LANDSLIDE
1. These rains are triggering massive landslides and building collapses.
2. His popularity ensured he won by a landslide in the 1998 presidential elections.
He lost the May 15 election by a landslide in rural and urban areas of Ethiopia.

UPRISING
Special security forces crushed the uprisings, leaving at least a thousand casualties.
For now, there hasn't been any report on any uprisings or rebellions.

ACCORD
/əˈkɔːd/

On 31 May the two leaders signed a peace accord.
The project is completely in accord with government policy.

SUMMIT
/ˈsʌm.ɪt/
1. They camped about 1,000 feet from the summit.
2. His appointment as a cabinet minister was the summit of his career.
3. World leaders will meet next week for their annual economic summit.

HARASSMENT
/ˈhær.əs.mənt/
/həˈræs.mənt/
Racial harassment is not tolerated in this organization.
The journalist suffered harassment after exposing government corruption.

BOMBSHELL
/ˈbɒmʃɛl/
Then Dave dropped a bombshell - he quit calling and started seeing another girl.
The news of his death came as a bombshell.

MOTORCADE
/ˈməʊtəkeɪd/

At five in the morning a long motorcade entered the village.
The presidential motorcade returned to the palace at about 4pm.

COMMUTER

What the metro will do is reduce the travel time by at least half for most commuters.
Traffic started to build up in the city at around 6am, with thousands of commuters late for work.

1. AMBER
Projects are rated with red, amber or green lights.
The lights changed from amber and then to green.

2. AMBER WARNING
The Met office has issued amber warnings for large parts of Eastern England with up to 15 cm of snow predicted in some places.

1. DRIVE
We need more staff. Talk to HR and have them begin a recruitment drive.
The waste-reduction drive managed to increase recycling by 25%.

2. GO ON A DRIVE TO DO SOMETHING
Dan's dad sometimes goes on a drive to clean the house.

1. EXCESS
/ˈɛksɛs/
Potato prices have fallen recently, due mainly to an excess of old crop appearing on the market.
2. IN EXCESS OF SOMETHING
3. DO SOMETHING TO EXCESS
Drinking is OK as long as you don't do it to excess.
4. excees luggage
excess demand

RAMIFICATION
/ˌræm.ɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/
Have you considered all the ramifications of your suggestion?
This discovery carries important ramifications.
Who gained power and who lost it under the new rules, and with what political ramifications?

DELIGHT
/dɪˈlaɪt/

They would slide down the icy slopes, shrieking with delight.
To my great delight, she said yes.
Catherine is a delight to work with - she is so helpful

PENNY PINCHER

The food was ok, not great, and I guess one could expect more given the fact that this not a place for penny-pinchers: an espresso costs a cool 10 EUR.
OK, all you penny-pinchers and budget-watchers, the results are in.

GLOBETROTTING
/ˈɡləʊbˌtrɒt.ɪŋ/
He spent his entire career globetrotting with the marines.
Globetrotting is a great life, but it's hard to start a family.

GLOBETROTTER
As her two children had already grown up and gone, Susan soon decided to sell the house and become a globetrotter.

adj: a globetrotting journalist
a globetrotting lifestyle

DEBACLE
/deɪˈbɑːk(ə)l/

His handling of the debacle was masterful, saving the parent company from financial collapse.
The candidate’s behavior during the debate turned what could have been a victory into a political debacle.

SHUTTERBUG

The best advice for the traveling shutterbug is to relax and not worry about getting the perfect shot.
An avid shutterbug, Paul has been able to expand his interest in photography as a leader on Sierra Club trips.

JEOPARDY
/ˈdʒɛpədi/

The accident put his baseball career in immediate jeopardy.
He dismissed any notion that he was in jeopardy of losing.

FAD
/fad/
What started off as a fad among stamp enthusiasts has now grown into a veritable cult.’
‘It is really quite wonderful, and I truly hope it is the beginning of a trend, not a short-lived fad.

SPAT
/spæt/

She was having a spat with her brother about who should do the washing up.
Dan and his brother used to get into spats over video games.

spat about something
spat over something
get into a spat with somebody

SHOWDOWN
/ˈʃəʊ.daʊn/
He faces a showdown with his bitter rival Jeffrey Donaldson, who is calling on him to resign.
Everyone in the office knew that there would be a showdown sooner or later, the way things were going.
The Senate moved toward another showdown with the President over the budget.

COMPASSION
/kəmˈpæʃ.ən/
It is true that a small act of love and compassion moves the world and touches people.
He had no pity, no compassion, no understanding of what the victims of war suffered.
act of compassion
lack of compassion
deep / great compassion

BACKLASH
/ˈbaklaʃ/
Food producers and distributors expect a massive consumer backlash to labeled GM foods.
Despite the media backlash, the pop star would not apologise for what she had said.
The government is facing an angry backlash from voters over the new tax.

NOTORIETY
/nəʊtəˈrʌɪəti/

The regime ganed notoriety for its harsh treatment of political prisoners.

EUPHORIA
/juːˈfɔːrɪə/

The euphoria reached phenomenal levels when the kids got a chance to share the stage with their stars.
The initial euphoria is fast getting buried under the unrealized expectations of the masses.

DISCORD
/ˈdɪskɔːd/
1. There are many interpretations on the quarrels and discord between the two men.
He must join a party or create his own, which could lead to new discord among the opposition parties.
2. At present, there is racial discord and disharmony among ethnic groups in our country.
Money is the single biggest cause of discord in marriage.

FRONT RUNNER

She is clearly the front-runner for the job.
Right now she is the front runner in next month's elections.
''Apple'' is the frontrunner in computing.

VILLAIN
/ˈvɪlən/

Voldermort is the evil villain in the novel

One villains' network put up for sale a database containing credit card details of 7,000 Britons.

FLAW
1. I sometimes use vintage fabrics, and these tend to have flaws: small marks, fading, tiny pinwholes.
It was a half price because of a slight flaw.
2. Jealousy is Othello’s major flaw.
He had his flaws, but he was still a great teacher.
3. He demonstrated logical flaws in the theory.

TRAIT
/treɪt/
1. But they all share a common trait - frustration at the obstacles put in the way of progress.
One of her brother's more admirable personality traits was his general lack of prejudice.
2. Your red hair, green eyes are traits that come from your mother.
For example, a child may inherit certain traits from his parents such as height.

DEXTERITY
[deks'teriti]

1. He caught the ball with great dexterity.
Playing with blocks improves child,s manual dexterity.

2. He answered the reporters' questions with all the dexterity of a politician.
The chairman shows remarkable dexterity in applying standards.

INFANCY
/ˈɪn.fən.si/

1. Her youngest child died in infancy.

2. The system is still in its infancy.

EMERGENCE
/ɪˈmɜːdʒəns/

1. Many factors, or combinations of factors, can contribute to disease emergence.

2. the company’s emergence from bankruptcy

NOTION
/ˈnəʊ.ʃən/

1. I don't think he has any notion of the seriousness of the situation.

2. The traditional notion of mariage goes back thousand of years.

an abstract notion
an absurd/ridiculous notion

COMMONALITY
/ˌkɒm.ənˈæl.ə.ti/

So there are many commonalities, but there are some differences as well.’
There are commonalities that exist in all cultures.

SCOOP
/skuːp/
1. The powder is packed in tubs in which a measuring scoop is provided.
2. We had a slice of hot apple pie with a couple of scoops of vanila ice cream.

DEPLETION
/dɪˈpliː.ʃən/

the depletion of ozone layer
the depletion of the soil
the depletion of natural resources

ALIENATION
/ˌeɪliəˈneɪʃn/

Depressed people frequently feel a sencse of alienation from those around them.

LIFEBLOOD
/ˈlaɪf.blʌd/

Tourism is the lifeblood of Hawaii's economy.
Already by the 1930s, the remittances of migrant workers were considered to be the lifeblood of the local society.
The lifeblood of democracy is the free exchange of ideas.

CABLE CAR

The less energetic could take the easy walk to the cable car and ride to the summit of Mount Mottarone.

INFLUX
/ˈɪn.flʌks/

This influx of tourists has put the local environment under severe pressure.
Iran said it was sealing its border with Afganistan to prevent a possible influx of refugees.

DERISION
/dɪˈrɪʒ.ən/

I've learned to treat their threats with the scorn and derision they deserve.
It is very easy for critics to pour scorn and derision on the efforts of people just trying to do what is right.

TRANQUILITY
/træŋˈkwɪl·ɪ·t̬i/

The average person doesn't spend even 30 minutes a month in total silence and tranquility.
The main reason people come to visit the countryside is because of its beauty and tranquillity.

IMPLICATION
/ˌɪm.plɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/

From what she said, the implication was that they were splitting up.
She accused the party and, by implication, its leader too.

VERDICT
/ˈvɜː.dɪkt/

1. After five days of deliberations, the jury decided on a verdict of not guilty.

2. The debate is over and the verdict is in on capital gains taxes.

CONSISTENCY
/kənˈsɪs.tən.si/

They've won a few games this season but they lack consistency.
It's important to show some consistency in your work.

CASE
/keɪs/

There's a good case for/against bringing in new regulations.
The case against cigarette advertising is becoming stronger all the time.

EDIFICE
/ˈed.ɪ.fɪs/

The town hall is the only edifice surviving from the 15th century.

NO-GO AREA

1, This part of the city was a no-go area for the police.

2. She made it clear that her private life was a no-go area.

CRACKPOT
/ˈkrakpɒt/

1. They obviously think we’re a bunch of crackpots.

2. This sounds like another crackpot conspiracy theory to me.
His head's full of crackpot ideas.

crackpot ideas