Unit 4 Wordlist Language Hub Advanced 

Part of
Word/Phrase speech IPA (UK) IPA (USA) Definition Sample sentence
Conceptual metaphors
bright adjective braɪt a bright person is intelligent As one of the brightest
and usually young and likely students in the class
to do well at school or in he usually gets the
their careers best grades.
cool down phrasal verb kuːl daʊn kul daʊn to become or to cause Just try to cool down
someone to become, less and think rationally.
angry or excited
defend your verb phrase dɪˈfend jɔː dɪˈfend jʊər to say things to support an She had to defend her
position pəˈzɪʃən pəˈzɪʃən opinion that is being criticised position when her
colleague disagreed.
fiery temper noun ˈfaɪəri ˈtempə ˈfaɪəri ˈtempər someone with a fiery temper Be careful how you
becomes angry very easily speak to him, as he’s got
and quickly a fiery temper.
hot-tempered adjective ˌhɒt ˈtempə(r)d ˌhɑt ˈtempərd becoming angry very easily He is too hot-tempered –
he really needs to
control himself.
in the dark phrase ɪn ðə dɑːk ɪn ðə dɑrk not knowing very much about We are still very much in
something, because other the dark about how the
people are keeping it secret money was lost.
from you
invest time verb phrase ɪnˈvest taɪm to use the time with the aim of She invested a lot of
gaining a future advantage time into choosing the
right course.
shed light on verb phrase ʃed laɪt ɒn ʃɛd laɪt ɑn to provide new information I had hoped that he
that helps you understand would be able to
something shed some light on
the problem.
shoot down phrasal verb ʃuːt daʊn ʃut daʊn to refuse even to consider He shot down every
something such as an idea or proposal that we
a plan presented to him.
stay cool phrase steɪ kuːl steɪ kul remain calm and relaxed It’s important to
stay cool even if
you’re provoked.
Science and research
conclude verb kənˈkluːd kənˈklud to decide that something is After examining all the
true after looking at all the evidence, we concluded
evidence you have that his claim was false.
conduct an verb phrase ˈkɒndʌkt ən to perform a scientific test Researchers now need
experiment ɪksˈpɛrɪmənt to find out what happens to to conduct further
someone or something in experiments.
particular conditions
demonstrate verb ˈdemənˌstreɪt to show clearly that something The study demonstrates
is true or that it exists that cigarette advertising
does encourage children
to smoke.
findings noun ˈfaɪndɪŋz information that you discover The government
or opinions that you form after seems to have ignored
doing research the findings of its
own report.
hypothesise verb haɪˈpɒθəˈsaɪz haɪˈpɑθəˌsaɪz to suggest a possible With no witnesses,
explanation for something the police can only
based on the information you hypothesise as to what
have, but without knowing exactly happened.
whether the explanation is
really true

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Unit 4 Wordlist Language Hub Advanced 

Part of
Word/Phrase speech IPA (UK) IPA (USA) Definition Sample sentence
participant noun pɑː(r)ˈtɪsɪpənt pɑrˈtɪsɪpənt someone who takes part It was argued that
in something he was a willing
participant in the crime.
social norms noun nɔː(r)m nɔrm standards of behaviour that are Each culture develops its
accepted in a particular society own social norms.
speculate verb ˈspekjʊleɪt ˈspekjəˌleɪt to consider or discuss why We can only speculate
something has happened or on the reasons for his
what might happen sudden resignation.
Thinking
absent-minded adjective ˈæbsənt ˈmaɪndɪd likely to forget things or I’m getting more
to think about something absent-minded as
different from what you should I get older.
be thinking about
common sense noun ˈkɒmən sens ˈkɑmən sens the ability to use good Let’s use a little
judgement and make common sense to solve
sensible decisions this problem.
curious adjective ˈkjʊəriəs ˈkjʊriəs someone who is curious wants Children are curious
to find out about something about animals and how
they live.
eccentric adjective ɪkˈsentrɪk someone who is eccentric She acts very
often behaves in slightly unconventionally
strange or unusual ways sometimes so people
describe her as eccentric.
eureka moment noun jʊəˈriːkə jʊˈrikə ˈmoʊmənt the moment where you find Finding that short
ˈməʊmənt the answer to a problem cut was a real eureka
moment.
overthink verb ˌəʊvəˈθɪŋk ˌoʊvərˈθɪŋk to think about something too Falling in love should
much or in too much detail be natural – don’t
overthink it.
troubleshoot verb ˈtrʌb(ə)lˌʃuːt ˈtrʌb(ə)lˌʃut to try to deal with a problem They brought someone
or difficulty in from outside the
company to help
troubleshoot.
wishful thinking noun ˌwɪʃf(ə)l ˈθɪŋkɪŋ a belief that something that She was sure he’d
you want to be true is true forgiven her – or
was that just
wishful thinking?

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