——redundant
New technology often makes old skills andeven whole communities redundant.
——wrenching
extremely stressful:
It was the most wrenching decision in hislife.
——eat into sth
to use or take away a large part ofsomething valuable, such as money or time:
The high cost of living in Chengdu iseating into my savings.
——shutter
American English to close a business,office etc for a short time or permanently
The university shuttered its Shanghaioffice a year ago and set up a new one in Chengdu.
——be at the height of yoursuccess/fame/powers etc
to be more successful, famous etc than atany other time
The singer is at the height of his fame.
——shed
verb UK
[ T ] (often used in newspapers) to get ridof something you do not need or want
900 jobs will be shed over the next fewmonths.
Psychotherapy helped him to shed some ofhis insecurity.
I started to be on a diet to see if I canshed a few pounds in a few months.
——The youngsters are always eager toembrace the latest technology.
——His company quickly embraced the internetas a new vehicle for advertising and soon became popular.
——If a bad situation is acute, it causessevere problems or damage:
——menace
If someone or something menaces a person orthing, he, she, or it threatens seriously to harm it:
Hurricane Hugo menaced the eastern coastfor a week.
——preordain
(especially of a power thought to begreater than ordinary people) to decide or fix what will happen in a way thatcannot be changed or controlled
[ +to infinitive ] Illness and suffering seemed (to be) preordained to be her lot.
He always tells me that his life seems tohave followed a preordained direction.
——cheeful
used to describe a place or thing that isbright and pleasant and makes you feel positive and happy
The reception room was bright and cheerfulwith yellow walls and curtains.
——If you nudge someone into doingsomething, you gently persuade them to do it.
I had a feeling that the challenge appealedto him. All he needed was a nudge.
——gig economy
in British, informal
an economy in which there are few permanentemployees and most jobs are assigned to temporary or freelance workers
