B2 (Upper-intermediate)

stepdaughter

step‧daugh‧ter /ˈstepdɔːtə $ -dɒːtər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
a daughter that your husband or wife has from a relationship before your marriage

stepson

step‧son /ˈstepsʌn/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
a son that your husband or wife has from a relationship before your marriage
 

stepsister

step‧sis‧ter /ˈstepsɪstə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
the daughter of your stepmother or stepfather

stepbrother

step‧broth‧er /ˈstepbrʌðə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
the son of your stepmother or stepfather

stepmother

step‧moth‧er /ˈstepmʌðə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
a woman who is married to your father but who is not your mother
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ mother a female parent: My mother and father are both teachers.
▪ mum British English informal, mom American English informal used when talking to your father, or about someone's father: My mum and dad won’t mind if you want to stay the night. | Mom, where’s my sweater?
▪ mummy British English, mommy American English a name for mother, which is used especially by young children or when you are talking to young children: Where’s Mummy, Abbie?
▪ ma American English old-fashioned used when talking to your mother, or about someone's mother: Ma stirred the soup on the stove.
▪ mama old-fashioned used when talking to your mother, or about someone's mother: Mama seldom disagreed with Papa.
▪ stepmother (also stepmum British English informal, stepmom American English informal) a woman who is married to your father, who is not your mother but often acts as your parent: the wicked stepmother in fairy stories

stepfather

step‧fa‧ther /ˈstepfɑːðə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
a man who is married to your mother but who is not your father
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ father a male parent: My father’s a doctor. | He’s a father of three.
▪ dad informal used when talking to your father, or about someone's father: Can I borrow your car, Dad? | Her dad retired ten years ago. | My dad was in the army.
▪ daddy a name for father, which is used especially by young children or when you are talking to young children: Where’s your daddy? | Daddy, can I have a drink, please?
▪ pop American English informal (also pa old-fashioned) used when talking to your father, or about someone's father: I helped Pop fix the gate this morning. | Can I help, Pa? | He is in New York with his Pop's credit card, eating all the ice cream and pizza the city has to offer.
▪ papa old-fashioned informal used when talking to your father, or about someone's father: Papa had forbidden me to go. | She saw her papa 's face change at this news.
▪ sb’s old man informal someone's father – used when talking about him in a way that is not very respectful: His old man wouldn’t let him use the car.
▪ stepfather (also stepdad informal) a man who is married to your mother, who is not your father but often acts as your parent: Her stepfather is really nice.

rage

I. rage¹ /reɪdʒ/ BrE AmE noun
[Date: 1200-1300; Language: Old French; Origin: Latin rabies 'anger, wildness', from rabere 'to be wild with anger']
1. [uncountable and countable] a strong feeling of uncontrollable anger:
Sobbing with rage, Carol was taken to the hospital.
in a rage
Sam became quite frightening when he was in a rage.
cry/scream/roar etc of rage
Just then, she heard Mr Evan’s bellow of rage.
red/dark/purple with rage
His face was red with rage.
trembling/shaking with rage
Forester stared at his car, trembling with rage.
seething/incandescent with rage (=as angry as a person can possibly be)
Animal rights supporters were incandescent with rage.
Richens was 17 when he flew into a rage and stabbed another teenager.
2. be all the rage informal to be very popular or fashionable:
DiCaprio became all the rage after starring in the film ‘Titanic’.
3. rage for something a situation in which something is very popular or fashionable:
the rage for mobile phones
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ shake/tremble with rage His wife was shaking with rage.
▪ seethe with rage The injustice of it made Melissa seethe with rage.
▪ cry with rage I was crying with rage and frustration.
▪ explode with rage (also fly into a rage) (=suddenly become very angry) She knew her father would explode with rage if he found out.
■ phrases
▪ be in a rage Moran was in a rage about some tools that had been left out in the rain.
▪ be speechless with rage Speechless with rage, he hurled the letter in the fire before storming out.
▪ be beside yourself with rage (=be so angry that you cannot control yourself) They had been publicly humiliated and were beside themselves with rage.
▪ be incandescent with rage formal (=be extremely angry) The Queen was incandescent with rage.
▪ be white with rage I could see she was white with rage.
▪ somebody's face is dark/red/purple with rage His face went purple with rage.
▪ somebody's face is twisted/contorted with rage Mike's usually calm face was contorted with rage.
▪ a fit of rage In a fit of rage, he seized the poor man by the shoulders and shouted at him.
▪ a cry/howl/bellow etc of rage She remembered his cries of rage as he was taken away.
▪ tears of rage Her eyes were now full of tears of rage.
■ adjectives
▪ a jealous rage He killed his wife in a jealous rage.
▪ a drunken rage He smashed up his former girlfriend's car in a drunken rage.
▪ a blind/uncontrollable rage (=extreme uncontrolled anger that makes someone violent) He lashed out in a blind rage.
▪ murderous rage (=anger that makes someone capable of murder) Captain Black was in a murderous rage.
▪ a towering rage (=extremely angry) He was in a towering rage.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ extreme anger
▪ fury a very strong feeling of anger: The judge sparked fury when he freed a man who had attacked three women. | The decision caused fury among local people.
▪ rage a very strong feeling of anger that is difficult to control or is expressed very suddenly or violently: When we accused him of lying, he flew into a rage (=became very angry very suddenly). | Brown killed his wife in a jealous rage.
▪ outrage extreme anger and shock because you think something is unfair or wrong: The racist comments caused outrage in India and Britain.
▪ wrath formal extreme anger: Pietersen was the next to incur the wrath of the referee (=make him angry).

fiancée

fi‧an‧cée /fiˈɒnseɪ $ ˌfiːɑːnˈseɪ/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Date: 1800-1900; Language: French; Origin: fiancé used for females]
the woman who a man is going to marry
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ girlfriend a girl or woman that you have a romantic relationship with, especially for a fairly long time: Katherine was his first girlfriend.
▪ partner the person you are married to, or the person you are living with and having a sexual relationship with: He brought his partner along to the party.
▪ old flame informal someone who was your girlfriend or boyfriend in the past: I found a love letter from one of his old flames.
▪ mistress a woman that a man has a sexual relationship with even though he is married to someone else. Often used when the man is famous or powerful: The president had a mistress for many years.
▪ lover someone who you have a sexual relationship with, but who you are not married to: He was going to meet his secret lover.
▪ fiancée the woman who a man is going to marry: Rod plans to marry his fiancée later this year.
▪ ex informal a man's former wife or girlfriend: My ex looks after the children on Thursdays.
▪ be going out with somebody if you are going out with a girl or woman, she is your girlfriend: She's going out with a guy she met at work.

fiancé

fi‧an‧cé /fiˈɒnseɪ $ ˌfiːɑːnˈseɪ/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[Date: 1800-1900; Language: French; Origin: past participle of fiancer 'to promise (in marriage)']
the man who a woman is going to marry
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ boyfriend a boy or man that you have a romantic relationship with, especially for a fairly long time: Josh was my first boyfriend.
▪ partner the person you are married to, or the person you are living with and having a sexual relationship with: Sweden allows gay partners to receive many of the same benefits that married couples get. | Partners are also welcome.
▪ fiancé the man whom a woman is going to marry: Her fiancé was killed in the war.
▪ lover someone who you have a sexual relationship with, without being married to them: A few nights later, they became lovers.
▪ ex informal a woman’s former husband or boyfriend: Her ex has caused a lot of trouble for her.
▪ old flame informal someone who was your boyfriend in the past: In a box in the closet, I found love letters from one of her old flames.
▪ man informal a woman’s husband or boyfriend: She’ll always stand by her man.
▪ sweetheart old-fashioned the person that you love: They were childhood sweethearts.
▪ beau old-fashioned a woman’s boyfriend or lover - a very old-fashioned use: Does she have a beau?
▪ toy boy informal humorous a young man who is having a sexual relationship with an older woman: A woman with a toy boy gets a lot more disapproving looks than a man with a younger woman.
▪ sugar daddy informal an older man who gives a younger woman presents and money in return for their company and often for sex: I can imagine her cashing checks from some mysterious sugar daddy.
▪ be going out with somebody if you are going out with a boy or man, you have him as your boyfriend: She’s been going out with Jack for a couple of months.
⇨ ↑girlfriend

II. sep‧a‧rate² S2 W2 /ˈsepəreɪt/ BrE AmE verb
[Word Family: noun: ↑separation, ↑separates, ↑separatist, ↑separatism, ↑separator, inseperability; adjective: ↑separable ≠ ↑inseparable, ↑separate, ↑separated; adverb: ↑inseparably, ↑separately; verb: ↑separate]
[Date: 1400-1500; Language: Latin; Origin: past participle of separare, from se- 'apart' + parare 'to prepare, get']
1. BE BETWEEN [transitive] if something separates two places or two things, it is between them so that they are not touching each other
separate something from something
The lighthouse is separated from the land by a wide channel.
2. DIVIDE [intransitive and transitive] to divide or split into different parts, or to make something do this:
This will keep your dressing from separating.
separate from
At this point, the satellite separates from its launcher.
separate something into something
Separate the students into four groups.
First, separate the eggs (=divide the white part from the yellow part).
3. STOP LIVING TOGETHER [intransitive] if two people who are married or have been living together separate, they start to live apart:
Jill and John separated a year ago.
4. RECOGNIZE DIFFERENCE [transitive] to recognize that one thing or idea is different from another
separate something from something
She finds it difficult to separate fact from fantasy.
5. MOVE APART [intransitive and transitive] if people separate, or if someone or something separates them, they move apart:
Ed stepped in to separate the two dogs.
separate somebody from somebody/something
In the fog, they got separated from the group.
6. MAKE SOMEBODY/SOMETHING DIFFERENT [transitive] to be the quality or fact that makes someone or something different from other people or things
separate something from something
The capacity to think separates humans from animals.
7. BETTER/OLDER [transitive] if an amount separates two things, one thing is better or older than the other by that amount:
Three points now separate the two teams.
8. separate the men from the boys informal to show clearly which people are brave, strong, or skilled, and which are not
9. separate the sheep from the goats British English (also separate the wheat from the chaff) to separate the good things from the bad things
• • •
THESAURUS
■ to make something separate
▪ separate verb [transitive] to divide something into two or more parts or groups, or to divide one type of thing from another. You use separate especially when saying that the parts are different from each other: Motorola is planning to separate the company into two public companies. | The items are separated into recyclable and non-recyclable waste.
▪ divide verb [transitive] to make something become two or more parts or groups: The teacher divided us into groups. | The money was divided between them. | The house is divided into three apartments.
▪ split verb [transitive] to separate something into two or more groups, parts etc – used especially when each part is equal in size: The class was split into groups of six.
▪ break something up phrasal verb [transitive] to separate something into several smaller parts, especially to make it easier to deal with: The phone company was broken up to encourage competition. | Police used tear gas to break up the crowd.
▪ segregate verb [transitive] to separate one group of people from others because of race, sex, religion etc: Schools were racially segregated. | Some prisons segregate prisoners who are infected with HIV.
■ to become separate
▪ separate verb [intransitive] to divide into different parts, especially in a natural way: A watery liquid separates from the milk during cheesemaking.
▪ split verb [intransitive] to separate into two or more parts or groups – used especially when each part is equal in size: What happens when an atom splits?
▪ break up phrasal verb [intransitive] to separate into several smaller parts: In spring, the icebergs begin to break up.
separate somebody/something ↔ out phrasal verb
1. to divide a group of people or things into smaller groups:
We must separate out these different factors and examine each one.
2. to remove one type of thing or person from a group
separate somebody/something ↔ out from
Many older people may prefer not to be separated out from the rest of the adult population.