Unit 4

Palabra

Definición

Ejemplo

back a project

to support someone or something, especially by giving them money or using your influence

The project has been backed by several major companies in the region

fuel your motivation

to increase your motivation or make it stronger

Aspirations, a sense of how we can realise our potential, can fuel our motivation

pursue an ambition

to try to achieve your ambition over a long period of time

David left the company to pursue his political ambitions

push the limits

to try to go beyond what is allowed/possible

In our research, we are trying to push the limits of what is possible

raise funding

to collect money that you can use to do a particular job or help people

They are raising funding to help needy youngsters

realise a dream

to achieve something that you were hoping to achieve

She never realised her dream of winning an Olympic gold medal

satisfy your curiosity

to find out something that you want to know

I decided to call him in order to satisfy my curiosity

serve science

to be useful or helpful for science

Falsifying data doesn't serve science

blindingly obvious

very or extremely obvious

It was blindingly obvious that Max wasn't interested

gravely mistaken

very much mistaken

If you think that this the end of the crisis, you are gravely mistaken

immediately important

important and needing attention now

We need to deal with more immediately important issues such as housing and education

infinitely preferable

very much better or more suitable

Working late today is infinitely preferable to working at the weekend

ludicrously high

much higher than is reasonable/normal

By local standards, the prices are ludicrously high

vehemently opposed

to strongly disagree with a plan or idea

For reasons I never understood, my sisters were vehemently opposed to the idea

wildly inaccurate

extremely inaccurate

Figures quoted in the article are wildly inaccurate

face the day

to deal with what you have to do in the day

I need two cups of coffee before I can face the day

go through a rough patch

to experience a period of time when you are having a lot of difficulty

Gemma's going through a rough patch right now

have a knock-on effect

to start a process in which everything that happens causes something else to happen

These price rises will have a knock-on effect on the economy

helping hand

help and support

She's been giving me a helping hand with the children

make ends meet

to have only just enough money to buy the things you need

When Mike lost his job, we could barely make ends meet

spread the word

to tell other people about something

You will spread the word about the meeting, won't you?

aloof

unfriendly and deliberately not talking to other people

They worked hard, but tended to stay aloof from the local inhabitants

appreciative

feeling or showing that you enjoy something or are pleased about it

They had an appreciative audience

compassionate

feeling sympathy for people who are suffering

We must try to create a more caring, more compassionate society

conscientious

careful to do everything that it is your job or duty to do

A conscientious teacher may feel inclined to take work home

enterprising

having the ability to think of new activities or ideas and make them work

Some enterprising students are designing software

intuitive

an intuitive idea is based on a feeling rather than on knowledge or facts

He seemed to have an intuitive awareness of how I felt

resourceful

good at finding ways of dealing with practical problems

We can influence our children's development by encouraging them to be resourceful when they play

selfless

caring about other people more than about yourself – used to show approval

The doctors showed selfless devotion to their work

aligning incentives

to arrange/organise incentives so that they work effectively

Getting more out of your team is a question of aligning incentives

business model

a plan for a successful business

This is a new type of business model and it requires online service

collaborative consumption

the shared use of goods or services by a group

Ride-sharing apps are an example of collaborative consumption

drive customer loyalty

increase the loyalty of customers or encourage their loyalty

We need to think of new strategies to drive customer loyalty to our brand

finite resources

resources that have an end or a limit

We need to protect the Earth's finite resources

investment opportunities

opportunities to make financial investments

Economic growth will create more investment opportunities

on-demand access

providing access whenever someone asks

They provide on-demand access to the support service

sharing economy

an economy where people rent or borrow goods rather than buy or own them

The sharing economy functions without monetary exchange

zero waste

a situation which produces no waste

The way to achieve zero waste is to compost food waste

at an unprecedented rate

at a speed that has never happened before

Their industry is developing at an unprecedented rate

global assessment

an assessment of the situation affecting the whole world

This is the first time there has been a global assessment of the impact of climate change

grave impacts

very bad/serious effects

The consequences of global warming have grave impacts for us all

pool evidence together

to combine evidence

The evidence has been pooled together to create this report

seemingly infinite

appearing to be without a limit

I amazed at my children's seemingly infinite energy

set to disappear

to start disappearing

This species is set to disappear if it is not protected

take immediate action

to act immediately

When he saw the leak, he took immediate action and called a plumber

the brink of extinction

when a particular type of animal or plant will soon cease to exist

The breed was on the brink of extinction