Lesson No. 46

Word # 1

Undermine (verb)

Definition: Damage or weaken (someone or something), esp. gradually or insidiously / to make someone less confident, less powerful or less likely to succeed, or to make something weaker, often gradually / lessen the effectiveness, power, or ability of, especially gradually

       

Sentence: 1. She tried to undermine my authority by complaining about me to my boss. 2. Criticism just undermines their confidence. 3. The events of the past year have undermined people's confidence in the government. 4. This could undermine years of hard work. 5. The President has accused two cabinet ministers of working secretly to undermine his position/him. 6. John over leaked emails may undermine reputation of company.

Word # 2

Peddler / Pedlar (noun)

Definition: a person who goes from place to place selling small goods / a person who sells from door to door or in the street / especially in the past, a person who travelled to different places to sell small goods, usually by going from house to house / a person who tries to promote some cause, candidate, viewpoint, etc

 

Sentence: 1. The peddler on the street corner is selling baseball caps. 2. The peddler stopped by my house selling a new type of pet food. 3. A drug pedlar is a person who sells illegal drugs or stolen goods. 4. One night a poor Italian peddler died in Roosevelt Street, all the flowers were scattered around his body that he used to sell door to door. 

Word # 3

Chaste (adjective)

Definition: not having had sex, or only having a sexual relationship with the person you are married to / morally pure, especially not having or experienced sexual intercourse / free from obscenity; decent / not engaging in sexual relations; celibate

Sentence: 1. A holy woman innocent and chaste 2. He was madly in love with his chaste wife. 3. Dr. Harvey said yesterday that the purpose of lecture was to teach people how to be chaste. 4. They exchanged a few chaste kisses (= not expressing sexual desire). 5. A chaste embrace / kiss  6. They maintained chaste relations.

Word # 4

Concede (verb)

Definition: to admit, often unwillingly, that something is true / admit or agree that something is true after first denying or resisting it / to admit that you have lost in a competition / admit defeat in (a match or contest)

Sentence: 1. The Government has conceded (that) the new tax policy has been a disaster. 2. The right of the state to tax is generally conceded. 3. "Well okay, perhaps I was a little hard on her,” he conceded. 4. I concede that the work has been slow so far, but it should speed up soon. 5. He kept on arguing and wouldn't concede defeat in contest. 6. She conceded even before all the votes had been counted.

Word # 5

Urchin (noun)

Definition: poor and often mischievous city child / a small child, especially one who behaves badly and is dirty or untidily dressed / a mischievous and often poor and raggedly clothed youngster

Sentence: 1. He was surrounded by a dozen street urchins in rags. 2. A street urchin 3. We could never resist the little urchin's pleas for candy. 4. I yelled at those urchins to get off my lawn yesterday, but today they were back and they brought some other friends. 5. The hungry urchin was wandering here and there in search of food, but nobody was ready to help this mischievous boy.