agenda
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a·gen·da /ə'dʒendə/ n pl. -das a list of the subjects to be dealt with or talked about at a meeting: What's on the agenda for this afternoon's meeting? | the first item on the agenda | The question of salary increases is high on the agenda. | (fig.) Education has risen to the top of the political agenda. → see also HIDDEN AGENDA
a·gent /'eɪdʒənt/ n 1 a person whose job is to represent another person, a company etc, especially one who brings people into touch with others or deals with the business affairs of a person or company: Our agent in Rome deals with all our Italian business. | An estate agent (BrE)/real estate agent (AmE) arranges the buying and selling of houses. | A literary agent manages the business affairs of an author. → see also DOUBLE AGENT, FREE AGENT, LAND AGENT, SECRET AGENT 2 fml or tech a person or thing that works to produce a result: Rain and sun are the agents which help plants to grow. | Soap is a cleansing agent.
Agent 'Orange n [U] a chemical weapon used by US soldiers during the VIETNAM WAR to destroy the Vietnamese forests. It is now believed that Agent Orange also harmed people's health, because many people who breathed it or used it have developed CANCER and their children have been born with abnormal body parts.
a·gent pro·voc·a·teur /,æʒɒ prɒvkə'tɜːr || ,ɑːʒɑːn prɒvɑː-/ n pl. agents provocateurs (same pronunciation) Fr a person who is employed by the government or police, to encourage criminals or those working against the state to do something illegal so that they can be caught
age of con'sent, the n the age at which a person is considered to be old enough to marry or have sexual relations without breaking the law. In Britain the age of consent is 16 for HETEROSEXUAL sex and 18 for HOMOSEXUAL sex between men. In the US, the age of consent varies from state to state, but usually it is between 16 and 18.
Age of En'lightenment, the also the Age of 'Reason a period in European history, in the 18th century, when educated people thought that belief should depend on reason and scientific proof
'age-old adj having existed for a very long time: age-old customs | It's nothing new. It's an age-old problem.
'age range n [C +sing./pl. v] the people between two particular ages, considered as a group → compare AGE GROUP: young people in the 15-18 age range | This affects people across a wide age range.
ag·glom·er·ate¹ /ə'glɒməreɪt||ə'glɑː-/ v [I;T] fml to collect or gather into a confused mass or pile —agglomerate /ə'glɒmərət || ə'glɑː-/ adj —ation /ə,glɒmə'reɪʃən||ə,glɑː-/ n [C;U] The town is surrounded by agglomerations of ugly new houses.
ag·glom·er·ate² /ə'glɒmərət||ə'glɑː-/ n [S;U] fml or tech a type of rock formed from pieces of hard material from a VOLCANO that have been melted and united by heat
ag·glu·ti·na·tion /ə,gluːtɪ'neɪʃən/ n [U] tech 1 sticking or becoming stuck together, especially in a jelly-like form: agglutination of bacteria/red blood cells 2 the formation of new words by combining separate parts which each have their own meaning (such as shipyard from ship and yard) —-native /ə'gluːtɪnətɪv||-neɪtɪv/ adj: an agglutinative language (=in which words are formed by agglutination)
ag·gran·dize·ment also -disement BrE /ə'grændɪzmənt/ n [U] usually derog increase in size, power, or rank, especially when intentionally planned: He is willing to tell lies and break promises for his own personal aggrandizement.
ag·gra·vate /'ægrəveɪt/ v [T] 1 to make (a difficult situation) more serious or dangerous; make worse: The lack of rain aggravated the already serious shortage of food. | Their debt problem was further aggravated by the rise in interest rates. 2 infml to make angry, especially by continual annoyance: aggravating delays caused by heavy traffic —-vatingly adv —-vation /,ægrə'veɪʃən/ n [C,U]
In spoken English, people often use aggravate to mean 'annoy', but many teachers think this use is incorrect: a difficulty is aggravated (=made worse), but a person is irritated or annoyed. → see also ANGRY (USAGE), ANNOY (USAGE)
ag·gre·gate¹ /'ægrɪɡeɪt/ n 1 [C;U] fml a total: The football team had a low goal aggregate last season. | What were the company's aggregate earnings for the year? 2 [S,U] tech the materials, such as sand and small stones, that are mixed with CEMENT to form CONCRETE
ag·gre·gate² /'ægrɪɡeɪt/ v fml or tech 1 [I;T] to bring or come together into a group or mass 2 [L+N] to reach a total of; add up to: Her earnings from all sources aggregated £100,000: —-gation /,ægrɪ'ɡeɪʃən/ n [C,U]
ag·gres·sion /ə'ɡreʃən/ n [U] the act or tendency of starting a quarrel, fight, or war, especially without just cause: The military exercise was condemned as an act of aggression. → see also NONAGGRESSION
ag·gres·sive /ə'ɡresɪv/ adj 1 derog always ready to quarrel or attack; BELLIGERENT: an aggressive manner 2 apprec not afraid of opposition; determined and forceful; ASSERTIVE: A successful businessman must be aggressive. | an aggressive marketing campaign 3 (of weapons) made for use in attack —-ly adv —-ness n [U]
ag·gres·sor /ə'ɡresər/ n a person or country that begins a quarrel, fight, war etc with another, especially without just cause
ag·grieved /ə'ɡriːvd/ adj 1 showing hurt, angry, and bitter feelings, especially because one has been unfairly treated 2 especially law having suffered as a result of the illegal actions of someone else: The allegations of fraud were proved and the court awarded the aggrieved parties substantial damages.
ag·gro /'æɡrəʊ/ n [U] BrE slang trouble, especially fighting, for example between groups of young people; used especially of the behaviour of young aggressive men, who enjoy fighting
a·ghast /ə'ɡɑːst||ə'ɡæst/ adj [F(at)] suddenly filled with great surprise, fear, and shock: She was aghast when she was told of her husband's huge gambling debts.
ag·ile /'ædʒaɪl||'ædʒəl/ adj able to move quickly and easily; NIMBLE: an agile animal | (fig.) an agile mind —-ly adv —-ility /ə'dʒɪləti/ n [U]
A·gin·court /'ædʒɪŋkɔː; -kɔːrt||-kɔːrt/ a famous battle in France in 1415, which the English, led by King HENRY V, won against the French. There are scenes of this battle in the play Henry V by William SHAKESPEARE.
ag·ing /'eɪdʒɪŋ/ n [U] AGEING
ag·is·m /'eɪdʒɪzəm/ n [U] AGEISM
ag·i·tate /'ædʒɪteɪt/ v 1 [T] to make (someone) feel anxious and nervous: He became quite agitated when he was asked about his criminal past. 2 [I(for, against)] to argue strongly in public for or against some political or social change: to agitate for cheaper school meals 3 [T] to shake (a liquid) about
ag·i·ta·tion /,ædʒɪ'teɪʃən/ n 1 [U] painful excitement of the mind or feelings; anxiety: He was in a state of great agitation. 2 [C;U(for, against)] public argument, action, unrest etc for or against political or social change
ag·i·ta·tor /'ædʒɪteɪtər/ n 1 usually derog a person who excites and influences public feeling, especially towards political change 2 a machine for shaking or mixing
a·glow /ə'ɡləʊ/ adj [F(with)] bright with colour or excitement: The sky was aglow with the setting sun. | a face aglow with excitement
AGM /,eɪ dʒiː 'em/ n BrE abbrev. for annual general meeting; a meeting held once a year by a club, business, or organization for the members to discuss the previous year's business, elect officials etc; ANNUAL MEETING AmE
ag·nos·tic /æɡ'nɒstɪk, əg-||-'nɑː-/ n, adj (a person) who believes that nothing can be known about God or life after death → compare ATHEIST —-ism /æɡ'nɒstɪsɪzəm, əg-||-'nɑː-/ n [U]
a·go /ə'ɡəʊ/ adj [after n or adv] back in time from now; in the past: He left ten minutes ago/five years ago. | How long ago did he leave? | He died long ago/a long time ago. → compare FOR
1 Ago is used mainly with verbs in the simple past tense to show the point in time when something happened: Compare I came here a year ago and I have been here for a year/ since 1985. For is used when you want to give the length of a period of time, and since is used to show that a situation or activity started at some