Phrases & Expressions

Used to say that something is very likely to happen.

• With heavy rain forecast for the whole weekend, there is every likelihood that the match will be postponed.
• With such strong support from voters, there is every likelihood that the proposal will be approved.

To formally promise or agree that you will do something.

• The landlord undertook to repair the roof before the new tenants moved in.
• By signing the contract, the company undertakes to deliver all orders within five working days.

A system that is too large or complicated to manage or use efficiently.

• Critics say the tax rules have grown into an unwieldy system that few people fully understand.
• Merging the two hospital databases created an unwieldy system that slowed doctors down.

Opinions that are very different from each other.

• Experts hold widely divergent views on whether artificial intelligence will create or destroy jobs.
• The two political parties have widely divergent views on immigration, which makes cooperation difficult.

To have a punishment or something unpleasant stopped or delayed just before it was due to happen.

• The village library won a last-minute reprieve when a local business offered to pay its running costs.
• Human rights groups celebrated when the prisoner won a last-minute reprieve the night before his execution.