Agree
Meaning: to have the same opinion as somebody; to say that you have the same opinion
Sentence: You can't expect them to agree on everything.
Agreeably
Meaning: in a pleasant, nice way
Sentence: They were agreeably surprised by the quality of the food.
Agreed
Meaning: discussed and accepted by everyone
Sentence: They all met at the agreed time and place.
Agreeing
Meaning: to have the same opinion as somebody; to say that you have the same opinion
Sentence: You can't expect them to agree on everything.
Agreement
Meaning: an arrangement, a promise or a contract made with somebody
Sentence: The agreement (= the document recording the agreement) was signed during a meeting at the UN.
Agreements
Meaning: an arrangement, a promise or a contract made with somebody an international peace agreement
Sentence: The agreement (= the document recording the agreement) was signed during a meeting at the UN.
Agricultural
Meaning: connected with the science or practice of farming
Sentence: agricultural policy/land/production/development
Agriculturist/Agriculturalist
Meaning: an expert in agriculture who gives advice to farmers
Agriculturist
Meaning: an expert in agriculture who gives advice to farmers
Agriculturalist
Meaning: an expert in agriculture who gives advice to farmers
Agronomist
Meaning: a scientist who studies the relationship between crops and the environment
Agronomy
Meaning: the scientific study of the relationship between crops and environment
Aground
Meaning: if a ship runs/goes aground, it touches the ground in shallow water and cannot move
Sentence: The oil tanker ran/went aground off the Spanish coast.
Synonyms: ashore, marooned, stranded, wrecked
Antonyms: afloat
Ague
Meaning: a disease such as malaria that causes a high temperature and shivering (= shaking of the body)
Ah
Meaning: used to express surprise, pleasure or sympathy, or when you disagree with somebody
Sentence: Ah, there you are!
Aha
Meaning: used when you are expressing pleasure that you have understood something or found something out
Sentence: Aha! So that's where I left it!A
Ahead of
Meaning: further forward in space or time than somebodAhead of us lay ten days of intensive training.y/something; in front of somebody/something
Sentence: Ahead of us lay ten days of intensive training.
Ahem
Meaning: used in writing to show the sound of a short cough (= the noise made when air is forced from the throat) made by somebody who is trying to get attention or to say something that is difficult or embarrassing
Sentence: Ahem, can I make a suggestion?
Ai
Meaning: artificial intelligence (= the study and development of computer systems that can copy intelligent human behaviour)
Sentence: This new technology uses AI to recognize character features in the same way a human brain does.
Aid
Meaning: money, food, etc. that is sent to help countries in difficult situations
Sentence: An extra £10 million in foreign aid has been provided for victims of the earthquake.
Aide-de-camp
Meaning: an officer in the army or navy who helps a more senior officer
Aide memoire
Meaning: a thing, especially a book or document, that helps you to remember something
Aided
Meaning: to help somebody/something to do something, especially by making it easier
Sentence: The investigation was greatly aided by the fact that the house was equipped with CCTV cameras.
Aider
Meaning: a person who is trained to give first aid
Ail
Meaning: ail something (formal) to cause problems for somebody/something
Sentence: They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry.
Ambivalence
Meaning: the state of having two opposing feelings at the same time, or being uncertain about how you feel
Sentence: her ambivalence towards men
Synonyms: doubt, hesitancy, hesitation, indecision, uncertainty, fluctuation, haze, inconclusiveness
Antonyms: certainty, sureness, decisiveness
A-1
Meaning: used by ratings agencies (= organizations that calculate the level of risk of investments) to describe bonds, etc. with a very low risk of not being paid back
Sentence: Allied Bank's long-term foreign currency deposit has been rated A1 by Weston Investment Service.
Synonyms: excellent, 24-carat, ace, best
A bit much
Meaning: too extreme or not reasonable
Sentence: I think it's a bit much for you to expect me to do all the cleaning.
Synonyms: enough, heavy-handed, impossible, inadmissible, insufferable, intolerable, last straw, oppressive, unacceptable
A bad break
Meaning: A misfortune. A serious bone fracture.
Sentence: 1. Tony has lost his job, just when he needed the cash to move house. That’s a bad break. 2. Tanya’s leg was crushed when the rock fell on it - a really bad break the doctor said.
A bad workman always blames his tools
Meaning: said when someone has blamed a mistake or failure on the things that they use to work
A big ask
Meaning: something you ask someone to do that will be difficult for them
A bird in the hand (is worth two in the bush)
Meaning: said when you recognize that you should not risk losing something you already have by trying to get something you think might be better
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
Meaning: said when you recognize that you should not risk losing something you already have by trying to get something you think might be better
A blessing in disguise
Meaning: something that seems bad or unlucky at first, but results in something good happening later
Sentence: Losing that job was a blessing in disguise really.
A bunch of fives
Meaning: If you give someone a bunch of fives, you hit them hard with your hand closed.
A chip on your shoulder
Meaning: an angry attitude from someone who feels unfairly treated
Anachronistic
Meaning: existing out of its time in history
Sentence: Anachronistic mechanical voting machines are gone, replaced with computerized scanners.
Synonyms: antiquated, archaic, out-of-date, outmoded
Antonyms: current, modern, new
Archetypal
Meaning: typical of an original thing from which others are copied
Sentence: an archetypal English gentleman
Synonyms: quintessential, stereotypical
Antonyms: atypical, unique
Aberration
Meaning: a temporary change from the typical or usual way of behaving
Sentence: Lenses for correcting chromatic aberration of the eye.
Synonyms: oddity, peculiarity, quirk
Antonyms: normality, usualness
Affinity
Meaning: a liking or sympathy for someone or something, especially because of shared characteristics
Sentence: There are several close affinities between the two paintings.
Synonyms: affection, closeness, fondness, leaning, rapport, sympathy, weakness
Antonyms: dislike, hate, hatred
Amass
Meaning: to get a large amount of something, especially money or information, by collecting it over a long period
Sentence: She has amassed a huge fortune from her novels.
Synonyms: assemble, collect, compile, garner, hoard, stockpile
Antonyms: disperse, divide, scatter, separate
Amiable
Meaning: pleasant and friendly
Sentence: He seemed an amiable young man.
Synonyms: affable, amicable, charming, cheerful, cordial, delightful, engaging, friendly, genial, good-humored, good-natured, gracious, lovable, mellow, pleasant, sociable
Antonyms: aloof, bad, cold, disagreeable, hateful, hostile, mean, nasty, repulsive, sad, unfriendly, unhappy, unkind, unpleasant, unsociable
Absenteeism
Meaning: frequent or habitual absence from work, school, etc.
Sentence: rising absenteeism in the industry.
Synonyms: absence, defection, desertion, truancy
Antonyms: attendance, presence
