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Dienstag, 19. Januar 2021, 02:54
Site: Learning English in context
Course: Learning English in context (Context)
Glossary: Global glossary
P

perceive

[transitive verb not in progressive]

1 written: to understand or think of something or someone in a particular way [↪ perception]
perceive something/somebody as something
Even as a young woman she had been perceived as a future chief executive.
perceive something/somebody to be something
Children who do badly in school tests often perceive themselves to be failures.
 
2 formal: to notice, see, or recognize something [↪ perceptive]:
That morning, he perceived a change in Franca's mood.
Cats are not able to perceive colour.
perceive that
He perceived that there was no other way out of the crisis.

persecution

per‧se‧cute [transitive]
1 to treat someone cruelly or unfairly over a period of time, especially because of their religious or political beliefs:
The Puritans left England to escape being persecuted.
2 to deliberately cause difficulties for someone by annoying them often [= harass]:
Like many celebrities, she complained of being persecuted by the press.
—persecutornoun [countable]
—persecutionnoun [uncountable and countable]
the persecution of writers who criticize the government

portemanteau

is a combination of two (or more) words or their sounds (morphemes) and their meanings into a single new word

premises

 

[plural noun]

the buildings and land that a shop, restaurant, company etc uses:

Schools may earn extra money by renting out their premises.
 
business premises
do not enter these premises
off the premises
Keep off these premises
The manager escorted him off the premises.
on the premises
The wonderful desserts are made on the premises.

prevail

[only before noun]

1 existing or accepted in a particular place or at a particular time [= current]:
The prevailing mood of public opinion remained hostile.
the prevailing economic conditionsin Northern Ireland
 
2 dominant

prevent

[transitive verb]

to stop something from happening, or stop someone from doing something:
The rules are intended to prevent accidents.
prevent somebody/something (from) doing something
His back injury may prevent him from playing in tomorrow's game.
We were prevented from entering the site.

provide

[transitive verb]

1 to give something to someone or make it available to them, because they need it or want it [↪ provision]:
Tea and biscuits will be provided.
provide something for somebody
The hotelprovidesa shoe-cleaning servicefor guests.
provide somebody with something
The project is designed to provide young people with work.
2 to produce something useful as a result:
We are hoping the enquiry will provide an explanation for the accident.
provide somebody with something
The search provided the police with several vital clues.

punish

[transitive verb]

to make someone suffer because they have done something wrong or broken the law [↪ punishment, punitive]:

Smacking is not an acceptable way of punishing a child.

put down

put-down [countable usually singular noun]
something you say that is intended to make someone feel stupid or unimportant [= snub]:
She was tired of his put-downs.
 
[verb]
to put someone down