(1) an elliptical remark (= one that suggests more than is actually said)
(2) to speak/write elliptically
(3) ...the moon's elliptical orbit...

(1) emotional disturbance
(2) He was charged with causing a disturbance after the game.
(3) serious disturbances in the streets

(1) He was killed in combat .
(2) armed/unarmed combat (= with/without weapons)
(3) combat troops

(1) The bandit bared his teeth in an insolent smile.
(2) The police frustrated the bandit's attempt to rob the bank.
(3) The bandit kicked at the legs of Jack.

(1) He's too much of an idealist for this government.
(2) He was full of youthful idealism.
(3) This experience has tempered their idealism.

(1) Our students are oriented towards science subjects.
(2) We run a commercially oriented operation.
(3) profit-orientated organizations

(1) numerical data
(2) The results are expressed in descending numerical order .
(3) to express the results numerically

(1) I straightened my tie and walked in.
(2) The road bends here then straightens out.
(3) He stood up and straightened his shoulders.

(1) a notorious criminal
(2) The country is notorious for its appalling prison conditions.
(3) The bar has become notorious as a meeting-place for drug dealers.

(1) Someone was thrashing around in the water, obviously in trouble.
(2) A whale was thrashing the water with its tail.
(3) She thrashed her head from side to side.

(1) One of the glass panels in the front door was cracked.
(2) The trousers have double thickness knee panels for extra protection.
(3) an advisory panel

(1) the early Christian martyrs
(2) a martyr to the cause of freedom
(3) She's a martyr to her nerves.

(1) a china/glass ornament
(2) The clock is simply for ornament; it doesn't work any more.
(3) The building is an ornament to the city.

(1) our reptilian ancestors
(2) (figurative)He licked his lips in an unpleasantly reptilian way.
(3) The archaic reptile is a living link with the ancestors of her people.

(1) the structure of the cosmos
(2) our place in the cosmos
(3) ...the natural laws of the cosmos.

(1) road construction
(2) Work has begun on the construction of the new airport.
(3) Our new offices are still under construction (= being built) .

(1) You little cheat!
(2) It's really a cheat, but you can use ready-made pastry if you want.
(3) There's a cheat you can use to get to the next level.

(1) I scorched my dress when I was ironing it.
(2) Don't stand so near the fire─your coat is scorching!
(3) scorched grass

(1) My parents lent me the money. otherwise, I couldn't have afforded the trip.
(2) Shut the window, otherwise it'll get too cold in here.
(3) We're committed to the project. We wouldn't be here otherwise.

(1) Loud rock music assaulted our ears.
(2) sexual assaults
(3) An assault on the capital was launched in the early hours of the morning.

(1) I see him chafe and fret at every pore.
(2) As she spoke we could see that she was in a fret.
(3) He could rest only when he was too drained of energy to fret further.

(1) a lunar eclipse/landscape
(2) The vast volcanic slope was eerily reminiscent of a lunar landscape.
(3) ...a magazine article celebrating the anniversary of man's first lunar landing.

(1) He strayed into the path of an oncoming car.
(2) Her eyes kept straying over to the clock on the wall.
(3) My mind kept straying back to our last talk together.

(1) The room was in (an) uproar .
(2) Her comments provoked (an) uproar from the audience.
(3) The article caused (an) uproar.

(1) a momentary lapse of concentration
(2) momentary confusion
(3) ...a momentary lapse of concentration...

(1) The trial was adjourned following the presentation of new evidence to the court.
(2) The presentation of prizes began after the speeches.
(3) The Mayor will make the presentation (= hand over the gift) herself.

(1) the perfect symmetry of the garden design
(2) the increasing symmetry between men's and women's jobs
(3) ...the incredible beauty and symmetry of a snowflake...

(1) The Liberals were traditionally seen as the more pacific party.
(2) All I ever wanted to do was make movies.
(3) The night is pacific.

(1) The prosecution stated that intercourse had occurred on several occasions.
(2) anal intercourse
(3) the importance of social intercourse between different age groups

(1) The study of science has enriched all our lives.
(2) Most breakfast cereals are enriched with vitamins.
(3) a nation enriched by oil revenues

(1) The figures do not seem to correlate.
(2) A high-fat diet correlates with a greater risk of heart disease.
(3) Researchers are trying to correlate the two sets of figures.

(1) ...a resistance of 40 ohms.
(2) Weak current equipment earthing adopts integrated earthing system with earthing resistance no more than 1 ohm.
(3) The unit of resistance is called ohm in honor of Dr. G . S . ohm a German physicist.

(1) the jack of clubs
(2) You don't know jack.
(3) Let's go. We're being jacked around here.

(1) the cross-channel ferry service
(2) We caught the ferry at Ostend.
(3) the Dover-Calais ferry crossing

(1) Her laughter soon dissipated the tension in the air.
(2) Eventually, his anger dissipated.
(3) Her father had dissipated her inheritance.

(1) Buying a house can be a very tiresome business.
(2) The children were being very tiresome.
(3) ...the tiresome old lady next door...

(1) The risks to health are impossible to quantify.
(2) The cost of the fire damage is impossible to quantify.
(3) We can quantify these contributions with reference to Fig . 5.

(1) a mountainous region/terrain
(2) mountainous waves
(3) ...the mountainous region of Campania.

(1) musically illiterate
(2) computer illiterate
(3) Many senior managers are technologically illiterate.

(1) finely chopped herbs
(2) a finely furnished room
(3) a finely tuned engine