English Vocabulary in Use - 12 Relationships: ups and downs

casual acquaintances

people you know, but not very well

loyalty

support in good or bad times

behind their backs

when they are not here

two-faced towards

insincere; pleasant with someone and then unpleasant about them behind their back

allies

countries or people who join together to fight for a common cause

business partners

people who own a business together

bitter/arch rivals

people in competition with each other in a negative, aggressive way

sworn enemies

people who will always hate each other

distant towards

not friendly, cold

break down

collapse

genuine misunderstandings

not understanding something correctly

rift develop

serious disagreement that divides people

discord

disagreement and discontent

don’t see eye to eye

have different opinions

been on bad terms

have a poor relationship

turned sour

become bad

split up

separate

has had its ups and downs

had good and bad times

bumpy relationship

up and down like a car on a road with bumps

broken home

family split up by divorce

family feud

quarrel in a family causing bad feeling for many years