15
adoption
order to make right or make suitable for a particular purpose
or situation: You can adjust the colour on the TV by turning
this knob. | He adjusted (himself) very quickly to the heat of
the country. | Your tie needs adjusting. -> compare ADAPT; see
also WELL-ADJUSTED ——able adj: an adjustable chair
——ment n [C;U] We made a few adjustments to the plan.
ad·ju·tant /'ædʒʊtənt/ n an army officer responsible for
office work
ad-lib /,æd 'lɪb/ v -bb- [I;T] infml to say something in a speech,
performance of a play etc that you have not prepared or
planned to say; IMPROVISE: The actress forgot her lines but
ad-libbed very amusingly. | She hardly ever uses a script; she
just ad-libs the whole talk. —ad-lib n —ad-libbing n [U]
ad·man /'ædmæn/ n pl. -men /men/ infml a member of the
advertising profession
ad·min /'ædmɪn/ n [U] infml abbrev. for ADMINISTRATION; the
management of business affairs, often personal matters such
as paying bills: I must do some admin this weekend.
ad·min·is·ter /əd'mɪnɪstər/ v [T] 1 to manage or direct
(especially the affairs of a business, government etc): The
company's finances have been badly administered. | The
courts administer the law. 2 [tə] fml to give; DISPENSE: to
administer punishment | The priest administered the last rites.
(=Christian ceremony for someone who is dying) 3 [tə] fml
to cause to make (an official promise): to administer the oath
to a witness in court
ad·min·is·tra·tion /,ædmɪnɪ'streʃən/ n 1 [U] the manage-
ment or direction of the affairs of a business, government
etc: the administration of the law | You will need some
experience in administration before you can run the depart-
ment. 2 [S+sing/pl. v] the people who direct the affairs of a
business: I think the accountants will want to talk to the
college administration. 3 [U(of)] fml the act of giving; adminis-
tering (ADMINISTER) 4 [the] AmE (often cap.) the (period of)
government, especially of a particular president or ruling
party: during the Reagan Administration
ad·min·is·tra·tive /əd'mɪnɪstrətɪv||-strætɪv/ adj of or con-
cerning administration: The job is mainly administrative. |
administrative responsibilities ——ly adv
ad·min·is·tra·tor /əd'mɪnɪstreɪtər/ n 1 a person whose
job is administration 2 BrE a person appointed by a court to
manage or direct the affairs of a company near to INSOLVENCY
in order to try to save it
ad·mi·ra·ble /'ædmərəbəl/ adj worthy of admiration; very
good: She showed admirable self-control. | The commission of
inquiry has done an admirable job. ——bly adv
ad·mi·ral /'ædmərəl/ n a naval rank -> see TABLE 3; see also
RED ADMIRAL; see FATHER (USAGE)
Admiral's 'Cup, the an international sailing competition
held off the British coast every two years and consisting of
four races, including the FASTNET Cup Race
Ad·mi·ral·ty, the /'ædmərəlti/ a British government
department that controls the British navy
Admiralty 'Arch a large ARCH (=a structure with a curved
top and straight sides) in central London, between the MALL
and TRAFALGAR SQUARE
ad·mi·ra·tion /,ædmə'reɪʃən/ n 1 [U(for)] a feeling of pleas-
ure and respect: I was filled with admiration for her cour-
age. 2 [the+S+of] a person or thing that causes such feelings:
His new bike made him the admiration of his friends.
ad·mire /əd'maɪər/ v [T(for)] to think of or look at with
pleasure and respect: I admire (her for) the way she handles
her staff. | You may not like him, but you've got to admire his
persistence. | He gave her an admiring look. | He's always
looking in the mirror, admiring himself! -> see WONDER
(USAGE)
ad·mir·er /əd'maɪərər/ n a person who admires, especially a
man who is attracted to a particular woman: one of her
many admirers
ad·mis·si·ble /əd'mɪsɪbəl/ adj that can be accepted or
considered: admissible evidence in a court of law -> opposite
INADMISSIBLE ——bility /,æd,mɪsə'bɪləti/ n [U]
ad·mis·sion /əd'mɪʃən/ n 1 [U(to)] allowing or being
allowed to enter or join a school, club, building etc: They
campaigned for the admission of women to the club. 2 [U] the
cost of entrance: Admission £1 3 [C(of)] a statement admit-
ting that something is true; CONFESSION: an admission of
guilt/failure | [+that] His admission that he was the thief
surprised everyone. | He's a bad driver by/on his own
admission. (=as he himself says)
Compare admission and admittance.
1 Admission is the usual word. Admittance is more
formal and is only used with the meaning 'permission to
enter a building, park etc', usually given by someone in
authority: No admission after 10 p.m. | Private Road: No
Admittance. 2 The entrance price is the admission:
Admission £2.
ad·mit /əd'mɪt/ v -tt- 1 [I(to);T] to state or agree to the truth
of (usually something bad); CONFESS: He admitted his guilt/
admitted to the murder. | [+v-ing] She admitted stealing the
bicycle/admitted having stolen the bicycle. | [+ (that)] She admit-
ted that she had stolen the bicycle. | I must admit, it's more
difficult than I thought it would be. | [+obj+to-v] A fuel leak is
now admitted to have been the cause of the trouble. -> com-
pare DENY 2 [T(into, to)] to permit to enter; let in: He was
admitted to hospital suffering from burns. 3 [I+of;T] fml to
leave a chance for being possible; allow: The facts admit (of)
no other explanation.
ad·mit·tance /əd'mɪtəns/ n [U] fml right of entrance: Jour-
nalists were unable to gain admittance to the courtroom. ->
see ADMISSION (USAGE)
ad·mit·ted /əd'mɪtɪd/ adj [A] having admitted oneself to be;
SELF-CONFESSED: He is an admitted alcoholic.
ad·mit·ted·ly /əd'mɪtɪdli/ adv it must be admitted (that):
Admittedly, he works slowly, but his essays are always
excellent. | The results of our poll, though admittedly taken
from a smaller sample, are quite different from theirs.
ad·mix·ture /əd'mɪkstʃər/ n [+of; usually sing.] fml or tech a
substance that is added to another in a mixture
ad·mon·ish /əd'mɒnɪʃ||-'mɑːr-/ v [T(for, against)] fml to warn or
speak to with gentle disapproval: The witness was admon-
ished by the judge for failing to answer the question. ——ingly
adv
ad·mo·ni·tion /,ædmə'nɪʃən/ n [C;U] fml an act of admonish-
ing
ad·mon·i·to·ry /əd'mɒnɪtəri||əd'mɑːnɪtɔːri/ adj fml of or
being warning advice or gentle disapproval: admonitory
remarks
ad nau·se·am /,æd 'nɔːziəm, -iəm/ adv Lat repeatedly and
to an annoying degree: We have heard your complaints ad
nauseam.
a·do /ə'duː/ n [U] delay or unnecessary activity (especially in
the phrase without more/further ado): Without more ado, I'd
like to introduce tonight's special guest.
a·do·be /ə'dəʊbi/ n [U] a building substance made of earth
and STRAW dried in the sun, used in hot countries; especially
in the southwest of the US and Mexico
ad·o·les·cent /,ædə'lesənt/ adj, n 1 (of) a boy or girl in the
period between being a child and being an adult; young
TEENAGER of about 13–16 -> see CHILD (USAGE) 2 derog (of)
an adult who behaves like an adolescent: his adolescent
humour ——cence n [S;U] the period of adolescence
A·do·nis /ə'daʊnɪs/ 1 in Greek MYTHOLOGY, a beautiful boy
whom APHRODITE loved, but who was killed by a BOAR (=a
wild pig) while he was hunting 2 an extremely attractive
young man: He was a six foot tall, blond, muscled Adonis. ->
see also APOLLO, GREEK GOD
a·dopt /ə'dɒpt||ə'dɑːpt/ v 1 [I;T] to take (someone else's
child) into one's family for ever and to take on the full
responsibilities in law of a parent: He's not my real father; I'm
adopted. -> compare FOSTER 2 [T] to take and use as one's
own: We adopted their production methods. 3 [T] to begin to
have (a quality or appearance): to adopt a conciliatory
attitude/a tough approach to the terrorists 4 [T] to approve
formally; accept: The committee adopted my sugges-
tions. 5 [T(as)] to choose as a representative (CANDIDATE) for
election
a·dop·tion /ə'dɒpʃən||ə'dɑːp-/ n [C;U] (an example of) the
act of adopting: If you can't have children of your own, why
not consider adoption? | (fig.) He was not born here, but this is
his country of adoption.