Topic vocabulary: Quality |
| aggravate (v) |
to make something bad become worse, especially a situation or a medical condition |
His headache was aggravated by all the noise. |
| better (v) |
to achieve a better result than someone or something |
Bradman's average score of 96 has never been bettered. |
| better (v) |
to improve something |
It's an important step towards bettering relations between the two countries. |
| blemish (n) |
a mark or spot that spoils the appearance of something |
The painting was spoiled for me by a blemish on the frame. |
| chaos (n) |
a situation in which everything is confused and in a mess |
There have been severe floods, bringing chaos to the region. |
| cheapen (v) |
to make someone or something seem less valuable or respected |
This type of advertising cheapens the image of the brand. |
| contaminate (v) |
to make something dirty, polluted or poisonous by adding a chemical, waste or infection |
Industrial sewage continues to contaminate our beaches. |
| decay (v) |
to make or become gradually worse in quality, or weaker in power or influence |
Too much sugar will decay your teeth. |
| decline (v) |
to become less or worse |
The number of people buying their own homes has declined. |
| defective (adj) |
not made correctly or not working correctly |
The car was found to have defective brakes. |
| detrimental (adj) |
harmful or damaging |
Overexposure to sunlight can have a detrimental effect on the skin. |
| devastate (v) |
to seriously damage or completely destroy something |
Western India was devastated by a huge earthquake. |
| devastate (v) |
to make someone feel very shocked and upset |
Mary's sisters were devastated by her disappearance. |
| enhance (v) |
to improve something, or make it more attractive or more valuable |
The measures taken should considerably enhance the residents' quality of life. |
| evaluate (v) |
to think carefully about something before making a judgment about its value, importance or quality |
The performance of each employee is evaluated once a year. |
| exacerbate (v) |
to make a problem become worse |
Complaining will only exacerbate an already difficult situation. |
| exquisite (adj) |
extremely beautiful and delicate |
It was an exquisite hand-painted vase from China. |
| first-rate (adj) |
of the highest quality |
The service is first-rate. |
| flaw (n) |
a mistake or fault in something that makes it useless, less effective or less beautiful |
There are serious flaws in the way we train our teachers. |
| ideal (adj) |
of the best or most suitable type |
The fair provides an ideal opportunity for job seekers and employers to meet. |
| ideal (adj) |
as good as you can imagine, and probably too good to be real |
In an ideal world there would be no poverty. |
| inadequate (adj) |
not enough or not good e _ nough for a particular purpose |
We are trying to provide basic education with inadequate resources. |
| invaluable (adj) |
extremely useful |
The Internet is an invaluable resource for students. |
| optimum (adj) |
best or most suitable within a range of possibilities |
The warm water provides the optimum cond1t1ons for breeding. |
| optimum (n) |
the best or most suitable situation, level or amount |
The optimum we should be producing ,s 100 units per hour. |
| outclass (v) |
to be much better than someone or something else |
The team was completely outclassed by the opposition. |
| prime (adj) |
most important, most suitable or of the highest quality |
Our prime concern was the safety of our customers. |
| redeeming feature (n phr) |
a positive quality which improves something that is not very good by including something that is good |
Smith 's only redeeming feature is that he knows his job. |
| refurbish (v) |
to improve a room or a building by cleaning and painting it, adding new furniture or equipment, etc |
They're planning to refurbish the teachers' room. |
| reinforce (v) |
to make an idea, belief or feeling stronger |
The latest figures reinforce the view that economic growth is slowing. |
| reinforce (v) |
to make a building, structure or object stronger |
Crews started work today to reinforce the seriously damaged bridge. |
| renovate (v) |
to make something old look new again by repairing and improving it, especially a building |
The council's planning to renovate the old fire station. |
| rotten (adj) |
something that is rotten has decayed |
There was a horrible smell of rotten eggs. |
| rotten (adj) |
of a low quality, standard or ability |
She's a rotten singer. |
| rusty (adj) |
a rusty metal object is covered in rust |
I don't know why you bought that rusty old car. |
| satisfactory (adj) |
good enough to be accepted in a particular situation |
I have still not received a satisfactory answer to my question. |
| satisfactory (adj) |
enjoyable and pleasing |
This new arrangement proved highly satisfactory to us all. |
| shambles (n) |
something that is very badly organised and does not operate effectively |
Government corruption has left the economy in a shambles. |
| shoddy (adj) |
shoddy work, services or products are of a very low standard |
The work they did on the new road was very shoddy in places. |
| sound (adj) |
involving the use of good judgment, and therefore likely to be effective |
Administrators should make sure the programmes are legally sound. |
| sound (adj) |
thorough |
You'll need a sound understanding of basic teaching skills before you enter the classroom. |
| stale (adj) |
stale food such as bread is old and no longer fresh |
Wrap the bread up well or it'll go stale. |
| streamline (v) |
to improve a business, organisation, process, etc by making it more modern or simple |
We need to streamline the whole process. |
| strengthen (v) |
to make something stronger |
The bridge will need to be strengthened. |
| surpass (v) |
to be better or greater than something else, or better than what was expected or hoped for |
Winning the gold medal surpassed my wildest dreams. |
| ultimate (adj) |
happening at the end of a process or activity |
The incident affected the ultimate outcome of the war. |
| ultimate (adj) |
as good or as bad as possible |
The house provides the ultimate luxury retreat. |
| worsen (v) |
to become worse, or to make something worse |
The weather worsened, and temperatures fell. |
| wreck (n) |
something that has been badly damaged |
The car was a wreck after the accident. |
| wreck (v) |
to severely damage |
The town has been wrecked by the bombing |
