Formal language

on this/that account

Weather conditions were poor, but he did not delay his departure on that account.

to want (for) something

in want of

for (the) want of

He's ensured that his children will want for nothing

The project failed for want of financial backing.

The present system is in want of a total review.

be tempered with/by something

to make something less severe by adding something that has the opposite effect; to lessen.

For example: Justice must be tempered with mercy.

hence

We suspect they are trying to hide something, hence the need for an independent inquiry.

thus

The universities have expanded, thus allowing many more people the chance of higher education.

She rarely gave interviews and thus avoided being asked questions she would rather not answer.

We do not own the building. Thus, it would be impossible for us to make any major changes to it.

nonetheless, nevertheless

in spite of that; however

in the event of

in case of

ergo

therefore, hence

Change from within will take too long. Ergo change must come from outside.

It will tend to be the more prestigious universities that benefit; ergo, the existing hierarchy of universities will be reinforced.

conduce

To bring about a particular outcome

the belief that technological progress conduces to human happiness

in lieu of

instead of, in place of

proffer

to present or offer

render

(v.) to cause to become; to perform; to deliver officially; to process, extract

interplay

Interaction, reciprocal relationship or influence

It is our opinion that he should resign.

fortuitous

(adj.) accidental, occurring by a happy chance

slothful, indolent

lazy

quest for

in quest of

the act of searching for something

blandishments

(n.) anything designed to flatter or coax; sweet talk, apple-polishing

in summation

in summary

corollary

a direct or natural consequence or result

experiential

based on experience

experiential knowledge

experiential learning methods

recondite

difficult to understand; profound

abstruse

difficult to understand; obscure

cogent

forceful, convincing; relevant, to the point

invariably

always; without changing

mandate

(n.) an authoritative command, formal order, authorization; (v.) to issue such an order

jeopardize

to put in danger

intransigent

(of people) unwilling to change their opinions or behaviour in a way that would be helpful to others; stubborn

rescind

to cancel; to officially state that a law, contract, decision, etc. no longer has any legal force

revoke

to officially cancel something so that it is no longer legally acceptable

sanguine

(about sth) cheerful; optimistic

deliverance

(from sth) the action of being rescued or set free

constitute, compose

make up, account for

volition

of their own volition

will; conscious choice

trifle with

(used especially in negative sentences) to treat someone or something without genuine respect

He is not a person to be trifled with.

You should not trifle with someone's affections.

cognizant of

aware of, having knowledge of

command of

mastery or knowledge of a subject, especially a language

consequently

as a result; therefore

denote

to be a sign of; to indicate; to signify; to mean explicitly

Here ‘family’ denotes mother, father and children.

A very high temperature often denotes a serious illness.

signify

To be a sign of; to mean.

This decision signified a radical change in their policies.

avert

(v.) to turn aside, turn away; to prevent, avoid

A disaster was narrowly averted.

He did his best to avert suspicion.

exacerbate, aggravate, compound

to make worse or more severe

ameliorate (transitive)

to make better something that was bad or not good enough

Steps have been taken to ameliorate the situation.

deteriorate (intransitive)

to become worse

They had to cope with deteriorating weather conditions.

deteriorate into something The discussion quickly deteriorated into an angry argument.

surpass

to exceed or go beyond

surpass something/somebody He hopes one day to surpass the world record.

Its success has surpassed all expectations.

surpass yourself Her cooking was always good, but this time she had surpassed herself (= done better than her own high standards).

privation

Lack of basic necessities or comforts of life

the privations of poverty

They endured years of suffering and privation.

solicitous

being very concerned for somebody and wanting to make sure that they are comfortable, well or happy, attentive

She was very solicitous for our welfare.

a solicitous host

denizen

inhabitant

the wherewithal

the necessary means (especially financial means), resources

extant

still existing; not exterminated, destroyed, or lost

meld

blend, combine

garner

to gather; to acquire

tantamount

equivalent in seriousness to; virtually the same as

accord something to

to give somebody/something authority, status or a particular type of treatment

Our society accords great importance to the family.

There were complaints about the special treatment accorded to some of the candidates.

mores

norms that are widely observed and have great moral significance

replete with

filled or well-supplied with something

purvey

to provide, supply

purvey something to supply food, services or information to people

lionize

treat as highly important

beneficent

(adj.) performing acts of kindness or charity; conferring benefits, doing good

predicated on

To be based on or established on

stultify

to make ineffective or useless, cripple; to have a dulling effect on

curb

to control or limit something, especially something bad

subsequently

afterwards; later; after something else has happened

The original interview notes were subsequently lost.

Subsequently, new guidelines were issued to all employees.

He subsequently became chairman of the party.

detrimental

harmful; damaging

undermine

to make something, especially somebody’s confidence or authority, gradually weaker or less effective

Our confidence in the team has been seriously undermined by their recent defeats.

This crisis has undermined his position.

advocate

to support something publicly

recipe for

situation sure to lead to sth

supplant

supersede

to take the place of somebody/something (especially somebody/something older or less modern)SYNONYM replace

Their work has been largely supplanted by the use of a computer program that fulfils the same function.

alleviate

to make something less severe, to relieve, ease

vitriol

cruel and bitter criticism

terminate

to bring to an end

Your contract of employment terminates in December.

terminate something The agreement was terminated immediately.

opus

a creative work, especially a numbered composition

impugn

to express doubts about whether something is right, honest, etc.

SYNONYM challenge, question

There were no real grounds for impugning the decision.

postulate

to suggest or accept that something is true so that it can be used as the basis for a theory, etc.

SYNONYM posit

They postulated a 500-year lifespan for a plastic container.

This is predicated on the assumption that

efficacious (in)

effective; producing the desired outcome

salubrious

(of a place) pleasant to live in; clean and healthy

exhort

to try hard to persuade somebody to do somethingSYNONYM urge

exhort somebody to do something The party leader exhorted his members to start preparing for government.

exhort somebody to something They had been exhorted to action.

exhort (somebody) + speech 'Come on!' he exhorted (them).

exert influence on

to use your power, influence etc in order to make something happen

proclivity (for something/for doing something)

a natural desire or need that makes you tend to do something, often something bad

SYNONYM propensity

his sexual/criminal proclivities

the government's proclivity for spending money

Most regimes have self-destructive proclivities.

propensity

a natural desire or need that makes you tend to behave in a particular way

SYNONYM inclination

propensity for something He showed a propensity for violence.

propensity for doing something her propensity for accepting a challenge

propensity to do something She has a propensity to exaggerate.

propensity for something to do something There is an increased propensity for people to live alone.

curtailment

the action or fact of reducing or restricting something

Spending on books has been severely curtailed.

The lecture was curtailed by the fire alarm going off.

purport to

to claim to be something or to have done something, when this may not be true

SYNONYM profess

The book does not purport to be a complete history of the period.

in conjunction with

together with somebody/something

The police are working in conjunction with tax officers on the investigation.

The software can be used in conjunction with any other application.

to err on the side of caution

(idiom) to be especially careful rather than taking a risk or making a mistake

I thought it was better to err on the side of caution

redress

to correct something that is unfair or wrong

SYNONYM right (5)

to redress an injustice

rectify

to put right something that is wrong

SYNONYM correct

to rectify a fault

We must take steps to rectify the situation.

gravitate to/toward(s) somebody/something

to move towards somebody/something that you are attracted to

Many young people gravitate to the cities in search of work.

omit

to not include something/somebody, either deliberately or because you have forgotten it/them

SYNONYM leave somebody/something out

omit something/somebody If you are a student, you can omit questions 16-18.

omit something/somebody from something People were surprised that Smith was omitted from the team.

impede

to delay or stop the progress of something

SYNONYM hinder, hamper

Work on the building was impeded by severe weather.

A number of practical difficulties impeded the process.

In what ways did economic factors impede progress?

prohibit

to stop something from being done or used especially by law

SYNONYM forbid

prohibit something a law prohibiting the sale of alcohol

prohibit somebody from doing something Soviet citizens were prohibited from travelling abroad.

prohibit (somebody) doing something The policy prohibits smoking on school grounds.

mindfulness

(of something) the fact of remembering somebody/something and considering them/it when you do something

SYNONYM consciousness (2)

their mindfulness of the wider cinematic tradition

admonish

(v.) to caution or advise against something; to scold mildly; to remind of a duty

concomitant

happening at the same time as something else, especially because one thing is related to or causes the other

an increase in student numbers and the concomitant increase in class size

conducive to something

making it easy, possible or likely for something to happen

deleterious

harmful and damaging

the deleterious effect of stress on health

evince

​evince something to show clearly that you have a feeling or quality

He evinced a strong desire to be reconciled with his family.

She evinced little enthusiasm for the outdoor life.

foment

foment something to create trouble or violence or make it worse

SYNONYM incite

They accused him of fomenting political unrest.

imperative

extremely necessary; vitally important

conversant with

familiar with or knowledgeable about something