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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
squabble^2
noun a minor quarrel » We
keep having squabbles about
whose turn it is to wash up.
altercation, argument,
barney (Britain, Australia,
and New Zealand; informal),
disagreement, dispute,
fight, quarrel, row, spat, tiffstaff
noun the people who work
for an organization » The
company’s senior staff went to
a meeting about new research.
employees, personnel,
team, workers, workforcestage^1
noun a part of a process
» Cycling is the second stage
of a triathlon race.
lap, period, phase,
point, stepstage^2
verb to organize something
» School pupils have staged
a fun run to help raise money
for a new sports centre.
arrange, engineer, mount,
orchestrate, organizestain^1
noun a mark on something
» His T-shirt was covered
in grass stains.
blot, mark, spotstain^2
verb to make a mark on
something » The spilt drink
stained the carpet.
dirty, mark, soil, spot,
discolour, smirchstale
adjective no longer fresh
» We fed the stale bread
to the ducks and ate the
fresh bread ourselves.
flat, old, sour, stagnant,
fusty, musty
antonym: freshstandard^1
noun a particular level
of quality or achievement
» To join the club you had to
play tennis to a high standard.
calibre, criterion, guideline,
level, norm, quality,
requirementstandard^2
adjective usual, normal, and
correct » It is standard
practice for schools to hold
a teacher-parent evening
every year.
accepted, correct,
customary, normal,
orthodox, regular, usualstandards
plural noun principles of
behaviour » The head
teacher has high standards.
ethics, ideals, morals,
principles, rules, scruples,
valuesstar
noun a famous person
» The film stars walked
down the red carpet.
celebrity, idol,
luminary (literary)stare
verb to look at something
for a long time » Ed stared
out of the window at the rain.
gaze, look, gawp,
goggle, oglestart^1
verb to begin to take place
» School starts again
next week.
arise, begin,
come into being,
come into existence,
commence, get under way,
originate
antonym: finishstart^2
verb to begin to do something
» Susie started to read the
book Judy had recommended.
begin, commence, embark
upon, proceed, set about
antonym: stopstart^3
verb to cause something
to begin » The official started
the race by firing the pistol.
begin, create, establish,
get going, inaugurate
(formal), initiate, instigate,
institute, introduce, launch,
open, pioneer, set in
motion, set up
antonym: stopstart^4
noun the beginning of
something » It was the
start of a new era in the
country’s history.
beginning, birth,
commencement, dawn,
foundation, inauguration,
inception (formal), initiation,
onset, opening, outset
antonym: finishsquabble
state^1
noun the condition or
circumstances of something
» The garden was in a better
state now that all the building
work was finished.
circumstances,
condition, plight,
position, predicament,
shape, situationstate^2
noun a country, especially
in political terms » The
European Union is made up of
a number of European states.
country, kingdom,
land, nation, republic,
body politic,
commonwealth, federationstate^3
verb to say something,
especially in a formal way
» Please state your name
and age.
affirm, articulate, assert,
declare, express, say,
specify, aver, expound,
propoundstatement
noun a short written or spoken
piece giving information
» The school released a
statement expressing delight
over its pupils’ achievements.
account, announcement,
bulletin, declaration,
explanation, proclamation,
report, testimonystatus
noun a person’s social position
» Felix was congratulated
on his new status as captain.
position, prestige, rank,
standingThe official started the race
by firing the pistol.The film stars walked down
the red carpet.The company’s senior staff went
to a meeting about new research.Felix was congratulated on his new
status as captain.194-223_S.indd 212 13/01/17 10:53 am