471
exaggerate
forgotten everything I learnt at school. | They've eaten every-
thing else. (=all the other things) 2 the most important
thing or person: Money isn't everything. | Her daughter is
everything to her. 3 and everything infml and so on; ETC:
She's worried about her work and everything. 4 everything
you (ever/always) wanted to know about (sthg.) but never
dared (to)/were afraid to ask humor a phrase used to
advertise information; it was first used, not humorously, to
advertise a book about sex: Everything you wanted to know
about getting back to work, but never dared to ask!
ev·ery·where /'evriweər/ || also ev·ery·place /-pleɪs/ AmE
— adv (in, at, or to) every place: I can't find it though I've
looked everywhere. | His cats follow him everywhere he goes. |
We must clean the house - everywhere looks so dirty. | It was
raining hard and there were puddles everywhere.
ev·ery 'which way adv AmE infml (with verbs of movement)
in every direction, without any order: When the police
arrived, the crowd started running every which way.
e·vict /ɪ'vɪkt/ v [T(from)] to force to leave a house or land by
law: If you don't pay your rent you'll be evicted. →-ion
/ɪ'vɪkʃən/ n [C,U]
ev·i·dence /'evɪdəns/ n [U] 1 [of, for] something, such as a
fact, sign, or object, that gives proof or reasons to believe or
agree with something: an important piece of evidence | When
the police arrived, he had already destroyed the evidence of his
guilt. (=papers, photos etc, proving he was guilty) | Is there
any evidence for believing the world is round? | The report
found no evidence of damage to crops by acid rain. | [+that]
There was some evidence that the documents had been tam-
pered with. | The documents showed evidence of having been
tampered with. | [+to-V] There is some/insufficient evidence to
suggest that he was there on the night of the murder. | The
supposed murder weapon was produced in evidence at his
trial. 2 the answers given in a court of law: The witness gave
(her) evidence in a clear firm voice. 3 in evidence present
and able to be seen and noticed: The police were much in
evidence (=very noticeable) whenever the President appeared
in public. → see also QUEEN'S EVIDENCE and Feature on page
000
ev·i·dent /'evɪdənt/ adj [(to)] plain, especially to the senses;
clear because of evidence: Despite her evident distress, she
carried on working. | [+ that] It's evident (to me) that they have
no experience in this work. → see also SELF-EVIDENT
ev·i·dent·ly /'evɪdəntli/ adv it is proved by clear signs (that);
it is plain (that): He is evidently not well. → compare APPAR-
ENTLY, OBVIOUSLY
e·vil¹ /'iːvəl/ adj -ll- BrE || -l- AmE 1 fml not good morally;
wicked; harmful: The play is based on an evil king who lived
in Saxony. | That woman has an evil tongue. (=says bad
things about people) 2 infml very unpleasant: What an evil
smell. | It was an evil night. (=the weather was very bad)
—evil·ly /'iːzvəl-i/ adv
evil² n [C,U] fml 1 (a) great wickedness or misfortune: We must
conquer the twin evils of disease and poverty. | her usual
speech about the evils of socialism → see also NECESSARY
EVIL 2 hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil a phrase used
when saying that a person does not hear, see, or say any bad
things. The phrase is associated with the THREE WISE MONKEYS
(=three monkeys who are shown sitting together with one
covering its ears, one covering its eyes, and one covering its
mouth).
e·vil·do·er /,iːvəl'duːər/ n fml a person who does evil. This is
a word used only by serious religious people.
evil 'eye n [the S] (sometimes caps.) the supposed power to harm
people by looking at them. In the past, it was believed that
certain people had this power.
e·vince /ɪ'vns/ v [T] fml (of a person or their behaviour) to
show (a feeling, quality etc) clearly; REVEAL
e·vis·ce·rate /ɪ'vɪsəreɪt/ v [T] fml or tech to cut out the
bowels and other inside parts of the body → compare
CLEAN²
e·vi·ta /eɪ'viːtə/ a MUSICAL (=a play that uses song and dance
to tell a story) by Andrew LLOYD WEBBER and Tim RICE about
the life of Eva PERÓN, the wife of a former Argentinian
president, who was much loved by the people. It was also
made into a film in which MADONNA appears as Eva Perón.
One of the best known songs from the musical is Don't Cry
for Me, Argentina.
e·voc·a·tive /ɪ'vɒkətɪv||'vɑː-/ adj [(of)] that produces
memories and feelings: The taste of the cakes was evocative of
my childhood. | an evocative smell
e·voke /ɪ'vəʊk/ v [T] fml to produce or call up (a memory or
feeling, or its expression): That old film evoked memories of
my childhood. —evocation /,evə'keɪʃən, ,iːvəʊ-/ n [C,U]
ev·o·lu·tion /,iːvə'luːʃən, ,evə-||,evə-/ n [U] 1 (the scien-
tific idea of) the gradual development of the various types of
plants, animals etc from fewer and simpler forms: In the
course of evolution, some birds have lost the power of
flight. 2 gradual change and development: the evolution of
the modern motor car | the evolution of philosophical thought
ev·o·lu·tion·a·ry /,iːvə'luːʃənəri, ,evə-||,evə'luːʃəneri/
adj of or resulting from evolution; developing gradually
e·volve /ɪ'vɒlv||ɪ'vɑːlv/ v [I,T(from)] to develop gradually by a
long continuous process: Some people believe that we evolved
from the apes. | The British political system has evolved over
several centuries. | They evolved a new system for running the
factory. | Language is constantly evolving. | folk music which
evolved out of popular culture
ewe /juː/ n a fully grown female sheep → compare RAM¹
ew·er /'juːər/ n a large wide-mouthed container used in the
past for liquid, especially water for washing with
Ew·ing, J. R. /'juːɪŋ/ → see JR
ex /eks/ n infml someone's former wife, husband, girlfriend, or
boyfriend: I saw your ex the other day.
ex- → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
ex·a·cer·bate /ɪg'zæsəbeɪt||-ər-/ v [T] fml to make (some-
thing bad) worse; AGGRAVATE: The drugs they gave her only
exacerbated the pain. | The border incident exacerbated East-
West tension. —bation /ɪg,zæsə'beɪʃən||-sər-/ n [U]
ex·act¹ /ɪg'zækt/ adj 1 correct in every detail; completely
according to fact; PRECISE: The exact time is three minutes and
35 seconds past two. | It's about two o'clock - three minutes and
thirty-five seconds past to be exact. | What was the exact route
that they took? | I don't know the exact terms of the
agreement. | He entered the hall at the exact moment (=at the
very same time) that the concert began. 2 marked by thor-
ough consideration or careful measurement of small details
of fact: You have to be very exact in this job, because a small
mistake can make a big difference. → see also EXACTLY
—ness n [U]
exact² v [T(from)] fml to demand and obtain by force, threats
etc: I finally managed to exact a promise from them.
ex·act·ing /ɪg'zæktɪŋ/ adj (of a person or a piece of work)
demanding much care, effort, and attention: It was a day of
exacting and tiring work. | exacting standards of safety —ly
adv
ex·act·i·tude /ɪg'zæktɪtjuːd||-tuːd/ n [U] fml exactness
ex·act·ly /ɪg'zæktli/ adv 1 (used with numbers and measures,
and with what, where, who etc) with complete correctness:
Tell me exactly where she lives. | The train arrived at exactly
eight o'clock. (=neither earlier nor later) 2 (used for adding
force to an expression) just; really; quite: They were doing
exactly the opposite to what I had told them. 3 (used as a
reply) quite right: 'So you believe, Minister, that we must
spend more on education?' 'Exactly.' 4 not exactly: a) not
really: We weren't exactly driving fast. | He's not exactly (what
you would call) stupid, but... b) (as a reply) that is not
altogether true: 'So you missed the meeting.' 'Not exactly. I got
there five minutes before it finished.'
ex·ag·ge·rate /ɪg'zædʒəreɪt/ v [I,T] to say or believe more
than the truth about (something); make (something) seem
larger, better, worse etc than it really is: The machine is very
useful, but he's exaggerating when he calls it the greatest
invention ever made. | The seriousness of the situation has
been much exaggerated in the press. | He has an exaggerated
idea of his own importance. —ratedly adv —ration
/ɪg,zædʒə'reɪʃən/ n [C,U] To call it a mountain would be an
exaggeration, it's more of a hill. | I can say without exaggera-
tion that she's the most useful person in the company.