a. unusual; not typical; not normal
E.g. Fujitsu, Toshiba, HP and Lenovo all insist that their designs are sufficiently different to Dell and Apple, that there is no abnormal risk of fire.
v. stop; terminate before completion; terminate a pregnancy
E.g. However, most women say that the decision to abort is a difficult one.
a. broken off; very steep; having sudden transitions from one subject to another
E.g. Eliza's greeting was delivered in a short, abrupt voice, without a smile; and then she sat down again, fixed her eyes on the fire, and seemed to forget me.
v. assimilate or incorporate; suck or drink up; occupy full attention
E.g. By contrast, what students can absorb from a one-day visit to a college are the tangibles.
a. theoretical; not concrete; not applied or practical; difficult to understand
E.g. To him, hunger was an abstract concept; he had never missed a meal.
n. additional object; useful but not essential thing; subordinate or supplementary item
E.g. Another accessory is a tripod, which is needed to prevent camera shake especially when the shutter speed drops below tenth second at a wide angle shot.
v. do a favor or service for; provide for; supply with; make suitable; adapt; allow for
E.g. As for the stage in the public auditorium, it can easily be adjusted to accommodate from a full-scale musical production to one by a solo vocalist.
v. travel with; be associated with
E.g. But the night being wet and inclement, Mr. Rochester did not accompany them.
a. liable to being called to account; answerable; responsible; something that can be explained
E.g. He made each store accountable, sold 100 unproductive shops and made another 70 smaller.
v. gain with effort; accomplish; fulfill
E.g. Water, energy, health, agriculture, and biodiversity, require the world's scientific community to come up with the means to achieve sustainable development.
v. gain through experience or effort; gain possession of; locate with tracking system
E.g. As Norman Mailer once said to me, "One of the hardest things to acquire is a persona, and you've got one."
n. act of contracting or assuming or acquiring possession of something
E.g. It has received an unsolicited, 15 dollar a share acquisition proposal from partners.
v. make active or more active; stimulate; make radioactive
E.g. The carriers say they want to encrypt and store the credentials in the phone's SIM card, the small chips to activate access to mobile networks.
a. quickly perceptive; keen; having a sharp point or tip; extremely sharp or severe
E.g. Her early writing was grounded in acute observation of the natural world.
v. make fit for; change to suit a new purpose
E.g. One way to adapt is to become smaller, generation by generation.
v. cause someone to become dependent; indulge in; be devoted to
E.g. In this country, for instance, if you carry a clean needle the police are likely to arrest you for being a drug addict; a woman carrying a condom will be arrested as a prostitute, all of which just encourages the spread of the disease.
a. sufficient; enough to meet a purpose
E.g. England missed key players through injury, lacked adequate preparation and was unable to match Australia's skill.
v. govern; supervise; give or apply medications
E.g. It's led to major disagreement about how best to administer development funds among some government departments.
n. act or practice of admitting; power or permission to enter
E.g. He gained admission into this university.
v. give notice to; inform or apprise; make known; give public notice of
E.g. We decided to advertise our new product.
v. speak, plead, or argue in favour of; plead for; push for something
E.g. The some doctors advocate a smoking ban in the entire house.
n. extreme pain of mind or body; anguish; last struggle of life; death struggle
E.g. "Oh, PLEASE mind what you're doing!" cried Alice, jumping up and down in an agony of terror.
v. cause to become unfriendly or hostile; transfer property or ownership; isolate or dissociate emotionally
E.g. We could not see what should again alienate us from one another, or how one brother could again oppress another.
n. loyalty to a nation, sovereign, or cause; fidelity to any person or thing; devotion
E.g. They didn't want to salute the flag, saying that kind of allegiance is only for God.
n. approval; act of allowing, granting, or admitting
E.g. I volunteer for every shift available, the allowance is better than nothing.
ad. along or by the side; side by side with
E.g. When his lease went up for renewal in December, I summoned all my courage to sign my name alongside his on the new one.
v. modify; cause to change; make different; convert
E.g. In public neither Mr. Blair's visit nor the regional summit in Nepal has done anything to alter India's position on dialogue with Pakistan.
a. happening or following in turns; succeeding each other continuously; substitute
E.g. Businesses can also use this opportunity to invest in alternate, perhaps more efficient, energy sources - which will help our economy in the long-run.
n. elevation especially above sea level; height
E.g. The high desert plains are beautiful and have a more temperate climate, but for some people, the altitude is a health problem.
a. nonprofessional; lacking the skill of a professional, as in an art
E.g. Previous flotation by Internet-related firms generated huge demand from amateur investors wanting to put their money into Hong Kong's stock market.
v. astonish; affect with wonder
E.g. Archaeologists amaze that such a fragile ancient document could have survived for so long and that it was then discovered as it could so easily have been overlooked or destroyed.
a. aspiring; having a strong desire for success or achievement
E.g. After news of Rupert Murdoch's ambitious move, the company's share value rose rapidly, opening at 37 dollars and 12 cents and going up to 57 dollars and 28 cents before trading was halted by the New York Stock Exchange.
n. compensation for a loss or injury; recompense; reparation
E.g. I want to make amends to my friend for breaking her precious vase.
n. military stores or provisions; articles used in weapons, as powder, balls, shot, shells
E.g. I will carry these two rifles myself; the ammunition is all there except that bag in the corner.
a. more than enough in size or scope or capacity; fairly large
E.g. They insist that food are being provided to the Palestinians in ample supplies, and that the only way to weaken Hamas is to maintain the blockade.
v. occupy in an agreeable, pleasing, or entertaining fashion; cause laughter or be funny; delude or deceive
E.g. I've been using this anecdote to amuse my civilian friends for years!
n. similarity in some respects; comparison based on similarity
E.g. This analogy is almost always noted without further comment, although in fact it may be taken further.
v. secure or fasten firmly; be fixed in place; narrate or coordinate
E.g. We set the post in concrete to anchor it in place.
v. disturb, especially by minor irritations; irritate
E.g. "Sit up!" said she; "don't annoy me with holding the clothes fast."
n. song of praise or patriotism; song of devotion or loyalty
E.g. Let us now all join in singing the national anthem.