4000 Essential English Words 5 Unit 5: a Famous Accident
Word List
- assess [əˈses] v.
To assess something means to judge the structure, purpose, or quality of it.
→ She assessed the condition of the toy car before buying it.
- astonish [əˈstɒniʃ] v.
To astonish someone means to greatly surprise them.
→ The amount of people that came to her party astonished her.
- commence [kəˈmens] v.
To commence something means to begin it.
→ His speech commenced with a “thankyou” to all who had helped him succeed.
- essence [ˈesəns] n.
The essence of something is its important qualities or basic characteristics.
→ The essence of the argument was that both sides felt they had lost money.
- extract [ikˈstrӕkt] v.
To extract something means to remove it.
→ The dentist extracted the woman’s damaged tooth and put in a fake one.
- fabulous [ˈfæbjələs] adj.
If something is fabulous, it is extremely good.
→ This strawberry is the best I’ve ever had. It’s fabulous.
- haste [heist] n.
Haste is speed in movement or action.
→ In order to get to the meeting in time, he proceeds with haste.
- impulse [ˈimpʌls] n.
An impulse is a sudden thoughtless urge to do something.
→ Because of the scary noise, she had an impulse to run somewhere and hide.
- latter [ˈlætə:r] adj.
Latter describes something last in a series or the second choice of two things.
→ In the latter minutes of the game, the visitors scored the winning goal.
- molecule [ˈmɒləkjuːl] n.
A molecule is the smallest basic unit that makes up a physical substance.
→ A tiny drop of water is made up of thousands of molecules of water.
- ongoing [ˈɒnˌgouiŋ] adj.
If something is ongoing, then it is still happening or still growing.
→ The development of plants is ongoing because it takes time for them to mature.
- pharmaceutical [ˌfɑːrməˈsuːtikəl] adj.
If something is pharmaceutical, then it is related to the development of drugs.
→ Pharmaceutical companies discover new cures to illnesses all the time.
- precise [priˈsais] adj.
If someone is precise, then they are exact and careful about their work.
→ The builder was very precise about where he placed the nails.
- proximity [prɒkˈsiməti] n.
Proximity is closeness in time, space, or relationships.
→ All the trees in the proximity of the beach had been cut down.
- publicity [pʌbˈlisəti] n.
Publicity is public attention given to someone or something by the media.
→ She received a lot of publicity after her performance in the film.
- remedy [ˈremədi] n.
A remedy is a cure for a disease, argument, or problem.
→ A good remedy for a headache is an aspirin and a glass of water.
- significance [sigˈnifikəns] n.
The significance of something is the quality that makes it important.
→ The significance of the snowy weather was that we didn’t have to go to school.
- subsequent [ˈsʌbsikwənt] adj.
If something is subsequent, then it comes after something else in time.
→ The flood and the subsequent rescue of those caught in the flood were on TV.
- synthetic [sinˈθetik] adj.
If something is synthetic, then it is made to be like something natural.
→ Clothing made out of synthetic fabrics is very effective at keeping people warm.
- terminal [ˈtəːrmənəl] adj.
If something is terminal, then it causes or results in death.
→ Since his condition was not terminal, he felt a great sense of relief.
