Phrases & Expressions

To work out that something is true by reasoning logically from the evidence available.

• Geologists deduced the age of the rock layers from the fossils found inside them.
• It is difficult to deduce much from such a small sample of participants.

To come or develop from a particular source.

• Many English words derive from Latin, often entering the language through French.
• Much of the public opposition to the new law derives from fears about rising prices.

To be different from what is usual, expected or typical.

• Researchers should explain any results that deviate from the norm rather than simply ignoring them.
• Children who deviate from the norm in the way they dress or behave are sometimes targeted by bullies.

To make a country or region depend on a wider range of industries and products.

• Oil-rich countries are trying to diversify their economies by investing in tourism and technology.
• The government plans to diversify the economy so that the region is less dependent on farming.

To compare two things to show how they are similar, often in order to explain an idea.

• The lecturer drew an analogy between the human brain and a computer to explain how memory works.
• It is tempting to draw an analogy with the financial crisis of 2008, but today's situation is quite different.

To make debts easier to manage, for example by lowering interest rates or allowing more time to pay.

• The new agreement aims to ease the debt burden on the world's poorest nations.
• The government plans to ease the debt burden on students by freezing interest rates.

To send gases such as carbon dioxide into the air, where they trap heat.

• Cars, power stations and factories emit greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.
• Countries that emit the most greenhouse gases are under growing pressure to cut their emissions quickly.

To use a particular plan or method in order to achieve something.

• Successful readers employ a range of strategies, such as skimming and predicting, to understand difficult texts.
• The company employed a clever marketing strategy to attract younger customers to its products.

To try very hard to do something, used mainly in official language.

• The university will endeavour to respond to all applications within four weeks of the closing date.
• We endeavour to reply to every customer complaint within forty-eight hours of receiving it.

To say officially that you support or approve of a plan.

• The student council endorsed a proposal to keep the library open later during the exam period.
• Most of the doctors at the conference endorsed the proposal to ban junk food adverts aimed at children.