general vocab 🇬🇧

vacuum cleaner

[vac]

to run the vacuum

dishwasher

to load / to fill the dishwasher

to empty the dishwasher

to run the dishwasher

sink

washbasin

washing machine

to run the washing machine

cutting board

to peel / pare / excoriate

to shell 🥜

to skin 🍅

unemployment rate

rate of unemployment

unemployment benefit

to collect unemployment benefits

[coll. & Br.] to be on the dole

poverty line

poverty level

poverty threshold

to live below the breadline / poverty line

to alleviate poverty

at risk of poverty

internet provider

to endure pain

to blister

to ease pain

to abate pain

to allay pain

to alleviate pain

to soften the pain

obituary

death notice / obituary notice

death announcement

showerhead, shower head

to face deportation

party leader

party chairman

party executive

frontier

border, national border

threshold

(sill, barrier)

[fig.] : verge, brink

constituency

The MP received several angry letters from his constituency demanding him to fix the problem.

teeming

the teeming Christmas market

tempest

The tempest hit while we were out at sea.

to toss sth

I used to toss a football in the backyard.

influx

an influx of immigrants

peak period

Ticket prices often increase during peak periods like the summer.

to account for

Driving over the speed limit accounts for 56% of car crashes.

to strive (for/to)

Socialists strive for a more equal distribution …

to ratify

A treaty is ratified by a vote.

sobering reality

The crisis made people aware of a sobering reality: …

to coin a term

Once streaming had become popular, we coined the term “binge-watch”.

from rags to riches

People love a rags-to-riches story because it gives them hope.

legislative branch

In the US the legislative branch is comprised of both the House and the Senate.

= the branch of government that makes laws

judicial branch

The Supreme Court is part of the judicial branch.

= the branch of the government that interprets the law

executive branch

In the US the president is the head of the executive branch.

= the branch of government that carries out the law in various departments and agencies

to pledge

Americans have to pledge allegiance to the flag.

susceptible to

Both political parties are equally susceptible to corporate interests.

(= easily influenced by sth)

to appoint sb

Yesterday a new head teacher was appointed at Melbourne High School.

commerce

(no plural)

Even though commerce usually means buying and selling goods, …

to impeach sb

The President of the US can be impeached by Congress.

derelict

barb wire

barbed wire

to fix sth

to mend sth

conviction

persuasion

creed

vacant seat

to blackmail sb

to extort sb

enchanted

spellbound

enthralled

(fascinated)

(under a spell)

voter turnout

election turnout

(voter participation)

appealing

attractive

pleasing

to amplify

to boost

to fortify

to intensify

upset

disgruntled

irked

exasperated

indignant

brain drain

Little has been done in India to stop the brain drain to Western countries.

to perpetuate

Supplying both sides with weapons will only perpetuate the conflict.

tax evasion

(no plural)

Never use a tax evasion scheme; it’s a crime.

to withdraw

World leaders must decide whether to withdraw their troops from the region.

to retain

In the 2022 midterm elections, the Democrats retained control of the Senate.

plight

Moved by the plight of the refugees, the government offered them shelter.

garment

to yield

The study yielded some unexpected results.

retail

(no plural)

supply chain

crop farming

cow pasture

to be intertwined with

on a small scale

agency

scarcity

(no plural)

to commute

to spearhead

The NGO chose a charismatic person to spearhead the campaign against climate change.

to incentivise

The government should incentivise companies to invest in green energy.

livestock industry

poultry

cold spell

to mitigate

If we don't mitigate the effects of climate change, regions of the Earth may become uninhabitable.

to lump together

The products were all lumped together.

contrarian

to disarm objections

religious affiliation

to amend

Some religions have amended their stances on issues to become more modern in their outlook.

to slur

eerie

an eerie feeling

weariness

to unveil

A monument was unveiled …

officeholder

to be reconciled

inherent (in)

… or whether elitism is inherent in the system.

to excel

the motivation to excel

subsidised

run-of-the-mill

Can a run-of-the-mill job be satisfying?

to strain

to burden

to encumber

tuition costs

to keep pace with sb / sth

apprenticeship

to account for

(be the reason for)

unprecedented

unparalleled

unequalled

to endorse sth

to support / to be supportive of sth

to advocate sth

(BrE : to give a favourable opinion on sth)

prospect

view

outlook

vista

sight

drought

aridity

embarkation

loading

shipping

line diagram / chart / graph

bar chart / graph / diagram

pie chart

contentment

frugality

(modesty)

'Contentment is above wealth.’

consolidation

immaculacy

mourning

to grieve, to mourn

to thwart

to inhibit

to avert atomic war

to derail

(to jump the rails / the track)

(to leave the rails / the track)

embroidery (as art or pastime)

to stitch

to embroider

sewing

to sew

to stitch

to stitch (up) a wound

decoding

to decipher

to decode

to decrypt

sparse

tenuous

frugal

sparsely populated

scantily clad

scantily dressed

bogeyman

to make a bogeyman out of

to demonise sb

to condemn sb

to denigrate sb

to lie in

to sleep late

to have a lie-in (BrE)

to rummage in / through

to browse (through)

to ransack

to rake into

livelihood

subsistence

grant

subsidy

subvention

grant in aid (BrE)

to undermine sth

to subvert

to sap

to undercut

in hindsight

in retrospect

unbiased

badger

mole

marten

beaver

meerkat

(suricate)

marmot

raccoon

goat

donkey

bat

chipmunk

change

(to shortchange sb / to short-change sb)

drowsiness

(languor, somnolence, sleepiness, tiredness)

drowsy

(sleepy, somnolent)

hammock

to sling a hammock

car registration number

to hitchhike

(hitchhiking)

truck

lorry (Br.)

road sign

traffic sign

fortnight

per fortnight (alle zwei Wochen)

tomorrow fortnight (morgen in zwei Wochen)

in a fortnight (in zwei Wochen)

to pry

to sleuth

to nuzzle

to snuff / sniff / snuffle

to snoop

to nose around

vile

revolting

despicable

(disgusting)

(gross)

resilient

tough

stalwart

(material : sturdy, stout)

to contrive sth

to soar up

to swirl

to whirl

to eddy (wind)

to spin

gritty (grainy)

coarse

rough-grained

ulcer

boil

(cancer)

rectangular

oblong

pane

windowpane, window pane

patrol

to go on patrol

conceivable

surmisable

imaginable

thinkable

to scrutinise sth / sb

vast

tremendous

gargantuan

(huge, enormous)

filthy

grimy

smutty

sordid

(dirty)

beam

bar

baulk

to hinder sb from doing sth

to bar sb from doing sth

to fell timber

to cut down timber / trees

bunch (of people)

pile

heap

stack

cluster

to pile

to heap

to amass

to accumulate

to clutter

excitement

stir

fuss

commotion

rubble

debris

cubicle

screwdriver

wrench / spanner

shapeliness

ramification

maze

labyrinth

bigoted

parochial

blinkered

hidebound

burly

stout

portly

corpulent

entanglement

entrapment

involvement

enmeshment (pol.)

grinding

grating

cudgel

club

bludgeon

truncheon

to burst

niche

alcove

recess

defiler

to breed

to hatch

to incubate (fig.)

quill

nib

(pen)

subsequent

heresy

diaphragm

membrane

to deride

grease

to grease sth

lest

I was frightened lest he should fall.

gut

intestine

bowel

bleating

insanity

frenzy

madness

lunacy

mania

hovering

floatation

to hover

to float

to refute sth

to disprove

to rebut

to disconfirm

exorable

persuadable

convincible

magnitude

scale

extent

to circumvent

to dupe

to outsmart

to outwit

predicament

strident

jarring

shrill

piercing

sharp

booziness

chastity

vindictive

vengeful / revengeful

to be conflicted about / on / over

to be torn between

polluter

flytipper (Br)

feasible

viable

doable

premature

to desalinate

ozone layer depletion

to melt

to thaw (meteo.)

combustion

to pick flowers

to gather flowers

to cull

(to pick out sth / to sort sth out)

to hibernate

to overwinter

to hibernate

hibernating animals

marsupial