Category: Vocabulary

Commonly confused expressions

In the way and on the way These expressions have different meanings. In the way or in my way is used to talk about obstacles – things that stop people from getting where they...

Through

In American English, through can be used to refer to time. It means ‘up to and including’. The office is open from nine through six. The park is open from March through June. (=...

Abridge, Absolute

Abridge (verb) To abridge is to shorten or to condense The job of an editor is to abridge a long document by removing the boring or irrelevant details. There is an adjective – abridged...

Trouble

The word trouble is mainly used as an uncountable noun. That means it does not have a plural form. Also it is not normally used with numbers or the article a/an. Incorrect: Most children...

Sciences | vocabulary

Science Field of study Psychology Study of the human mind and behavior Psyche One’s inner or mental life or self image Psychic Pertaining to the mind Psychopathy Mental or emotional disturbance Psychosomatic Describing the...

Scientists and their field of study

Scientist Professional field Anthropologist Development of the human race Astronomer Celestial phenomena Geologist Study of the earth Biologist Interested in all forms of living matter Botanist Interested in the study of plant life Zoology...

Abortive

Abortive (unsuccessful) Abortive means unsuccessful. The terrorist made an abortive attempt to blow up the bridge. (Their attempt to blow up the bridge was not successful.) I made an abortive effort to bake a...

Abnegate (verb)

Abnegate (verb) When you abnegate things, you renounce them; you refuse to take them. In a bid to lose weight, Maya abnegated sweets for one month. Maya likes sweets but she stopped taking them...

Abject

Abject (adjective) Abject means ‘hopeless’, ‘defeated’ or ‘extremely sad and servile’ An abject person is a defeated person who has lost all hopes. An example is a slave. The word abject is commonly used...