(1) The country was sliding into a state of virtual civil war.
(2) The company has a virtual monopoly in this area of trade.
(3) He married a virtual stranger.

(1) a kneeling figure
(2) We knelt (down) on the ground to examine the tracks.
(3) She knelt by the bed and prayed...

(1) marine life
(2) a marine biologist (= a scientist who studies life in the sea)
(3) ...breeding grounds for marine life.

(1) a relevant suggestion/question/point
(2) These comments are not directly relevant to this enquiry.
(3) Do you have the relevant experience?

(1) a drug that disposes the patient towards sleep
(2) the difficulties of disposing of nuclear waste
(3) to dispose of stolen property

(1) Journalists are supposed to be politically neutral.
(2) I didn't take my father's or my mother's side; I tried to remain neutral .
(3) neutral territory/waters

(1) She's not very optimistic about the outcome of the talks.
(2) They are cautiously optimistic that the reforms will take place.
(3) We are now taking a more optimistic view.

(1) an oval face
(2) He was a man in his late thirties, with fine, dark hair and a pale oval face.
(3) ...the small oval framed picture of a little boy.

(1) warm moist air
(2) a rich moist cake
(3) Water the plants regularly to keep the soil moist.

(1) reluctant agreement
(2) She was reluctant to admit she was wrong.
(3) He finally gave a reluctant smile.

(1) The dial records very slight variations in pressure.
(2) Currency exchange rates are always subject to variation.
(3) regional/seasonal variation (= depending on the region or time of year)

(1) The government has imposed export restraints on some products.
(2) wage restraint
(3) The police appealed to the crowd for restraint.

(1) (informal)a decent meal/job/place to live
(2) I need a decent night's sleep.
(3) ordinary, decent, hard-working people

(1) She lives on campus (= within the main university area) .
(2) campus life
(3) ...during a rally at the campus...

(1) ‘Better ’ is the comparative of ‘good ’ and ‘more difficult ’ is the comparative of ‘difficult ’.
(2) The company is a comparative newcomer to the software market (= other companies have been in business much longer) .
(3) a comparative study of the educational systems of two countries

(1) a fall in the value of exports
(2) the country's major exports
(3) an export licence

(1) Suddenly she glimpsed the truth about her sister.
(2) He'd glimpsed her through the window as he passed.
(3) The programme gives us a rare glimpse of a great artist at work.

(1) the Royal academy of Arts
(2) the Royal academy of Music
(3) a police/military academy

(1) nursing auxiliaries
(2) auxiliary nurses/workers/services
(3) The restaurant is operated by the Palo Alto auxiliary for the benefit of the Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital.

(1) These programs will integrate with your existing software.
(2) These programs can be integrated with your existing software.
(3) They have not made any effort to integrate with the local community.

(1) fate was kind to me that day.
(2) By a strange twist of fate , Andy and I were on the same plane.
(3) Each of the managers suffered the same fate .

(1) continual complaints/interruptions
(2) He was in a continual process of rewriting his material.
(3) We lived in continual fear of being discovered.

(1) A giant iceberg was on a collision course with the ship.
(2) a collision between two trains
(3) Stewart was injured in a collision with another player.

(1) Our future prosperity depends on economic growth.
(2) The country is enjoying a period of peace and prosperity .
(3) ...a new era of peace and prosperity.

(1) She took a mouthful of food and then suddenly spat it out.
(2) He was spitting blood from a badly cut lip.
(3) He coughed and spat.

(1) If you are a student, you can omit questions 16–18.
(2) People were surprised that Smith was omitted from the team.
(3) She omitted to mention that they were staying the night.

(1) Children must be accompanied by an adult.
(2) Why can't you two act like civilized adults?
(3) The fish return to the river as adults in order to breed.

(1) He's a very tense person.
(2) She sounded tense and angry.
(3) I spent a tense few weeks waiting for the results of the tests.

(1) to render sth harmless/useless/ineffective
(2) Hundreds of people were rendered homeless by the earthquake.
(3) to render a service to sb

(1) Jane is very mature for her age.
(2) a mature and sensible attitude
(3) sexually mature

(1) The Normans conquered England in 1066.
(2) conquered peoples/races/territories
(3) The world champion conquered yet another challenger last night.

(1) Neil's ability to utter banalities never ceased to amaze me.
(2) A look of utter confusion swept across his handsome face.
(3) These reports are total and utter rubbish.

(1) a murder trial
(2) He's on trial for murder.
(3) She will stand trial/go on trial for fraud.

(1) economic/political/domestic chaos
(2) Heavy snow has caused total chaos on the roads.
(3) The house was in chaos after the party.

(1) The highlights of the match will be shown later this evening.
(2) One of the highlights of the trip was seeing the Taj Mahal.
(3) I've highlighted the important passages in yellow.

(1) motor vehicles (= cars, buses, lorries/trucks, etc.)
(2) Are you the driver of this vehicle?
(3) rows of parked vehicles

(1) the vertical axis of the graph
(2) The cliff was almost vertical.
(3) There was a vertical drop to the ocean.

(1) a loose button/tooth
(2) Check that the plug has not come loose .
(3) She usually wears her hair loose.

(1) The family jewels are locked away in a safe.
(2) ...a golden box containing precious jewels.
(3) Walk down Castle Street and admire our little jewel of a cathedral...

(1) He has been awarded a research grant.
(2) student grants (= to pay for their education)
(3) We take having an endless supply of clean water for granted.