British English

sell somebody down the river to do something that harms a group of people who trusted you, in order to gain money or power for yourself

eww

eww /ˈiːu/ BrE AmE interjection informal
used to show that you think something is extremely unpleasant:
She kissed him? Eww!

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.
 

attainable

See main entry: ↑attain

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.

pessimism

pes‧si‧mi‧sm /ˈpesəmɪzəm, ˈpesɪmɪzəm/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
[Date: 1700-1800; Language: French; Origin: pessimisme, from Latin pessimus 'worst']
a tendency to believe that bad things will happen OPP optimism
pessimism about/over
There is deep pessimism about the future.

2. God/Heaven forbid spoken used to emphasize that you hope that something will not happen:
‘Supposing I had an accident.’ ‘God forbid!’