Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

1 ADJ Someone who is abusive behaves in a cruel and violent way towards other people. □  He became violent and abusive toward Ben's mother. □  One in eight women lives in an abusive relationship.

2 ADJ Abusive language is extremely rude and insulting.

abut /əbʌ t/ (abuts , abutting , abutted ) VERB When land or a building abuts something or abuts on something, it is next to it. [FORMAL ]

abuzz /əbʌ z/ ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If someone says that a place is abuzz with rumours or plans, they mean that everyone there is excited about them. [JOURNALISM ]

abys|mal /əb I zm ^ə l/ ADJ If you describe a situation or the condition of something as abysmal , you think that it is very bad or poor in quality. □  …our abysmal record at producing a scientifically trained workforce. □  The general standard of racing was abysmal. ●  abys|mal|ly ADV [ADV adj, ADV after v] □  The standard of education was abysmally low. □  As the chart shows, it has failed abysmally.

abyss /æb I s/ (abysses )

1 N‑COUNT [usu sing] An abyss is a very deep hole in the ground. [LITERARY ]

2 N‑COUNT [usu sing] If someone is on the edge or brink of an abyss , they are about to enter into a very frightening or threatening situation. [LITERARY ]

AC /e I siː / N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] AC is used to refer to an electric current that continually changes direction as it flows. AC is an abbreviation for 'alternating current'.

aca|cia /əke I ʃə/ (acacias or acacia ) N‑VAR An acacia or an acacia tree is a tree which grows in warm countries and which usually has small yellow or white flowers.

aca|deme /æ kədiːm/ N‑UNCOUNT The academic world of universities is sometimes referred to as academe . [FORMAL ]

aca|demia /æ kədiː miə/ N‑UNCOUNT Academia refers to all the academics in a particular country or region, the institutions they work in, and their work. □  …the importance of strong links between industry and academia.

aca|dem|ic ◆◇◇ /æ kəde m I k/ (academics )

1 ADJ [ADJ n] Academic is used to describe things that relate to the work done in schools, colleges, and universities, especially work which involves studying and reasoning rather than practical or technical skills. □  Their academic standards are high. □  I was terrible at school and left with few academic qualifications. ●  aca|dem|ical|ly /æ kəde m I kli/ ADV □  He is academically gifted.

2 ADJ [ADJ n] Academic is used to describe things that relate to schools, colleges, and universities. □  …the start of the last academic year. □  I'd had enough of academic life.

3 ADJ Academic is used to describe work, or a school, college, or university, that places emphasis on studying and reasoning rather than on practical or technical skills. □  The author has settled for a more academic approach.

4 ADJ Someone who is academic is good at studying. □  The system is failing most disastrously among less academic children.

5 N‑COUNT An academic is a member of a university or college who teaches or does research.

6 ADJ You can say that a discussion or situation is academic if you think it is not important because it has no real effect or cannot happen. □  Such is the size of the problem that these arguments are purely academic. SYNONYMS academic ADJ 4

scholarly:He was an intellectual, scholarly man.

intellectual:He belonged to an intellectual elite.

learned:She is a serious scholar, a genuinely learned woman.

erudite:Maria was never dull, always erudite and well informed.

well-read:He was clever, well-read and interested in the arts.

acad|emi|cian /əkæ dəm I ʃ ^ə n, [AM ] æ kədə-/ (academicians ) N‑COUNT An academician is a member of an academy, usually one which has been formed to improve or maintain standards in a particular field.