B2 (Upper-intermediate)

thrifty

thrift‧y /ˈθrɪfti/ BrE AmE adjective
using money carefully and wisely SYN economical:
hard-working, thrifty people

passionate

pas‧sion‧ate /ˈpæʃənət, ˈpæʃənɪt/ BrE AmE adjective
1. showing or involving very strong feelings of sexual love:
He had a brief but passionate love affair with an older woman.
a very passionate young man
a passionate lover
a passionate kiss
2. someone who has a passionate belief believes something very strongly:
a passionate supporter of women’s rights
He had a passionate belief in justice.
3. if you are passionate about something, you like it a lot:
She developed a passionate interest in wild flowers.
passionate about
I’ve always been passionate about football.
—passionately adverb:
He kissed her passionately.
Peter is passionately involved in environmental issues.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ nouns
▪ a passionate belief/conviction We had a passionate belief in what we were doing.
▪ a passionate commitment to something There was no doubt about his passionate commitment to peace.
▪ a passionate concern for something She developed a passionate concern for human rights.
▪ a passionate supporter of somebody/something President Johnson was a passionate supporter of the space programme.
▪ a passionate defender of something The actress is a vocal and passionate defender of women's rights.
▪ a passionate speech Senator McCarthy delivered a powerful and passionate speech.
▪ a passionate plea She made a passionate plea for tolerance.

commercial

I. com‧mer‧cial¹ S3 W2 /kəˈmɜːʃəl $ -ɜːr-/ BrE AmE adjective
1. related to business and the buying and selling of goods and services:
Our top priorities must be profit and commercial growth.
2. related to the ability of a product or business to make a profit:
Gibbons failed to see the commercial value of his discovery.
commercial success/failure
The film was a huge commercial success.
3. [only before noun] a commercial product is one that is produced and sold in large quantities
4. more concerned with money than with quality:
Their music has become very commercial.
5. commercial radio/TV/channel etc radio or television broadcasts that are produced by companies that earn money through advertising
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ nouns
▪ a commercial bank (=one that accepts people’s money, provides loans etc) Several large commercial banks cut their lending rates.
▪ a commercial company/organization Many commercial companies are having financial difficulties.
▪ commercial property (=property for businesses and industry) He decided to invest in commercial property.
▪ commercial interests (=things that bring business advantages) The President’s reform programme threatened US commercial interests.
▪ the commercial sector (=the business part of the economy) The commercial sector sponsors sport.
▪ the commercial market (=the market for goods) A product like this should do well in the commercial market.
▪ commercial development (=the building of houses, hotels, restaurants etc) The increased number of tourists has resulted in further commercial development.
▪ commercial use The trees were planted for commercial use.
▪ commercial exploitation (=using something, especially natural resources, to make money) the commercial exploitation of mineral resources
▪ commercial activity Commercial activity in our society is highly competitive.
▪ commercial considerations/reasons/purposes Commercial considerations must come second to conservation of the environment.
▪ a commercial transaction (=a business deal) The deal was a straightforward commercial transaction.

23. roll with the punches to deal with problems or difficulties by doing whatever you need to do, rather than by trying only one method:
Strong industries were able to roll with the punches during the recession.

Examples from the Corpus

roll with the punches

• In high school you could just roll with the punches.• 
• Also be aware that the struggle itself can be exhilarating and enlightening, so roll with the punches and enjoy the fight!
• Many industries were able to roll with the punches in a tough economy.

sitting duck

ˌsitting ˈduck BrE AmE (also ˌsitting ˈtarget) noun [countable]
someone who is easy to attack or easy to cheat:
Out in the open, the soldiers were sitting ducks for enemy fire.

urn-off 4 turn somebody ↔ off to make someone decide they do not like something :

Any prospective buyer will be turned off by the sight of rotting wood.

realistic

rea‧lis‧tic S3 /rɪəˈlɪstɪk/ BrE AmE adjective
[Word Family: noun: ↑realism, ↑realist, ↑reality, ↑unreality, ↑realization; adverb: ↑real, ↑really, ↑realistically ≠ ↑unrealistically; adjective: ↑real, ↑unreal, ↑realistic ≠ ↑unrealistic; verb: ↑realize]
1. judging and dealing with situations in a practical way according to what is actually possible rather than what you would like to happen OPP unrealistic
it is not realistic to do something
It’s just not realistic to expect a promotion so soon.
realistic about
You need to be realistic about the amount you can do in a day.
2. a realistic aim or hope is something that it is possible to achieve OPP unrealistic:
Is this a realistic target?
I don’t think they have a realistic chance of winning.
3. realistic pictures or stories show things as they are in real life:
a realistic portrayal of life in Victorian Britain

COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ nouns
▪ a realistic chance/prospect We felt we had a realistic chance of beating England.
▪ a realistic option/alternative We do not believe there is any realistic alternative.
▪ a realistic goal/target Set realistic goals for yourself.
▪ a realistic expectation There are no realistic expectations of improvement.
▪ a realistic figure/price A more realistic figure for energy saving would be 20 percent.
▪ a realistic solution Compromise is the only realistic solution.

THESAURUS
▪ possible if something is possible, it can be done or achieved: I think it’s possible that we could win the race. | I want to get back by 5 o'clock if possible. | Please let me know your answer as soon as possible.
▪ feasible if an idea or plan is feasible, it is possible and you can find a practical way of doing it: We need to find out first if the idea is technically feasible. | It is not feasible to have security cameras in every part of the building. | Da Silva considered it feasible that uranium could be produced on an industrial scale.
▪ viable possible and likely to be successful, and therefore worth doing: Nuclear energy is the only viable alternative to coal or gas. | The product needs to be commercially viable. | We have yet to find a viable solution to the problem. | The company was no longer financially viable (=it could not make enough money to be able to continue).
▪ workable a workable plan, system, or solution is one that can be done or used: By early morning, they had arrived at a workable and safe solution. | The company would have a tough job convincing people that the deal was workable.
▪ doable informal if something is doable, you have enough money, energy, or skill to do it: This exercise programme is doable for most people. | Do you think the walk is doable? | Hosting great parties is fun, easy, and doable on any budget. | The book is full of interesting and doable recipes.
▪ achievable (also attainable formal) able to be achieved: A 15% cut in carbon emissions is achievable. | Perfect democracy is not attainable, nor is perfect freedom or perfect justice.
▪ realistic if something is realistic, it seems sensible to think that it can be done or achieved: a realistic target | Their expectations didn’t seem very realistic. | It is important to set yourself realistic goals.

timely

time‧ly /ˈtaɪmli/ BrE AmE adjective
[Word Family: noun: ↑time, ↑overtime, ↑timer, ↑timing, ↑timelessness; adjective: ↑timeless, ↑timely ≠ ↑untimely; verb: ↑time; adverb: ↑timelessly]
done or happening at exactly the right time:
The fight ended only with the timely arrival of the police.
in a timely manner/fashion (=as quickly as is reasonable in a particular situation)
We aim to settle all valid claims in a timely manner.
a timely reminder (of something) British English (=one that makes you remember something important)
The crash served as a timely reminder of the dangers of drinking and driving.
 

measurable

mea‧su‧ra‧ble /ˈmeʒərəbəl/ BrE AmE adjective
[Word Family: adjective: ↑measurable ≠ ↑immeasurable, ↑measured, ↑measureless; noun: ↑measure, ↑measurement; verb: ↑measure; adverb: ↑measurably ≠ ↑immeasurably]
1. large or important enough to have an effect that can be seen or felt SYN noticeable:
The law has had little measurable effect since it was introduced two years ago.
2. able to be measured OPP immeasurable:
measurable results
—measurably adverb:
The company is working to make its environmental performance measurably better.

weakness

weak‧ness W3 /ˈwiːknəs, ˈwiːknɪs/ BrE AmE noun
[Word Family: noun: ↑weakling, ↑weakness; verb: ↑weaken; adverb: ↑weakly; adjective: ↑weak]
1. FAULT [countable] a fault in someone’s character or in a system, organization, design etc:
The legislation has a fundamental weakness.
The plan has strengths and weaknesses.
2. LACK OF POWER [uncountable] lack of strength, power, or influence
weakness in
weakness in the economy
weakness of
the growing weakness of local government
3. BODY [uncountable] the state of being physically weak:
muscular weakness
weakness in
weakness in the right arm
4. CHARACTER [uncountable] lack of determination shown in someone’s behaviour:
He couldn’t explain his weakness in giving in to her demands.
I dared not cry or show any sign of weakness.
weakness of
his weakness of character
5. MONEY [uncountable] the condition of not being worth a lot of money
weakness of
the weakness of the pound against the dollar
6. a weakness for something if you have a weakness for something, you like it very much even though it may not be good for you:
I have a real weakness for fashionable clothes.

THESAURUS
■ something wrong
▪ fault a problem in a machine, system, design etc that causes damage or makes it not work properly: The fire was caused by an electrical fault. | a fault in the engine
▪ defect a fault in something such as a product or machine, resulting from the way it was made or designed: Cars are tested for defects before they leave the factory.
▪ weakness a part of a plan, system, or argument that is not as good as the other parts, and makes it likely to fail: What are the strengths and weaknesses of each method?
▪ flaw a fault in a plan, system, argument etc, especially one that makes it useless or not effective: Your argument has a fundamental flaw. | There was one major flaw in his suggestion – we didn’t have enough money.
▪ bug a fault in a computer program: A bug in the system was quickly fixed.
▪ glitch a small fault in the way something works, that can usually be easily corrected: I noticed a small glitch when installing the software.
▪ mistake something that is wrong in someone’s spelling, grammar, calculations etc: The article was full of spelling mistakes.
▪ there’s something wrong with something used when saying that there is a problem in a machine, car etc, but you do not know what it is: There’s something wrong with the computer – it won’t close down.