Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

noun + agency : advertising, marketing; employment, recruitment; news

3

noun + agency : aid, development, funding; intelligence, security

agen|da ◆◇◇ /ədʒe ndə/ (agendas )

1 N‑COUNT You can refer to the political issues which are important at a particular time as an agenda . □ [+ on ] Does television set the agenda on foreign policy? □  The Danish president will put environmental issues high on the agenda.

2 → see also hidden agenda

3 N‑COUNT An agenda is a list of the items that have to be discussed at a meeting. □  This is sure to be an item on the agenda next week.

agent ◆◆◇ /e I dʒənt/ (agents )

1 N‑COUNT An agent is a person who looks after someone else's business affairs or does business on their behalf. [BUSINESS ] □  You are buying direct, rather than through an agent.

2 → see also estate agent , press agent , travel agent

3 N‑COUNT An agent in the arts world is a person who gets work for an actor or musician, or who sells the work of a writer to publishers.

4 N‑COUNT An agent is a person who works for a country's secret service. □ [+ for ] All these years he's been an agent for the East.

5 N‑COUNT A chemical that has a particular effect or is used for a particular purpose can be referred to as a particular kind of agent . □  …the bleaching agent in white flour.

agent pro|vo|ca|teur /æ ʒɒn prɒvɒkətɜː ^r / (agents provocateurs ) N‑COUNT An agent provocateur is a person who is employed by the government or the police to encourage certain groups of people to break the law, so they can arrest them or make them lose public support. □  Agents provocateurs may seek to discredit the opposition.

a ge of con|se nt N‑SING The age of consent is the age at which a person can legally agree to having a sexual relationship. □  He was under the age of consent.

a ge-o ld ADJ [usu ADJ n] An age-old story, tradition, or problem has existed for many generations or centuries. [WRITTEN ] □  This age-old struggle for control had led to untold bloody wars.

ag|glom|era|tion /əglɒ məre I ʃ ^ə n/ (agglomerations ) N‑VAR An agglomeration of things is a lot of different things gathered together, often in no particular order or arrangement. [FORMAL ]

ag|gran|dize /əgræ nda I z/ (aggrandizes , aggrandizing , aggrandized ) in BRIT, also use aggrandise VERB To aggrandize someone means to make them seem richer, more powerful, and more important than they really are. To aggrandize a building means to make it more impressive. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ [V pron-refl] At the dinner table, my father would go on and on, showing off, aggrandising himself. □ [V n] …plans to aggrandise the building.

ag|gran|dize|ment /əgræ nd I zmənt/ in BRIT, also use aggrandisement 1 N‑UNCOUNT If someone does something for aggrandizement , they do it in order to get power, wealth, and importance for themselves. [FORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □  Economic necessity had prevailed over military aggrandizement.

2 → see also self-aggrandizement

ag|gra|vate /æ grəve I t/ (aggravates , aggravating , aggravated )

1 VERB If someone or something aggravates a situation, they make it worse. □ [V n] Stress and lack of sleep can aggravate the situation.

2 VERB If someone or something aggravates you, they make you annoyed. [INFORMAL ] □ [V n] What aggravates you most about this country? ●  ag|gra|vat|ing ADJ □  You don't realise how aggravating you can be. ●  ag|gra|va|tion /æ grəve I ʃ ^ə n/ (aggravations ) N‑VAR □  I just couldn't take the aggravation.

ag|gra|vat|ed /æ grəve I t I d/ ADJ [ADJ n] Aggravated is used to describe a serious crime which involves violence. [LEGAL ] □  He was jailed for aggravated assault.

ag|gre|gate /æ gr I gət/