abdicate /b.d.ket/ verb KING/QUEEN 1.

[ I or T ] If a king or queen abdicates, they make a formal statement that they no longer want to be king or queen King Edward VIII abdicated (the British throne) in 1936 so that he could marry Mrs Simpson, a divorced woman. abdicate /b.d.ket/ verb NOT DO 2. abdicate responsibility FORMAL DISAPPROVING to stop controlling or managing something that you are in charge of She was accused of abdicating all responsibility for the project. abject /b.dekt/ adjective FORMAL EXTREME 1. abject misery/poverty/terror, etc. when someone is extremely unhappy, poor, frightened, etc They live in abject poverty. This policy has turned out to be an abject failure. abject /b.dekt/ adjective FORMAL NOT PROUD 2. showing no pride or respect for yourself an abject apology He is almost abject in his respect for his boss. . abject misery/poverty/terror, etc. when someone is extremely unhappy, poor, frightened, etc They live in abject poverty. This policy has turned out to be an abject failure. abjure /bd r / /-dr/ verb [ T ] FORMAL to state publicly that you no longer agree with a belief or way of behaving He abjured his religion/his life of dissipation. obsession /bse. n/ noun [ C or U ] something or someone that you think about all the time an unhealthy obsession with death her chocolate obsession He's always wanted to find his natural mother but recently it's become an obsession. abstinence /b.st.nn t s/ noun [ U ] FORMAL not doing something, such as drinking alcohol or having sex The best way to avoid pregnancy is total abstinence from sex. abysmal /bz.ml/ adjective very bad abysmal working conditions The food was abysmal. The standard of the students' work is abysmal. accretion /kri. n/ noun [ C or U ] FORMAL gradual increase or growth by the addition of new layers or parts The fund was increased by the accretion of new shareholders. The room hadn't been cleaned for years and showed several accretions of dirt and dust. accrue /kru/ verb [ I ] FORMAL to increase in number or amount over a period of time

Interest will accrue on the account at a rate of 7%. Little benefit will accrue to London (= London will receive little benefit) from the new road scheme. adamant /d..mnt/ adjective impossible to persuade, or unwilling to change an opinion or decision [ + that ] I've told her she should stay at home and rest but she's adamant that she's coming. adjunct /d. k t/ noun [ C ] FORMAL something added or connected to a larger or more important thing I hoped I would find the computer course a useful adjunct to my other studies. In grammar, an adjunct is an adverb or adverbial phrase that gives extra information in a sentence. affected /fek.td/ adjective DISAPPROVING artificial and not sincere an affected manner/style of writing I found her very affected. affect /fekt/ verb [ T ] INFLUENCE 1. to have an influence on someone or something, or to cause them to change Both buildings were badly affected by the fire. The divorce affected every aspect of her life. It's a disease which affects mainly older people. I was deeply affected by the film (= It caused strong feelings in me) . affect /fekt/ verb [ T ] PRETEND 2. FORMAL to pretend to feel or think something To all his problems she affected indifference. 3. FORMAL MAINLY DISAPPROVING to start to wear or do something in order to make people admire or respect you At university he affected an upper-class accent. He's recently affected a hat and cane. affinity /fn..ti/ /-.ti/ noun 1. [ S ] a liking or sympathy for someone or something, especially because of shared characteristics She seems to have a natural affinity for/with water. 2. [ C or U ] a close similarity between two things There are several close affinities between the two paintings. af finity card noun [ C ] a credit card that earns a small amount of money for a charity each time something is bought with it
aggrandizement , UK USUALLY aggrandisement /grn.dz.mnt/ noun [ U ]
FORMAL DISAPPROVING

increase in power or importance He gives a lot of money to charity, but personal aggrandizement/ self- aggrandizement is his motive.

alchemy /l.k.mi/ noun [ U ] 1. a type of chemistry, especially from about the years 1100 to 1500, which dealt with trying to find a way to change ordinary metals into gold and with trying to find a medicine which would cure any disease 2. LITERARY a process that is so effective that it seems like magic She manages, by some extraordinary alchemy, to turn the most ordinary of ingredients into the most delicious of dishes. allay /le/ verb [ T ] FORMAL If you allay a strong emotion felt by someone, such as fear or worry, you cause them to feel it less or to feel calm again The government is trying to allay public fears/concern about the spread of the disease. alloy /l./ noun [ C ] a metal that is made by mixing two or more metals, or a metal and another substance Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. alloy /l/ verb [ T ] LITERARY to spoil or reduce in value My pleasure in receiving the letter was somewhat alloyed by its contents. allure /lj r / , /-l r / /-lr/ noun [ U ] the quality of being attractive, interesting or exciting the allure of work ing in television sexual allure ambrosia /mbr.zi./ , /-/ /-bro./ noun [ U ] LITERARY the food eaten by Greek and Roman gods, or a very pleasant food which could be compared with this The chocolate mousse she makes is sheer ambrosia (= tastes extremely good) . amenable /mi.n.bl/ adjective willing to accept or be influenced by a suggestion She might be more amenable to the idea if you explained how much money it would save. Do you think the new manager will prove more amenable to our proposals? amenity /mi.n.ti/ /men..ti/ noun [ C usually plural ] 1. something, such as a swimming pool or shopping centre, that is intended to make life more pleasant or comfortable for the people in a town, hotel or other place The council has some spare cash which it proposes to spend on public amenities. 2. basic amenities things considered to be necessary to live comfortably such as hot water The 200-year-old jail is overcrowded, understaffed and lacking in basic amenities. amulet /m.j.lt/ /-j-/ noun [ C ] an object worn because it is believed to protect against evil, disease or unhappiness anodyne /n. .dan/ /-o-/ adjective FORMAL MAINLY DISAPPROVING intended to avoid causing offence or disagreement, especially by not expressing strong feelings or opinions This is daytime television at its most anodyne.

Somehow this avoids being just another silly pop song with anodyne lyrics about love and happiness. anomie /n.m.i/ noun [ U ] FORMAL a state of no moral or social principles in a person or in society antecedent /n.tisi.d nt/ /-t-/ noun [ C ] 1. FORMAL someone or something existing or happening before, especially as the cause or origin of something existing or happening later Charles Babbage's mechanical calculating engines were the antecedents of the modern computer. Many people feel a great curiosity to find out about their antecedents. 2. SPECIALIZED a word or phrase which a pronoun refers back to In the sentence 'He picked a book off the shelf and handed it to Sally, 'book' is the antecedent of 'it'. antecedent /n.tisi.d nt/ /-t-/ adjective FORMAL previous When the college was established in 1546, it inherited a hall from each of three antecedent institutions. antediluvian /n.ti.dlu.vi.n/ /-ti-/ adjective MAINLY HUMOROUS extremely old-fashioned My mother has some hopelessly antediluvian ideas about the role of women. apex /e.peks/ noun [ C ] plural apexes or apices 1. SPECIALIZED the highest point or top of a shape or object the apex of a triangle/pyramid 2. FIGURATIVE the highest point or most successful part of something He reached the apex of his career during that period. APEX /e.peks/ noun [ U ] , adjective [ before noun ] ABBREVIATION FOR Advance Purchase Excursion: a system of cheap travel tickets which must be bought a particular number of days before travelling an APEX fare apogee /p..di/ noun [ S ] FORMAL the most successful, popular or powerful point At their apogee, the novels of Spillane claimed worldwide sales of over 180 million.

anthem /n t .m/ noun [ C ] 1. a song which has special importance for a particular group of people, an organization or a country, often sung on a special occasion The national anthems of the teams are played at the beginning of a big international football match. John Lennon's "Imagine" has become the anthem of peace-lovers all over the world. 2. a short religious song sung by a choir with organ music national anthem noun [ C ]

a country's official song which is played and/or sung on public occasions appellation /p.le. n/ noun [ C ] FORMAL a name or title As a child, he received the appellation 'Mouse'. apposite /p..zt/ , /-zat/ adjective FORMAL suitable and right for the occasion an apposite phrase/quotation/remark The film starts in a graveyard, an apposite image for the decaying society which is the theme of the film.