IELTS Vocabulary Part – 211

Delusion – belief in something that is not true.

Sentence – Faith and credulity, vision and delusion can only be distinguished provided that in case-studies the issue of ontology is kept alive.

Preempt – to prevent something from happening by taking action first.

Sentence – Malignant tumors indicate often lethal brain conditions, but even nonmalignant growths can preempt normal brain activity.

Consolidate – to become, or cause something to become, stronger, and more certain.

Sentence – Successful advertising helped them to consolidate their position as the largest computer company in Europe.

Misbehave – to behave badly.

Sentence – When they misbehave, we resort to various sanctions, including old-fashioned spanking at times.

Competence – the ability to do something well.

Sentence – We can legitimately ask what competence an official based in Whitehall has to solve the problems of rural Scotland.

Botany – the scientific study of plants.

Sentence – The famous Botany Bay cover of east Leicestershire dates from the 1790s, when the convict settlement was in the news.

Barometer – a device that measures air pressure and shows when the weather is likely to change.

Sentence – But if the past is any barometer, her image may shift with the issues of the moment.

Mawkish – showing emotion or love in an awkward or silly way.

Sentence – All of this rubbish was resurrected last week in the thousand mawkish excuses found by the media and her crooning acolytes for “giving her time” to withdraw from the race.

Stature – the good reputation a person or organization has, based on their behaviour and ability.

Sentence – As his political stature has shrunk, he has grown correspondingly more dependent on the army.

Orthodox – (of beliefs, ideas, or activities) considered traditional, normal, and acceptable by most people.

Sentence – The theory challenges the assumption of orthodox welfare economics that the existence of market failure is sufficient reason for governmental intervention.

Keepsake – a small present, usually not expensive, that is given to you by someone so that you will remember that person.

Sentence – Most brides buy expensive, thousand-dollar dresses to wear only once, before storing them away as a keepsake or possible hand-me-down.

Hypotenuse – the longest side of any triangle that has one angle of 90°.

Sentence – One of the small sides of a right-angled triangle is 5cm and the perpendicular height drawn against the hypotenuse is 3cm.

Insidious – (of something unpleasant or dangerous) gradually and secretly causing harm.

Sentence – Paradoxically, community councils are an insidious form of planning since they stem indirectly from the dominant ideology.

Precision – the quality of being exact.

Sentence – Precision bombing was used to destroy enemy airbases and armaments factories.

Nectarine – a type of sweet juicy fruit like a peach but with a smooth skin.

Sentence – I place as early as nectarine, peaches range, volume is very large, welcomed the new and old customers come to buy.

Trenchant – severe, expressing strong criticism or forceful opinions.

Sentence – Land and the Nation was a rather trenchant report based upon a private investigation into the ownership and use of rural land.

Muddle – an untidy or confused state.

Sentence – I’m afraid I can’t help you – you’ll just have to muddle through on your own.

Deign – to do something unwillingly and in a way that shows that you think you are too important to do it.

Sentence – Now that she’s jumped to one of the most famous vocalists, she doesn’t deign to visit her former friends.

Moonbeam – a beam or line of light that comes from the moon.

Sentence – At her best, playing warmhearted floozies in Some Like It Hot and Bus Stop, she’s like a slightly bruised moonbeam, something fragile and funny and imperiled.