ESL vocabulary - 5 useful words

 

to dread something – (pronounced: dred) to really hate the idea of doing something, to feel kind of sick when you think of doing something. i.e. My tooth is really hurting me, but I dread the idea of going to the dentist. Or: I know the number 4 line of the Shenzhen subway is going to be so crowded that I dread going there this morning.

to be on the ball – to be doing what you should be doing and doing it well. i.e. Hey, we are falling behind in our work so we need to get on the ball and start working harder. Or: I don’t like working with Joe, he’s just not on the ball and he wastes my time.

a bombshell – something shocking, like a bombshell news report. i.e. The report that Trump stupidly tried to get Ukraine to help him win the next election was bombshell news. i.e. When Bill told us he was leaving the company after 35 years, this was a bombshell that left all of us very shocked and sad. – a bombshell is the package that a bomb is enclosed in, so you would think the term ‘explosion’ would be better, but for some reason people use ‘bombshell’ instead.

a sixth sense – we have five senses: sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell…so a sixth sense means a feeling beyond our normal senses, sort of an intuition or awareness that doesn’t come from anything in the outside world.  i.e. Joe didn’t say or do anything, but my sixth sense told me that he was angry with me this morning. Or: When I woke up this morning my sixth sense told me this would be a great day, and my sixth sense was right.

alleged – this is a common word in US newspapers and it means that the police believe someone committed a crime but it hasn’t been proved. i.e. The alleged murderer has claimed that he is innocent, so we will have to wait until his trial to find out the truth. Or: It has been alleged that Trump broke the law, so now the government must investigate him thoroughly.