con-sumer-ism /kan'sjuimarizam; NAmE -'su:-/ noun [U] (sometimes disapproving) the buying and using
of goods and services; the belief that it is good for a society or an
individual person to buy and use a large quantity of goods and services
fOTATffy ) ► consumerist adj.: consumerist values
con
RETAIL PRICE INDEX
con-sum-ing /kan'sjuimirj;
NAmE -'su:-/ adj. [only before noun]
(of a feeling, an interest, etc. Ijgff, Ai®^) so strong or important that it
takes up all your time and energy 3g£<{ft;
]fii?ft;^A#jlft: Basketball
is his consuming
passion. life # 0 —
see also
TIME-CONSUMING
consummate1
/kan'SAmat;
'kDnsamat; NAmE 'ka:n-/ adj. [usually before noun] (formal) extremely
skilled; perfect # It ill H ft ; H ft: She was a consummate performer. M J§ T # zl # Jl ft MM #» 0 He played the shot with
consummate skill, ftfe tU i$j IS ft M # ^ „ o
(disapproving) a consummate liar jf|j T ► con summately adv.
con-sum-mate2 /'knnsameit; NAmE 'ka:n-/ verb [VN] (formal) 1 to make a marriage or
a relationship complete by having sex ( )
|sjj£; i ®
Ml^tMAft^^: ) l®il: The marriage lasted only a week and was never consummated. M.M■>
IP]|h]/AA|s]^}-o 2 to make sth complete
or perfect fkrrc
«;
con sum ma tion /.knnsa'meiXn; NAmE ,ka:n-/ noun [c, U] 1 the act of making a
marriage or relationship complete by having sex ( $7J#c ) |f]0; ii&143£{£WA
%. ID $1 2 the
fact of making sth complete or perfect The paintings are the consummation of
his life’s work.
consumption /kan'SAmpJn/ noun [U] 1 the act of using
energy, food or materials; the amount used ( fg
s. mnm-. the
production of
fuel for domestic consumption (= to be used in the
country where it is produced) #t[l ftft^f^^ 0 Gas and oil consumption always increases
in cold weather. 0 The
meat was declared unfit for human consumption. & # AlftffJo 0 He was advised to reduce his
alcohol consumption, fife M T
M 0 o Her speech
to party members was not intended for public consumption
(=
to be heard by the public). A^ft#i£
#
T -it X fx o — see also consume 2 the act of
buying and using products
^: Consumption
rather than saving has become the central feature of contemporary societies.
—
see also conspicuous consumption,
consume 3 (old-fashioned) a serious infectious
disease of the lungs KEJ tuberculosis
con-sump tive /kan'sAmptiv/ noun (old-fashioned) a person who
suffers from consumption (= a disease of the lungs) ) H# ► consumptive
od/.
cont.
(also
contd) abbr. continued M ft ; ^ ft:
cont. on p74 TMII 74 M
COIl-tact
0-w /'kDntaekt;
NAmE 'ka:n-/ noun, verb
v noun
► ACT OF COMMUNICATING IK 1 [U] ~ (with sb) | ~ (between A and B) the act of
communicating with sb, especially regularly ( AJbMOTj ) I don’t
have much contact with my uncle. 0
There
is little contact between the two organizations.
o Have you kept in contact with any of your friends from college (= do you still see
them or speak or write to them)? ftJW££E&M8£^lEl?
o She’s lost contact with (= no longer sees or
writes to) her son. MXfl 0 7 finally made contact with (= succeeded in
speaking to or meeting) her in
%. „ o
The
organization put me in contact with other
eople in a similar position (= gave me their addresses or telephone
numbers). & M #1A 3S .H & .7 & ffe ftl fc 1# E M ft A
ft ^ A & 0 0 two people avoiding eye
contact (= avoiding looking directly at each
other) jiii iS ft MT A 0 Here’s my contact number
(=
temporary telephone number) while I’m away. j&Jk
►
TOUCHING SB/STH .j^M 2 [U] the state of
touching sth M M; M M: His fingers were briefly in
contact with the ball, fife ft T- ffi ffi -Hfe M M f * F $ „ 0 This substance should not come
into contact with food. & # W VJ M Wikyg&M o 0 a fear of physical contact .# #
38
tM ri o This pesticide kills insects on contact (= as soon as it
touches them). MBP^Eo
►
MEETING SB/STH jg |i] ® A / $■ t/ 3 [U] the state of meeting
sb or having to deal with sth i§ JaL ( ^ A ) ; 5i±' ( M ^ # ) : In her job she often comes into
contact with (= meets) lawyers. Ml # I fj- 41 #
o Children should be brought into
contact with poetry at an early age.
►
RELATIONSHIP 4 [C, usually pi ] an occasion on which
you meet or communicate
with sb; a relationship with sb X'&‘,
AP^^^: We have good
contacts with
the local community. fl ^ =!3 itfe It K A % It ft 0 0 The company has maintained trade
contacts with
►
PERSON 5 A 5 [C] a person that you
know, especially sb
who can be helpful to
you in your work BA; ( A Xb ) : social/personal contacts *±£-± / %
Tift
BA 0 I’ve made
some useful contacts in journalism.
►
ELECTRICAL ill 6 [C] an electrical
connection ( ft)
&M, 1; ^M^: The switches close the contacts
and complete the circuit.
►
FOR EYES 0R fif 7 contacts [pi.]
(informal) = contact lens
►
MEDICAL [X. # 8 [C] a person who
may be infectious because he or she has recently been near to sb with a contagious disease ( ^ ft
^ & % ft ) Ig.ftb # rm see point n.
m verb [VN] to communicate
with sb, for example by telephone or letter )
: I’ve
been trying to contact you all day. flcM
A—itE
wm*
con-tact-ee /.ktJntaek'ti:;
NAmE .kmn-/ noun a person who claims
to have been taken away by aliens
(= creatures from other planets), or to have had contact with them ( ) jf*bMA&&&ftA, ■
MftA
'contact lens (also informal con-tact, lens) noun a small round piece
of thin plastic that you put on your eye to help you see better
'contact sport noun a sport in which
players have physical contact with each other (
jS?/j MTl
le] WMWiMM )
EEQ
non-contact
sport
con-ta-gion /
is no risk of contagion.
use)
a disease that can be spread by people touching each other M #. ^ 3 [C] (formal) something bad
that spreads quickly by
being passed from person to person ( fttfeU
) Mm., —compare
INFECTION
conta gious /
^ft:
Scarlet fever
is highly contagious. @£lBft MM# 0 (figurative) His enthusiasm was contagious (= spread quickly to
other people). Itfe ft # ‘If % Ti ^ % f}0 o a contagious laugh 2 [not usually
before
noun] if
a person is contagious, they have a disease
that can be spread to other people by touch B MM'H#^^ —compare infectious ► con
tagiously adv.
COn-tain
0-w /kan'tein/
verb [VN] (not used in
the progressive tenses TffiTtftfrN’)
1 if sth contains sth
else, it has that thing inside it or as part of it & ^ ^ ^ :
This drink
doesn’t