Vocabulary Builder

To make something harmful or unpleasant less severe.

To make a bad situation, problem or illness worse.

Causing harm or damage.

To reduce the amount of something, especially a resource, until little remains.

Able to continue over time without harming the environment or exhausting resources.

To control or limit something, especially something harmful.

The variety of plant and animal life found in a particular habitat or on Earth.

The method and practice of teaching.

The subjects and content that make up a course of study at a school or university.

Relating to the mental processes of thinking, learning and understanding.

The ability to read and write, or competence in a particular area.

Considering the whole of something rather than just its individual parts.

The process of learning something by repetition rather than by understanding it.

Present, appearing or found everywhere.

To increase rapidly in number and spread widely.

No longer used or useful because something newer has replaced it.

Introducing or using new ideas, methods or products.

Large, heavy and difficult to use, or slow and inefficient.

To make a process or system operate automatically using machines or software.

To make pain, suffering or a problem less severe.

Involving a lot of sitting and very little physical activity.

Continuing for a long time or constantly recurring.

Easily affected, harmed or influenced by something.

To become progressively worse in condition or quality.

The state of being comfortable, healthy and happy.

Widespread or common in a particular place or at a particular time.

An idea, belief or understanding of something.

To treat a person or group as insignificant or push them to the edges of society.

The state of forming a united, well-connected whole.

The traditions, buildings and culture that a society inherits from the past.

An accepted standard or a way of behaving that is usual in a society.

Showing a great deal of variety; very different from one another.

Possible to do or achieve easily and conveniently.

Dealing with problems in a practical and realistic way rather than a theoretical one.

Producing a great deal of profit.

Something that encourages or motivates a person to do something.

An amount of something that is more than what is needed or used.

A person who sets up a business, taking on financial risks in the hope of profit.

To fall or drop very quickly and steeply.

To increase suddenly and powerfully.

To rise rapidly to a high level.

To decrease suddenly and by a large amount.

To rise and fall irregularly in number or amount.

To reach a stable level and stay there after a period of growth.

Happening slowly over a long period rather than suddenly.

To gradually weaken the effectiveness, power or confidence of something.

Having more than one possible meaning and therefore unclear.

So convincing or interesting that it demands attention or belief.