Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 3rd Edition

abolish verb [T ]
to end an activity or custom officially
I think bullfighting should be abolished.
National Service was abolished in Britain in 1962.

activist noun [C ]
a person who believes strongly in political or social change and works hard to try and make this
happen
He's been a trade union/party activist for many years.
a gay activist

appal (-ll-) , US USUALLY appall verb [T ]

to make someone have strong feelings of shock or of disapproval
I was appalled at/by the lack of staff in the hospital.
The state of the kitchen appalled her.

appalling adjective
1. shocking and very bad
appalling injuries
Prisoners were kept in the most appalling conditions.
2. very bad
appalling weather
The journey home was appalling.

apprehend verb [T ] FORMAL CATCH

1. FORMAL to catch and arrest someone who has not obeyed the law
The police have finally apprehended the killer.

apprehension noun [U ] WORRY

1. worry about the future, or a fear that something unpleasant is going to happen
It's normal to feel a little apprehension before starting a new job.
There is some apprehension in the office about who the new director will be.

apprehension noun [U ] CATCHING

2. FORMAL when the police catch and arrest someone who has not obeyed the law
Both the army and the police were involved in the apprehension of the terrorists.

apprehension noun [U ] UNDERSTANDING

3. FORMAL when you understand something

apprehensive adjective
feeling worried about something that you are going to do
I'm a bit apprehensive about tomorrow's meeting.
I've invited a lot of people to the party, but I'm a bit apprehensive that no one will come.

bail noun MONEY

1. [U] a sum of money which a person who has been accused of a crime pays to a law court so
that they can be released until their trial. The payment is a way of making certain that the
person will return to court for trial
He was released/remanded on bail (of $100 000).
Because of a previous conviction, the judge refused to grant bail (= allow the accused person
to be released).

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 Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 3rd Edition

Her parents have agreed to put up/stand/ US post (= pay) bail for her.

bail sb/sth out , UK ALSO bale sb out phrasal verb [M ]

to help a person or organization that is in difficulty, usually by giving or lending them money
She keeps running up huge debts and asking friends to bail her out.

bid verb OFFER

1. [I or T] (bidding, bid, bid) to offer a particular amount of money for something which is for
sale and compete against other people to buy it, especially at a public sale of goods or property
She knew she couldn't afford it, so she didn't bid.
The communications group has shown an interest in bidding for the company.
A foreign collector has bid £500 000 for the portrait.
[+ two objects] What am I bid for this fine vase?
2. [I] (bidding, bid, bid) If two or more people bid for a job, they compete with each other to
do the work by offering to do it for a particular amount of money
The department is trying to ensure fairer competition among firms bidding for government
contracts.
3. [T + to infinitive] (bidding, bid, bid) If someone bids to do something, they compete with
other people to do it
Paris is bidding to host the next Olympics.

bid noun [C ] OFFER

1. an offer of a particular amount of money for something which is for sale
I made a bid of $150 for the painting.
She made/put in a bid of £69 000 for the flat, which was accepted.
2. an offer to do something when you are competing with other people to do it
[+ to infinitive] Sydney made a successful bid to host the Olympic Games.
I gave the job to the contractors who made/gave the lowest bid (= who offered to do the
work for the lowest amount of money).

bid noun [C ] ATTEMPT

3. an attempt to achieve or get something
Her bid for re-election was unsuccessful.
The company has managed to fight off a hostile takeover bid (= an attempt by another
company to take control of it).
The government has reduced the cost of borrowing in a bid to get the economy moving again.

bidder noun [C ]
someone who offers to pay a particular amount of money for something
In an auction, goods or property are sold to the highest bidder (= the person who offers the
most money).

bidding noun [U ] OFFER

1. when people offer to pay a particular amount of money for something
Most of the bidding was done by telephone.
2. open the bidding
to make the first offer of money for an object at a public sale of goods

conclusive adjective
proving that something is true, or ending any doubt
They had conclusive evidence/proof of her guilt.
a conclusive argument

ˈdeath ˌtoll noun [C usually singular ]

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 Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 3rd Edition

the number of people who die because of an event such as a war or an accident
The day after the explosion the death toll had risen to 90.

defiance noun [U ]
when you refuse to obey someone or something
The demonstration is a pointless act/gesture of defiance against the government.
In defiance of the ceasefire, rebel troops are again firing on the capital.

defiant adjective
1. proudly refusing to obey authority
a defiant attitude/gesture
The protesters blocking the entrance to the offices remained defiant this morning.
2. not willing to accept criticism or disapproval
The Prime Minister was in defiant mood in the House of Commons.

depress verb [T ] CAUSE SADNESS

1. to cause someone to feel unhappy and without hope for the future
This weather depresses me.
[+ -ing verb] Doesn't it depress you listening to the news these days?
[+ to infinitive] It depresses me to think that I'll probably still be doing exactly the same job in
ten years' time.

depress verb [T ] REDUCE

2. to reduce the value of something, especially money
A surplus of corn has helped depress the grain market/grain prices.
The rise in the value of the dollar has depressed the company's earnings/profits this year.
3. to reduce the amount of activity in something, especially a business operation
High interest rates are continuing to depress the economy.
4. to lower the level or amount of something
This drug helps depress high hormone levels.

depressing adjective
making you feel unhappy and without hope for the future
I find this weather so depressing.
Her letter made depressing reading.
[+ -ing verb] It was very depressing watching the news on television tonight.
[+ to infinitive] It's depressing to think that we've got five more years of this government!

depressingly adverb
in a way that makes you feel unhappy and without hope for the future
My score was depressingly low.
The story was depressingly familiar.

devastate verb [T ] DESTROY

1. to destroy a place or thing completely or cause great damage

devastate verb [T ] UPSET

2. to make someone feel very shocked and upset

devastated adjective DESTROYED

1. completely destroyed
Thousands of people have left their devastated villages and fled to the mountains.

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 Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 3rd Edition

devastated adjective VERY UPSET

2. very shocked and upset
She was utterly devastated when her husband died.

devastating adjective VERY HARMFUL

1. causing a lot of damage or destruction
If the bomb had exploded in the main shopping area, it would have been devastating.
The drought has had devastating consequences/effects.

devote sth to sth/sb phrasal verb

1. to give all of something, especially your time, effort or love, or yourself, to something you
believe in or to a person
He left government to devote more time to his family.
She has devoted all her energies/life to the care of homeless people.
[R] At the age of 25, he decided to devote himself to God.
2. [passive] to use a space, area, time, etc. for a particular purpose
Over half his speech was devoted to the issue of unemployment.
The report recommends that more resources be devoted to teaching four year olds.

devoted adjective
extremely loving and loyal
a devoted fan/husband
Lucy is devoted to her cats.

devotee noun [C ]
a person who strongly admires a particular person or is extremely interested in a subject
He is a great devotee of the Prime Minister.
devotees of cricket

devotion noun [U ] LOYALTY

1. loyalty and love or care for someone or something
He inspired respect and devotion from his pupils.
She will be remembered for her selfless/unstinting devotion to the cause.

dive in/dive into sth phrasal verb

to start doing something suddenly and energetically, often without stopping to think
If neighbouring countries are having a war, you can't just dive in.

divine adjective SPLENDID

2. OLD-FASHIONED extremely good, pleasant or enjoyable
We had a perfectly divine time in Switzerland.
Their new house is quite divine!

divine verb GUESS

1. [T] to guess something
[+ that] I divined from his grim expression that the news was not good.

embezzle verb [I or T ]
to secretly take money that is in your care or that belongs to an organization or business you work
for
She embezzled thousands of dollars from the charity.

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 Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 3rd Edition

embezzlement noun [U]

They were arrested for embezzlement of company funds.

emerge verb [I ] APPEAR

1. to appear by coming out of something or out from behind something
She emerged from the sea, blue with cold.
2. to come to the end of a difficult period or experience
The Prince emerged unscathed from the scandal.

emerge verb [I ] BECOME KNOWN

3. to become known, especially as a result of examining something or asking questions about it
The facts behind the scandal are sure to emerge eventually.
[+ that] It has emerged that secret talks had been going on between the two companies
before the takeover was announced.
She's the most exciting British singer to emerge on the pop scene for a decade.

exonerate verb [T ] FORMAL

to show or state that someone or something is not guilty of something
The report exonerated the crew from all responsibility for the collision.

exoneration noun [U]

fatal adjective
1. A fatal illness or accident, etc. causes death
This illness is fatal in almost all cases.
the fatal shooting of an unarmed 15-year-old
2. very serious and having an important bad effect in the future
He made the fatal mistake/error of believing what they told him.
It just shows how you should never say how well things are going for you - it's fatal (= it
causes bad things to happen).

fatality noun [C ]
a death caused by an accident or by violence, or someone who has died in either of these ways
Britain has thousands of road fatalities (= deaths on roads) every year.
The first fatalities of the war were civilians.

feline adjective
1. belonging or relating to the cat family
feline leukaemia
2. MAINLY APPROVING appearing or behaving like a cat
She had pretty, almost feline features.

feline noun [C ] SPECIALIZED

a member of the cat family
a wildlife park with tigers and various other felines

fiction noun
1. [U] the type of book or story which is written about imaginary characters and events and not
based on real people and facts
The book is a work of fiction and not intended as a historical account.
a writer of children's fiction
2. [C or U] a false report or statement which you pretend is true

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 Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 3rd Edition

[+ that] At work she kept up the fiction that she had a university degree.
When he's telling you something, you never know what's fact and what's fiction.

flirt verb [I ]
to behave as if sexually attracted to someone, although not seriously
Christina was flirting with just about every man in the room.

flirt with sth phrasal verb CONSIDER

1. to consider doing something, but not seriously, or to be interested in something for a short time
I'm flirting with the idea of taking a year off and travelling round the world.

flirt with sth phrasal verb DANGER

2. to intentionally put yourself in a dangerous, risky or difficult situation
Like a lot of young men, he flirts with danger.

gut noun BRAVERY

6. guts
INFORMAL bravery; the ability to control fear and to deal with danger and uncertainty
[+ to infinitive] It takes a lot of guts to admit to so many people that you've made a
mistake.

gut verb [T ] (-tt-) EMPTY A BUILDING

1. to destroy the inside of a building completely, usually by fire
A fire gutted the bookshop last week.
2. to remove the inside parts and contents of a building, usually so that it can be decorated in a
completely new way
3. UK INFORMAL to clean very thoroughly the inside of a house or room

gut verb [T ] (-tt-) REMOVE ORGANS

4. to remove the inner organs of an animal, especially in preparation for eating it
She gutted the fish and cut off their heads.

gutless adjective INFORMAL

showing no bravery
This government is too gutless to take on the big long-term problems such as pollution.

immaculate adjective APPROVING

1. perfectly clean or tidy
dressed in an immaculate white suit
an immaculate garden
2. perfect and without any mistakes
He gave an immaculate performance as the aging hero.

indict verb [T ] LEGAL

If a law court or a grand jury indicts someone, it accuses them officially of a crime
UK He was indicted on drug charges at Snaresbrook Crown Court.
US Five people were indicted for making and selling counterfeit currency.

indictment noun
1. [C usually singular] a reason for giving blame
This seems to me to be a damning indictment of education policy.
2. [C] LEGAL a formal statement of accusing someone

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 Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 3rd Edition

The charges on the indictment include murder and attempted murder.

instance noun [C ]
a particular situation, event or fact, especially an example of something that happens generally
There have been several instances of violence at the school.
I don't usually side with the management, but in this instance I agree with what they're
saying.

kitty noun MONEY

1. [C usually singular] an amount of money which consists of small amounts given by different
people and which is used by them for an agreed purpose
We all put £20 in/into the kitty to cover the cost of food.

landslide noun [C ] VICTORY

2. the winning of an election with an extremely large number of votes
The opinion polls are predicting a Liberal landslide in next week's election.
a landslide victory

leverage noun [U ] POWER

2. power to influence people and get the results you want
If the United Nations had more troops in the area, it would have greater leverage.

leverage noun [U ] VALUE

3. US (UK gearing) the ratio between the amount of money that a company owes to banks and
the value of the company

leverage verb [T ] SPECIALIZED

to use borrowed money to buy a company

leveraged adjective
The company is highly leveraged and struggling with interest payments.

litigate verb [I or T ] LEGAL

to cause an argument to be discussed in a law court so that a judgment can be made which must
be accepted by both sides

orchestrate verb [T often passive ] MUSIC

1. to arrange or write a piece of music so that it can be played by an orchestra

orchestrate verb [T often passive ] ARRANGE

2. to arrange something carefully, and sometimes unfairly, so as to achieve a wanted result
Their victory was largely a result of their brilliantly orchestrated election campaign.

outrage noun
1. [U] a feeling of anger and shock
These murders have provoked outrage across the country.
Many politicians and members of the public expressed outrage at the verdict.
2. [C] a shocking, morally unacceptable and usually violent action
The bomb, which killed 15 people, was the worst of a series of terrorist outrages.
[+ that] It's an outrage (= it is shocking and morally unacceptable) that so much public
money should have been wasted in this way.

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 Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 3rd Edition

outrage verb [T ]
(especially of an unfair action or statement) to cause someone to feel very angry, shocked or
upset
Local people were outraged at the bombing.
A proposed 5% pay cut has outraged staff at the warehouse.

outraged adjective
feeling outrage
Many outraged viewers wrote to the BBC to complain.

outrageous adjective
1. shocking and morally unacceptable
The judge criticized the "outrageous greed" of some of the lawyers.
[+ that] It is outrageous that these buildings remain empty while thousands of people have no
homes.
These prices are just outrageous (= much too high).
2. describes something or someone that is shocking because they are unusual or strange
outrageous clothes/behaviour
an outrageous character

perceive verb [T ] BELIEVE

1. to come to an opinion about something, or have a belief about something
How do the French perceive the British?
Women's magazines are often perceived to be superficial.

perceive verb [T ] SEE

2. to see something or someone, or to notice something that is obvious
Bill perceived a tiny figure in the distance.
I perceived a note of unhappiness in her voice.
Perceiving that he wasn't happy with the arrangements, I tried to book a different hotel.

perception noun BELIEF

1. [C] a belief or opinion, often held by many people and based on how things seem
We have to change the public's perception that money is being wasted.
These photographs will affect people's perceptions of war.

perception noun SIGHT

2. [U] the quality of being aware of things through the physical senses, especially sight
Drugs can alter your perception of reality.
3. [U] someone's ability to notice and understand things that are not obvious to other people
She has extraordinary powers of perception for one so young.
He's not known for his perception.

perceptive adjective
very good at noticing and understanding things that many people do not notice
Her books are full of perceptive insights into the human condition.

perpetrate verb [T ] FORMAL

to commit a crime, or a violent or harmful act
In Britain, half of all violent crime is perpetrated by people who have been drinking alcohol.
Federal soldiers have been accused of perpetrating atrocities against innocent people.

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 Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 3rd Edition

perpetration noun [U]

Human rights activists have accused the country's government of a systematic perpetration of
violence against minority groups.

perpetrator noun [C ] (US OLD-FASHIONEDSLANG perp) FORMAL

someone who has committed a crime, or a violent or harmful act
The perpetrators of the massacre must be brought to justice as war criminals.

persist verb [I ]
1. If an unpleasant feeling or situation persists, it continues to exist
If the pain persists, consult a doctor.
The cold weather is set to persist throughout the week.
2. to try to do or continue doing something in a determined but often unreasonable way
If he persists in asking awkward questions, then send him to the boss.
The government is persisting with its ambitious public works programme.

prevail verb [I ] FORMAL

1. to get control or influence
I am sure that common sense will prevail in the end.
And did reason prevail over (= become a more powerful influence than) emotion?
2. to be common among a group of people or area at a particular time
This attitude still prevails among the middle classes.

prevail on/upon sb phrasal verb [+ to infinitive ]

to persuade someone to do something that they do not want to do
He was eventually prevailed upon to accept the appointment.

prevailing adjective
1. existing in a particular place or at a particular time
the prevailing attitude
The prevailing mood is one of optimism.
2. prevailing wind
a wind which usually blows in a particular place
The town is kept cool by the prevailing westerly winds.

prevalent adjective
existing very commonly or happening often
These diseases are more prevalent among young children.
Trees are dying in areas where acid rain is most prevalent.

propaganda noun [U ] MAINLY DISAPPROVING

information, ideas, opinions or images, often only giving one part of an argument, which are
broadcast, published or in some other way spread with the intention of influencing people's
opinions
political/wartime propaganda
At school we were fed communist/right-wing propaganda.
One official dismissed the ceasefire as a mere propaganda exercise.

propagandize FORMAL MAINLY DISAPPROVING , UK USUALLY propagandise verb [I]

to create or spread propaganda

propagandist noun [C ] MAINLY DISAPPROVING

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 Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 3rd Edition

someone who creates or spreads propaganda

Communist/Nazi/Republican/right-wing propagandists

ramification noun [C usually plural ]

the possible results of an action
Have you considered all the ramifications of your suggestion?

rebound verb [I ]
1. to bounce back after hitting a hard surface
2. If one of your actions rebounds on you, it does not have the effect you hoped for but has an
unpleasant effect on you instead
His continual demands for sympathy rebounded on him because his friends finally stopped
listening.

rebound noun [C or U ]
when something rebounds
I hit the ball on the rebound (= after it had hit the wall or ground once).

rebuff verb [T ] FORMAL

to refuse to accept a helpful suggestion or offer from someone, often by answering in an
unfriendly way
She rebuffed all suggestions that she should resign.

rebuff noun [C]

Her desperate request for help was met with a rebuff.

ridicule noun [U ]
unkind words or actions that make someone or something look stupid
She was treated with scorn and ridicule by her colleagues when she applied for the job.
He's become an object of ridicule (= a person that everyone thinks is stupid and criticizes or
laughs at).

hold sb/sth up to ridicule

to laugh unkindly and publicly at someone or something, or make them seem stupid
Her plans were held up to ridicule.

lay yourself open to ridicule

to make it easy for people to laugh unkindly at you
You lay yourself open to ridicule wearing clothes like that.

ridicule verb [T ]
to laugh at someone in an unkind way
She rarely spoke her mind out of fear of being ridiculed.
He was ridiculed for his ideas.

sceptical UK , US skeptical adjective

doubting that something is true or useful
Many experts remain sceptical about/of his claims.

tedious adjective
boring
a tedious job
The trouble is I find most forms of exercise so tedious.

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 Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 3rd Edition

tenure noun [U ] FORMAL

1. being the legal owner of land, a job or an official public position, or the period of time during
which you own it
During his tenure as dean, he had a real influence on the students.
2. the right to remain permanently in a job
She is one of the few lecturers in this department who has tenure.

toll noun CHARGE

1. [C] a small amount of money that you have to pay to use a road, cross a bridge, etc
He's just got a job collecting tolls at the start of the motorway.
2. [C] US the money a long-distance telephone call costs
Is Bayonne a toll call (= a more expensive telephone call) from New York?

toll noun SUFFERING

3. [U] suffering, deaths or damage
Independent sources say that the death toll from the earthquake runs into thousands.

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