CITIES/PART1

1) AFFLUENT someone who is affluent is very rich. The noun is affluence. (a fairly affluent area,
an affluent family, an affluent businessman, an affluence lifestyle).
2) APPALLING something that is appalling is extremely bad. Appalled is also an adjective. (an
appalling crime; live in appalling conditions; it’s absolutely appalling; I was absolutely appalled.
3) BUZZ if there is a buzz in a place, it is lively and exciting. The adjective is buzzing. (the area
has a real buzz; there’s a real buzz in the city; the whole place is buzzing)
4) CHOKE if you choke, you feel as thought you cannot breathe. (you sometimes choke on the
fumes; choke on a piece of meat)
5) CONGESTION if there is congestion, a place is too crowed with people or vehicles. The
adjective is congested: measures to curb congestion in the city centre; reduce the congestion;
the roads are heavily congested; severe traffic congested; it led to congested in the centre;
6) CRANE a crane is a tall machine that is used for lifting heavy objects and building tall
buildings: see hundreds of cranes from our hotel window; a crane driver
7) CRAWL if you crawl, you move very slowly. Crawl is also a noun: the cars crawl along; I
crawled into bed; the days seem to crawl by; the traffic slowed to a crawl
8) CRUMBLE a building that is crumbling is in very bad condition and starting to fall down: the
buildings were crumbling; the house was beginning to crumble; a crumbling old house
9) DERELICT a derelict building is empty and in bad condition: a derelict building; derelict
houses; the building now stands derelict; derelict land
10)DOWNSIDE a downside is a disadvantage. The opposite is upside: what are the downsides?;
the downsides of where you live; a big downside; one of the upsides of living in London
11)DRAWBACK a drawback is a disadvantage: the main drawback of living here; a major
drawback of the scheme
12)DUMP a dump is a dirty and untidy place. It is also a place where rubbish is taken: the city is
a dump; the house is a dump; take it to the rubbish dump
13)FUMES fumes are smoke or gas with an unpleasant smell: a factory which produced nasty
fumes; choke on the fumes; traffic fumes; toxic fumes; noxious fumes
14)MUGGING a mugging is a crime in which someone is attacked in the street and their money
is stolen. The verb is mug: there are a lot of muggings and shooting; I was mugged on my way
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15)RIDICULOUSLY ridiculously means in a way that is very extreme and not sensible. The
adjective is ridiculous: houses are ridiculously expensive; ridiculously cheap; prices around here
are ridiculous
16)RUN-DOWN a run-down building or area is in bad condition: the building was very run-
down; extremely run-down; it’s a bit run-down now; a run-down area of the city
17)SMOG smog is polluted air that is a mixture of smoke and fog: a cloud of smog hangs over
the city; heavy smog; urban smog; the smog levels in the city; a smog alert
18)SMOOTHY if something works smoothly, it works quickly and well. The adjective is smooth:
everything works very smoothly; let’s hope everything goes smoothly; it’s all running smoothly;
it’s all running smoothly; a smooth changeover to the new system
19)SPOTLESS sometimes that is spotless is completely clean. The adverb is spotlessly: the
house is always spotless; a company with a spotless reputation; a spotless record; the room was
spotlessly clean
20)SPRAWLING a sprawling city covers a large area in an untidy way. The noun is sprawl: a
large, sprawling city; miles and miles of urban sprawl
21)VIBRANT something that is vibrant is lively and exciting: it’s an incredibly vibrant place; a
vibrant city; a vibrant community; a vibrant economy