English Questions
Explore questions in the English category that you can ask Spark.E!
deprive somebody of something phrasal verbto prevent someone from having something, especially something that they need or should haveA lot of these children have been deprived of a normal home life.
whitdrawto stop taking part in an activity, belonging to an organization etc, or to make someone do thiswithdraw fromA knee injury forced her to withdraw from the competition.withdraw something/somebody from somethingParents have the right to withdraw their children from religious education lessons if they wish.
substantiallarge in amount or number SYN considerableWe have the support of a substantial number of parents. a substantial piece of furnitureShe claimed that, if she was a man, her pay would be substantially higher.
MONEY [uncountable] old-fashioned especially American English money given by the government to help people who are poor, old, unemployed etc SYN welfareon relieffamilies on relief during the DepressionWAR [uncountable] formal the act of freeing a town when it has been surrounded by an enemyrelief ofthe relief of Mafeking
dim(v)a light dims, or if you dim it, it becomes less brighta feeling, quality etc dims or is dimmed, it grows weaker or lessEven the rain could not dim their enthusiasm.
keep a journal/diarya written record of the things you do, see, etc. every dayHe kept a journal of his travels across Asia.Her journal entry for that day describes a thunder storm.The journal comes out five times a year.
expendto use or spend a lot of time, money, energy, etc.She expended all her efforts on the care of home and children.People of different ages expend different amounts of energy.Manufacturers have expended a lot of time and effort trying to improve computer security.
portrudeto stick out from somewhereprotrude fromThe envelope was protruding from her bag.protrude from something He hung his coat on a nail protruding from the wall.
sunkenthat has fallen to the bottom of the sea or the ocean, or of a lake or river synonym submergedof eyes or cheeks) hollow and deep as a result of disease, getting old, or not having enough foodHis eyes were dark and sunken.
proportion2 verb [transitive] formalto put something in a particular relationship with something else according to their relative size, amount, position etc
Coordinationthe organization of people or things so that they work together wellcoordination ofthe coordination of our economic policiesthe way in which your muscles move together when you perform a movementToo much alcohol affects your coordination.
irritable SYN crabby, bad-temperedJo was tired, irritable, and depressed.Since Steve quit smoking, he's been really irritable.• Zoe hadn't had much sleep and was feeling tired and irritable.You're turning into an irritable old man.
ruineda ruined building has been almost completely destroyed
intakethe amount of food, drink etc that you take into your bodyintake ofTry to reduce your intake of fat.the number of people who join a school, profession etc at a particular timeintake ofan intake of around 120 students each year
discreteclearly separateThe change happens in a series of discrete steps.
associate to make a connection in your mind between one thing or person and anotherassociate somebody/something with somethingI don't associate him with energetic
varyif several things of the same type vary, they are all different from each other SYN differTest scores vary from school to school.The heights of the plants vary from 8 cm to 20 cm.vary inflowers that vary in color and sizeif something varies, it changes depending on the situationQuentin's mood seems to vary according to the weather.
embarkto go onto a ship or a plane, or to put or take something onto a ship or plane OPP disembark
allocateto use something for a particular purpose, give something to a particular person etc, especially after an official decision has been madeallocate something to somebody/somethingthe importance of allocating resources to local communities
agingbecoming oldaging movie starsEurope's ageing population (=with more old people than before)► see thesaurus at old