role
- 01 A2 Elementary
the character that an actor plays in a film, play, or television show.
a character or part portrayed by a performer in a dramatic production.
Simple“She got the lead role in the school play after a great audition.”
In context“The actor spent months researching the historical figure to ensure his portrayal of the role was both accurate and emotionally resonant.”
- 02 B1 Intermediate
the job or purpose that someone or something has in a particular situation.
the function, position, or purpose of an individual or object within a specific context or system.
Simple“Parents play a very important role in their children's education.”
In context“The central bank plays a critical role in maintaining economic stability by adjusting interest rates in response to inflation data.”
PitfallWhat is your role of the project? What is your role in the project?Use the preposition 'in' to describe the context of a role.
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
the way a person is expected to behave in a society or group.
the set of expected behaviours, obligations, and norms associated with a particular social status.
Simple“Traditional gender roles have changed significantly over the last fifty years.”
In context“Sociologists study how individuals navigate conflicting roles when their professional obligations clash with their personal identities.”
- 04 C1 Advanced
the job a word does in a sentence, like being the subject or the object.
the syntactic or semantic function of a linguistic element within a phrase or clause.
Simple“In this sentence, the noun 'dog' has the role of the subject.”
In context“The professor explained how the same noun phrase can fulfill different semantic roles depending on the voice of the verb.”
UsageOften used with 'thematic' or 'grammatical'.
Synonyms - 05 C1 Advanced
a set of permissions given to a user in a computer system.
a designation in a system that carries a specific set of privileges, access rights, or responsibilities.
Simple“You need to be assigned the 'admin' role to change the website settings.”
In context“The system administrator implemented role-based access control to ensure that sensitive data was only visible to authorised personnel.”
Synonymsprofileaccess level
Usage role in determining · role in helping · role in protecting
From French rôle, from Middle French rolle, from Old French role, from Medieval Latin rotulus. Doublet of roll and rotulus.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.