Page 71 - WEBSTER Essential vocabulary

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Essential Vocabulary
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consider (kuhn SID uhr) vt. 1. to think about; ponder; 2. to keep in mind; take
into account; 3. to be thoughtful of others
• In studying World War I, one must consider the alliances that had been
formed among the nations of Europe.
• Her health is really very good, if you consider her age.
• We cannot give our security contract to a new provider without considering
its effect on our current provider.
[-ed, -ing, -ation n.] [Syn. contemplate, weigh]
consist (kuhn SIST) vi. 1. to be made up of; 2. to be contained or inherent in; 3.
to be characterized by
• Water consists of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.
• Wisdom consists of more than just knowing facts.
• Her cultural pursuits consist of watching television.
construct (kuhn STRUHKT for v., KAHN strukt for n.) vt. 1. to create; 2. to draw
a figure to meet specifications —n. 1. something built or put together systematically;
2. a concept or theory devised to unify diverse data
• Some children love to construct buidings with interlocking plastic blocks,
and so do I.
• Suzanne was asked to construct an isosceles triangle congruent to the one
in her geometry book.
• The plan for the new field house was a construct that had taken two years
and hundreds of meetings to achieve.
• The big-bang theory is a construct to explain discoveries and observations
of astronomers over the last century.
contaminate (kuhn TAM in AYT) vt. to corrupt, make impure, infect, etc. by
adding something that shouldn’t be there; pollute; defile; taint
• Truck exhaust fumes contaminate the air we all breathe.
• Salt contaminates seawater, making it undrinkable for us.
• The nuclear accident at Chernobyl contaminated much of northern
Europe’s pasturelands.
[-d, contaminating, contaminator n.] [Syn. defile, taint, corrupt]
contemplate (KON tem PLAYT) vt. 1. to stare at intently; 2. to think about
carefully; study intently; 3. to keep in mind as a possibile plan of action
• Jerry contemplated the telephone bill, studying the total charges in disbelief.
• The coach contemplated whom to put into the starting lineup for the next
day’s game.
• To improve our property value, please contemplate running away from
home (please).
[-d, contemplating, contemplation n.] [Syn. consider]