Vocabulary

liability :
liability
noun
1 [U] when you are legally responsible for something:
He denies any liability for the damage caused .
They have admitted liability for the damage caused.
He denies any liability in the accident.
• Ford did not admit any liability for the misleading advertising.

2 [S] something or someone that causes you a lot of trouble, often when they should be helping you:
After a certain age, a car's just a liability.
Sue always manages to upset somebody when we go out - she's a real liability.
Wherever we go she upsets someone - she's a real liability.
• In his letter of resignation, the General admitted he was a liability to the president


liabilities [Show phonetics]
plural noun SPECIALIZED
debts:
The business has liabilities of £2 million.
The business has liabilities of $5 million.

Compare asset.

liable (RESPONSIBLE)
adjective [after verb] SPECIALIZED




ghetto :

ghetto [Show phonetics]
noun [C] plural ghettos or ghettoes
1 an area of a city, especially a very poor area, where people of a particular race or religion live closely together and apart from other people:
As a child she lived in one of New York's poorest ghettos.
to live in ghetto conditions
• Rap music began in the ghettos of New York and Washington.
She lived in the Jewish ghetto on New York's Lower East Side.
The area is one of the nation's most devastated black ghettos.

2 OLD USE in the past, an area of a city where Jews were made to live
• the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw

3 a part of society or group that is in some way divided from the main part:
Brought up in what he describes as 'a middle class ghetto', he imagined that all people were as privileged as he was.
• His office marked the edge of the executive ghetto.


ghettoize, UK USUALLY ghettoise [Show phonetics]
verb [T often passive]
to treat a particular group in society are as if they are different from the other parts of society and as if their activities and interests are not important to other people:
Feminist writers, she claimed, had been ghettoized, their books placed on separate shelves in the shops.
The TV company is aware of the danger of ghettoizing disability issues by offering 'specialist' programmes.

segregated :

segregated
adjective
separated
a segregated school or other institution can only be used by members of one race, religion, sex etc.:
segregated schools
The psychiatric section is segregated (= separated) from the rest of the prison.
• racially segregated public restrooms --compare INTEGRATED

segregate verb [T]
1 to keep one group of people apart from another and treat them differently, especially because of race or sex:
a segregated school/society
Blacks were segregated from whites in every area of life.
At school the girls were segregated from the boys.
• The practice of segregating children by ability in schools seems to be spreading
2 to keep one thing separate from another:
The systems will have to be able to segregate clients' money from the firm's own cash.
Most people wouldn't remember that some ballparks were segregated (= black people were kept apart) in the early years.
The boys and girls were segregated into different classes.
• Juvenile offenders should be segregated from adults. --oppositeDESEGREGATE

segregation
noun [U]
The system of racial segregation that used to exist in South Africa was called apartheid.
racial segregation
Almost every community has laws prohibiting segregation in housing.
• Racial segregation was outlawed by the Supreme Court in 1954

integrate [Show phonetics]
verb
1 PEOPLE [I,T] to become part of a group or society, or to help someone do this
After a few weeks of training he was fully integrated into the team.

2 THINGS/IDEAS [T] to combine two or more things to make something more effective
plans to integrate the two schools
an integrated database
integration [Show phonetics]
noun [U]

(from Cambridge Learner's Dictionary)

far-off :

far-off adjective LITERARY
a long distance away or a long time in the past or future
far-off lands
• They knew that invaders would come from a far-off land.
• Life was simpler in those far-off days when we were young.


Elusive :

elusive [Show phonetics]
adjective
difficult to describe, find, achieve or remember understand
The answers to these questions remain as elusive as ever.
Success, however, remained elusive for her.
elusive memories
• The fox is a sly elusive animal.
• The team came within one game of the elusive state championship.
• the elusive key to corporate success

elude
[Show phonetics]
verb [T]
1 to succeed in avoiding (someone or something), esp. by using tricks
Her husband eluded capture for two years.
(FIG.) It was simply her misfortune that an Olympic medal eluded her in 1988.
• Jones eluded the police for six weeks.
• elude arrest/capture/discovery etc.: She hid in the bushes to elude detection.
2 if something that you want eludes you, you fail to find, catch, or achieve it:
• Till now a college degree has eluded her.
3 if a fact, idea etc. eludes you, you cannot completely understand it:
• The distinction between the two philosophies largely eludes me.


elusively [Show phonetics]
adverb

elusiveness [Show phonetics]
noun [U]

disclosure :

disclosure noun [C,U]
when someone gives people new or secret information
• Following sensational disclosures concerning his personal life, he has offered to resign.
• the disclosure of classified information
Any public disclosure of this information would be very damaging to the company.
The newspaper made damaging disclosures of management incompetence.
Full financial disclosure is required.
The report contained disclosures of sexual harassment.


disclose [Show phonetics]
verb [I or T] FORMAL
1 to make something known publicly, or to show something that was hidden:
Several companies have disclosed profits of over £200 million.
[+ that] The police have disclosed that two officers are under internal investigation.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
• GM did not disclose details of the agreement.
[disclose that]:• Councilman Horton disclosed last night that he is gay.
2 FORMAL to show something by removing the thing that covers it


open up :
open up phrasal verb
to start to talk more about yourself and your feelings
I've tried to get him to open up to me, but with no success.
I've never opened up to anyone like I do to you. [often + to]
He's quite a private person - it took quite a while for him to open up.
• It took Martha several weeks to open up to her therapist.

to start firing a weapon ; to start shooting
Enemy guns opened up as the planes flew in.
A lone gunman opened up on the crowd. [sometimes + on]
• All of a sudden the soldiers opened up with gunfire.

open (sth) up phrasal verb
1 CREATE OPPORTUNITY to create a new opportunity or possibility
A teaching qualification can open up many more career opportunities.
• Roger is worried that nothing seems to be opening up for him.
• Education opens up all kinds of career choices.

2 OPEN LOCK to open the lock on the door of a building ; to open a door or something such as a box or case:

The caretaker opens up the school every morning at seven.
• Open up, we know you're in there.
• Could you open up the suitcase, please?

3 LAND it becomes easier to reach and ready for development, trade etc.:

• Eastern Europe continues to open up to the West.
• Most voters won't be upset if politicians open the land up for development.
• an explorer who helped to open up trade routes to China

4 START A BUSINESS if a store, restaurant etc. opens up or is opened up, someone starts it:
• There's a new supermarket opening up in our neighborhood.

open up sth or open sth up

to show something that was hidden or not previously known
The security council debate could open up sharp differences between the countries.
Getting to know Patrick opened up a whole new world for me.

to increase the number of points by which one competitor is winning

Davis opened up a gap of ten points over the defending champion.
Latest surveys show the Labour party opening up a clear lead in the opinion polls.

perplex :

perplex verb [T]
to confuse and worry someone slightly by being difficult to understand or solve; to cause (someone) to be confused or uncertain over something that is not understood; it makes you feel worried and confused because it is difficult to understand:

The disease has continued to perplex doctors.
The symptoms of the disease have continued to perplex her doctors.
• She's symptoms perplexed the doctors.

perplexed adjective
confused
He seemed a little perplexed by the question.
The students looked perplexed, so the teacher tried to explain once again.
Just when it appeared that interest rates were headed up, they fell, leaving some analysts clearly perplexed.
• What's wrong? You look perplexed. [+ by/about]:
• He seemed rather perplexed by these criticisms

perplexing adjective
They find the company's attitude perplexing and unreasonable.
• perplexing questions

perplexity noun [C or U]
1 [U] the feeling of being confused or worried by something you cannot understand:
• They looked at each other in evident perplexity.

2 [C usually plural] something that is complicated or difficult to understand:
• moral perplexities
She stared at the instruction booklet in complete perplexity.
the perplexities of life

wistful :

wistful adjective
slightly sad because you are thinking about something you cannot have ;
sad and thinking about something that is impossible or in the past:

a wistful look/smile
She cast a wistful glance at the bridal gowns in the window.
a wistful smile
I thought about those days in Spain and grew wistful.
• "I wish life was always like this," she said with a wistful sigh.

wistfully adverb
She spoke wistfully of their early years together.
"I would love to go back to Venice, " he said wistfully.

wistfulness [Show phonetics]
noun [U]

timid :

timid adjective
shy ; easily frightened ; nervous; lacking confidence; not brave or confident; not having courage; The opposite of timid is bold.
a timid little boy
Lucy is a rather timid child.
My horse is a bit timid and is easily frightened by traffic.
She was timid about swimming in deep water
• a timid child
• The nation's newspapers are usually timid in

timidly adverb
"Um, excuse me, " he said timidly.
She sang timidly but sweetly.

timidity noun [U]
A shaky voice revealed his timidity.

crucial :

crucial [Show phonetics]
adjective
extremely important or necessary because many other things depend on it

a crucial decision/question
Her work has been crucial to the project's success.
[+ that] It is crucial that the problem is tackled immediately
The behavior of the oceans is a crucial aspect of global warming.

crucially
[Show phonetics]
adverb
The band wants to win over fans and, more crucially, radio programmers.

stilted :

stilted [Show phonetics]
adjective DISAPPROVING

talking or writing in a formal way that does not sound natural
Legal language tends to be very stilted.
a stilted conversation
He writes in a formal and rather stilted style.
The dialogue sounded stilted and unnatural, perhaps because of the translation from the original Russian.
• The dialogue was stilted and robotlike.

stiltedly [Show phonetics]
adverb DISAPPROVING