Acceptance & Relief: English Vocabulary List

to gradually learn to accept or deal with something unpleasant

"He came to terms with his mistake."

"It took her a long time to come to terms with the loss of her beloved pet dog."

to accept or tolerate a difficult or undesirable situation that one cannot change without complaint

"You just have to grin and bear it."

"The injection hurt a lot but he decided to grin and bear it without making noise."

an unpleasant thing that requires acceptance in order for a certain thing to be achieved

"The tax is a necessary evil."

"The tax is a necessary evil and the money is needed to fund essential public services."

to not try to interfere or make changes in a situation or with something that is already functioning satisfactorily to avoid causing unnecessary problems

"I decided to leave well alone and not fix it."

"The old painting was damaged but the restorer decided to leave well alone rather than risk making it worse."

to avoid getting involved with a person or thing or stop bothering them

"Just let him be, he is tired."

"Just let him be for a while because he needs some time alone to process the bad news."

to not allow negative things such as an unfair criticism, etc. to have any effect on one

"Let it roll off your back."

"It's important to learn to let negative comments roll off your back and not take them personally."

said to a person after they have an unpleasant or sad experience to encourage them to keep on living as they used to

"It was sad, but life goes on."

"After the devastating loss of his job, he was encouraged to remember that life goes on."

something that is finally dealt with and does not bother one anymore

"It's a weight off my mind."

"Finally finishing the final exam was a huge weight off my mind after weeks of intense studying."

to regain control of oneself after being in a bad mood or emotional state

"Snap out of your bad mood now."

"He needs to snap out of his bad mood because being angry all the time is not good for his health."

to accept unpleasant or difficult things or situations, such as criticism or misfortune, without complaining

"Take it on chin."

"Despite the harsh feedback, she decided to take the criticism on the chin."

said after an unfortunate event to mean one must accept the situation as it is

"That is way cookie crumbles."

"Losing the competition was disappointing, but that is the way the cookie crumbles, and we'll try again next year."

a peaceful time when things has improved following a period of difficulty, stress, or chaos

"We enjoyed the calm after the storm."

"After the intense period of renovations, the house finally felt like the calm after the storm."

a time when everything seems peaceful or fine before serious problems arise

"The silence was just the calm before another storm."

"The quiet in the office was the calm before the storm as everyone prepared for the annual audit."

a situation that is an absolute disaster or is the worst thing that could possibly happen

"Failing a test is not the end of the world."

"Failing one single test is not the end of the world so please stop worrying so much."

used for saying that one must continue an activity, performance, etc. despite any problem or difficulty

"We have problems, but the show must go on."

"Despite losing two key speakers the night before, the organisers pushed forward — the show must go on."

used to say that one cannot control everything as bad things happen regardless

"We lost this time, but that is the way the ball bounces."

"My car broke down again, but that is the way the ball bounces when you buy an old vehicle."

to accept the fact that one has been defeated

"The boxer threw in the towel in the fifth round."

"After losing the first two sets the tennis player decided to throw in the towel and quit the match."

used for telling someone to accept and consider something as true or valid, usually after a disagreement or argument

"Stick that in your pipe and smoke it."

"I won the competition fair and square, so put that in your pipe and smoke it, everyone."

to experience life in the present moment and focus less on long-term plans or financial preparations

"After losing his job, he lives from day to day."

"After losing his job he had to live from day to day with no savings or security for the future."

to accept unpleasant or difficult things or situations, such as criticism or misfortune, without complaining

"Take it on the chin."

"Despite the harsh criticism, he decided to take the feedback on the chin and improve."