general vocabulary

Opinion, attitude & belief

1 2
T O L E R A N C E
B

S
3 R O N 4 5 B
E C K S

S
6 D O U B T I
7 F S G
S
8 D
E D I C A T E D 9 O P I N I O N

D N E T
10 P R A G M A T I C E
T T D
11 C O M M I T T E D

C
12 R E G A R 13 D I N G
14 M 15 C 16
C
L I A O Y
17 18 N N
E C S I
X O S N C I
C N A T E C
E V P A R A
P I 19 R A D I T I O N A L
T
T N O N E
I C V D
20 C O N S E R V A T I V E
N D L

2 Complete these sentences with the words from Exercise 1. You will either need a word from the
sentences or from the completed crossword. In some cases, more than one answer may be possible.

suspicious of strangers, and refuse to trust anyone unless they know them
1. People are often ……………….
very well.

pragmatic approach to problem solving.

2. She’s very well organised, and always takes a ……………….

fanatical about keeping fit, and go to the gym at least once a day.
3. I’m absolutely ……………….
disapprove of smoking, and refuse to let people smoke in my home.
4. I strongly ……………….

opinion
5. My ………………. is that people who read a lot are more interesting than people who don’t.

6. To succeed in life, you need ambition and ……………….. .

dedication / commitment
tolerate
7. My father won’t ………………. anyone who questions his decisions.
approach views
conservativein their outlook and behaviour.
8. Small farm communities are predominantly ……………….

doubt
9. Some people ………………. my ability to succeed, but I am determined to prove they are wrong.
suspect
maintain
10. A lot of people in my country ………………. that the current economic crisis will get worse before
36 it gets better.
 general vocabulary
Opposites: adjectives
Replace the adjectives in bold in these sentences with a word from the box which has an opposite
meaning in the context of the sentence.

approximate clear chronic costly crude delicate detrimental

dim easy even flexible graceful innocent marked
obligatory reluctant scarce widespread

1. The terms and conditions on the contract are ambiguous. clear

easy
2. According to the people who knew him, he was a very awkward person to work with. …………..
difficult
graceful
3. I had never seen a dancer who was so clumsy. ………….. lack of coordination

detrimental
4. The changes he made were beneficial to the organisation as a whole. …………..
approximate
5. We need exact figures before we decide if we can go ahead with the project. …………..

6. Following a lengthy investigation, they decided that the company was guilty. …………..
innocent

even
7. What do you get if you add up all the odd numbers between 1 and 100?. …………..
abundant
scarce
8. Despite the weather, supplies of food after the harvest were plentiful. ………….. wheat harvest

flexible
9. There are very rigid laws regarding building on green belts around a city . …………..
small
marked
10. I’ve noticed a slight difference in his attitude over the last few weeks . …………..

11. The villagers have designed a sophisticated device for turning dirty water into clean drinking
crude
water. ………….. clever complex

12. The spices used in the production of some international dishes have a very strong flavour.
delicate mild
…………..

13. The blackness of the night was broken by a strong orange light which was visible on the horizon.
dim
…………..
optional
obligatory / compulsory
14. Student attendance at extra-curricular activities is voluntary. …………..

reluctant
15. Most students say they are willing to attend classes on Saturday morning. …………..

widespread
16. The tornado caused localised damage. …………… floods

costly
17. He made his fortune by importing cheap perfume and clothing material. …………..

18. People with mild allergies to dust were advised to remain indoors and close their windows.
chronic
…………..

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general vocabulary
Opposites: verbs
Replace the verbs or verb phrases in bold in these sentences with a word from the box which has
an opposite meaning in the context of the sentence. You will need to change the form of most of
the verbs.

abandon accelerate accept agree defend demolish deny

deteriorate fall forbid ignore loosen lower retain retreat
reward simplify withdraw

1. When our trip was cancelled, we rejected the travel company’s offer of a partial refund. accepted

denied having done it

2. She admitted that she had left the door unlocked when she left the house. …………..

retreating
3. Aerial footage shows how quickly the floodwaters are advancing. ………….. flood

agreed
4. The company refused to let members of the public enter the building. …………..

defended
5. Many shopkeepers attacked the decision to make the street traffic-free. …………..

demolished
6. The factory was built in 2004. …………..

simplified
7. He complicated matters by rewriting the original proposal. …………..

8. When the money ran out, they had to decide whether or not to continue with their research.
abandon
…………..

deteriorated
9. Relations between the two countries have improved considerably in the last few years. …………..
pocket money
rewarding
10. Punishing young children in order to get them to work hard is, in my opinion, wrong. …………..

lowered
11. He raised the overall standards of the company within two months of his appointment. …………..
forbidden
12. Smoking is allowed in most restaurant and café s. …………..

13. Prices rose sharply in the first three months of the year. fell
…………..
loosen
14. Before you do anything else, make sure you tighten the knots in the rope. …………..

withdrew
15. I went to the bank and deposited over £5,000. …………..
retained
16. He lost his position as head of the department. …………..
accelerates
17. By pushing the red button, the vehicle slows down rapidly. …………..

ignored
18. Everyone acknowledged all the hard work I had done. …………..

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