Intermediate — Set 6

Set 6 of Intermediate covers 5 words: anxiety, capacity, assistance, temper, generation. Each entry below includes its definition, an example sentence, and synonyms — practice them with the interactive cards above.

1. anxiety · noun/æŋˈzaɪədi/

   a feeling of worry

   I feel a lot of anxiety before exams and my hands start to sweat.

   Synonyms: worry, nervousness, stress

   Origin: early 16th century: from French anxiété or Latin anxietas, from anxius (see anxious)

2. capacity · noun/kəˈpæsədi/

   the ability to do or learn something

   I am not sure that he has the capacity to manage such a big team.

   Synonyms: ability, capability, potential

   Origin: late Middle English: from French capacité, from Latin capacitas, from capax, capac- ‘that can contain’, from capere ‘take or hold’

3. assistance · noun/əˈsɪst(ə)ns/

   help given to someone

   Many college students need more assistance with their academic studies in their first year.

   Synonyms: aid, help, support

   Origin: late Middle English: from Old French, or from medieval Latin assistentia, from Latin assistere (see assist)

4. temper · noun/ˈtɛmpər/

   how easily someone becomes angry

   He is not a bad person but he has a bad temper and might lose control at times.

   Synonyms: anger, rage

   Origin: Old English temprian ‘bring something into the required condition by mixing it with something else’, from Latin temperare ‘mingle, restrain’; the sense of a state of mind dates from late Middle English.

5. generation · noun/ˌdʒɛnəˈreɪʃ(ə)n/

   all the people who were born around the same time

   The divorce rate was really low in my grandparents' generation.

   Synonyms: age group

   Origin: Middle English: via Old French from Latin generatio(n-), from the verb generare (see generate)