INHERIT INHERITANCE HERITAGE HEREDITY HEREDITARY BEQUEATH BEQUEST LEGACY

 

INHERIT

1 ~ (sth) (from sb) to receive money, property, etc. from sb when they die

She inherited a fortune from her father.

He will inherit the title on the death of his uncle.

OPP: disinherit: to prevent sb from inherit your belongings.

2 [transitive] ~ sth (from sb) to have qualities, physical features, etc. that are similar to those of your parents, grandparents, etc

He has inherited his mother's patience.

She inherited a passion for music from her grandfather.

an inherited disease

3 [transitive] ~ sth (from sb) if you inherit a particular situation from sb, you are now responsible for dealing with it, especially because you have replaced that person in their job

policies inherited from the previous administration

I inherited a number of problems from my predecessor.

 

INHERITANCE:

1 [countable, uncountable] the money, property, etc. that you receive from sb when they die; the fact of receiving sth when sb dies

She spent all her inheritance in a year.

The title passes by inheritance to the eldest son.

She came into (= received) her inheritance at eighteen.

2 [uncountable, countable, usually singular] something from the past or from your family that affects the way you behave, look, etcour cultural inheritance

Physical characteristics are determined by heredity/genetic inheritance.

 

HERITAGE  

the history, traditions and qualities that a country or society has had/inherited for many years and that are considered an important part of its character

Spain's rich cultural heritage

The building is part of our national heritage.

 

HEREDITY

the process by which mental and physical characteristics are passed by parents to their children; these characteristics in a particular person

the debate over the effects of heredity and environment

 

HEREDITARY 

1 (especially of illnesses) given to a child by its parents before it is born

a hereditary illness/disease/condition/problem

Epilepsy is hereditary in her family.

2 that is legally given to sb's child, when that person dies

a hereditary title/monarchy

3 holding a rank or title that is hereditary

hereditary peers/rulers

 

INHERIT/SUCCEED

Succeed to the/sb's throne/crown/title/estate  inherit/

Come into money/property/a fortune

Inherit or succeed?

Inherit (/come into) is used more to talk about receiving money or property;

Succeed to is used more to talk about gaining a title or position, especially the throne (= the position of king or queen).

 

BEQUEATH:

1 to say in a will that you want sb to have your property, money, etc. after you die 

He bequeathed his entire estate (= all his money and property) to his daughter.

He bequeathed his daughter his entire estate.

2 to leave the results of your work, knowledge, etc. for other people to use or deal with, especially after you have died

The previous government had bequeathed a legacy of problems.

 

BEQUEST

money or property that you ask to be given to a particular person when you die  (formal)

He left a bequest to each of his grandchildren.

 

LEGACY

1 money or property that is given to you by sb when they die, inheritance

They each received a legacy of $5000.

2 a situation that exists now because of events, actions, etc. that took place in the past

Future generations will be left with a legacy of pollution and destruction.

The problems were made worse by the legacy of centuries of neglect.

Adj.

1 [only before noun] used to describe a computer system or product that is no longer available to buy but is still used because it would be too difficult or expensive to replace it

How can we integrate new technology with our legacy systems?

legacy hardware/software Legacy hardware and software should be able to cope with the website.

 

同源词：

HEIR:

(音同air) Use an, not a, before heir.

1 a person who has the legal right to receive sb's property, money or title when that person dies

to be heir to a large fortune

he heir to the throne (= the person who will be the next king or queen)

the son and heir of the Earl of Lancaster

2 a person who is thought to continue the work or a tradition started by sb else

the president's political heirs

ADHERE:

1 to stick firmly to sth

Once in the bloodstream, the bacteria adhere to the surface of the red cells.

Clean the surface first, or the paint will not adhere.

There was oil adhering to the bird's feathers.

adhere to sth (formal): to behave according to a particular law, rule, set of instructions, etc; to follow a particular set of beliefs or a fixed way of doing sth

For ten months he adhered to a strict no-fat low-salt diet.

She adheres to teaching methods she learned over 30 years ago.

Staff should adhere strictly to the safety guidelines.

The diet will work if it is adhered to.

 

ADHERENCE:

the fact of behaving according to a particular rule, etc, or of following a particular set of beliefs, or a fixed way of doing sth

strict adherence to the rules

 

ADHERENT:

a person who adheres to a political party of set of ideas

Prescriptive grammarians are seen as blind adherents to outdated norms of formal usage.

The movement has many enthusiastic adherents.

We should not show animosity to adherents of other faiths.

 

COHERE:

1 [intransitive] ~ (with sth) (of different ideas, arguments, sentences, etc.) to have a clear logical connection so that together they make a whole

This view does not cohere with their other beliefs.

The various sections of the report fail to cohere into a satisfactory whole.

2 [intransitive] (of people) to work closely together

It can be difficult to get a group of people to cohere.

 

COHERENCE:

the situation in which all the parts of sth fit together well

The points you make are fine, but the whole essay lacks coherence.  OPP: incoherence

 

COHERENT:

 (of ideas, thoughts, arguments, etc.) logical and well organized; easy to understand and clear

a coherent narrative/account/explanation

a coherent policy for the transport system

2 (of a person) able to talk and express yourself clearly

She only became coherent again two hours after the attack. 

OPP: incoherent

to express yourself coherently

 

COHESION:

(formal) the act or state of keeping together, unity

the cohesion of the nuclear family

social/political/economic cohesion

2 (physics, chemistry) the force causing molecules of the same substance to stick together

 

COHESIVE

1 forming a united whole

a cohesive group

2 causing people or things to become united

the cohesive power of shared suffering

well-structured sentences illustrating the use of cohesive markers such as ‘nevertheless’ and ‘however’

a strong sense of cohesiveness within the family