personality: the job may call for assertive behaviour.
Atomic
adjective
relating to an atom or atoms. the nature of matter at the atomic level. the atomic nucleus.
• Chemistry (of a substance) consisting of uncombined atoms rather than molecules.
atomic hydrogen.
Australia
an island country and continent of the southern hemisphere, in the SW Pacific, a member state of the Commonwealth; pop. 21,262,600 (est. 2009); official language, English; capital, Canberra.
Australian
noun
a native or inhabitant of Australia, or a person of Australian descent.
Avalanche
noun
a mass of snow, ice, and rocks falling rapidly down a mountainside. he was swept to his death by an avalanche in 1988.
Balsam
noun
1 [ mass noun ] an aromatic resinous substance, such as balm, exuded by various trees and shrubs and used as a base for certain fragrances and medical preparations. a mixture of olive oil and balsam.
Barricaded
verb [ with obj. ]
• shut (someone) into a place by blocking all the entrances: detainees who barricaded themselves into their dormitory.
Barrier reefs
noun
a coral reef close and running parallel to the shore but separated from it by a channel of deep water.
BBQ
abbreviation informal
barbecue. guests meet up for BBQs or for one of our many party nights.
Bernini's
Gian Lorenzo Bernini dominated the Roman art world of the seventeenth century,
Related Glossary Terms
Bible
noun
(the Bible)the Christian scriptures, consisting of the Old and New Testaments.
Blue-ray
The name "Blue-ray" refers to the blue laser (specifically, a violet laser) used to read the disc,
Bouncy
adjective (bouncier, bounciest)
• (of a person) confident and lively: she was still the girl he remembered, bouncy and full of life.
Boutiques
noun
a small shop selling fashionable clothes or accessories.
Breast-stroke
a swimming stroke in which the arms are pushed forwards and then swept back in a circular movement, while the legs are tucked in towards the body and then kicked out in a corresponding movement.
Bungee jump
noun [ mass noun ]
the sport of leaping from a bridge, crane, or other high place while secured by a long nylon-cased rubber band around the ankles
Canyon
noun
a deep gorge, typically one with a river flowing through it, as found in North America.
Caribbean
noun (the Caribbean)
the region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (including the West Indies), and the surrounding coasts
Cascaded
noun
• a mass of something that falls or hangs in copious quantities: a cascade of pink bougainvillea.
Cerebral Palsy
noun [ mass noun ]
a condition marked by impaired muscle coordination (spastic paralysis) and/or other disabilities, typically caused by damage to the brain before or at birth. Can also occurred after birth
Chapter
noun
a main division of a book, typically with a number or title. we will deal with this in chapter eleven.
Clone
noun
• a person or thing regarded as an exact copy of another: guitarists who are labelled Hendrix clones.
Cocoon
noun
• something that envelops someone in a protective or comforting way: a cocoon of bedclothes
figurative : a warm cocoon of love.
Cognac
noun [ mass noun ]
a high-quality brandy, strictly speaking that distilled in Cognac in western France.
Collided
verb [ no obj. ]
• come into conflict or opposition:
Cologne
noun [ mass noun ]
eau de cologne or similarly scented toilet water. bottles of cologne. [ count noun ] : she could smell his cool lemony cologne.
Concealed
adjective
kept secret; hidden: a concealed weapon | he spoke with barely concealed anger.
Conception
noun [ mass noun ]
the action of conceiving a child or of one being conceived:
Condom
noun
a thin rubber sheath worn on a man's penis during sexual intercourse as a contraceptive or as a protection against infection.
Conquer
verb [ with obj. ]
overcome and take control of
Contours
noun
(usu. contours) an outline representing or bounding the shape or form of something:
Copyright
noun [ mass noun ]
the exclusive and assignable legal right, given to the originator for a fixed number of years, to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material:
Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed
Countess Elizabeth Báthory de Ecsed was a countess and serial killer from the Báthory family of nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary.
Criticism
noun [ mass noun ]
the expression of disapproval of someone or something on the basis of perceived faults or mistakes:
Crocodile
noun
a large predatory semiaquatic reptile with long jaws, long tail, short legs, and a horny textured skin
Cupids
the god of love. He is represented as a naked winged boy with a bow and arrows, with which he wounds his victims.
Debris
noun [ mass noun ]
scattered pieces of rubbish or remains.
Decay
(of organic matter) rot or decompose through the action of bacteria and fungi
Deceit
noun [ mass noun ]
the action or practice of deceiving someone by concealing or misrepresenting the
truth:
Demeanour
noun
outward behaviour or bearing: his happy demeanour.
Demons
noun
an evil spirit or devil, especially one thought to possess a person or act as a tormentor in hell. he was possessed by an evil demon. each of the damned souls was guarded by a group of hideous demons.
Descended
verb [ no obj. ]
move or fall downwards: the aircraft began to descend.
Desert
verb [ with obj. ]
abandon (a person, cause, or organization) in a way considered disloyal or treacherous: he deserted his wife and daughter and went back to England.
Despair
noun [ mass noun ]
the complete loss or absence of hope: a voice full of self-hatred and despair
Destiny
noun (pl.destinies)
the events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future:
Detour
noun
• an alternative route for use by traffic when the usual road is temporarily closed.
Dinosaur
noun
a fossil reptile of the Mesozoic era, often reaching an enormous size.
Disco
noun (pl.discos)
a club or party at which people dance to pop music. on Friday evenings, he often attended a disco with school friends.
Discrimination
noun [ mass noun ]
the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on their grounds of race, age, disability or sex: victims of racial discrimination
Disillusion
noun [ mass noun ]
disappointment resulting from the discovery that something is not as good as one believed it to be. the old enthusiasm for the government evaporated into a more cynical disillusion.
Dissect
verb [ with obj. ]
methodically cut up (a body or plant) in order to study its internal parts. an animal's eye can be easily dissected.
DNA
noun [ mass noun ] Biochemistry
deoxyribonucleic acid, a self-replicating material which is present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes. It is the carrier of genetic information.
Dolphin
noun
a small gregarious toothed whale which typically has a beak-like snout and a curved finon the back.
Domino
noun (pl.dominoes)
any of 28 small oblong pieces marked with 0–6 pips in each half.
Dysarthria
noun [ mass noun ] Medicine
difficult or unclear articulation of speech that is otherwise linguistically normal.
Earthquakes tremors
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the perceptible shaking of the surface of the Earth, resulting from the sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves.
Eclipse
noun
an obscuring of the light from one celestial body by the passage of another between it and the observer or between it and its source of illumination: an eclipse of the sun.
Ecstasy
noun (pl.ecstasies) [ mass noun ]
an overwhelming feeling of great happiness or joyful excitement:
Egypt
a country in NE Africa bordering on the Mediterranean Sea; pop. 78,866,600 (est.
2009); official language, Arabic; capital, Cairo.
Egyptian
noun
a native of ancient or modern Egypt, or a person of Egyptian
descent.
Elusive
adjective
difficult to find, catch, or achieve: success will become ever more elusive.
• difficult to remember: the elusive thought he had had moments before.
Emancipation
noun [ mass noun ]
the fact or process of being set free from legal, social, or political restrictions;
Embittered
verb [ with obj. ] (usu. as adj.embittered)
make (someone) feel bitter or resentful: he died an embittered man.
Embroidered
verb
[ with obj. ] decorate (cloth) by sewing patterns on it with thread: she embroidered a tablecloth
Endorsed
verb [ with obj. ]
declare one's public approval or support of:
Engulfed
verb [ with obj. ]
powerfully affect (someone); overwhelm: a feeling of anguish so great that it threatened
to engulf him.
Entangled
verb [ with obj. ]
cause to become twisted together with or caught in: fish attempt to swim through the
mesh and become entangled.
Erect
adjective
rigidly upright or straight:
Eroded
verb [ with obj. ]
• gradually destroy or be gradually destroyed
Erupted
verb
give vent to anger, amusement, etc. in a sudden and noisy way: the soldiers erupted in fits of laughter.
Evaporated
verb
• [ no obj. ] (of something abstract) cease to exist:
verb [ no obj. ]
spend time using the social networking website Facebook: If the boss knew how much time you spent shopping online or Facebooking, do you think he or she would be happy?
Fallacies
noun (pl.fallacies)
a mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound arguments: the notion that the camera never lies is a fallacy.
Fare
verb [ no obj. ]
• archaic happen; turn out: beware that it fare not with you as with your predecessor.
FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation(abbrev.: FBI)
an agency of the US federal government that deals principally with internal security and counter-intelligence and that also conducts investigations in federal law enforcement.
It was established in 1908 as a branch of the Department of Justice, but was substantially reorganized under the controversial directorship (1924–72) of J. Edgar Hoover.
Fertile
adjective
of a person, animal, or plant) able to conceive young or produce seed.
Flux
noun
the action or process of flowing or flowing out: the flux of ions across the membrane.
Forte
noun
(one's forte) a thing at which someone excels: small talk was not his forte.
Frail
adjective
• easily damaged or broken; weak: the balcony is frail | the country's frail economy.
French a penny
French a penny is a genus of flowering plants in the dogbane family, Apocynaceae.[1] It
contains primarily deciduous shrubs and small trees. They are native to Central America,
Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America as far south as Brazil[2][3] but can be
grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions.
French fries
plural noun chiefly N. Amer.
potatoes deep-fried in thin strips; chips.
Full-Monty
The full monty (or the full Monty) is a British slang phrase of uncertain origin. It is generally used to mean "everything which is necessary, appropriate, or possible; 'the works'".
Galaxy
noun (pl.galaxies)
a system of millions or billions of stars, together with gas and dust, held together by gravitational attraction.
• (the Galaxy) the galaxy of which the solar system is a part; the Milky Way.
Garble
verb [ with obj. ]
reproduce (a message, sound, or transmission) in a confused and distorted way: (as
adj.garbled) : garbled directions.
Glittering
adjective
shining with a shimmering or sparkling light: glittering chandeliers.
• impressively successful or elaborate: a glittering military career.
Globe
(the globe) the earth: goods from all over the globe.
• a spherical represe