Wordlist «Problem Page»

Word or word combination

Definition

Example

a relationship

the way in which two people or two groups feel about each other and behave towards each other

I have quite a good relationship with my parents.

 Are you in a relationship right now?

a response

something that is said or written as a reply

‘Sure, why not?’ was his response to all of Billie’s suggestions.

gorgeous

extremely beautiful or attractive

‘What do you think of my new flatmate?’ ‘He’s absolutely gorgeous!’

fiancé / fiancée

the man/woman you are engaged to

He and fiancée Wendy Hodgson will marry in July.

to arise

if a problem or difficult situation arises, it begins to happen

A crisis has arisen in the Foreign Office

to solve

to find a way of dealing with a problem

 He solved the problem by moving the aggressive fish to a separate tank.

a solution

 a way of solving a problem or dealing with a difficult situation

There are no simple solutions to the problem of overpopulation.

to advise

to tell someone what you think they should do, especially when you know more than they do about something

She needed someone to advise her

an advice

an opinion you give someone about what they should do

You should have followed my advice

to be engaged

if two people are engaged, they have agreed to marry

Kate’s engaged to Mark.

to steal

to take something that belongs to someone else

He stole money from his parents

to affect

to make someone feel strong emotions

We were all deeply affected by her death.

an effect

a change that is caused by an event, action etc

 My parents’ divorce had a big effect on me.

to depend

used to say that you cannot give a definite answer to something because your answer will be affected by something else

‘How long are you staying?’ ‘I don’t know; it depends.’

to treat

 to behave towards someone or something in a particular way

Why did he treat me so badly?

to hurt

to make someone feel very upset, unhappy, sad etc

I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.

to find out

to get information, after trying to discover it or by chance

I found out that my parents had never been married.

to divorce (to break up, to split up)

if someone divorces their husband or wife, or if two people divorce, they legally end their marriage

David’s parents divorced when he was six.

to destroy

to damage something so badly that it no longer exists or cannot be used or repaired 

The factory was completely destroyed by fire.

to come up with

to think of an idea, answer etc

Is that the best excuse you can come up with?

confused

unable to understand what someone is saying or what is happening

I was rather confused by his question.

to achieve

to successfully complete something or get a good result, especially by working hard

Frances achieved very good exam results.

behavior

the things that a person or animal does

His good behaviour did not last long.

extremely

to a very great degree

Earthquakes are extremely difficult to predict.

good-looking

someone who is good-looking is attractive

 He’s a good-looking guy, but he’s a bit boring.

Word or word combination

Definition

Example

personality

someone’s character, especially the way they behave towards other people

Despite their different personalities, they became the best of friends.

to appear

to start to be seen, to arrive, or to exist in a place, especially suddenly:

used when saying how someone or something seems

Two faces appeared at our win

He didn't appear to me to be a violent man. dow.

to pretend

to behave as if something is true when in fact you know it is not

‘We can’t go on pretending that everything is OK.

to excite

to make someone feel happy, interested, or eager

His playing is technically brilliant, but it doesn’t excite me.

to argue

to disagree with someone in words, often in an angry way

We could hear the neighbours arguing.

to arrange

 to organize or make plans for something such as a meeting, party, or trip

 Beth arranged a meeting with the marketing director.

to perform

to do something to entertain people, for example by acting a play or playing a piece of music

The children perform two plays each school year.

confident

sure that you have the ability to do things well or deal with situations successfully

He began to read in a calm confident voice.

innocent

not guilty of a crime

He’s innocent of murder.

responsible

having a duty to be in charge of or to look after someone or something

 He is responsible for training new staff.

intelligent

an intelligent person has a high level of mental ability and is good at understanding ideas and thinking clearly

 a group of highly intelligent (=very intelligent) students

violent

someone who is violent is likely to attack, hurt, or kill other people

He was a violent and dangerous man.

patient

able to wait calmly for a long time or to accept difficulties, people’s annoying behaviour etc without becoming angry

 Louise was very patient with me

fair (opp. unfair)

a fair situation, system, way of treating people, or judgment seems reasonable, acceptable, and right 

£150 is a fair price.

to apologize

to tell someone that you are sorry that you have done something wrong

I think you should apologize to your brother.

to get on with smb

if people get on, they like each other and have a friendly relationship with each other

I’ve always got on well with Henry.

a bend

a curved part of something, especially a road or river

The car came round the bend at a terrifying speed.bend in