B2 (Upper-intermediate)

define

de·fine AW [define defines defined defining]   [dɪˈfaɪn]    [dɪˈfaɪn]  verb
1. to say or explain what the meaning of a word or phrase is
• ~ sth The term ‘mental illness’ is difficult to define.

• ~ sth as sth Life imprisonment is defined as 60 years under state law.

2. to describe or show sth accurately
• ~ sth We need to define the task ahead very clearly.
• The difficulty of a problem was defined in terms of how long it took to complete.

• ~ what, how, etc… It is difficult to define what makes him so popular.

3. ~ sth to show clearly a line, shape or edge
• The mountain was sharply defined against the sky.
Derived Word: definable
 
Word Origin:
late Middle English (also in the sense ‘bring to an end)’: from Old French definer, from a variant of Latin definire, from de- (expressing completion) + finire ‘finish’ (from finis ‘end’).  
Thesaurus:
define verb T
• The term ‘mental illness’ is difficult to define.
explain • • interpret • • spell sth out • |formal clarify • • expound •
define/explain/spell out/clarify how/what…
define/explain/clarify the position/role/nature/meaning of sth
clearly define/explain/spell out/expound sth 
Language Bank:
define
Defining terms
It is important to clarify what is meant by ▪ climate change.
▪ Climate change can ▪ / may be defined as ▪ ‘the long-term fluctuations in temperature, precipitation, wind and other aspects of the earth's climate’.
A generally accepted definition of ▪ global warming is ▪ the gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere due to the greenhouse effect.
▪ The greenhouse effect is defined ▪ by the author as ▪ the process by which heat from the sun is trapped in the earth's atmosphere, causing the temperature of the earth to rise.
▪ The author uses the term ▪ climate change to refer to ▪ any significant change in measures of climate lasting for an extended period.
The term ▪ ‘carbon footprint’ refers to ▪ the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of an individual or organization.
▪ Scientists suggest that increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will result in an increase in global temperatures, and the term ▪ ‘global warming’ is used ▪ to describe this phenomenon.
Language Bank at first  
Example Bank:
• Social values are not easy to define.
• There may be problems if responsibilities are not adequately defined.
• This type of lymphoma is defined by the presence of specific malignant cells.
• Thread count is defined as the number of threads in one square inch of fabric.
• We have chosen to define the scope of our study quite broadly.

• the culturally defined role of women

tough

tough [tough toughs] adjective, noun, verb   [tʌf]    [tʌf] 

adjective (tough·er, tough·est) 

DIFFICULT
1. having or causing problems or difficulties
• a tough childhood
• It was a tough decision to make.
• She's been having a tough time of it (= a lot of problems) lately.
• He faces the toughest test of his leadership so far.

• It can be tough trying to juggle a career and a family.  

STRICT/FIRM

2. demanding that particular rules be obeyed and showing a lack of sympathy for any problems or suffering that this may cause
• ~ (on sb/sth) Don't be too tough on him— he was only trying to help.
• ~ (with sb/sth) It's about time teachers started to get tough with bullies.
• The school takes a tough line on (= punishes severely) cheating.
• Local traders are calling for tougher action against vandals.

Opp:  soft  

STRONG

3. strong enough to deal successfully with difficult conditions or situations
• a tough breed of cattle
• He's not tough enough for a career in sales.

• She's a tough cookie/customer (= sb who knows what they want and is not easily influenced by other people).

4. (of a person) physically strong and likely to be violent
• You think you're so tough, don't you?

• He plays the tough guy in the movie.  

MEAT

5. difficult to cut or chew

Opp:  tender  

NOT EASILY DAMAGED

6. not easily cut, broken, torn, etc
• a tough pair of shoes

• The reptile's skin is tough and scaly.  

UNFORTUNATE

7. ~ (on sb) (informal) unfortunate for sb in a way that seems unfair
• It was tough on her being dropped from the team like that.
• (ironic) ‘I can't get it finished in time.’ ‘Tough! (= I don't feel sorry about it.) ’
more at a hard/tough act to follow at  act  _n., when the going gets tough (the tough get going) at  going  _n., hang tough at  hang  _v., a hard/tough nuta hard/tough nut (to crack) at  nut  _n., talk tough at  talk  _v.  
Word Origin:
Old English tōh, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch taai and German zäh.  
Example Bank:
• Has the government been tough enough on polluters?
• He may find it tough to pursue his plans.
• It's very tough on the wives when the husbands go off like that.
• It's very tough on the wives when the husbands leave.
• The government has promised to get tough on crime.
• The meat was a bit tough.
• The strong dollar has made it tough for small businesses.
• Then this guy started acting tough.
• Things were pretty tough at first.
• You have to be tough with these young thugs.
• Don't be too tough on him— he was only trying to help.
• He had a tough childhood.
• It's about time teachers started to get tough with bullies.
• It's tough out there in the real world.
• She's been having a tough time of it.
• The next couple of months will be tough, but I'm sure we'll cope.
• The school takes a tough line on cheating.
• There will be tough new controls on car emissions.
• We must take a tough stance against terrorism.
Idioms: tough as nails ▪ tough as old boots ▪ tough luck
Derived Words: toughly ▪ toughness

Derived: tough something out 

control

con·trol [control controls controlled controlling] noun, verb   [kənˈtrəʊl]    [kənˈtroʊl]

noun  

POWER
1. uncountable ~ (of/over sb/sth) the power to make decisions about how a country, an area, an organization, etc. is run
• The party is expecting to gain control of the council in the next election.
• The Democrats will probably lose control of Congress.
• A military junta took control of the country.
• The city is in the control of enemy forces.

• The city is under enemy control.

2. uncountable ~ (of/over sb/sth) the ability to make sb/sth do what you want
• The teacher had no control over the children.
• She struggled to keep control of her voice.
• She lost control of her car on the ice.
• He got so angry he lost control (= shouted and said or did things he would not normally do).
• Owing to circumstances beyond our control, the flight to Rome has been cancelled.
• The coach made the team work hard on ball control (= in a ball game).

see also  self-control  

LIMITING/MANAGING

3. uncountable, countable ~ (of/on sth) (often in compounds) the act of restricting, limiting or managing sth; a method of doing this
• traffic control
• talks on arms control
• government controls on trade and industry
• A new advance has been made in the control of malaria.
• Price controls on food were ended.
• a pest control officer

see also  birth control, quality control  

IN MACHINE

4. countable, usually plural the switches and buttons, etc. that you use to operate a machine or a vehicle
• the controls of an aircraft
• the control panel
• the volume control of a CD player
• The co-pilot was at the controls when the plane landed.
• a car with dual control(s) (= one set of controls for the driver and one for the instructor ).

see also  remote control  

IN EXPERIMENT

5. countable (technical) a person, thing or group used as a standard of comparison for checking the results of a scientific experiment; an experiment whose result is known, used for checking working methods
• The study showed that women with the disease have had fewer children than the controls.

• One group was treated with the new drug, and the control group was given a sugar pill.  

PLACE

6. singular a place where orders are given or where checks are made; the people who work in this place
• air traffic control
• We went through passport control and into the departure lounge.

• This is Mission Control calling the space shuttle Discovery.  

ON COMPUTER

7. uncountable (also conˈtrol key singular) (on a computer keyboard) a key that you press when you want to perform a particular operation 
Word Origin:
late Middle English (as a verb in the sense ‘check or verify accounts’, especially by referring to a duplicate register): from Anglo-Norman French contreroller ‘keep a copy of a roll of accounts’, from medieval Latin contrarotulare, from contrarotulus ‘copy of a roll’, from contra- ‘against’ + rotulus ‘a roll’. The noun is perhaps via French contrôle.  
Thesaurus:
control noun
1. U
• The city is under enemy control.
power • • rule • • authority • • command • • hold • • grasp • • discipline • |formal jurisdiction •
in control/power/authority/command
be under sb's control/rule/authority/command/jurisdiction
have/give sb control/power/authority/command/a hold/jurisdiction over sb/sth
2. U, C
• government controls on trade and industry
limit • • limitation • • restriction • • constraint • • restraint • • check • • ceiling • • curb •
controls/limits/limitations/restrictions/constraints/restraints/checks/a ceiling/curbs on sth
without controls/limits/limitations/restrictions/constraints/restraints/checks
impose controls/limits/limitations/restrictions/constraints/restraints/checks/a ceiling/curbs
3. C, usually pl.
• the controls of an aircraft
button • • switch • • dial • • wheel • • lever • • knob •
be at/take the controls/wheel
adjust the controls/dial
the controls/wheel operates sth 
Synonyms:
limit
restriction • control • constraint • restraint • limitation
These are all words for sth that limits what you can do or what can happen.
limit • the greatest or smallest amount of sth that is allowed: ▪ The EU has set strict limits on pollution levels. ◊ ▪ the speed limit
restriction • (rather formal) a rule or law that limits what you can do: ▪ There are no restrictions on the amount of money you can withdraw.
control • (often in compounds) the act of limiting or managing sth; a method of doing this: ▪ arms control
constraint • (rather formal) a fact or decision that limits what you can do: ▪ We have to work within severe constraints of time and money.
restraint • (rather formal) a decision, a rule, an idea, etc. that limits what you can do; the act of limiting sth because it is necessary or sensible to do so: ▪ The government has imposed export restraints on some products. ◊ ▪ The unions are unlikely to accept any sort of wage restraint.
limitation • the act or process of limiting sth; a rule, fact or condition that limits sth: ▪ They would resist any limitation of their powers.
restriction, constraint, restraint or limitation?
These are all things that limit what you can do. A restriction is rule or law that is made by sb in authority. A constraint is sth that exists rather than sth that is made, although it may exist as a result of sb's decision. A restraint is also sth that exists: it can exist outside yourself, as the result of sb else's decision; but it can also exist inside you, as a fear of what other people may think or as your own feeling about what is acceptable: ▪ moral/social/cultural restraints. A limitation is more general and can be a rule that sb makes or a fact or condition that exists.
limits/restrictions/controls/constraints/restraints/limitations on sth
limits/limitations to sth
severe limits/restrictions/controls/constraints/restraints/limitations
tight limits/restrictions/controls/constraints
to impose/remove limits/restrictions/controls/constraints/restraints/limitations
to lift restrictions/controls/constraints/restraints 
Example Bank:
• Chief Air Officer Sedley was at the controls of the Boeing 707.
• Editors do not exercise control over large sections of their newspapers.
• Enemy forces have now regained control of the area.
• Everything is under control
• He defended the tradition of civilian control over the military.
• He lost control of the car when he swerved to avoid a bicycle.
• He wants to hand over control of social security to the private sector.
• He's a real control freak.
• I had this feeling that things were out of control.
• Many teenagers have poor impulse control.
• New crime control measures have failed.
• Once we were in the air, I was allowed to take the controls.
• Parking is outside my control.
• The car went out of control on the icy road.
• The country has tightened its border controls.
• The department was under the control of Bryce Thompson.
• The elected government is back in control.
• The event has been cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control.
• The government has imposed strict controls on new building.
• The idea is to give councils full control of their own budgets.
• The police are experts in crowd control.
• They have introduced controls on public spending.
• They have little control over that side of the business.
• They soon got the situation under control.
• Weeds should be kept under strict control.
• a programmable control unit
• attempts to wrest control of the town from government forces
• calls for tougher export controls
• government plans to centralize control of schools
• plans to relax price controls
• the air traffic control tower
• the water pressure control valve
• A pest control officer was called in to deal with the rat problem.
• He got so angry he lost control.
• Practical measures such as quality control and testing are very important in the manufacturing process.
• The aim is to give people more control over their own lives.
• The city is under enemy control.
• The coach made the team work hard on ball control.
• The family has sold most of its shares and will lose control of the company.
• a reliable method of birth control

Idioms: get something under control ▪ in control ▪ out of control ▪ under control 

artificial

ar·ti·fi·cial   [ˌɑːtɪˈfɪʃl]    [ˌɑːrtɪˈfɪʃl]  adjective
1. made or produced to copy sth natural; not real
• an artificial limb/flower/sweetener/fertilizer

• artificial lighting/light

2. created by people; not happening naturally
• A job interview is a very artificial situation.

• the artificial barriers of race, class and gender

3. not what it appears to be
Syn:  fake
• artificial emotion
Derived Words: artificiality ▪ artificially  
Word Origin:
late Middle English: from Old French artificiel or Latin artificialis, from artificium ‘handicraft’, based on ars, art- ‘art’ + facere ‘make’.  
Thesaurus:
artificial adj.
1.
• free from artificial colours and flavours
synthetic • • man-made • • false • • fake • • imitation •
Opp: natural
artificial/synthetic/man-made fabrics/fibres/materials/products
artificial/synthetic/fake/imitation fur/leather
artificial/synthetic/false/fake/imitation diamonds/pearls
2.
• A job interview is a very artificial situation.
disapproving forced • • strained • • laboured • • contrived •
a/an artificial/contrived situation/example
a forced/strained smile
sound forced/strained/laboured/contrived 
Synonyms:
artificial
synthetic • false • man-made • fake • imitation
These words all describe things that are not real, or not naturally produced or grown.
artificial • made or produced to copy sth natural; not real: ▪ artificial flowers ◊ ▪ artificial light
synthetic • made by combining chemical substances rather than being produced naturally by plants or animals: ▪ synthetic drugs ◊ ▪ shoes with synthetic soles
false • not natural: ▪ false teeth ◊ ▪ a false beard
man-made • made by people; not natural: ▪ man-made fibres such as nylon
fake • made to look like sth else; not real: ▪ a fake-fur jacket
imitation • [only before noun] made to look like sth else; not real: ▪ She would never wear imitation pearls.
artificial/synthetic/man-made fabrics/fibres/materials/products
artificial/synthetic/fake/imitation fur/leather
artificial/synthetic/false/fake/imitation diamonds/pearls  
Example Bank:
• a patently artificial contrivance
• All food served in the restaurant is completely free from any artificial colours and flavours.
• I don't like having to do detailed work in artificial light.
• It would be entirely artificial to try and divorce the two issues.
• The patient was kept alive by the artificial heart for nearly two months.

• They use rather artificial examples.

self-confidence

ˌself-ˈconfidence    ;    noun uncountable

• He constantly tried to undermine her self-confidence.

• He has no self-confidence.

stadium

sta·dium [stadium stadiums stadia]   [ˈsteɪdiəm]    [ˈsteɪdiəm]  noun (pl. sta·diums or sta·dia   [ˈsteɪdiə]  ;   [ˈsteɪdiə]  )
a large sports ground surrounded by rows of seats and usually other buildings
• a football/sports stadium
• an all-seater stadium  
Word Origin:
late Middle English (originally referring to an ancient Roman or Greek measure of length): via Latin from Greek stadion. The current sense dates from the mid 19th cent.  
Example Bank:
• The Reds are building a new stadium.
• Thousands packed into the stadium to watch the final.
• the home stadium of the New York Giants
• It is a domed stadium with artificial turf.
• They're planning to turn the football ground into an all-seater stadium.

• Thousands of football fans packed into the stadium to watch the game.

undressed

un·dressed [undressed]   [ʌnˈdrest]    [ʌnˈdrest]  adjective not usually before noun
not wearing any clothes
• She began to get undressed (= remove her clothes).
• He was half undressed when he answered the door.
Opp:  dressed  
Example Bank:
• He was half undressed when the doorbell rang.
• She felt undressed without her hat.
• He said he felt undressed without a hat.

• She began to get undressed.

courtesy

cour·tesy [courtesy courtesies] noun, adjective   [ˈkɜːtəsi]    [ˈkɜːrtəsi] 

noun (pl. cour·tesies)
1. uncountable polite behaviour that shows respect for other people
Syn:  politeness
• I was treated with the utmost courtesy by the staff.
• We asked them, as a matter of courtesy, if we could photograph their house.

• It's only common courtesy to tell the neighbours that we'll be having a party (= the sort of behaviour that people would expect).

2. countable, usually plural (formal) a polite thing that you say or do when you meet people in formal situations
• an exchange of courtesies before the meeting  
Word Origin:
Middle English: from Old French cortesie, from corteis, based on Latin cohors ‘yard, retinue’.  
Example Bank:
• He listened to all the complaints with great courtesy.
• It's a matter of courtesy to write and thank people after a party.
• It's common courtesy to give up your seat for elderly people.
• It's common courtesy to warn your neighbours if your children are going to have a party.
• She contacts clients regularly as a professional courtesy.
• She might have done me the courtesy of replying to my letter.
• You could at least have had the courtesy to let me know.
• her unfailing courtesy to everyone
• He bowed his head with exaggerated courtesy.
• It's only common courtesy to tell the neighbours that we'll be having a party.
• The prime minister was welcomed with the usual courtesies.
• We asked them as a matter of courtesy.

Idioms: courtesy of somebody ▪ do somebody the courtesy of doing something ▪ have the courtesy to do something