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Welcome to another lesson of 504 Absolutely Essential Words. Here we have the vocabulary part for lesson 32. Are you ready? Let’s begin.

Our first word of this lesson is “refer”. Refer means to hand over; send, direct, or turn for information, help, or action; (refer to) to direct attention to or speak about; to assign to or think of as caused by. It’s a verb, right? A) Let us refer the dispute* to the dean. B) Our teacher referred us to the dictionary for the meanings of the difficult words in the novel. C) The speaker referred to a verse in the Bible to support his theory.

The second word of this lesson is “distress”. Distress as a noun means great pain or sorrow; misfortune; dangerous or difficult situation. And, as a verb it means to cause pain or make unhappy. Let’s see some examples. A) The family was in great distress over the accident that maimed* Kenny. B) My teacher was distressed by the dismal performance of our class on the final* examination. C) Long, unscheduled delays at the station cause distress to commuters*.

The third one would be “diminish”. Diminish means to make or become smaller in size, amount or importance. It’s a verb. A) The excessive* heat diminished as the sun went down. B) Our diminishing supply of food was carefully wrapped and placed with the baggage. C) The latest news from the battlefront confirms the report of diminishing military activity.

Our next word is “maximum”. You remember the word “minimum”, right? They’re antonyms. Maximum means greatest amount; greatest possible. It’s an adjective, a noun, and an adverb. A) Chris acknowledged* that the maximum he had ever walked in one day was fifteen miles. B) We would like to exhibit* this rare* collection to the maximum number of visitors. C) The committee anticipated* the maximum attendance of the first day of the performance.

The next one would be “flee”. Flee means to run away; go quickly. It’s a verb. A) The fleeing outlaws* were pursued* by the police. B) One could clearly see the clouds fleeing before the wind. C) The majority* of students understand that they cannot flee from their responsibilities. So, one more time, it simply means to run away.

The next word is “vulnerable”. Vulnerable means capable of being injured; open to attack, sensitive to criticism, influences, etc. We have an adjective here. Let’s see some examples. A) Achilles was vulnerable only in his heel. B) The investigator’s nimble* mind quickly located the vulnerable spot in the defendant’s alibi. C) A vulnerable target for thieves is a solitary* traveler.

The next word we have is “signify”. Signify means to mean; be a sign of; make known by signs, words, or actions; have importance. It’s a verb, right? A) “Oh” signifies surprise. B) A gift of such value signifies more than a casual* relationship. C) The word “fragile” stamped on a carton signifies that it must be handled with caution.

The next one, “mythology”. Mythology means legends or stories that usually attempt to explain something in nature. It’s a noun, obviously. A) The story of Proserpina and Ceres explaining the seasons is typical* of Greek mythology. B) From a study of mythology, we can conclude* that the ancients were concerned with the wonders of nature. C) Ancient mythology survives* to this day in popular* expressions such as “Herculean task” or “Apollo Project”.

And the next word, “colleague”. Colleague means an associate; a fellow worker. It’s a noun. A) The captain gave credit for the victory to his valiant* colleagues. B) Who would have predicted* that our pedestrian* colleague would one day win the Nobel Prize for medicine? C) We must rescue our colleagues from their wretched* condition. So, again, a colleague is a fellow worker.

The next one would be “torment” Torment as a verb means to cause very great pain to; worry or annoy very much. And as a noun, cause of very great pain; a very great pain. A) Persistent* headaches tormented him. B) The illustrations* in our history text show the torments suffered by the victims of the French Revolution. C) The logical* way to end the torment of doubt over the examination is to spend adequate* time in study.

Our next word is “provide”. It means to supply; to state as a condition; to prepare for or against some situation. Let’s take a look at the examples. A) How can we provide job opportunities for all our graduates? B) Hal said he would bring the ball provided he would be allowed to pitch. C) The government is obligated, among other things, to provide for the common welfare and secure the blessings of peace for all citizens.

And, the last word for this lesson, “loyalty”. Loyalty means faithfulness to a person, government, idea, custom, or the like. It’s a noun, right? A) The monarch* referred* to his knights’ loyalty with pride. B) Nothing is so important to transmit* to the youth as the sacredness* of loyalty to one’s country. C) Out of a sense of loyalty to his friends, Michael was willing to suffer torments, and he therefore refused to identify his colleagues* in the plot.

Alright, we’re finished with the vocabulary part for lesson 32. See you in the next part, Words in Use 1.