force, explore, damage, convince, bother: meanings and examples

Learn these 5 words from Intermediate set 84. Each entry includes a definition, example sentence, pronunciation, and synonyms. Use the interactive cards above to practice them.

1. force · verb/fɔrs/

   to make someone do something they do not want to do

   Heavy rain may force the organizers to move the event indoors.

   Synonyms: persuade, require, urge, make

   Origin: Middle English: from Old French force (noun), forcer (verb), based on Latin fortis ‘strong’

2. explore · verb/ɪkˈsplɔr/

   to examine or study something carefully in order to learn more about it

   Scientists continue to explore how the human brain functions under stressful conditions.

   Synonyms: examine, investigate, analyze

   Origin: mid 16th century (in the sense ‘investigate (why)’): from French explorer, from Latin explorare ‘search out’, from ex- ‘out’ + plorare ‘utter a cry’

3. damage · verb/ˈdæmɪdʒ/

   to harm something and make it less useful or valuable

   It was found out that the politician gained a lot of money from the charity fundraiser and this scandal was thought to damage his career.

   Synonyms: harm, hurt, destroy

   Origin: Middle English: from Old French, from dam, damne ‘loss or damage’, from Latin damnum ‘loss or hurt’; compare with damn

4. convince · verb/kənˈvɪns/

   to make someone believe that something is true or to make them agree to do something

   The main purpose of advertising is to convince buyers that a product is worth choosing.

   Synonyms: persuade

   Origin: mid 16th century (in the sense ‘overcome, defeat in argument’): from Latin convincere, from con- ‘with’ + vincere ‘conquer’. Compare with convict

5. bother · verb/ˈbɑðər/

   to annoy, worry, or cause problems for someone

   Being in an elevator can really bother people who are claustrophobic.

   Synonyms: worry, concern, trouble

   Origin: early 18th century (originally in the sense ‘confuse with noise’): of Anglo-Irish origin; perhaps a variant of pother, or perhaps borrowed from Irish bodhar ‘deaf, confused’