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leader noun
Synonyms: leader, boss, manager, employer, supervisor, captain
leader
a person who is in charge of an organisation such as a political party
He is the leader of the local council. the leader of the construction workers’ union
boss
the person in charge, especially the owner of a business
If you want a day off, ask the boss. I left because I didn’t get on with my boss.
manager
the person in charge of a department in a shop or in a business
The bank manager wants to talk about your account. She’s the manager of the shoe department.
employer
a person or organisation that gives work to people and pays them
Her employer was a Hong Kong businessman. The car factory is the biggest employer in the area.
supervisor
a person whose job is making sure that other people are working well
The supervisor has told us to work faster.
captain
a person in charge of a team
The two captains shook hands at the beginning of the match.
65
learn verb
Synonyms: learn, memorise, master, pick up
Antonym: teach
Synonyms:
learn
to find out about something, or about how to do something
He’s learning to ride a bicycle. We learn French and German at school.
memorise
to learn something thoroughly so that you know and can repeat all of it
At school, we memorised a new poem every week.
master
to become skilled at something
Although he’s a good cook, he still hasn’t mastered the art of making bread.
pick up
to learn something easily without being taught
She never took any piano lessons – she just picked it up. He picked up some German when he was working in Germany.
Antonym:
teach
to show someone how to do something
66
legal adjective
Synonyms: legal, licensed, valid, legitimate, lawful
Antonym: illegal
Synonyms:
legal
allowed by the law
It’s legal to drive at 17 years old in the UK.
licensed
given official permission to do something
Buy goods only from licensed dealers.
valid
able to be used only for a specific time
Your ticket is no longer valid. He was carrying a valid passport.
legitimate
fair and reasonable, or allowed by the law
They have legitimate concerns about the project. He acted in legitimate defence of his rights.
lawful
(formal) allowed by the law
Their behaviour was perfectly lawful.
Antonym:
illegal
against the law
67
lie noun
Synonyms: lie, fib, white lie, falsehood, fabrication
Antonym: truth
Synonyms:
lie
something that is not true
That’s a lie! – I didn’t say that! Someone has been telling lies about her.
fib
(informal) a lie about something unimportant
He told a fib about where he’d been so he wouldn’t get into trouble.
white lie
a lie about something unimportant, especially a lie told in order not to upset someone
I told a white lie, saying I was visiting my mother and couldn’t go for a drink with him.
falsehood
(literary) a lie
It appears that he had told several falsehoods under oath.
fabrication
an invented story that is not true
The newspaper story was a complete fabrication from start to finish.
Antonym:
truth
things which are true