UNIT

Word List

alleviate [ali vieit] v.

To alleviate pain or suffering means to make it less intense or severe.

She needed something to alleviate the pain in her back.

astrology [ǝstrálədzi] n.

Astrology is the study of the stars in the belief that they influence people's lives.

→ Jack, who studies astrology, believes that the stars can predict the future.

differentiate [diferenfieit] v.

To differentiate things or people is to show the difference between them.

It was hard to differentiate between the identical twins.

disrupt [disrápt] v.

To disrupt something or someone is to prevent them from working.

→ The loud crash disrupted the class lecture.

equation [i(:)kweizən] n.

An equation is a math operation to determine the value of something.

→ I used the Pythagorean theorem to solve the equation.

err [ǝr] v.

To err means to make a mistake.

The pilot erred in his estimate of the time it would take to make the trip.

erroneous [irouniǝs] adj.

When something is erroneous, it is incorrect or only partly correct.

The child held the erroneous belief that time machines were real.

frantic [fræntik] adj.

If people or things are frantic, they behave in a wild way because they are frightened

The cat became frantic when I tried to give it a bath.

→

hull [hall n.

The hull of a boat or tank is the main body of it.

-

→ After the wreck at sea, the ship's hull was the last part to sink.

inadvertent [inədvá:rtənt] adj.

When an action is inadvertent, it is done without realizing what you are doing.

She made an inadvertent error when she knocked over the nail polish.

TEST

improvise [imprəvaiz] v.

To improvise something is to do it with whatever is available or without planning.

→ There was no meat for the pizza, so we improvised with what was in the fridge.

latitude [lætatjü:d] n.

The latitude of a place is its distance from the equator.

The device was able to tell the traveler his exact latitude.

mariner [mærənə:r] n.

A mariner is a sailor.

The old mariner used his telescope to find the shore.

multitude [mAltitjù:d] n.

A multitude of things or people is a very large number of them.

→

A multitude of people were waiting at the airport.

nuisance [nju:səns] n.

A nuisance is a person or thing that is annoying or causes a lot of problems.

The teenager considered her noisy little brothers to be quite a nuisance.

permanence [pe:rmənəns] n.

The permanence of something is its ability to last forever.

→

Poor results will threaten the permanence of the new teaching system.

revolve [riválv] v.

To revolve around something is to keep it as the main feature or focus.

→ My life revolves around sports.

soothe [suto] v.

To soothe means to calm someone who is angry or upset.

→ The mother soothed her crying baby by rocking him in her arms.

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stranded [strændid] adj.

If someone is stranded, they are prevented from leaving a place.

When the plane left, my sister and I were stranded in China.

volatile [váletil] adj.

When something is volatile, it is likely to change suddenly and unexpectedly.

The volatile volcano might explode at any moment.