Unit 7

1. shrink (v): become smaller, especially because of the effect of heat or water
2. wither (v): become dry and die
3. dwindle (v): become fewer or smaller
4. contract (v): +) become tight or narrow
+) decrease in size
5. decline (v): +) change to sth worse, weaker, or lower, esp for health, value or force
+) one’s influence, power and age can decline with the lapse of time
+) say “no”; refuse sth offered
6. lessen (v): +) become les necessary, valuable or important
+) make less in estimation or value
7. impair (v): spoil, damage or weaken
8. indigence (n): the state of being very poor
9. affluence (n): the state of having a lot of money and possessions
10. asperity: wealth prosperity
11. in the midst of: in the middle of an event, situation, or activity
12. grave (adj): seriously bad
13. diarrhea (n): an illness in which the body's solid waste is more liquid than usual and comes out of
the body more often
14. waterlogged (adj): full of water and almost covered by a layer of it
15. dilute (v): to make a liquid weaker by mixing in something else
16. marasmus (n): severe undernourishment causing an infant's or child's weight to be significantly low for
their age
17. famine (n): a situation in which there is not enough food for
a great number of people, causing illness and death, or a particular period when this happens
18. ailment (n): an illness
19. irreverent (adj): not showing the expected respect for official, important, or holy things
20. irretrievable (adj): impossible to correct or return to a previously existing situation or condition
21. irreversible (adj): not possible to change; impossible to return to a previous condition
22. overdraft (n): an amount of money that a customer with
a bank account is temporarily allowed to owe to the bank, or the agreement that allows this
23. deficit (n): the total amount by which money spent is more than money received
24. scarcity (n): a situation in which something is not easy to find or get
25. subsistent (adj): subsisting, existing, or continuing in existence
26. subsequent (adj): happening after something else
27. substantial (adj): relating to the main or most important things being considered
28. puberty (n): the stage in people's lives when they develop from a child into an adult because
of changes in their body that make them able to have children
29. blow up (at sb): get angry with sb
30. border on: very close to being sth, very similar to sth
31. bow to: agree unwilling to do sth because other ppl want you to
32. come up against sth: to have to deal with a problem
33. slump (n): a fall in the price, value, sales, etc. of something
34. enviable (adj): (esp. of a quality or advantage) causing you to wish that you also possessed it; desirable
35. persecute (v): to treat people unfairly or cruelly over a period of time because of their race, religion,
etc.
36. prosecute (v): to officially accuse someone in a court of law of committing a crime
-> prosecute sb for sth
37. haphazard (adj): not having an obvious order or plan
38. stark (adj): empty, simple, or obvious, especially without decoration or anything that is not necessary
39. accident-prone (adj): having or likely to have accidents frequently
40. respective (adj): relating or belonging to each of the separate people or things you have
just mentioned
41. implicate (v): to show that someone is involved in a crime or partly responsible for something bad that
has happened
42. swell (adj): very good or pleasant
43. tumble (v): to fall quickly and without control
44. alimony (n): a regular amount of money that a law court orders a person to pay to his or
her partner after a divorce
45. patrimony (n): the valuable objects, buildings, ideas, etc. that a society gets from the people who
have lived in the past
46. stumble (v): to step awkwardly while walking or running and fall or begin to fall
47. morbid (adj): too interested in unpleasant subjects, esp. death
48. accomplice (n): a person who helps someone else to commit a crime or to do
something morally wrong
49. accomplished (adj): skilled
50. nod off: to begin sleeping, especially not intentionall
51. undoing (n): the cause of someone's failure, or of someone's loss of power or money
52. bidding war: the situation in which two or more companies or people compete against each other
in order to buy something
53. letting (n): a room or building that can be rented
54. summon (v): to order someone to come to or be present at a particular place, or
to officially arrange a meeting of people
55. stretch (v): to cause something to reach, often as far as possible, in a particular direction
56. riparian (adj): at the edge of a river, or relating to this area
57. adjoin (v): to be very near, next to, or touching
58. coast (n): the land next to or close to the sea
59. shore (n): the land along the edge of a sea, lake, or wide river
60. hem (n): the edge of a piece of cloth, such as the bottom edge of a skirt or dress, that is folded over
and sewn so that it does not develop loose threads
61. detain (v): to force someone officially to stay in a place
62. restrain (v): to control the actions or behaviour of someone by force, especially in order to stop them
from doing something, or to limit the growth or force of something
63. meager (adj): (of amounts or numbers) very small or not enough
64. segment (n): one of the smaller groups or amounts that a larger group or amount can be divided into
65. specimen (n): something shown or examined as an example; a typical example
66. token (n): something that you do, or a thing that you give someone,
that expresses your feelings or intentions, although it might have little practical effect
67. abate (v): to become less strong
68. enrage (v): to cause someone to become very angry
69. desolate (adj): A desolate place is empty and not attractive, with no people or nothing pleasant in it
70. serene (adj): peaceful and calm; worried by nothing
71. scope (n): the range of a subject covered by a book, programme, discussion, class, etc.
72. retain (v): to keep or continue to have something
73. uphold (v): to defend or keep a principle or law, or to say that a decision that has already been
made, especially a legal one, is correct
74. deviate (v): to do something that is different from the usual or common way of behaving
75. for one thing = for one reason is that
76. boon (n): something that is very helpful and improves the quality of life