vocabulary

alienate (LOSE SUPPORT) verb [T]
to cause someone or a group of people to stop supporting and agreeing with you:
All these changes to the newspaper have alienated its traditional readers.
• Jackson's comments alienated many baseball fans.
The government's comments have alienated many teachers.
All these changes to the newspaper have alienatedits old readers

alienate (NOT WELCOME & NOT INCLUDE) verb [T]
to make someone feel that they are different and do not belong to a group[+ from]:
Disagreements can alienateteenagersfrom their families.
• After divorce, don't alienate your child from the other parent.
Disagreements can alienate teenagers from their families.

alienate (CHANGE LEGAL RIGHT) verb [T]
LAW to give the legal right to a particular piece of land, property etc. to someone else.

alienation noun [U]
the feeling that you have no connection with the people around you:
Depressed people frequently feel a sense of alienation from those around them
This short-sighted alienation of their own supporters may lose them the election.
The alienation of young adults has lowered the number of people who vote.
• Minority students have a sense of alienation from the mostly white teachers.

separation from a person whom you used to be friendly with:
• the permanent alienation of father from son

alienated adjective
feeling separated from society or the group of people around you, and often unhappy [+ from]:
• Large numbers of Americans have become alienated from the political process.


secretive adjective
People who are secretive hide their feelings, thoughts, intentions and actions from other people:, intentions, or actions hidden from others: [be secretive about sth]:
• North Korea is a secretive nation.
• Saturn officials have been secretive about sales projections.
She's secretive about her age.
secretive dealings
He's being very secretive about his new girlfriend.

secret noun [C]
1 [C] a piece of information that is only known by one person or a few people and should not be told to others: If something is secret, other people are not allowed to know about it
Why did you have to go and tell Bob about my illness? You just can't keep a secret, can you?
A close couple should have no secrets from each other.
Aren't you going to let me in on (= tell me) the secret ?
There's no secret (= everyone knows) about his homosexuality.
She makes no secret of (= makes very clear) her dislike of her father.
That restaurant is one of the best-kept secrets in London.
We don't keep secrets from each other.
Don't tell anyone -- it's a secret.
What's the secret of your success (= How was it achieved)?
secret information
She has a secret boyfriend.
The President escaped through a secret passage underneath the parliament building.
We ought to keep these proposals secret from the chairman for the time being.
This is top (= extremely) secret information.
Do you think we'll manage to keep the surprise party secret from Mum until her birthday?

2 [C] a fact that is unknown about a subject:
the secrets of the universe

3 [S] the particular knowledge and skills needed to do something very well:
So what's the secret of being a good cook?

4 [before noun] describes someone who has a particular habit, hobby or feeling but does not tell or show other people that they do:
a secret drinker
a secret admirer

A government's secret police is a police organization that keeps information about its country's citizens and prevents opposition to the government.

The Secret Service is a US government organization responsible for the safety of important politicians, esp. the president.

secretly adverb
They secretly took photographs of Jack.
She said she didn't care about it, but I believe she was secretly delighted.
He was convicted on the evidence of secretly recorded telephone conversations.

secrecy noun [U]
What's the reason for all this secrecy?
The content of her report is shrouded in secrecy (= being kept secret).
I'd love to tell you about it, but Martin's sworn me to secrecy (= made me promise not to tell anyone).
There has been strong criticism of the secrecy surrounding the negotiations

secretively adverb

secretiveness noun [U]



dismal adjective
very bad or unpleasant and making you feel unhappy
What dismal weather.
That was a dismal performance.
• The couple lived in adismal apartment in the poorest section of town.
• a dismal, gray afternoon
• dismal economic news
• Mitchell called the policy a dismal failure.
The trip was a dismal failure.

dismally adverb
I tried to cheer her up, but failed dismally (= completely failed).


cavity noun [C]
1 a hole, or an empty space between two surfaces:
The gold was hidden in a secret cavity.
• The heart and lungs are located inside the chest cavity.
the abdominal/chest cavity

2 a hole in a tooth made by decay

cavity wall noun [C]
a wall of a building formed from two walls with a space, usually for air, between them. It is made in this way to keep out water and cold air.