7 • Lesson 1 Word List

abate

(v) To become weaker; to decrease.
The speaker waited until the applause had abated before continuing.

unabated (adj) Showing no sign of weakening; showing no decrease.
Representative Millet showed unabated enthusiasm for campaigning for the senate seat, even though he had been twice defeated for that office.

acknowledge*

(v) 1. To admit the existence of.
Did the teacher acknowledge that you had turned in your paper?

2. To express recognition or thanks for.
The new Wimbledon singles champion raised her hand to acknowledge the cheers of the crowd.

acknowledged (adj) Commonly accepted or recognized.
Bill James is an acknowledged expert on baseball.

agent

(n) 1. A person who acts or does business for another.
The author?s agent found a company to publish his latest mystery story.

2. Something that brings about a result.
A new principal can be a powerful agent for change in a school.

authority*

(n) 1. The right to give orders, make decisions, or take action.
Only the Congress of the United States has the authority to declare war.

2. An expert source of information.
The researcher Jane Goodall is a world authority on chimpanzees.

authorities (n) A group of people who have the right to enforce laws.
The authorities closed the restaurant because it did not meet the proper standards for cleanliness.

devastate

(v) To ruin or destroy completely.
Farmers in the Midwest fear that lack of rain will devastate the wheat crop.

devastating (adj) Causing destruction.
A devastating hurricane destroyed hundreds of homes in southern Florida.

devastation (n) Great destruction.
The earthquake in Japan created a scene of massive devastation.

epidemic

(n) The rapid spreading of a disease to many people at one time.
The flu epidemic of 1918 killed over twenty million people in the Northern Hemisphere.

(adj) Spreading rapidly as a disease over a wide area.
AIDS became epidemic in central Africa in the 1980s.

estimate*

(n) A number that is not exact; a careful guess.
The mechanic?s estimate for repairing the car is $1000.

(v) To figure out roughly; to make an approximate calculation.
We estimate that it will take the bus driver an hour to drive us to the museum.

evict

(v) To force out of property by taking legal action.
The landlord threatened to evict the tenants for not paying the rent.

impartial

(adj) Not favoring one side more than another; fair.
A judge should be impartial in the courtroom.

industrious

(adj) Hardworking; not lazy.
The more industrious students were rewarded at the end of the year with scholarships.

infuriate

(v) To make very angry.
Cruelty to animals infuriates me.

irrelevant

(adj) Having nothing to do with the subject.
It?s irrelevant whether I want to go to the party because I?m too sick to go.

precise*

(adj) Exact; specific.
Do you know the precise time that your class starts?

precision (n) Exactness.
An eye surgeon?s work requires great precision.

sham

(n) Something fake or false.
Their offer to make us rich turned out to be a sham.

(adj) Not genuine; fake.
Although he tried to appear sorry, his sham apology fooled no one.

(v) To pretend.
We shammed illness so we could stay home.

trek

(n) A long, slow, and difficult journey.
The hikers were exhausted after their trek over the mountain.

(v) To travel slowly and with difficulty.
Sam trekked ten miles into town after his car broke down.