Vocabulary Presentation

Rebellion:1) an attempt to remove a government or leader by force [countable/uncountable]. The capital was destroyed during the rebellion; in rebellion: The country rose in rebellion; 2) a refusal to obey your leader, especially in politics [countable/uncountable]. There are fears that welfare cuts could provoke a rebellion among left-wing MPs; 3) opposition to someone in authority or to accepted ways of doing things. Teenage rebellion [uncountable].

Enlightenment:1) the process of explaining or understanding something clearly. Children look to their teachers for enlightenment; 2) in the Buddhist religion, the highest spiritual state that you can achieve; 3) an intellectual movement in XVIII century Europe that emphasized the importance of human thought and science rather than religious belief.

Breach:1) a failure to follow a law or rule; breach of: Reproduction of the CD constitutes a breach of copyright; be in breach of something: The company was found to be in breach of environmental regulations; 2) a failure to do something that you have promised to do or that people expect you to do; breach of contract: If you don’t deliver on time, you could be sued for breach of contract; 3) a situation in which someone does something that goes against accepted rules of social behaviour. An embarrassing breach of etiquette. 4) a serious disagreement [formal]. This could lead to a major breach in our relationship with China.

Pseudo – not real, but pretending to be real: used with many nouns and adjectives. A panel of pseudo experts. Pseudoscientific.

Profess:1) to claim something, especially when it is not true: Many wildlife smugglers profess to have an interest in conservation; 2) to admit publicly that you have a particular feeling or belief: He professes great admiration for the New Zealand players; 3) to believe in a particular religion In the Philippines, about 85% of the people profess Catholicism.

Induce, v.:1) to cause something, especially a mental or physical change: Both treatments were effective in inducing remission of the disease; They hoped their work would induce social change. 2) to make a woman start giving birth to a baby rather than waiting for her to start having it naturally medical. Induce someone to do something – to persuade someone to do something, especially something that you think is wrong or stupid. I can’t think what induced her to marry him. Nothing would induce me to go back.

Due, adj.:1) if something is due to happen, it is expected to happen or should happen [never before noun]; due on/in/at: A new version of the software is due in the next couple of weeks; due to do something: The case is due to go to court next month; due for: The prisoners are not due for release until next year. I’m due for a pay rise. If you are due somewhere, you are expected to be there: I’m due at a meeting in ten minutes; When are you due? Something that is due at a particular time or date must be completed by that time or date: Students’ term papers are due next Monday. 2) If money is due, it is time for it to be paid. You must repay the loan, and any interest that is due on it. The rent is due on the first day of each month [never before noun]; due to: £10,000 is due to her under clause 5.1 of her contract; 3) according to the usual standards or rules. A driver has to have due regard for the safety of other road users. The committee reached its decision after giving due consideration to the views of the public [only before noun]. 4) if something is due to someone, they should receive it [not usually before noun]: I have been given a lot of support by my colleagues, for which thanks are due; due to: Some credit is due to the government for this improvement; in due course: when it is the right time, and not before [formal]: We will announce the results of our investigation in due course; with (all) due respect: used when you are going to disagree with someone or criticize someone, in order to sound more polite: With due respect, is that question relevant?; with (all) due respect to: With all due respect to the staff, I think the exam results could have been better.

Due, n.: 1) someone’s due is something that they have a right to receive [singular]: At last she has the justice that is her due. 2) dues money that someone has to pay regularly, for example to be a member of a club or union; to give someone their due used when you are going to say something good about someone, after you have been criticizing them [plural]: He really upset Lydia, although give him his due, he did apologize afterwards.

Due, adv.: due north/south/east/west – directly towards the north, south, east, or west. The village of Kexby is about five miles due east of York. Due date – the date on which something is planned or expected to happen, for example when money must be paid or when a pregnant woman expects to have her baby. Due to – because of something: He almost died due to lack of oxygen. The company’s financial losses were due to poor management.

Issue – a subject that people discuss or argue about, especially relating to society, politics etc. [countable]: It’s a website devoted to environmental issues. contentious/controversial/thorny issue – one that causes a lot of argument: Abortion is always a controversial issue. Big/key/major issue: Public education was one of the biggest issues in the election campaign; raise an issue – start to discuss it: The subject of cloning raises complex ethical issues; not be an issue: The reliability of the statistics is not an issue; issue about/around: There were issues about the way the department was organized; big issue: A big issue in the region is that teachers are so underpaid.

Contempt – 1) a feeling that someone or something is unimportant and deserves no respect: I shall treat that remark with the contempt it deserves; contemptfor :I have nothing but contempt for their ridiculous opinions; with contempt: She regarded the tabloid press with absolute contempt; hold something/someone in contempt: How could she marry a man whom she holds in such utter contempt? 2) a failure to show appropriate respect for something that other people consider to be important; contempt for: He showed a complete contempt for other people’s feelings; beneath contempt – if someone or something is beneath contempt, they are so bad or so unimportant that they do not deserve any attention.

Regard – to think of someone or something in a particular way [not usually progressive]; regard someone/something as something: The nuclear reactors, which were regarded as dangerously out of date, were replaced; widely regarded: Kubrick was widely regarded as one of the most influential post-war film directors; highly/well regarded – regarded as very good: a highly regarded young violinist; regard someone/something with suspicion: Any mushroom with a red cap should be regarded with suspicion.

Excel – to do something extremely well: We aim to give every student the opportunity to excel; excel in/at: Robbie had always excelled at sport.

Devoid – lacking something, especially a good quality; devoid of: Rob’s face was devoid of any warmth.

Entire – used for emphasizing that you mean all or every part of something: the entire adult population. He gave his entire attention to the task in hand. The railroad enables distribution across the entire North American continent.

Entirely: 1) completely, or in every way: Towns only a few miles apart can have entirely different dialects. The task is to be handled entirely by federal employees. The city of Napier was entirely rebuilt after an earthquake in 1931; 2) used for emphasizing what you are saying: It’s entirely possible that the two leaders will discuss a treaty today; not entirely: I’m not entirely sure I like the tone of your question.

Ruthless – willing to make other people suffer so that you can achieve your aims: A ruthless dictator/killer. She showed a ruthless determination to succeed in her career. Ruthlessly, adv.: Any form of protest is ruthlessly suppressed.

Inherent – an inherent quality is a basic or essential feature that gives something its character: The design of the building had inherent weaknesses; inherent in: What are the long-term risks and dangers inherent in this kind of work?