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attrition perish treacherous unrest waver
attrition
at·tri·tion /əˈtrɪʃən/noun [uncountable] formal
the process of gradually destroying your enemy or making them weak by attacking them continuously:
- a war of attrition
when people leave a company or course of study and are not replaced:
- Staff reductions could be achieved through attrition and early retirements.
perish
per·ish /ˈperɪʃ/ verb
[intransitive] formal or literary to die, especially in a terrible or sudden way:
- Hundreds perished when the ship went down.
[intransitive and transitive] if rubber or leather perishes, it decay
treacherous
treach·e·rous /ˈtretʃərəs/adjective
someone who is treacherous cannot be trusted because they are not loyal and secretly intend to harm you:
- a sly and treacherous woman
- a treacherous plot to overthrow the leader
ground, roads, weather conditions etc that are treacherous are particularly dangerous because you cannot see the dangers very easily:
- treacherous mountain roads
- Strong winds and loose rocks made climbing treacherous.
unrest
un·rest /ʌnˈrest/noun [uncountable]
a political situation in which people protest or behave violently:
- There is a growing unrest throughout the country.
political/social/industrial etc unrest
- The protests were the biggest show of social unrest since the government came to power.
waver
wa·ver /ˈweɪvə $ -ər/verb [intransitive]
to become weaker or less certain:
- Her voice wavered uncertainly.
- The students' attention id not waver.
waver in
- Harris never wavered in his loyalty.
waver from
- We were determined not to waver from our goals.
to not make a decision because you have doubts:
- Shareholders who were wavering met the directors.
waver between something and something
- The party wavered between free trade and protectionism.
to move gently in several different directions:
- The candle flame wavered, throwing shadows on the wall
Reference
- Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English