Vocabulary

Prepared by Lecturer Shavendra Wijewardana

An intellectual Property
Ref: Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary
1. Accomplice (n) –
A person who helps another to commit a crime or
something wrong-
a) The police suspect that the serial killer had an
accomplice.
b) Juniors who are ragged by mental seniors
become the unwitting accomplices of a heinous
crime when they hide true facts of ragging from
the police.
c) The murderer couldn’t have committed that
crime without an accomplice.
d) an accomplice to murder
He was charged for being an accomplice to
murder.
Complicit (adj)-
Several officers were complicit in the cover up.
 Complicity (n) - She didn’t suspect him of
complicity with the authorities.
Collusion (n) –The police were corrupt and were
operating in collusion with the drug dealers.
2. Affidavit(n)- a written statement that you swear is
true, and that can be used as evidence in court …
a. They swore affidavits and put forward further
material before court.
b. You should know that you can swear an affidavit
and hand it over to the police if you don’t have
confidence that the police will record the
complaint the way you want to.
c. I have given an affidavit mentioning all the
threats I have received from the HR to my
lawyer to file a law suit against him.

3. Antidote(n)-
A substance that controls/reduces the effects of a
poison or disease …
 There is no known antidote to the poison.
 An antidote was given to me when I was
admitted to hospital.
 anything that takes away the effects of sth
unpleasant
A Mediterranean cruise was the perfect antidote to
a long cold winter.
Subcontinent-
There’s no antidote to stupidity and suspicion.
It’s sad (that) there’s no antidote to your stupidity/
jealousy….
Envy / envious….. I envy you.

4. Anaesthetic (n) Uncountable

a drug that makes a person or an animal unable to
feel anything, especially pain, either in the whole
body or in a part of the body ….

How long will I be under anaesthetic ?

They gave him a general anaesthetic (= one that
makes you become unconscious) .

Do not worry because you won’t feel anything

when they pull out your tooth. They will put you
under anaesthetic.
(a) local anaesthetic (= one that affects only a part
of the body)
 We forget what life must have been like without
anaesthetics and painkillers.

adjective
[ only before noun ]
containing a substance that makes a person or an
animal unable to feel pain in all or part of the body
an anaesthetic drug /spray
anaesthesia
1 the use of anaesthetic during medical operations
…..surgery carried out under anaesthesia ….

5. Archive(s)-(n)

a collection of historical documents or records of a

government, a family, a place or an organization;
the place where these records are stored
 the National Sound Archives
 archive film
 The BBC's archives are bulging with material.
 The data is now held in the company archives.
 We are collecting documents on the history of our
party to build up an archive.
 Some photographs from the library’s archives have
been put on display.
  In the Vatican City only the pope can access the
secret archives.
6. Alleviation-alleviate (v)
 to make something less severe
 ease out
 to alleviate suffering
 A number of measures were taken to alleviate the
problem. (actions taken to solve a problem)..
 The alleviation of poverty is a herculean task to be
undertaken by any government.
What is the UN doing to alleviate the poverty in poor
countries?
What is the Finance Ministry doing to alleviate the
financial burdens people are going through?
The media play a vital role in alleviating the public
unrest.
7. Bilateral(adj)
adjective
1 involving two groups of people or two countries
 bilateral relations/agreements/trade/talks
compare multilateral , trilateral , unilateral

 Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or

cultural relations between two sovereign states…
 States with bilateral ties will
exchange diplomatic agents such as ambassadors to
facilitate dialogues and cooperations.
BILATERAL AND REGIONAL NEGOTIATIONS AND
AGREEMENTS
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has bilateral
agreements with the following countries:..

A bilateral tournament…..
Bilateral trade agreements Sri Lanka has signed with
India have never helped our economy.

8. Brochure(n)
a small magazine or book containing pictures and
information about sth or advertising sth
 a travel brochure
 Send for a free colour brochure today!
 Can I have a brochure please?
 If we have a brochure, we can convince the
customers better.

9. Blackmail(v)(N)
 1 the crime of demanding money from a person by
threatening to tell sb else a secret about them
 2 the act of putting pressure on a person or a group
to do sth they do not want to do, for example by
making threats or by making them feel guilty
 emotional/moral blackmail
Emotional blackmail of a young child can
sometimes lead them to commit suicide.
 verb
 to force sb to give you money or do sth for you by
threatening them, for example by saying you will
tell people a secret about them
 She blackmailed him for years by threatening to
tell the newspapers about their affair.
 The President said he wouldn't be blackmailed into
agreeing to the terrorists' demands.

10. Commandeer(v)
to take control of a building, a vehicle, etc. for
military purposes during a war, or by force for your
own use
Requisition
Usurp –hijack-snatch
 A group of young men had commandeered a
truck and were driving around the country in it.
  The soldiers had commandeered the farm five
months ago.
 The school was requisitioned as a military
hospital.

11. Conscription(n)
 the practice of ordering people by law to serve in
the armed forces
 call-up
 He injured himself to avoid conscription.
 Casius Clay changed his religion and changed his
name to
Mohammad Ali to avoid conscription.
 Conscription of child soldiers was a serious crime
committed by the LTTE terrorists, but the so called
human rights organizations didn’t even utter a
word against it.

12. Criterion-criteria (n)

 a standard or principle by which sth is judged, or
with the help of which a decision is made
 The main criterion is value for money.
  What criteria are used for assessing a student's
ability?
 By this criterion, very few people are suitable.
 Can you tell me what criteria you use when you
hire lecturers?
 In beauty pageants, is the height of contestants a
criterion?

13. Cynosure(n)
 a person or thing that is the centre of attention
 Ruth was the cynosure of all eyes.
 At the general assembly, the prize winner
became the cynosure of all eyes.

14. Deadlock(n)
complete failure to reach agreement or settle an
argument
a strong disagreement
 European agriculture ministers failed to break
the deadlock over farm subsidies.
 The strike appeared to have reached a deadlock.
 The strike has reached a deadlock.
 Despite months of discussion the negotiations
remained deadlocked.
  The government and the opposition have
reached a dead lock over the Easter Attack
incident as both the parties keep passing the
buck.
*Impasse/stalemate

15. Desecrate( V )
 to damage a holy thing( a sacred thing) or place
or treat it without respect
 desecrated graves
 the desecration(n) of a cemetery
 ( figurative ) the desecration of the countryside
by new roads *The new asphalt road has
desecrated the beautiful countryside.

 We need to salvage the desecrated temples in

the Northern and Eastern provinces.
 Desecration of the Holy Quran is punishable by
death in the Middle East.
 Desecration of Buddha statues by extremists in
Mawanella created tensions between the
Moslems and the Sinhalese in 2020.

16. Egoist(n)-
 egoistic(adj)- Egoism(n)
 a person who thinks that he or she is better
than other people and who thinks and talks too
much about himself or herself
 You need to be an egoist to succeed in politics.
 Some confident people are recognized as
egoists by the weak and jealous losers.
 Some managers and administrators do not let
the capable people do their jobs creatively
because their egoistic attitude prevents them
from being challenged by the talented people.

17. Eavesdrop (v)

 to listen secretly to what other people are
saying
 We caught him eavesdropping outside the
window.
 I was caught eavesdropping on my parents.

18. Elite ( adj )(n)

 a group of people in a society, etc. who are
powerful and have a lot of influence, because
they are rich, intelligent, etc
 eg:-
 a member of the ruling/intellectual elite
  Public opinion is influenced by the small elite
who control the media.
 In these countries, only the elite can afford an
education for their children.
 elite adjective [ only before noun ]
 an elite group of senior officials
 an elite military academy
 The elite are the money makers.

19. Espionage(n)
 the activity of secretly getting important
political or military information about another
country or of finding out another company's
secrets by using spies
 spying
 Some of the commercial activities were a cover
for espionage.
 She may call it research; I call it industrial
espionage.
 Amaradasa was captured and tortured, and
finally he confessed that he had come to gather
information about our party. Since it’s illegal
and that it was political espionage he couldn’t
file a complaint with the police.
  We are on an industrial espionage mission.

20. Exonerate(v) Acquit

 to officially state that sb is not responsible for
sth that they have been blamed for
 The police report exonerated Lewis from all
charges of corruption.
 Why are you arresting us? We were exonerated
just last week.
(Acquit)

21. Extradite(v)
 to officially send back sb who has been accused
or found guilty of a crime to the country where
the crime was committed
 The British government attempted to extradite
the suspects from Belgium.
 extra • di • tion / BrE ˌekstrəˈdɪʃn ; NAmE
ˌekstrəˈdɪʃn / noun [ uncountable ,  countable ]
 the extradition of terrorist suspects
 an extradition treaty
 to start extradition proceedings

22. Extortion(n)
to make sb give you sth by threatening them
 The gang extorted money from over 30 local
businesses.
ex • tor • tion
He was arrested and charged with extortion.

23. Exploit (v) Exploitation (n)

 1 ~ sth ( disapproving ) to treat a person or
situation as an opportunity to gain an unfair
advantage for yourself
 He exploited his father's name to get himself a
job.
 She realized that her youth and inexperience
were being exploited.
 The opposition parties will always exploit
government problems to their own advantage.
 2 ~ sb ( disapproving ) to treat sb unfairly by
making them work and not giving them much in
return
 What is being done to stop employers from
exploiting young people’s labour?
 3 ~ sth to use sth well in order to gain as much
from it as possible
 She fully exploits the humour of her role in the
play.
  Teachers should be exploiting computers in
education.
 4 to develop or use sth for business or industry
 No minerals have yet been exploited in
Antarctica.
 countries exploiting the rainforests for hardwood
a brave, exciting or interesting act
 the daring exploits of Roman heroes
 The papers were full of her latest amorous
exploits.

24. Genocide-
 extermination
The murder of a whole race or a group of
people
He condemned the government’s programme
of genocide and torture against ethnic
minorities.
Refugees gave accounts of mass genocide.
Vincent Churchill is one of the worst
genocidal dictators according to Shashi
Tharoor.
 The terrorists are trying to interpret the
government’s war against them as genocide
to get the sympathy of the world.
25. Holocaust
A situation in which many things are
destroyed and many people are killed
especially because of a war or fire.
The holocaust – the killing of millions of Jews
by Nazis in Germany in 1930s and 1940s.
The 100 is a T.V series about the life after a
nuclear holocaust.
We should take every measure to stop
another holocaust from happening in any
part of the world.

26. Hypnotize (v)

To produce a state of hypnosis in sb
an unconscious state in which sb can still see and
hear and can be influenced to follow commands or
answer questions
She only remembered details of the accident under
hypnosis
He uses hypnosis as part of the treatment.
 The mental doctor hypnotized the patient
successfully and was able to cure him.

to interest sb so much that they can think of nothing

else
mesmerize
He was hypnotized by her beauty.
She gazed down into the ocean, hypnotized by the
swirling tide.

27. Hypocrite(n)
a person who pretends to have moral standards or
opinions that they do not actually have
Charles was a liar and a hypocrite who married her for
money.
It would be hypocritical of me to have a church
wedding when I don't believe in God.
 All of our politicians are hypocrites who dupe us with
false promises claiming that they are not liars.

28. Incognito (adverb)(adj)

 in a way that prevents other people from finding
out who you are
 Movie stars often prefer to travel incognito.
 an incognito visit
 *He is in disguise
29. Kidnap (v)(n)
to take sb away illegally and keep them as a
prisoner, especially in order to get money or sth
else for returning them
abduct , seize
Two businessmen have been kidnapped by
terrorists.
The kidnappers are demanding a ransom of $1
million.
He admitted the charge of kidnap.
The kidnapping of 12 US citizens shocked the whole
country.

30. Nepotism(n)
Giving unfair advantages to your own family if you
are in a position of power, especially by giving them
jobs
Karan Johar has been accused of nepotism.
He denies all allegations of nepotism.
Kanagana says that Karan Johar is a flag bearer of
nepotism.

31. Nucleus (n) nuclei (plural)

 the part of an atom that contains most of its mass
and that carries a positive electric charge
see also neutron , proton
2 ( biology ) the central part of some cells, containing
the genetic material
3 the central part of sth around which other parts
are located or collected
These paintings will form the nucleus of a new
collection.
When the nuclei of two atoms collide and
merge(fusion of atoms) a vast amount of energy will
be released and a new element will be created.
32. Pandemonium
a situation in which there is a lot of noise, activity
and confusion, especially because people are
feeling angry or frightened
Chaos /commotion
 A pandemonium broke out in the building when
the news was announced.
 There was pandemonium in the classroom till the
head appeared.

33. Picturesque (adj)

( of a place, building, scene, etc. ) pretty, especially in
a way that looks old-fashioned
 quaint
 a picturesque cottage / setting / village
( of language ) producing strong mental images by
using unusual words
‘In Village by the Sea’ an interesting picturesque
description of life at sea can be found.
The inn is picturesquely situated on the banks of the
river…..
 We enjoyed the scenes of the picturesque hill
country.

34. Philanthropist(n) philanthropic(adj)

a rich person who helps the poor and those in need,
especially by giving money
He was a wealthy businessman and philanthropist.
The trust was set up by an American philanthropist.
 Michael Jackson was an American singer and
philanthropist.

35. Quandary(n)
the state of not being able to decide what to do
in a difficult situation
 dilemma
 George was in a quandary —should he go or
shouldn't he?
  The party found themselves in a quandary-
whether to support the no confidence motion or
not.
36. Quixotic(adj)
having or involving ideas or plans that show
imagination but are usually not practical
From the character Don Quixote in the novel by
Miguel de Cervantes, whose adventures are a
result of him trying to achieve or obtain things
that are impossible.
You may see my plans as quixotic because you
don’t have the capacity as I.
People often give up on their great plans to do
great things listening to nay-sayers who say their
plans are quixotic.

37. Ransom(n)(v)
Money that is paid to sb so that they will set free a
person who is being kept as a prisoner by them
The kidnappers demanded a ransom of £50 000 from
his family.
a ransom demand/note
ransom money
They are refusing to pay ransom for her release.
hold sb to ˈransom
 2 ( disapproving ) to take action that puts sb in a very
difficult situation in order to force them to do what
you want
The kidnapped children were all ransomed and
returned home unharmed.

38. Rampage(n)(v)
a sudden period of wild and violent behaviour,
often causing damage and destruction
 Gangs of youths went on the rampage in the city
yesterday.
 A state of emergency was declared following
overnight rampages by student demonstrators.
verb
to move through a place in a group, usually
breaking things and causing damage
 run amok(ADV)
 Several thousand demonstrators rampaged
through the centre of the city.
 A herd of rampaging elephants took the lives of
20 odd people.

39. Refuge (n)

Shelter or protection from danger, trouble, etc
A further 300 people have taken refuge in the US
embassy.
~ (from sb/sth)
They were forced to seek refuge from the fighting.
 a place of refuge
As the situation at home got worse she increasingly
took refuge in her work.
2 [ countable ] ~ (from sb/sth) a place, person or
thing that provides shelter or protection for sb/sth
He regarded the room as a refuge from the outside
world.
a wetland refuge for birds
3 [ countable ] a building that provides a temporary
home for people in need of shelter or protection
from sb/sth
a women's refuge
a refuge for the homeless
refugee (n)
40. Reinstate(v)
to give back a job or position that had been taken
away from sb
He was reinstated in his post.
2 ~ sth (in/as sth) to return sth to its previous
position or status
restore
There have been repeated calls to reinstate the
death penalty.
Tennis has now been reinstated as an Olympic sport.

41. Reinforcement(n)
Extra soldiers or police officers who are sent to a
place because more are needed
 to send in reinforcements …….
 As we failed to send reinforcements to the frontier
(the battle front) they had to fall back.
[ uncountable ,  singular ] the act of making sth
stronger, especially a feeling or an idea
 the reinforcement of existing prejudices (an
unreasonable dislike or hatred) by the media ..
 We could see that the foreign media were trying to
reinforce the idea that our ex-president was
corrupt.

42. Rehabilitate(v)-rehabilitation(n)
1 ~ to help sb to have a normal, useful life again
after they have been very ill/sick or in prison for a
long time
Saman was sent to a reahabilitation centre by the
court as he had become a drug addict.
Those terrorists who surrendered and turned
themselves in were rehabilitated and released to
lead a normal life among the civilians.
a unit for rehabilitating drug addicts
2 ~ sb (as sth) to begin to consider that sb is good or
acceptable after a long period during which they
were considered bad or unacceptable
He played a major role in rehabilitating Magritte as
an artist.
3 ~ sth to return a building or an area to its previous
good condition
Billions of pounds are being spent on rehabilitating
inner-city areas.
re • habili • ta • tion / BrE ˌriːəˌbɪlɪˈteɪʃn ; NAmE
ˌriːəˌbɪlɪˈteɪʃn / noun [ uncountable ]
a drug rehabilitation centre
the rehabilitation of the steel industry

43. Senile (adj)- senility (n)

Behaving in a confused or strange way, and
unable to remember things, because you are old
 I think she's going senile.
 an old man on the verge of senility
 My teacher said that she was on the verge of
senility as she had started to forget things.
44. Stigma(n)- stigmatize (v)
Feelings of disapproval that people have about
particular illnesses or ways of behaving
Young men aware of the social stigma of alcoholism
keep away from liquor.
There is no longer any stigma attached to being
divorced.
One may not be strong enough to face the social
stigma they receive being a love boy.
2 [ countable ] n ( biology ) the part in the middle of
a flower where pollen is received

45. Stampede(n)(v)
(n) a situation in which a group of people or large
animals such as horses suddenly start running in
the same direction, especially because they are
frightened or excited
 A stampede broke out when the doors opened.
2 a situation in which a lot of people are trying to
do or achieve the same thing at the same time
Falling interest rates has led to a stampede to buy
property.
 verb
 large animals or people ) to run in a stampede ; to
make animals do this
  A herd of stampeding elephants killed 20 odd
people in the city.
 A huge bunch of kids came stampeding down the
corridor.
 2 [to make sb rush into doing sth without giving
them time to think about it
 I refuse to be stampeded into making any hasty
decisions.
 Cunning HR Mangers stampede their employees
into signing unfavourable agreements.

46. Sycophant(n)
a person who praises important or powerful people
too much and in a way that is not sincere, especially
in order to get sth from them
I have never been a sycophant who licks the
boots of the administrators to gain favours.
I despise sycophants who carry tales.
Sycophants are toxic people who have no talent
but try to get promotions by creating problems
for others.
47. Surveillance(n)
the act of carefully watching a person suspected of a
crime or a place where a crime may be committed ….
 observation
The police are keeping the suspects under constant
surveillance.
surveillance cameras/equipment ..
Surveillance cameras have been (are) installed in every
corner to observe unethical and illegal student
activities.
To monitor the activities of smugglers the government
is trying to purchase surveillance equipment from
Israel.
48. Vagrant(n)
a person who has no home or job, especially one
who travels from place to place begging
•vagrant adjective
The accused was a vagrant
You act like a vagrant.
Vagrant beggars are increasing in numbers.
Your mother and father are vagrant beggars
who go asking for favours from polticians.
49. Vendetta(n)
 a long and violent disagreement between two
families or groups, in which people are murdered
in return for previous murders
 feud
  2 ~ (against sb) a long argument or disagreement
in which one person or group does or says things
to harm another
 He has accused the media of pursuing a vendetta
against him.
 She conducted a personal vendetta against me.
 Don’t you see that this is vendetta? They have a
bone to pick with me.

50. Verbatim
adjective, adverb

exactly as spoken or written

word for word
a verbatim report
He reported the speech verbatim.