Révision 1 anglais Flashcards
(formal) to gradually get into a bad state
[phrasal verb; no passive] to descend into sth.
/dɪˈsend ˈɪntu/
- The country was descending into chaos.*
- Sri Lanka has descended into even greater violence and a more furious civil war*
- I came from a good family, my parents loved me, but they were helpless as I descended into this nightmare.*
to have sb./sth. as parts or members
syn.: ?
to comprise
/kəmˈpraɪz/
syn.: consist of
/kənˈsɪst əv/
to comprise sth. The collection comprises 327 paintings.
MCC’s main committee comprises 18 members.
to be comprised of sb./sth.The committee is comprised of representatives from both the public and private sectors.
The task force is comprised of congressional leaders and cabinet heads.
(formal) a person who supports a political party or set of ideas
syn.: ?
[countable] adherent
/ədˈhɪərənt/
syn.: supporter
/səˈpɔːtə(r)/
- The movement has many enthusiastic adherents.*
- We should not show animosity to adherents of other faiths.*
adherent to sth. Prescriptive grammarians are seen as blind adherents to outdated norms of formal usage.
(of two or more people) to disagree with sb.
[intransitive] to differ
/ˈdɪfə(r)/
The two parties differ on all the major issues.
to differ (with sb.) about/on/over sth. I have to differ with you on that.
to differ (as to sth.) Medical opinion differs as to how to treat the disease.
(finance) the act of giving money to sb. on condition that they pay it back over a period of time and pay interest on it.
[uncountable] lending
/ˈlendɪŋ/
- Lending by banks rose to $10 billion last year.*
- UK mortgage lending fell by a record £2.3bn in April.*
lending to sb. Lending to borrowers with lower credit scores increased sharply during 2005-6.
(specialist) to divide sth. into different parts
[often passive] to segment (sth.)
/seɡˈment/
- Market researchers often segment the population on the basis of age and social class.*
- The worm has a segmented body* (= with different sections joined together).
very unfriendly or aggressive and ready to argue or fight
hostile
/ˈhɒstaɪl/
The speaker got a hostile reception from the audience.
hostile to/towards sb./sth. She was openly hostile towards her parents.
The experience has made him generally hostile to women.
to resist sb.; to not accept bad treatment from sb. without complaining
[phrasal verb] to stand up to sb.
/’stænd ʌp tu/
- It was brave of her to stand up to those bullies.*
- Women are now aware of their rights and are prepared to stand up to their employers.*
- He hit me, so I hit him back–the first time in my life I’d stood up to him.*
the regular way in which sth. happens or is done
[countable] pattern
/ˈpætn/
- changing patterns of behaviour*
- Their actions follow a very predictable pattern.*
- The murders all seem to follow a pattern* (= happen in the same way).
sth. that is difficult to understand or explain; a complicated problem
syn.: ?
[usually singular] puzzle
/ˈpʌzl/
syn.: mystery
/ˈmɪstri/
- They are trying to solve the puzzle of how gravity works.*
- The deeper meaning of the poem remains a puzzle.*
- The detectives were beginning to solve the murder. All the pieces in the puzzle were falling neatly into place.*
(formal) to argue or state earnestly
syn.: ?
[transitive] to contend that…
/kənˈtend/
syn.: to maintain
/meɪnˈteɪn/
- I would contend that the minister’s thinking is flawed on this point.*
- The government contends that he is fundamentalist.*
- ‘You were just looking,’ contends Samantha. ‘I was the one doing all the work.’*
in a way that can convince sb. to do sth. or make them believe sth.
persuasively
/pəˈsweɪsɪvli/
- They argue persuasively in favour of a total ban on handguns.*
- We have good arguments and we can present them persuasively.*
- The public service must find its own ways to persuasively demonstrate progress to internal and external constituencies in each area.*
to vary between two particular amounts, sizes, etc., including others between them
[intransitive] to range
/reɪndʒ/
to range from A to B. Accommodation ranges from tourist class to luxury hotels.
to range in sth. His four daughters range in age from 9 to 15.
to range between A and B. Estimates of the damage range between $1 million and $5 million.
(of a person) believing strongly in a particular religion and obeying its laws and practices
devout
/dɪˈvaʊt/
- a devout Christian/Muslim*
- The devout churchgoer goes to mass every Sunday.*
- Anti-clerical in his youth, he became passionately devout in his later years.*
(prep.; formal) used to show the basis or reason for sth.
syn.: ?
/!: ?
upon
/əˈpɒn/
syn.: on
/ɒn/
/!: Although the word upon has the same meaning as on, it is usually used in more formal contexts or in phrases such as once upon a time.
- The decision was based upon two considerations.*
- Although the word upon has the same meaning as on, it is usually used in more formal contexts or in phrases such as once upon a time and row upon row of seats.*
(formal; of ideas, opinions, etc.) to be accepted, especially after a struggle or an argument
syn.: ?
[intransitive] to prevail
/prɪˈveɪl/
syn.: [intr.] to triumph
/ˈtraɪʌmf/
Fortunately, common sense prevailed.
to prevail over sth. Justice will prevail over tyranny.
to prevail against sth. The wishes of 20 million people ought to prevail against those of 200 thousand.
(esp. in contexts involving tangible description of things) to some extent; not completely
compare: ?
partly
/ˈpɑːtli/
compare: (esp. used to describle a more tangible thing) partially
/ˈpɑːʃəli/
- He was only partly responsible for the accident.*
- Two factors at least partly explain her success.*
- Some people are unwilling to attend the classes partly because of the cost involved.*
all people in the world, thought about as one large group
[uncountable] humankind
/ˌhjuːmənˈkaɪnd/
- These advances should be used for the benefit of all humankind.*
- This could mean a safer future, not just for humankind, but for the planet as a whole.*
- This could provide new clues about the origins of humankind.*
similar to sb./sth. else
comparable
/ˈkɒmpərəbl/
A comparable house in the south of the city would cost twice as much.
comparable to/with sb./sth. The situation in the US is not directly comparable to that in the UK.
Inflation is now at a rate comparable with that in other European countries.
comparable in sth. The two machines are comparable in size.
(idiom.; informal) at risk
(to put sth.) on the line
/ɒn ðə laɪn/
- If we don’t make a profit, my job is on the line.*
- He wouldn’t put his career on the line to help a friend.*
- Police officers put their lives on the line every day to keep our communities safe.*
to mention a subject or start to talk about it
syn.: ?
[phrasal verb] to bring (sth.) up
/ˈbrɪŋ ʌp/
syn.: to raise
/reɪz/
- Bring it up at the meeting.*
- Why are you bringing it up now?*
- He brought up a subject rarely raised during the course of this campaign.*
(prep.) before a particular period of time has passed; during a particular period of time
within
/wɪˈðɪn/
- You should receive a reply within seven days.*
- The ambulance arrived within minutes of the call being made.*
- Two elections were held within the space of a year.*
the state of suffering and death caused by having no food
[uncountable] starvation
/stɑːˈveɪʃn/
- to die of/from starvation*
- Millions will face starvation next year as a result of the drought.*
- a starvation diet* (= one in which you do not have much to eat)
- They were on starvation wages* (= extremely low wages).
(adj.) that lasted 10 years
decade-long
/ˈdekeɪd lɒŋ/
- The penalty is the latest battle in a decade-long war between the Commission and Microsoft.*
- This follows on from a decade-long conflict, which has cost 11 000 lives.*
- The great tragedy is that this decade-long saga of corruption and mismanagement is funded by the poor old taxpayers.*
