1) Capability if you have the capability to do something, you have the ability or resources to

do it: the company has the capability to expand/ it’s beyond my capabilities/ the country’s
military capability/ the nuclear capability
2) Decline if something declines, it becomes worse. Decline is also a noun: the area has
declined/ standards in education are declining/ the economy has declined sharply/ decline
steeply/ decline significantly/ a sharp decline in living standards
3) Demolish if you demolish a building, you destroy it deliberately. The noun is demolition: a
lot of the old buildings were demolished/ the old cinema has been demolished/ the
building is due for demolition
4) Dip if a number or amount dips, it becomes lower. Dip is also a noun: the number of
murders has dipped below 400/ profits dipped by 4%/ prices dipped sharply/ a dip in
prices/ a sharp dip in inflation/ a slight dip in house prices
5) Downturn a downturn is a reduction in economic activity. The opposite is upturn: a
downturn in the economy/ a sharp downturn in demand for oil/ a serious downturn/ a
slight downturn/ an upturn in the economy
6) Earthquake when there is an earthquake, the ground shakes: an earthquake hit the city
last month/ a massive earthquake/ a huge earthquake/ a small earthquake/ the
earthquake measured six on the Richter scale/ buildings that were destroyed in the
earthquake
7) Emerge if you emerge from place or a situation, you come out from it: a strong
community spirit emerged from the disaster/ he finally emerged from the building/ the
country is emerging from a recession
8) Flooding when there is a flooding, water from rain or a river covers the land: the city
suffered serious flooding last year/ the rain caused flooding in many areas/ the risk of
flooding/ the effects of flooding
9) Flourish if something flourishes, it is very successful: many businesses are now flourishing/
a flourishing community
10) -fold something that increases or decreases by three times, four times, etc.:
unemployment has risen three-fold/ murders have fallen four-fold/ a three-fold increase in
the price of petrol
11) Grant a grant is an amount of money that a government or organization gives to someone
for a particular purpose: the city received a $50 million regeneration grant/
12) Hurricane a hurricane is a storm with extremely strong winds: the city has been hit by a
hurricane/ the houses destroyed by the hurricane/ the whole area was devastated by the
hurricane/ hurricane Katrina
13) Lose out if you lose out, you do not get an advantage that other people are getting: the
city lost out on development grants/ worries we might lose out
14) Overcome if you overcome a problem, you deal with it successfully. The past tense is
overcame and the past participle is overcome: the city has overcome a lot of problems/
managed to overcome my fears/ he successfully overcame his disabilities
15) Rate the rate of something is how many times or how quickly it happens: the crime rate
has fallen/ a falling birth rate/ the unemployment rate/ the rate of inflation/ rising rates of
unemployment/ the rate of change/ prices are increasing at an alarming rate
16) Recruit if you recruit someone, you get them to join a company or organisation. A recruit
is someone who has recently joined a company or organisation: they want to recruit more
police officers/ the company recruits large members or graduates/ he was recruited as a
sales rep/ they were recruited into the army/ the new recruits/ army recruits

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 17) Regenerate if you regenerate a place, you develop it and make it successful again. The
noun is regeneration: the area has been regenerated/ a plan to regenerate the city
centre/ a $50 million regeneration grant
18) Renovate if you renovate something old, you repair it and make it look new again. The
noun is renovation: they’ve renovated the old cinema/ plans to renovate the historic city
centre/ it’s been completely renovated
19) Resourceful someone who is resourceful is good at finding solutions to problems: a
resourceful community/ she’s very resourceful
20) Rough a rough place is not pleasant because it has a lot of crime: the area used to be quite
rough/ a rough housing estate/ a rough neighbourhood/ some very rough areas/ some
parts of the city are a bit rough
21) Rubble rubbles is the stones and bricks from a building that has been destroyed: the
house was reduced to a pile of rubble/ a heap of rubble/ people are still trapped in the
rubble
22) Shelter shelter is a place where people are protected from bad weather or danger:
thousand of people still have no shelter/ we ran to find shelter/ shelter from the rain
23) Step a step is one action in a series of actions: this is the first step to recovery/ an
important step forward/ a step in the right direction/ what’s the next step?/ we need to
take things step by step
24) Thrive if something is thriving, it is successful. If someone is thriving, they are happy and
healthy: the business is now thriving/ most plants thrive with plenty of water and heat/ a
thriving economy
25) Underestimate if you underestimate something, you think it is less important or less
serious than it really is. The opposite is overestimate: we underestimated the problem/ l
underestimated the cost/ don’t underestimate the importance of a good diet/ it’s
important not to overestimate children’s abilities
26) Undergo if you undergo something, you experience it. The past tense is underwent and
the past participle is undergone: the stories undergo change over time/ undergo an
operation on my knee