lead, refuse, consider, measure, predict: meanings and examples

Learn these 5 words from Intermediate set 74. Each entry includes a definition, example sentence, pronunciation, and synonyms. Use the interactive cards above to practice them.

1. lead · verb/lid/

   to cause something to happen or cause a person to do something

   Knowing more than one foreign language could lead to finding a variety of interesting jobs.

   Synonyms: cause, result in

   Origin: Old English lǣdan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch leiden and German leiten, also to load and lode

2. refuse · verb/rəˈfjuz/

   to state that you won't do something

   If you ask for something politely, people generally do not refuse to help.

   Synonyms: decline, reject, turn down

   Origin: Middle English: from Old French refuser, probably an alteration of Latin recusare ‘to refuse’, influenced by refutare ‘refute’

3. consider · verb/kənˈsɪdər/

   to think about something fully before making a decision

   Before accepting the offer, you should consider all the possible risks.

   Synonyms: think about, examine

   Origin: late Middle English: from Old French considerer, from Latin considerare ‘examine’, perhaps based on sidus, sider- ‘star’

4. measure · verb/ˈmɛʒər/

   to determine the size or number of something

   We will measure the room and buy our furniture accordingly.

   Synonyms: assess, quantify, calculate

   Origin: Middle English (as a noun in the senses ‘moderation’, ‘instrument for measuring’, ‘unit of capacity’): from Old French mesure, from Latin mensura, from mens- ‘measured’, from the verb metiri

5. predict · verb/priˈdɪk(t)/

   to say what you think will happen in the future

   It is difficult to predict which jobs will be popular in the future.

   Synonyms: anticipate, forecast, guess

   Origin: early 17th century: from Latin praedict- ‘made known beforehand, declared’, from the verb praedicere, from prae- ‘beforehand’ + dicere ‘say’