Topic vocabulary: People |
| acquaintance (n) |
someone you know a little, who is not a close friend |
He's not really a friend, more of an acquaintance. |
| adopt (v) |
to decide to start using a particular idea, plan or method |
I adopted the method the coach showed me and I played far better. |
| adopt (v) |
to take someone else's child into your family and legally make him or her your own child |
After two years in a children's home, Adam was adopted by a very nice young couple. |
| ancestor (n) |
someone who is related to you who lived a long time ago |
My ancestors all came from the same part of China. |
| citizen (n) |
someone who has the right to live permanently in a particular country and has the right to the legal and social benefits of that country as well as legal obligations towards it |
The man took out his passport to prove he was an American citizen. |
| companion (n) |
someone who is with you |
The prize is a holiday for you and a companion. |
| dependant (n) |
a child or other relative to whom you give food, money and a home |
I couldn't believe it when I heard how many dependants he's got. |
| descendant (n) |
a relative of a person who lived in the past |
Did I tell you that I'm a descendant of Lord Byron? |
| empathise (v) |
to understand how someone feels because you can imagine what it is like to be them |
I've had a similar experience, so I can empathise. |
| extrovert (n) |
someone who is very confident, lively and likes social situations |
Michelle is such an extrovert and loves meeting new people. |
| foster (v) |
to look after a child as part of your family for a period of time because the child's parents cannot look after them |
My parents have fostered lots of children over the years. |
| guardian (n) |
someone who is legally responsible for another person such as a child, whose parents have died |
You need to get the form signed by a parent or guardian. |
| introvert (n) |
someone who tends to concentrate on their own thoughts and feelings rather than communicating with other people |
I'm more of an introvert and prefer to spend time on my own. |
| partner (n) |
someone that you do a particular activity with |
Nadine and I are partners at tennis sometimes. |
| partner (n) |
someone that you live with and have a sexual relationship with |
The invitation is for me and my partner. |
| peer (n) |
someone who is of the same age as another person |
What your peers think of you can be very important. |
| predecessor (n) |
the person who had a job or official position before someone else |
I hope to avoid making my predecessor's mistakes. |
| sibling (n) |
your siblings are your brothers and sisters |
The elder sibling in a family is often more successful in his or her career. |
| spouse (n) |
a husband or wife |
Each spouse is responsible for paying their own income tax. |
| stepmother/son/etc (n) |
someone's stepmother/son/etc is their mother/son/etc because of a second marriage, not because of a biological connection |
When my dad remarried, I didn't really get on with my stepmother. |
| successor (n) |
someone who has a position after someone else |
I hope my successor enjoys the job as much as I have. |
| sympathise (v) |
to behave in a kind way and show that you understand someone's problems |
Why can't you sympathise with people, instead of blaming them for their problems? |
