fraud squad

810

3 [C] something that is not as good, useful, etc. as people claim it is ft; 1

'fraud squad noun [sing.+sing./pl. v.] (BrE) part of a police force that investigates fraud ( HAW ) fraudster /'fro:dsta(r)/ noun (BrE) a person who commits fraud       2E$;4i3IA

fraudu lent /'froidjalant; NAmE -d3a-/ ad/'. intended to cheat sb, usually in order to make money illegally (ft; & ii W: fraudulent advertising ^lixA^Wr'a-o fraudulent insurance claims     fraudu-

lence /'froidjalans; NAmE -d3a-/ noun [U] fraudu lent ly /'froidjalantli; NAmE -d3a-/ adv. fraught /fra:t/ adj. 1 ~ with sth filled with sth unpleasant ftffl (  ) Ufa: a situation fraught

with danger/difficulty/problems          ® Xtltlt /

Ip] JS Jfi it W M ffi 2 (especially BrE) causing or feeling worry and anxiety ^          ; ft J$ W ; JS 7 ^ H771

tense: She looked/sounded fraught. Iffi; Mlft

W & dl tt IS o 0 There was a fraught silence. W—W A M it W jfft 17 0 Things are as fraught as ever in the office.

fray /frei/ verb, noun

a verb 1 if cloth frays or sth frays it, the threads in it start to come apart (    017 [V] The

cuffs of his shirt were fraying. itfcRAWtt Pit7„ 0 This material frays easily.  o [VN] It was

fashionable to fray the bottoms of your jeans. ^ M. B't A tC-tlfilfio 2 if sb’s nerves or temper frays or sth frays them, the person starts to get irritated or annoyed (    ) MM, till A: [V] As the debate went on,

tempers began to fray.    A^\ffc±A7o

[also VN] frayed adj.: frayed denim shorts IfjfTtAfF MW 0 Tempers were getting very frayed.

IffiCT ,fray at/around the edges/1 seams to start to come apart or to fail

AKA Support for the leader was fraying at the edges.

mnoun the fray [sing.] a fight, a competition or an argu­ment, especially one that is exciting or seen as a test of

your ability 4, ftfy, #■& (

A (ft ) : They were ready for the fray. fM7f£i§-£F7 #• 4-o 0 to enter/join the fray ftp A#- Pfr 0 At 71, he has now retired from the political fray.    71 A, EMM

frazzle /‘fraezl/ noun 11*171 be burnt, worn, etc. to a 'frazzle (informal) to be completely burnt/extremely tired mm*#

frazzled /'fraezld/ adj. (informal) tired and easily annoyed     : They finally arrived home, hot

and frazzled. Ml £77 0 3\ %, X&X %freak /friik/ noun, adj., verb

a noun 1 (informal) a person with a very strong interest in a particular subject          a health/fitness/jazz,

etc. freak     if ±7$ — see

also control freak 2 (disapproving) a person who is considered to be unusual because of the way they behave, look or think ( ft A,    M ) I^WA;

A : She was treated like a freak because she didn’t want children.      ^f^iA. 0 He’s

going out with a real freak.

Mo 3 (also .freak of ’nature) (sometimes offensive) a person, an animal, a plant or a thing that is not physic­ally normal ( fg A, zft fP A 0 ) ■$ ® 4 a very unusual and unexpected event # itJ ^; A7 # (ft ♦: By some freak of fate they all escaped without injury. &

a adj. [only before noun] (of an event or the weather |t'|f ^ A very unusual and unexpected A IE "$77 t£ ^ (ft: a freak accident/storm/occurrence A # [ft Ip7£ / HM.M / o freak weather conditions verb ~ (sb) (out) (informal) if sb freaks or if sth freaks them, they react very strongly to sth that makes them suddenly feel shocked, surprised, frightened, etc. (      Hist , H i1 :  [V] My parents really

freaked when they saw my hair. X##jjiLflc(ftAAN‘ A Isi A fee 0 [VN] Snakes really freak me out.

freak ing /'friikirj/ adv., adj. [only before noun] (NAmE, taboo, slang) a swear word that many people find offen­sive, used to emphasize a comment or an angry state­ment to avoid saying ‘fucking’ ( jjp ® i£ H, ffj IM # ft fucking )

freak ish /‘friikij/ adj. very strange, unusual or unex­pected t£ # (ft; A # (ft; iSc: freakish weather/ behaviour   ► freak-ish-ly adv.

'freak show noun 1 a small show at a fair, where people pay to see people or animals with strange phys­ical characteristics Bf ]]£ ( A zift        2 (disap­

proving) an event that people watch because it is very strange Ad^2l##J'W

freaky /'frirki/ adj. (informal) very strange or unusual %

Hift; SHtift

freckle /'frekl/ noun [usually pi.] a small, pale brown spot on a person’s skin, especially on their face, caused by the sun U $1; A H * — compare mole(2) ► freckled /'frekld/ adj.: a freckled face/schoolgirl W & M (ft / A

free /fri:/ adj., verb, adv.

m adj. (freer /'fri:a(r)/, freest /'friust/)

                 NOT CONTROLLED      1 ~ (to do sth) not under the

control or in the power of sb else; able to do what you want tBBtSBjftlSM;   I have no ambitions

other than to have a happy life and be free. 17$:

A^, K A S i  0 Students have a

free choice of courses in their final year.      ^

^ bJ IM i ^ ©o 0 You are free to come and go as you please, A A § & 0        0 (informal) ‘Can I use the

phone?’ ‘Please, feel free (= of course you can use it).’

“IfctlfiJ — TffeiS1^? ”i#MnEo ” 2 not restricted or controlled by anyone else; able to do or say what you want          A true

democracy complete with free speech and a free press was called for. AfJ»¥ °f          i         i W

IiEEio 0 the country’s first free election A ^ 0 They gave me free access to all the files. j{fe

                 NOT PRISONER # 0 i\l 3 (of a person A) not a prisoner

or SLAVE g tb tti (         MtkM ) : He walked out of

jailafreeman.         ^Ag^A0

                 ANIMAL/BIRD 7j#j ; 4 4 not tied up or in a cage

jSW; ^          : The researchers set the birds free.

AMffi4^c7o

                 NO PAYMENT A 7 # iC 5 costing nothing A ift ^ W :

Admission is free, jfc $ A ^ 0 0 fr’ee samples/tickets/ advice       I Ml 0 We’re offering a fabulous

free gift with each copy you buy.        nJEIj#?!] —

ILo You can’t ejqject people to work for free (= without payment). #A^MA7f^A^^tiHo

                 NOT BLOCKED AIM 6 clear; not blocked   ; %

11 $J : Ensure there is a free flow of air around the machine.

                 WITHOUT STH A A 7 ~ from/of sth not containing or

affected by sth harmful or unpleasant A # A lr £tfj; A M i    ) : free from difficulty/doubt/

fear AAfflXt; AfEU /      0 free from artificial colours

and flavourings A^AIfe^fflAXi^iA^ 0 It was several weeks before he was completely free of pain. M 7

8 -free (in adjectives

A§ii]) without the thing mentioned A A ■■77 virtu­ally fat-free yogurt JIAABh          0 tax-free earnings ^

$i|£A o a trouble-free life AttAfIMXtS

                 NOT ATTACHED/TRAPPED AS®/ fi 9 ~ (of sth) not attached to sth or trapped by sth A HO /E ; A^A77 Pull gently on the free end of the rope.

—0 They had to be cut free from their car after the accident. $ fs , I# ® 7 'H 7 IE ftfe 111 f lUAo 0 She finally managed to pull herself free.    lift 7 0

                 NOT BEING USED Af£|f] 10 not being used Akfh W; $17)7 He held out his free hand and I took it. ji ($ ft}

f£«fcME£7o o Is this seat free?

mm?

                 NOT BUSY A'It 11 ~ (for sth) (of a person or time Af& Eht |h]) without particular plans or arrangements; not busy AA^ W ^ zb W; $ Pfi W: If Sarah is free for lunch I’ll take her out.

0 Keep Friday night free for my party. fESIft 71^.7$ fE