| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| to go up or become larger in amount (general term for upward movement) | increase The number of international students increased from 2,000 to 5,500 over the period. |
| to go up or move higher (slightly more formal than increase) | rise Unemployment rose steadily between 2015 and 2019 before declining sharply. |
| to go up very quickly and steeply in amount or price | rocket House prices rocketed in the capital, increasing by over 200% in just five years. |
| to move gradually upwards in amount | climb The temperature climbed steadily throughout the morning, reaching a peak at 2pm. |
| to become twice as large or twice as many | double The population of the city doubled between 1990 and 2020. |
| to become three times as large or three times as many | treble Exports trebled over the decade, making the country a major trading power. |
| to become four times as large | quadruple Internet usage quadrupled in developing nations between 2010 and 2020. |
| to increase suddenly by a large amount | jump Sales jumped by 40% in the final quarter following the product launch. |
| to go down or become smaller in amount (general term) | decrease The birth rate decreased from 3.2 to 1.8 children per woman over the period. |
| to go down from a higher to a lower level | fall Oil production fell sharply after the introduction of new environmental regulations. |
| to go down suddenly (similar to fall) | drop The number of visitors dropped dramatically during the winter months. |
| to go down into water head first; to decrease suddenly and steeply | plunge Share prices plunged following the announcement of the CEO's resignation. |
| to become half the original amount | halve The cost of solar panels has halved over the past decade. |
| to fall heavily or suddenly in value or amount | slump Tourism revenue slumped by 70% during the global health crisis. |
| a slight and usually temporary decrease | dip There was a brief dip in sales in March before figures recovered in April. |
| to change irregularly between higher and lower levels | fluctuate Oil prices fluctuated between $60 and $90 per barrel throughout the year. |
| to become steady and stop changing | stabilise After a period of rapid growth, the population stabilised at around 10 million. |
| to stop increasing or developing; to become flat | level off Energy consumption levelled off in the final quarter after months of steady growth. |
| to stay approximately the same over a period | remain constant The proportion of female students remained constant at around 45% throughout the decade. |
| to move up and down slightly around the same level | hover around The unemployment rate hovered around 5% for most of the period shown. |
| to reach the highest point or level | peak Electricity demand peaked at 45,000 megawatts during the summer heatwave. |
| a low point between two higher points on a graph | trough The graph shows a clear trough in production during the winter months. |
| to reach the lowest point before recovering | bottom out House prices bottomed out in 2012 before beginning a gradual recovery. |
| the highest point reached by a quantity on a graph | high Temperatures reached a high of 38 degrees in July before falling in August. |
| in a steep and sudden manner (describing a rapid change) | sharply Profits rose sharply in the third quarter, exceeding all expectations. |
| in a very noticeable and impressive way (great change) | dramatically The landscape of the city centre changed dramatically over the twenty-year period. |
| in a very steep manner (angle of change) | steeply The graph rose steeply between 2005 and 2008 before levelling off. |
| at a regular and even pace; not changing rapidly | steadily The number of registered users grew steadily from 100,000 to over 2 million. |
| slowly and by small amounts over a period of time | gradually Life expectancy has gradually increased over the past century in most countries. |
| to a medium or average degree; not extremely | moderately House prices increased moderately, rising by approximately 3% per year. |
| by a small amount; only a little | slightly The figure for male graduates was slightly higher than that for females. |
| by a very small amount; barely noticeably | marginally Spending on defence was marginally lower in 2020 compared to the previous year. |
| by an extremely small amount; almost imperceptibly | fractionally Output increased only fractionally, rising by less than 0.5% over the quarter. |
| to a great or important degree; by a large amount | substantially Government spending on healthcare increased substantially during the pandemic. |
| to form or make up a specified part of a whole | comprise Women comprised approximately 60% of the total workforce in the education sector. |
| to form or compose a specified proportion of something | constitute Renewable sources constituted just 15% of the total energy supply in 2015. |
| to be responsible for a specified proportion of a total | account for Asia accounted for over 40% of global manufacturing output. |
| to be equal to a specified amount when combined | amount to Total expenditure on research and development amounted to $2.3 billion. |
| to form or compose a specified proportion (informal) | make up Students from overseas made up roughly a third of the university's intake. |
| to be a symbol or equivalent of a specified value or proportion | represent This figure represented a threefold increase compared to the previous decade. |
| close to an exact amount but not completely precise | approximately Approximately 3.5 million tourists visited the country in 2022. |
| approximately; not exactly (informal) | roughly Roughly half of all respondents expressed dissatisfaction with public transport. |
| a little more than a specified number or amount | just over The figure stood at just over 25,000, a slight increase from the previous year. |
| a little less than a specified number or amount | just under Spending fell to just under $500 million by the end of the period. |
| approximately; in the area of a specified amount | in the region of The project is expected to cost in the region of $3 billion over five years. |
| more than a specified amount | in excess of The city now attracts in excess of 10 million visitors annually. |
| to go beyond or do better than a previous level or competitor | surpass China's GDP surpassed that of Japan in 2010, making it the world's second largest economy. |
| to be greater than a specified amount or level | exceed Demand for water is projected to exceed supply in several regions by 2030. |
| to be greater in number than another group | outnumber Female graduates outnumbered their male counterparts by a ratio of three to two. |
| to go past and become ahead of another in amount | overtake Spending on digital advertising overtook traditional media spending in 2019. |
| to be greater or more important than something else | outweigh The benefits of the scheme clearly outweigh the initial costs of implementation. |
| to grow faster or become larger than something else | outstrip Population growth has outstripped the capacity of the existing housing supply. |
| preposition used to express the extent of a change in data | by The number of car owners increased by 15% between 2010 and 2015. |
| reaching a specific level or amount at a given time | stand at By 2020, the unemployment rate stood at 4.2%, down from 7.8% a decade earlier. |
| arriving at a specific number or level | reach Global temperatures are expected to reach 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels by 2040. |
| a noticeable change or trend in data | notable The most notable feature of the graph is the sharp increase in online sales after 2015. |
| happening or continuing during a specified period | over the period Over the period shown, there was a clear upward trend in renewable energy production. |
| a general direction in which something is developing or changing | trend The overall trend for car ownership was upward, despite a brief decline in 2008. |
| a distinct period or step in a process or development | stage In the first stage of production, raw materials are sorted and cleaned. |
| a distinct period in a process of change or development | phase The initial phase of the project involves gathering data from multiple sources. |
| coming before something in time or order | prior to Prior to treatment, the water passes through a series of filtration systems. |
| after which; and then as a result | following which The mixture is heated to 200 degrees, following which it is allowed to cool naturally. |
| at the same time as another event or process | concurrently Two separate processes occur concurrently during the second stage of manufacturing. |
| in the end; as the final step in a process | ultimately The raw material is processed, refined, and ultimately packaged for distribution. |
| a significant or easily noticeable change | marked There was a marked increase in the number of female executives between 2000 and 2020. |
| a slight and temporary movement downward from a trend | minor fluctuation Despite some minor fluctuations, the overall trend remained positive throughout the period. |
| expected to happen in the future based on current data | projected The population is projected to reach 9 billion by the middle of this century. |
| showing the general direction when minor changes are ignored | overall Overall, the data shows a clear correlation between education spending and literacy rates. |
| being clearly different when two things are placed side by side | in contrast In contrast to the steady growth in Asia, European markets experienced a significant downturn. |
| in the same way; showing a similar pattern | similarly Car ownership grew rapidly in China; similarly, India saw a dramatic rise in vehicle sales. |
| at the same level; equal in amount or value | on a par with By 2018, online retail spending was on a par with high-street spending for the first time. |
| the difference between two values or amounts | gap The gap between male and female earnings narrowed considerably over the period. |
| being the same or very similar in size or amount | comparable Spending on education in the two countries was roughly comparable at around 5% of GDP. |
| in a way that matches or is in proportion | respectively The UK and Germany spent $50 billion and $45 billion on defence respectively. |
| continuing in a straight line without changing direction | consistent There was a consistent upward trend in broadband subscriptions throughout the decade. |
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