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English Vocabulary in Use Advance (Unit 74: Apology, regret and reconciliation)


A. Apologies and excuses: collocations

Adjective collocations Noun
sincere, heartfelt apology
good, perfect, lame, flimsy, weak
convincing, detailed, phoney		 excuse
explanation
cast-iron, convincing, perfect, phoney alibi
flimsy, false pretext [pretended reason rather than real reason]

He offered his most heartfelt apology for having offended everyone. [most sincere apology]
It was a rather lame excuse, and nobody really believed it. [weak excuse]
The police were convinced the suspect’s explanation was phoney, but could not prove it. [false]
The police questioned her about the murder, but she had a cast-iron alibi: she had spent the whole day teaching at the local primary school. [firm reason why she was innocent]
He got an interview with her on the rather flimsy pretext of being interested in her research. [weak and not very believable excuse]

B. Regretfulness in legal contexts

When he was pronounced guilty of fraud, Jack Mosley showed no remorse1 whatsoever. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. All three of his companions who were on trial with him were acquitted2 of the crime and walked out of the courtroom free. Mosley later repented3 whilst in prison and his sentence was reduced by one year.

  • 1 feeling of guilt or regret
  • 2 declared not guilty (noun = acquittal)
  • 3 said he was sorry and asked for forgiveness (noun = repentance)

The President issued a posthumous pardon to the man, who, it seems, had been wrongly accused of treason. [official forgiveness after someone’s death]
The Committee of Inquiry exonerated the Minister from all responsibility for the disaster. [declared someone free of blame]
The condemned man received a last-minute reprieve the day before he was due to be executed. [official order stopping or delaying punishment]
It is hard for the victims of crime to forgive and forget. [these two verbs are always in this order]

C. Peace and reconciliation

Type of agreement Explanation Example
treaty written agreement between two or more countries The two nations signed a peace treaty in 2014.
armistice agreement to stop war while peace discussions take place The generals declared/signed an armistice.
truce agreement between two enemies to stop fighting for a period of time They called a truce, agreeing to put differences aside.
accord official agreement, especially between countries There are fears that the current period of accord may collapse.
ceasefire agreement to stop fighting to allow peace talks Both sides agreed to a ceasefire while talks are underway.
Exercise-74.1


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