Words starting with W

181 words from the Lexfall vocabulary, each with a definition and an example sentence.

waddle To walk with short steps and a clumsy swaying motion.
wage drift The tendency for actual earnings to rise faster than agreed basic pay rates, through...
wage-price spiral A self-reinforcing cycle in which rising wages push up prices, prompting further wage...
waggish Given to or characterised by mischievous, playful humour.
waive To voluntarily relinquish or forgo a known legal right or claim.
waive a right To voluntarily relinquish or give up a known legal right or claim under the contract.
waive privilege To relinquish, expressly or by conduct, the protection that privilege would otherwise...
waiver The voluntary giving up of a right or claim.
waiver of tort The claimant's election to sue for the wrongdoer's gain in restitution instead of for...
walk away To end a negotiation without a deal because the terms on offer are unacceptable.
walk-away price The point beyond which you will abandon the deal rather than accept worse terms.
walk someone through To explain something to someone step by step so they understand it clearly.
walking possession An arrangement whereby seized goods are left in the debtor's custody under agreement...
walkthrough Tracing a single transaction through a process from start to finish to confirm the...
wall-crossing Bringing an outside party inside a confidentiality barrier to receive material non-public...
wanderlust A strong, restless desire to travel and see the world.
want of prosecution A party's failure to advance the action with due diligence, exposing it to dismissal.
wanton Characterised by a reckless and unjustifiable disregard for the rights or safety of...
warble To sing with a succession of trilling, quavering notes, like a bird.
ward round A systematic bedside review of inpatients by the medical team to assess progress and set...
warehouse A large building used for storing goods before they are distributed or sold.
warehousing The covert accumulation of a target's shares, often through nominees, ahead of a takeover...
warm lead A prospect who has already shown interest or been referred, making them more receptive to...
warning shot A brief preparatory statement that alerts the patient that difficult or serious news is...
warrant To justify or provide sufficient grounds for a particular course of action or conclusion.
warrantor The party who gives a warranty.
warranty A minor term of a contract whose breach gives rise to damages but not to a right to...
was admitted with A phrase used in discharge and transfer letters to state the reason for the patient's...
was commenced on A formal phrase indicating that a medication or treatment was started during the episode...
was there anything in particular you were worried it might be A gentle way of eliciting a patient's underlying concerns or fears about their symptoms.
wastage The loss of materials through spoilage, scrap, or evaporation during production.
wasted costs Costs a court orders a legal representative to bear personally for improper or negligent...
wasting Describing an asset with a predictable useful life of fifty years or less, treated...
water down To make a proposal, statement or rule weaker or less forceful, often to make it more...
waterfall The prescribed order of priority in which realised funds are applied to different classes...
waterlow score A scored assessment tool used to estimate a patient's risk of developing pressure damage.
watermark A moving timestamp in a streaming pipeline marking how far event time has advanced,...
waters break The rupture of the amniotic sac, releasing the fluid that surrounds the baby.
watershed An event or period marking a critical turning point.
wave picking Releasing warehouse orders in scheduled batches timed to shipping cutoffs or labor...
way of necessity An easement of access implied by law where land would otherwise be entirely landlocked.
waybill A document listing the goods in a shipment and giving instructions for their transport.
wayfarer A person who travels on foot, especially over a long distance.
wayleave A right, usually granted for payment, to run cables or pipes across another's land.
we act on behalf of A standard opening by which a firm of solicitors identifies the client whom it represents.
we are instructed that A formula by which a lawyer relays the client's account of events without personally...
we should be grateful if you would A formal and courteous way of making a request in professional correspondence.
wean To gradually reduce dependence on tube or supplementary feeding as normal intake resumes,...
weaning The gradual withdrawal of mechanical ventilatory support as a patient resumes independent...
wear-out The point at which repeated exposure to an ad stops working and starts irritating.
wear thin To become gradually less convincing, effective or tolerable through overuse or the...
weasel words Words or phrases used to create a deliberately vague or misleading impression while...
webrooming The practice of researching products online before buying them in a physical shop.
Wednesbury unreasonable Describing a decision so unreasonable that no reasonable public body could have made it,...
Wednesbury unreasonableness The standard by which a decision so unreasonable that no reasonable authority could have...
weigh in on To contribute one's opinion forcefully to a discussion, argument or decision.
weigh up the options To consider the advantages and disadvantages of the available choices before making a...
weight-bearing Relating to the ability of a limb to support the body's weight.
weight of evidence The persuasive value or cogency the tribunal attaches to admissible evidence when...
weighted average cost of capital The blended rate a company pays to finance its assets, weighting the cost of equity and...
welfare checklist The statutory list of factors the court must weigh when deciding what is in a child's...
welfare of the child The child's overall wellbeing, which the court treats as its paramount consideration in...
well-circumscribed Having sharply defined, distinct margins that separate the lesion clearly from adjacent...
well-controlled Describing a condition, especially diabetes, whose measurements are kept within the...
well-demarcated Describing a lesion with a sharply defined border that is clearly distinguishable from...
well-differentiated Describing cancer cells that closely resemble normal cells and tend to grow more slowly.
well-known mark A mark with such a strong reputation that it enjoys protection beyond the goods for which...
weltschmerz A weary sadness felt at the perceived shortcomings of the world.
wet nappies The number of urine-soaked nappies a baby produces, used as a practical measure of...
what brings you in today A standard opening question inviting the patient to explain, in their own words, the...
what matters most to you A question that explores the patient's priorities and values to guide a management plan...
wheal A transient, oedematous, pruritic elevation of the skin produced by dermal swelling, as...
wheedle To use flattery or endearing persuasion in order to get what one wants.
wheeze A high-pitched whistling sound produced during breathing, usually from narrowed airways.
whensoever At whatever time; whenever.
where things stand The current status of a matter, often requested when seeking an update.
whereas Introducing a recital that states the background facts and intentions leading up to an...
wherein In which; in what respect or place within the document or matter referred to.
wheresoever In or to whatever place; used in drafting to achieve comprehensiveness.
which brings me to A transitional phrase that links the current point to the next item one wants to raise.
whichever is the earlier Selecting, from two or more stated dates or events, the one that occurs first.
whimsical Playfully quaint or fanciful.
whimsy Playfully quaint or fanciful humour and behaviour.
whistleblower A worker who discloses information about wrongdoing and gains protection against reprisal.
whistleblowing The making of a protected disclosure about wrongdoing, which shields the worker from...
white elephant A costly asset or investment that has become a burden because it is impractical or no...
white knight A friendly acquirer sought to rescue a target from a hostile bidder.
white-label Produced by one company but sold under another's brand.
white space An unserved gap in a market where no competitor is yet established.
white squire A friendly investor who takes a substantial minority stake to help a target fend off a...
whitespace An unaddressed area of opportunity, such as an underserved market or an untapped account.
whitewash A statutory procedure by which a private company sanctions financial assistance for the...
wholly and exclusively The statutory test requiring a business expense to be incurred solely for trade purposes...
whooping cough A highly contagious bacterial infection causing severe coughing fits followed by a...
wield To hold and exercise power or influence effectively.
wiggle room A small amount of flexibility available to adjust terms during a negotiation.
wildcat Describing a strike undertaken suddenly and without official union authorisation.
wilful Done deliberately and intentionally rather than by accident.
wilful blindness Deliberate avoidance of confirming a fact so as to deny knowledge of it.
willowy Tall, slim and gracefully supple in figure.
win back To persuade a former customer who left to return and buy again.
win-win Describing an outcome in which both parties gain something they value.
wince To make a small, sudden flinching movement in pain or discomfort.
wind-down The orderly, gradual closure of a business, division, or fund.
wind up To bring a company's existence to an end by realising its assets and settling its...
windfall An unexpected and unearned gain, such as a sudden profit from a favourable movement in...
window dressing Cosmetic moves near a reporting date to make the numbers look stronger than they really...
windowing The adjustment of the greyscale display range, by setting window width and level, to...
winner's curse The tendency of an auction winner to overpay, having bid above everyone else's estimate...
winnow To narrow a large group of candidates down to the most suitable few.
winsome Attractive or appealing in a fresh, innocent and charming way.
winsorize To cap extreme values at a specified percentile so outliers do not dominate a statistic.
wireframe A basic schematic layout of a product's interface used in early design.
wiretapping The covert interception of telephone communications to gather evidence.
wisdom tooth A third molar, the last tooth to erupt at the back of each quadrant, usually in early...
wistful Gently longing or wishfully melancholic.
with (all due) respect A diplomatic preface to a disagreement that signals politeness while introducing a...
with regard to A formal way to introduce the subject of a letter or note.
with respect to A formal connective meaning concerning or in relation to, used to specify the topic under...
with the caveat that A hedging construction used to attach an explicit limiting condition to a claim.
with the greatest respect An advocacy hedge that politely signals firm disagreement, often more emphatic the more...
withdraw To take back or discontinue something, such as one's previously given consent.
withdraw consent To exercise the data subject's right to revoke previously given consent, which must be as...
withdrawal A retreat from social contact, or the physical symptoms that follow stopping a substance.
withdrawn Socially disengaged and uncommunicative, avoiding interaction with others.
withers The ridge between the shoulder blades of a horse or dog, used as a reference point for...
withhold To hold back a dose of medicine temporarily rather than giving it as scheduled.
withholding The deduction of tax at source from a payment before it reaches the recipient.
withholding tax Tax deducted at source from a payment such as interest, dividends or royalties and...
within normal limits Falling within the expected normal range for the appearance or measurement being assessed.
without limiting Introducing a specific instance that must not be read as narrowing a broader obligation...
without notice application An application made to the court without informing the other party in advance.
without prejudice Describing communications made in a genuine attempt to settle that cannot later be put...
without prejudice save as to costs Describing a Calderbank offer whose contents remain privileged until the substantive...
without prejudice to A drafting formula indicating that the provision that follows does not diminish or affect...
without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing Introducing specific examples that do not limit the broad scope of a general provision...
without undue delay A legal standard requiring an action to be taken as promptly as reasonably possible in...
without wanting to labour the point A hedge used before re-emphasising something, acknowledging one may be over-stressing it.
witness statement A written account of a factual witness's evidence, exchanged before the hearing and...
witticism A clever and amusing remark.
wizened Shrivelled or wrinkled, especially with age.
woebegone Looking sad, dejected or miserable in appearance.
wolf pack A loose cluster of activist funds that build stakes in parallel to pressure a target...
wonderment A state of awed admiration or amazement.
woo To seek the affection of someone with a view to romance or marriage.
word of mouth The informal spread of a brand's reputation through personal recommendations.
words of limitation Words in a grant that define the extent of the estate given rather than naming a new...
work of breathing The effort a child expends to breathe, judged by signs such as recession, nasal flaring...
work-product doctrine The protection shielding materials prepared by or for a lawyer in anticipation of...
work through ABCDE To assess a critically ill patient in the order of airway, breathing, circulation,...
work-to-rule A form of industrial action in which employees do no more than the strict minimum their...
workaholism A compulsive need to work excessively, often to the detriment of health.
workaround A temporary means of bypassing a problem to keep work moving while a permanent fix is...
worker status The intermediate employment category, between employee and self-employed, that carries...
workflow The sequence of steps through which a task passes from initiation to completion.
workforce planning The practice of forecasting an organisation's future staffing needs and how to meet them.
working capital The difference between a company's current assets and current liabilities, showing its...
workmanship The degree of skill and care with which a thing is made or performed.
workout A consensual, out-of-court restructuring of a distressed borrower's obligations...
workstream A distinct, parallel track of activity within a larger engagement, usually with its own...
wound dressing A protective covering applied to a wound to promote healing and prevent infection.
wound swab A sample taken from a wound with a sterile applicator to test for infection.
wounding The criminal offence of unlawfully breaking the skin and inflicting injury on another.
wrangle To argue or dispute at length, typically over terms or detail.
wrap up To bring a meeting or piece of work to a close, often with a summary.
wriggle out of To avoid doing something you are obliged to do, typically by using a clever or dishonest...
writ A formal written order issued by a court.
writ of possession A writ enforcing a judgment for possession by authorising officers to remove occupiers...
write-back The reversal of a previously booked provision or impairment, which increases reported...
write-down A reduction in the recorded value of an asset, sometimes with tax consequences.
write-off The removal of an asset's value from the accounts when it is judged to be wholly...
writeback The reversal of a previously recognised provision or impairment.
writedown A reduction in the recorded value of an asset to reflect a fall in its worth.
writhe To twist and squirm the body, typically in pain or discomfort.
written statement of particulars The document an employer must give a worker setting out the main terms of employment.
wrongdoer A person who commits a wrongful or unlawful act.
wrongdoing Illegal or dishonest behaviour.
wrongful Characterised by unlawful, unjust, or improper conduct, as in a director's trading on...
wrongful dismissal Dismissal in breach of the contract of employment, typically by failing to give the...
wrongful trading The offence of continuing to trade when directors knew or ought to have known there was...
wry Dry and slightly twisted in humour; ironically amused.

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