Intermediate — Set 17

Set 17 of Intermediate covers 5 words: harmless, naughty, aggressive, amusing, ordinary. Each entry below includes its definition, an example sentence, and synonyms — practice them with the interactive cards above.

1. harmless · adjective/ˈhɑrmləs/

   causes neither threat nor danger

   Hydrogen-powered cars are nearly harmless to the environment.

   Synonyms: innocent, naive, painless

2. naughty · adjective/ˈnɔdi/

   someone, usually a child, who misbehaves

   There are some parenting tips that you can get from experts and websites to help deal with naughty children.

   Synonyms: mischievous, disobedient, annoying

   Origin: late Middle English: from naught+ -y. The earliest recorded sense was ‘possessing nothing’; the sense ‘wicked’ also dates from late Middle English, and gave rise to the current senses

3. aggressive · adjective/əˈɡrɛsɪv/

   violent/angry behaviour

   As toddlers do not have self control, their aggressive behaviour is considered normal.

   Synonyms: threatening, hostile, combative

   Origin: late 17th century: from modern Latin aggressivus, from Latin aggress- ‘attacked’ (from the verb aggredi); compare with French agressif, -ive

4. amusing · adjective/əˈmjuzɪŋ/

   causing joy, laughter and entertainment

   Sometimes, when old people come together, they talk about amusing childhood memories of each other and burst into laughter.

   Synonyms: entertaining, funny, enjoyable

5. ordinary · adjective/ˈɔrdnˌɛri/

   something that does not have a special feature, usual

   The economic crisis affects the life of ordinary people more than it affects the very rich.

   Synonyms: common, regular, normal

   Origin: late Middle English: the noun partly via Old French; the adjective from Latin ordinarius ‘orderly’ (reinforced by French ordinaire), from ordo, ordin- ‘order’