AVERT
/əˈvəːt/

1. The tragedy could have been averted if the crew had followed safety procedures.
2. I averted my eyes from the television, trying desperately to distract myself.
A pair of University students passing by hastily averted their faces to hide their giggles.

LOOM
/luːm/
1. Suddenly a mountain loomed up in front of them.
2. Mountains loom in the distance and Bilbo thinks they must be near their destination.
3. As the day of my interview loomed, I became increasingly nervous.
The two countries believe that a crisis is looming.

BANISH
/ˈbanɪʃ/
1. Try to banish all thoughts of revenge from your mind.
There's a good reason that it has been banished from the airwaves.
2. Napoleon was banished to the island of St Helena in 1815.

SPARK
Those provocative words have sparked an emotional debate and strong reactions.
The Confessor's death in January 1066 sparked off a crisis.
He sparked a massive argument by saying something intolerant about her family.

RIPPLE
1. Far below him, the wind rippled the smooth surface of the lake.
2. Panic rippled through Hollywood as the murders were discovered.
3. Anger was rippling through him so fiercely that his whole body shook.
News ripple across the country.

LEVY
/ˈlevi/

Many other European Union countries levy no tax on share transactions.
The duty is levied by the government on flights leaving any UK airport.
Taxes are levied on the basis of income and property.
A 15% tax is levied on most hotel services.

CONGEST
/kənˈdʒɛst/

Uncontrolled development will congest our streets.
Police claimed the marchers were congesting the area.

EXONERATE
/ɪɡˈzɒnəreɪt/

The report exonerated the crew from all responsibility for the collision.
I do not wholly exonerate her from blame.

COERCE
/ˈkoʊɜːrs/

In many cases, young women are coerced or bribed into relationships with older men.
Officials coerced peasants into voting for the government candidates.

COMBAT
He emphasised that the Government was doing all it could to combat corruption.
There are things people can do to combat the stress associated with kicking the habit.
I believe the public will support us in combating the drugs that cause the greatest harm.

INVIGORATE
/ɪnˈvɪɡ·əˌreɪt/
1. They argued that a cut in the tax rate would invigorate the economy.
2. At my age, the walk into town is enough to invigorate me.

FLOCK

Anytime they filmed in a public place, fans were sure to flock around them.
They found a shop was selling them for £10 and teenagers were flocking to buy them.
People flock to the shops on Black Friday to try and get a bargain or two.

OFFSET
/ˌɒfˈset/

1. The extra cost of travelling to work is offset by the lower price of houses here.
2. Donations to charities can be offset against tax.

UNDERCUT

1. Online bookstores can undercut retailers by up to 30%.
2. He suspected it was an attempt to undercut his authority.

OVERLOAD
/əʊvəˈləʊd/
1. To maximize profit, drivers often overload their vehicles.
2. Some companies use me when their in-house guys are overloaded.

IMPLICATE
/ˈɪmplɪkeɪt/
He never discussed actions, which would implicate him in a crime.
She again denied allegations implicating her in the scam.
Some of America's other premier companies were also implicated in the scandal.

ALLEGE
/əˈledʒ/

The prosecution alleges (that) she was driving carelessly.
It is alleged that he mistreated the prisoners.
He is alleged to have mistreated the prisoners.

DISGUISE
/dɪsˈɡaɪz/
1. The robbers were heavily disguised.
She disguised herself as a boy.

2. She made no attempt to disguise her surprise.
She couldn't disguise the fact that she felt uncomfortable.

HEIGHTEN
/ˈhʌɪt(ə)n/
The strong police presence only heightened the tension among the crowd.
As the excitement heightened, the audience began stamping their feet.

THAW
/θɔː/
1. The river thawed and barges of food began to reach the capital.
2. Finally the political mood had thawed enough to allow visits to be exchanged.

UNVEIL
/ʌnˈveɪl/

1. The company unveiled their new employment policy at the annual meeting.
2. His family will be at the opening ceremony to unveil a plaque in his memory.

EMBROIL
/ɪmˈbrɔɪl/

He became embroiled in a dispute with his neighbours.
I was reluctant to embroil myself in his problem.
embroiled in a scandal,disput,argument, illegal things

RECKON
/ˈrɛk(ə)n/
1. His debts were reckoned at £300,000.
2. The costs are reckoned to be high and are probably underestimated.
What do you reckon to her new boyfriend?
3. She reckons to have planted nearly 1000 trees in her lifetime.

ABUSE
/əˈbjuːz/

1. That does not make sense, that is not logical, and the judge has abused his powers.
It is alleged that she has continued to abuse alcohol and drugs.
2. His difference makes him a victim, repeatedly abused and cheated.
3. The referee was abused by players from both teams

SUBDUE
/səbˈdjuː/
1. Business is always subdued this time of year - no one has money after Christmas.
2. Breathing deeply, I tried to subdue the gnawing feeling deep in my stomach.
3. It took three police officers to subdue him.

FOIL

Armed police foiled a robbery in London today.
I was informed resently that it was a Johnson who foiled the gunpowder plot.
The criminal's attempt to smuggle drugs was foiled by the airport security dogs.

SHY
You never shy from giving your opinion, do you? That's very assertive of you.
I wanted to tell her how I felt, but shied away from it. I am too afraid of rejection.

PARDON
Large numbers of political prisoners have been pardoned and released by the new president.
In light of the new evidence, Mr Jones was pardoned and set free from the prison.

SANITISE
/ˈsæn.ɪ.taɪz/
1. Dentist's tools should be clean and sanitised.
2. When I tell you the story do you a full version or the sanitised version?
I agree that violence and explicit scenes should be sanitised but not at the expense of atmosphere or the story.

CRASH
I am going to crash my ex-boy friend party. I need to know if he is seeing someone else.

GATECRASH
He decided to gatecrash the wedding.

FUMBLE
1. He fumbled in his pockets for some change.
2. They fumbled around/about in the dark, trying to find their way out of the cinema.
3. He reached the main door and fumbled with the keys.
4. She no longer is the same shy woman who fumbled for words when the sordid epizode broke out.

SEESAW
/ˈsiːsɔː/

In the weeks that followed, Japanese policy toward China see-sawed several times, but generally moved towards greater mobilization and tougher demands.

UNDERGO
(underwent, undergone)
The country has undergone massive changes recently.
After the accident, his personality underwent a complete transformation.
He has been released from prison to undergo medical treatment in the United States.
Doctors have to undergo years of training.
She has been undergoing tests since Monday.

BRACE
/breɪs/
1. Weak corner joints may be braced with angle irons, and triangles of wood.
2. He spread his legs and braced his feet in the sand to stay upright.
3. As she walked to the hospital, she braced herself for bed news.

RELENT
/rɪˈlent/

1. Finally relenting to Mr Smith's request, she said "Alright, I'll do it now".
Marjorie finally relented and agreed to meet him.

2. Outside, the sky rumbled, and the falling rain did not relent.
The rain relented in time for the start of the racing.

ENGULF
/ɪnˈɡʌlf/
1. Northern areas of the country were engulfed by/in a snowstorm last night.
The country was soon engulfed in a bloody civil war.
In three minutes, the club was engulfed in flames.
2. A deep, overwhelming wave of emotion engulfed me, and I felt tears well in my eyes.

FACE
1.Passengers could face long delays.
2. I think Phil has to face the fact that she no longer loves him.
3. I know I have to tell her bur I can't face it.

CREEP
crept - crept

1. John crept back up the stairs, trying to avoid the ones that creaked.
2. The bus crept slowly through the viscous traffic pouring into the city.
3. Funny how religion is creeping into the environmental debate.

ABSOLVE
/əbˈzɒlv/

Ignorance does not absolve you from the rule of law you know.
At the same time, the right to free speech does not absolve us from our duty to behave responsibly.

LOATHE
/ləʊð/
I really loathe it when people make promises and then don't keep them.
They were required to remain together in the public eye, but in reality loathed each other cordially.
Mrs Morel loathed her husband when he was drunk and violent.

TAINT
/teɪnt/
1. The water had been tainted with a deadly toxin.
2. Both of us were sick, after eating some tainted chocolate.
3. He's smart and energetic and he's never been tainted by corruption or scandal.
But some of the most prominent have been tainted by scandal.

RAMIFY
/ˈræm.ɪ.faɪ/

An elaborate system of canals was built, leading away from the Thames and ramifying throughout the UK.

DEVOUR
/dɪˈvaʊə/
1. He devoured half of his burger in one bite.
She is an avid reader nd can easily devour three books a week.
2. A child and his father watch helplesly at the waters slowly devour theit home.
3. BE DEVOURED
hen give yourself permission to stop worrying about things you can't control, so you won't be devoured by fear.

UNFOLD
/ʌnˈfəʊld/

That is how fast political events are unfolding in Zambia.
No one knew how the situation would unfold, so everyone kept quiet and waited.

OUTNUMBER
/ˌaʊtˈnʌm.bər/

In our office the women outnumber the men three to one.

In our office the men were outnumbered by the women.

CHOKE
/tʃəʊk/
1. Children can choke on peanuts.
Peanuts can choke a small child.
2. At lunchtime the streets were choked with traffic.
3. He could score points at will during the qualifying matches, but in the final he completely choked.

TEETER
/ˈtiːtə/

1. She teetered after him in her high-heeled sandals.
The clown clumsily teetered back and forth and vanished in a flash of colorful confetti.
2. She teetered between tears and anger.
Over the past six months, the family has teetered back and forth between several of the possibilities, convinced at times of one, then another.

SLITHER
/ˈslɪðə/

Ben dipped under the surface, slithering like a snake after the boys.
She slithered under the desk to try to find her keys.

BAIL
/beɪl/

Don't rely on John for anything. He alwys bails at the last minute.
It was so boring I bailed early.

CRIPPLE
/ˈkrɪp.əl/

1. Her son was crippled after a road accident when he was five.

2. A trucker strike has crippled the country.
a country crippled by war