Vocabulary For IELTS
abate: to become less strong.
Sentence – Pickings will be still better when the flood-waters abate on the upper reaches of the rivers, near the old gold-mining towns.
abdicate: If a king or queen abdicates, he or she makes a formal statement that he or she no longer wants to be king or queen.
Sentence – Arabian political and religious leader who led a revolt against the Turks and proclaimed himself king of Hejaz (1916). He was forced to abdicate in 1924.
aberration: a temporary change from the typical or usual way of behaving.
Sentence – The Tories regard it as an aberration that would be catastrophic for Britain’s system of government
abhor: to hate a way of behaving or thinking, often because you think it is not moral.
Sentence – The Tories regard it as an aberration that would be catastrophic for Britain’s system of government
abstain: to not do something, especially something enjoyable that you think might be bad.
Sentence – For the entire month, families abstain from eating and drinking during daylight hours in an act of sacrifice and purification.
adversity: a difficult or unlucky situation or event.
Sentence – Learning is an ornament in prosperity, a refuge in adversity, and a provision in old age.
aesthetic: relating to the enjoyment or study of beauty.
Sentence – Following this machine aesthetic, modernist designers typically rejected decorative motifs in design.
amicable: relating to behaviour between people that is pleasant and friendly, often despite a difficult situation.
Sentence – First Henman split from his long-time coach David Felgate, with both parties insisting it was an amicable parting.
anachronistic: existing out of its time in history.
Sentence – The longer we live, the more anachronistic our culture becomes.
arid: very dry and without enough rain for plants.
Sentence – The movement born as an alternative to the arid materialism of consumer culture is here hawked and promoted like any commercial venture.
asylum: protection or safety, especially that given by a government to people who have been forced to leave their own countries for their safety or because of war.
Sentence – Many asylum seekers appear to be economic migrants, convinced that the streets of Europe are paved with gold.
benevolent: friendly, helpful.
Sentence – A Benevolent Fund has been established and been able to help an increasing number of members facing hardship.
bias: the action of supporting or opposing a particular person or thing in an unfair way, because of allowing personal opinions to influence your judgment.
Sentence – There has always been a slight bias in favour of/towards employing arts graduates in the company.
boisterous: noisy, energetic, and rough.
Sentence – The accident that happened yesterday was very boisterous, I was nearby at that time and trembled after hearing the sound.
brazen: obvious, without any attempt to be hidden.
Sentence – She could either turn round, or brazen her way past the pressmen to the lower reaches of the parkland.
brusque: quick and rude in manner or speech.
Sentence – He was pale, of brusque manners, somewhat given to affectation, but of immaculate dress and generous to his enemies.
camaraderie: a feeling of friendliness towards people that you work or share an experience with.
Sentence – Size and state-sector camaraderie allow China’s big five state banks to carve up lucrative loans for big government projects.
canny: thinking quickly and cleverly, especially in business or financial matters.
Sentence – She’s far too canny to keep her money in this country. She’s got it safely hidden away in Switzerland, I expect.
capacious: having a lot of space and able to contain a lot.
Sentence – The installation area must be capacious and clean, lay paper or pearl brocade on the ground to prevent it from contacting the ground directly during installation.
