Bohubrihi - IELTS Vocabulary - Word List

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IELTS Vocabulary | Word List

Word Meaning Synonym Use in a sentence

Firmament (n) The vault or arc of the sky Area, Arena Meteors flashing across the firmament

The field or sphere of an interest or Department, Discipline,

activity Domain

Tangible (adj.) capable of being perceived especially by Perceptible, Palpable, Her grief was tangible

the sense of touch ponderable

Preposterous contrary to nature, reason, or common Absurd, Bizarre, Crazy The whole idea is preposterous

(adj.) sense

Rigging (n) lines and chains used aboard a ship Apparel, costumery They checked the rigging before they

especially in working sail and supporting set sail.

masts and spars

Shroud (n) Burial garment Robe, Veil, Cover the truth of the affair will always be

hidden under a shroud of secrecy

Constellation (n) the configuration of stars especially at Cluster, Clump The constellation Ursa Major contains

one's birth the stars of the Big Dipper.

Evoke (v) to bring to mind or recollection Educe, Elicit The old house evoked memories of his

childhood.

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Hippotherapy (n) Physical therapy in which a patient Many insurance companies have

recognized hippotherapy's

medical value.

Stellar (adj.) Composed of stars Astral, Star, Starry The movie has a stellar cast.

Aptitude (n) A natural ability Talent, Tendency, The new test is supposed to measure

the aptitudes of the students.

Purportedly (ad.) as appears or is stated to be true, though Ostensibly, Allegedly The email, and other information, was

not necessarily discovered on a computer purportedly

belonging to Hunter Biden that was left

at a repair shop in Delaware.

Attic (n) a low story or wall above the main order cockloft, garret, loft rented the attic out to a college student

of a facade in the classical styles

Dilute (v) to make thinner or more liquid by adulterate, thin, water down, You can dilute the medicine with water.

admixture weaken

Cluster (n) a number of similar things that occur Array, Assemblage, Band, A cluster of cottages along the shore

together Batch, Block, Bunch, Clot

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Drift (n) the act of driving something along bowl, breeze, brush The slow drift of the clouds

Reliever (n) something or someone that relieves Ally, companion pain relievers like aspirin and ibuprofen

pain, distress, or difficulty.

Elliptical (adj.) of, relating to, or shaped like an ellipse ambiguous, arcane, cryptic The moon follows an elliptical path

around the Earth.

Gyre (n) a circular or spiral motion or form Circumference, aureole At the surface, that gyre spins in the

same direction of the hurricanes

Infer (v) to derive as a conclusion from facts or Conclude, Decide, Deduce we see smoke and infer fire

premises

Somber (adj.) so shaded as to be dark and gloomy Black, Caliginous, Dark, Fred's mood remained somber

Darkened throughout the meal.

Congenital (adj.) existing at or dating from birth born, natural The irregularity in my backbone is

probably congenital.

Persist (v) to go on resolutely or stubbornly in spite carry on, persevere The reporter persisted with his

of opposition, importunity, or warning questioning.

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Pursue (v) to follow in order to overtake, capture, kill, Chase, hound pursued by dozens of fans

or defeat Track, Follow,

to find or employ measures to obtain or Pursue a degree

accomplish

Crystalline (adj.) strikingly clear or sparkling clear, Crystal, limpid we could see fish swimming beneath

the crystalline ice of the frozen lake

a structure built along or at an angle Dock, float, jetty, landing

Wharf (n) from the shore of navigable waters so tied the rowboat up at the wharf

that ships may lie alongside to receive

and discharge cargo and passenger

Skirmish (n) a minor fight in war usually incidental to Brush, encounter, hassle Skirmishes broke out between rebel

larger movements groups.

Vent (v) to give often vigorous or emotional loose, release, take out, Fred comes home from work and vents

expression to unleash to the kids

Bonny (adj) Attractive Attractive, Fine, Excellent a bonny child dressed in traditional

Scottish clothing

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Ecstatic (n) relating to, or characterized by ecstasy elated, elevated, enrapt We were ecstatic, but increasingly

or a state of sudden, intense, nervous

overpowering emotion

Rapturous (n) an expression or manifestation of elatedness, elation, euphoria, We listened with rapture as the

ecstasy or passion exhilaration orchestra played.

Constraint (n) the state of being checked, restricted, or Continence, discipline, Lack of funding has been a major

compelled to avoid or perform some discretion, inhibition, constraint on the building's design.

action refrainment

Preoccupation (n) extreme or excessive concern with fetish, fixation We need to better understand the

something problems and preoccupations of our

clients.

Apprehension Viewing the future with anxiety or alarm Aware, cognizant, conscious, Many adults who do not think twice

(adj.) mindful about the risks of driving an

automobile are apprehensive about

flying.

Anticipation (n) a prior action that takes into account or contemplation, expectance Hired more security guards in

forestalls a later action anticipation of a large crowd

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Reticence (n) the quality or state of being reserve disinclination, hesitance, the publisher's reticence to make
reluctance content available online for free

Restrain (v) to prevent from doing, exhibiting, or bridle, check, constrain restrained the child from jumping

expressing something

Aloof (adj.) removed or distant either physically or Antisocial, asocial, buttoned- an aloof, unfriendly manner

emotionally up

Allopatric (adj.) occurring in different geographic areas sympatric allopatric speciation

or in isolation

Camouflage (n) the disguising especially of military costume, disguise, guise The army tanks were painted green

equipment or installations with paint, and brown for camouflage.

nets, or foliage

Intriguing (adj.) engaging the interest to a marked absorbing, arresting, North Texas congressional races are

degree consuming, engaging also intriguing.

Rhetoric (n) the art of speaking or writing effectively Oratory, Eloquence The audience was impressed by the

rhetoric the young girl used in her

speech

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Huddle (v) to arrange carelessly or hurriedly Bunch, Cluster, Crowd, Pile, the solemnities had to be huddled
Press through at express speed

Inglorious (adj.) lacking fame or honor Shameful, Ignominious an inglorious defeat

Hypothesis (n) an assumption or concession made for Proposition, supposition, The evidence supporting this

the sake of argument theory, thesis hypothesis is pretty thin.

Stalemate (n) A drawing position in chess in which a deadlock, gridlock, halt, The budget debate ended in a

player is not in checkmate but has no impasse, logjam stalemate.

legal move to play

Divine (adj.) of, relating to, or proceeding directly from Heavenly, godlike The meal was just divine.

God

Eternal (adj.) having infinite duration Everlasting, ageless, the eternal flames of hell

continuing, dateless

Cavalier (adj.) the eternal flames of hell Arrogant, Assumptive, a cavalier attitude toward money

Bumptious, Chesty

Evade (v) to take refuge in escape or avoidance avoid, dodge, duck, elude, The criminals have so far managed to

escape, eschew evade the police.

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Assertion (n) insistent and positive affirming, affirmation, asseveration, the assertion that all men have certain

maintaining, or defending avouchment, Avowal, claim, unalienable rights is set forth in the

declaration Declaration of Independence

Excerpt (n) a passage (as from a book or musical Extract, Passage an excerpt from his interview with The

composition) selected, performed, or Big Issue magazine

copied

Stance (n) a way of standing or being placed attitude, carriage, poise, They took an antiwar stance

posture, station

Reel (n) A revolvable device Gyration, Pirouette, She slipped and, after an out-of-

Revolution, Roll control reel, fell on her backside

Reverence (v) to offer honor or respect to (someone) adore, deify, glorify, revere, Devotees coming to reverence their

as a divine power venerate, worship god

Calamitous (adj.) bringing about ruin or misfortune Cataclysmal, catastrophic, a calamitous decision to sell their

damning, destructive products online exclusively ruined the

business

Cease (v) to come to an end break off, close, conclude, the rain finally ceased, and we were

dead-end able to continue the baseball game

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Pint sized (adj.) of a size that is less than average Bantam, diminutive, dinky, a pint-size wrestler who could defeat
dwarfish opponents twice his size

Counterpart (n) one that is equal to another in status, Coequal, compeer, she worked with her counterpart in the

achievement, or value coordinate, equal, equivalent other office to get the job done

Terrestrial (adj.) having to do with life on earth especially Carnal, earthborn, scientists haven't even found all the

as opposed to that in heaven earthbound, earthly, fleshly terrestrial life on our planet

Avian (n) relating to birds Aerial, floating,

Propelled (v) to apply force to (someone or drove, the aircraft is propelled by a pair of

something) so that it moves in front of turboprop engines


pushed, shoved, thrust
one

Insight (n) the ability to understand inner qualities discernment, perception, a therapist with real insight into

or relationships perceptiveness, perceptivity people's personalities

Diminutive (adj.) of a size that is less than average bantam, dinky, dwarfish, fine, a single diminutive shrub on the edge

Half-pint, Lilliputian of the lawn

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Hapless (adj.) having, prone to, or marked by bad luck hard-luck, ill-fated, ill- the hapless motorist had barely paid
starred, jinxed, luckless his bill and driven away from the body

shop when a truck sideswiped his car

Catapult (v) to send through the air especially with a cast, chuck, dash, Fire, fling, catapulted a pumpkin into the next

quick forward motion of the arm heave yard

Candidness (n) the free expression of one's true feelings bluntness, candor, candidness is something that we claim

and opinions directness, forthrightness to admire—except when we are on the

receiving end of a brutally honest

assessment

Demean (v) to lower in character, status, or Acquit, bear, behave, carry, he might have been observed to

reputation comport demean himself as a person with

nothing to do

Exasperate (v) to cause irritation or annoyance to aggravate, annoy, bother, It's a demanding dining experience that

bug may exhaust and exasperate some

customers

Obliging (adj.) willing to do favors Amiable, Good-natured, An obliging passerby helped her with

complaisant her packages.

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Evasive (adj.) tending or intended to evade elusive, fugitive, slippery They took evasive action to avoid

capture.

Qualm (n) a feeling of uneasiness about a point compunction, misgiving, The doctor seemed seized with a

especially of conscience or propriety scruple qualm of faintness.

Inadvertent (adj.) not focusing the mind on a matter accidental, casual, chance, an inadvertent encounter with a

fluky rattlesnake in the brush

Tumult (n) disorderly agitation or milling about of a ado, alarums and excursions, We had to shout to be heard over the

crowd usually with uproar and confusion ballyhoo, blather, bluster tumult.

of voices

Embellish (v) to make beautiful with ornamentation Elaborate (on), embroider, a book embellished with illustrations

exaggerate, hyperbolize,

magnify

Quip (n) A clever usually taunting remark crotchet, curiosity, They traded quips over a beer.

eccentricity, erraticism

Vicarious (adj.) experienced or realized through Indirect, Second-hand, this catalogue brings vicarious

imaginative or sympathetic participation Secondary, derivative, pleasure in luxury living

in the experience of another derived

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Cumbersome unwieldy because of heaviness and bulk awkward, bunglesome, a cumbersome package

(adj.) clumsy, clunky, cranky

Inarticulate (adj.) incapable of giving coherent, clear, or Mute, speechless, voiceless He's smart, but somewhat inarticulate.

effective expression to one's ideas or

feelings

Complacent (adj.) marked by self-satisfaction especially Apathetic, casual, a complacent smile

when accompanied by unawareness of disinterested, incurious

actual dangers or deficiencies

Derisive (adj.) expressing or causing contemptuous Absurd, cockamamy, the derisive performances of some of

ridicule or scorn comical, derisory the singers on the talent show

Sordid (adj.) marked by baseness or grossness bedraggled, befouled, Human beings are naturally curious

begrimed, bemired about other human beings, even if

those other human beings aren’t sordid

criminals.

Dearth (n) an inadequate supply crunch, deficiency, deficit, there was a dearth of usable firewood

drought at the campsite

Deter (v) to turn aside, discourage, or prevent from Discourage, dissuade, Inhibit she would not be deterred by threats

acting

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Benign (adj.) of a mild type or character that does not anodyne, harmless, hurtless, a benign lung tumor

threaten health or life innocent

Emulate (v) to strive to equal or excel add up (to), amount (to), Not that Sophia or Gretchen must

come (to), correspond (to), emulate anyone else.

equal

Counterpart (n) a thing that fits another perfectly coequal, compeer, Metal tools replaced their stone
coordinate, equal, equivalent counterparts many, many years ago.

Diminutive (n) one that is notably small dwarf, midget, mite, peewee the diminutives “-ette” and

“kitchenette”

Levity (n) excessive or unseemly frivolity facetiousness, flightiness, She would tolerate no levity in the

flippancy, frivolity classroom.

Census (n) a count of the population and a property count, tale, tally According to the latest census, the

evaluation in early Rome racial makeup of the town has

changed dramatically in the last 50

years.

Inclusion (n) the act of including : the state of being Increase, addition The expectation of inclusion had been

included baked into Tesla’s shares.

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Correspondent having qualities in common akin, alike, analogous, reading and writing are actually

(adj.) cognate correspondent activities

Embroil (v) to place in conflict or difficulties bog (down), broil, the town has been embroiled in

embrangle, mire controversy over the building of the

huge shopping mall

Deploy (v) to place in a particular position emplace, fix, locate, park, The commander deployed additional

plant, position, set troops to the region this morning.

Grapple (n) the act or manner of holding clasp, clench, grasp, grip, was simply unable to break my

handgrip opponent's viselike grapple and lost the

wrestling match

Palpable (adj.) able to be perceived by a sense or by the Appreciable, Apprehensible, the tension in the negotiating room

mind Detectable, discernible was palpable

Eroding (v) to consume or wear away gradually biting (at), corroding, eating, the fear that inflation will continue to
fretting erode people's savings

Dispatch (v) to cause to go or be taken from one consign, pack (off), send, dispatched a messenger with urgent

place to another ship, shoot, transfer news

Forging (v) To move forward along a course advancing, coming, coming the rescue team forged ahead despite

along, doing, faring, getting the bad weather

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along

Marginal (adj.) located at or near a border borderline, frontier marginal locations in the open-air

market are a bit cheaper

Vertex (n) the highest point extreme, extremity, tip Once you reach the vertex of the

mountain, the remainder of the route is

all downhill.

Solstice (n) the time or date (twice each year) at Each solstice is upon the ecliptic

which the sun reaches its maximum or midway between the equinoxes, and

minimum declination therefore go from each.

Nocturnal (adj.) of, relating to, or occurring in the night night, nightly, nighttime he bought a new telescope so he could

pursue his favorite nocturnal hobby of

astronomy

Crepuscular (adj.) Resembling or relating to twilight. black, caliginous, Dark, It is a nocturnal or crepuscular animal,

darkened, darkish generally sleeping during the day, but

showing considerable activity by night.

Pollinate (v) convey pollen to or deposit pollen on (a Breed, cross-fertilize there are not enough bees to pollinate

stigma, ovule, flower, or plant) and so their crops

allow fertilization.

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Solitude (n) the state of being alone or kept apart aloneness, insulation, sought the kind of solitude where his

from others isolation, Privacy, thoughts would be his only

secludedness companions

Diminish (v) to express scornfully one's low opinion of bad-mouth, belittle, cry tends to diminish any rival's

down, decry, denigrate, accomplishments with snide remarks

deprecate

Anecdote (n) a brief account of something interesting story, tale, yarn told us once again that anecdote

that happened especially to one about the dog and the bike

personally

Allusion (n) a statement that refers to something implication, inference, The lyrics contain biblical allusions.

without mentioning it directly innuendo, insinuation

Reminisce (v) remember, recall recall, recollect, remember old college friends like to reminisce

Credence (n) firm belief in the integrity, ability, confidence, faith, stock, trust I'm afraid I don't put much credence in

effectiveness, or genuineness of common gossip

someone or something

Reprieve (n) a temporary halt in an activity or break, breath, breather, The pool offered a welcome reprieve

condition interruption, lull, pause, from the heat.

recess, respite

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Dubious (adj.) giving good reason for being doubted, debatable, disputable, dodgy any letter bearing the signature of

questioned, or challenged [chiefly British], doubtable, Geronimo would be of dubious

doubtful, dubitable authenticity, to say the least

Rigid (adj.) not allowing for any exceptions or brassbound, cast-iron, rigid enforcement of drug laws

loosening of standards exacting, hardline, inflexible,

rigorous, strict

Misnomer (n) a name that is wrong or not proper or appellation, appellative, "International Airport" is something of a

appropriate cognomen, compellation, misnomer, since almost all the arriving

denomination, denotation, and departing flights are local

Bureaucracy (n) a system of government in which most of the unnecessary bureaucracy in local

the important decisions are taken by government

state officials rather than by elected

representatives.

Foist (v) to offer (something fake, useless, or fob off, palm, palm off, pass shopkeepers who foist shoddy

inferior) as genuine, useful, or valuable off, wish souvenirs on unsuspecting tourists

Incarnate (v) to represent in visible form body, embody, epitomize, the general view that Hitler incarnated

express, externalize, extreme egotism and indeed evil itself

incorporate, instantiate

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Ambiguous (adj.) having an often intentionally veiled or arcane, cryptic, dark, deep, the exact reason for the change in

uncertain meaning Delphic, double-edged plans is ambiguous, but I suspect it has

something to do with money

Objective (n) something that one hopes or intends to aim, ambition, aspiration, the summer camp's stated objective is

accomplish bourne (also bourn), design, to produce tournament-level tennis

dream, end, goal players

Contraption (n) an interesting and often novel device contrivance, gadget, built a contraption for automatically

with a practical use gimmick, gizmo (also gismo), buttering toast

jigger, widget

Smug (adj.) having too high an opinion of oneself assured, biggety (or biggity) a winner who was so smug that he lost

[Southern & Midland], the goodwill of the crowd

bigheaded, complacent

Eccentric (adj.) different from the ordinary in a way that bizarre, bizarro, cranky, crazy, his eccentric decorating style isn't

causes curiosity or suspicion curious, erratic, far-out, funky going over well with the neighbors

Forthright (adj.) free in expressing one's true feelings and candid, direct, forthcoming, she sometimes was a little too

opinions foursquare, frank, free- forthright for her own good and ended

spoken up saying things that inadvertently

offended people

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Subtle (adj.) clever at attaining one's ends by indirect artful, beguiling, cagey (also used subtle methods of persuasion

and often deceptive means cagy), crafty, cunning, cute

Differentiate (v) to understand or point out the difference difference, discern, it was hard at first to differentiate

in discriminate, distinguish, between the two styles of music

secern, separate

Paucity (n) a falling short of an essential or desirable crunch, dearth, deficiency, a paucity of useful answers to the

amount or number deficit, drought problem of traffic congestion at rush

hour

Retract (v) to solemnly or formally reject or go back abjure, abnegate, forswear, the newspaper was forced to retract

on (as something formerly adhered to) recant, renege, renounce the story, which turned out to be based

on fabricated reporting

Surly (adj.) given to or displaying a resentful silence glum, mopey, pouting, pouty, went about his chores in a surly huff,

and often irritability sulky, sullen totally annoyed that he was stuck at

home on this beautiful Saturday

Discord (n) a lack of agreement or harmony conflict, disaccord, the discord between two of the

discordance, discordancy, members threatened to tear our team

disharmony, dissension of researchers apart

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Discreet (adj) having or showing good judgment and intelligent, judgmatic (or he was very discreet, only saying what

restraint especially in conduct or speech judgmatical), judicious, was necessary

prudent

Malady (n) an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's affection, ail, ailment, bug, in the olden days people were always

or animal's normal bodily functioning complaint, complication, suffering from some unknown malady

condition, disease

Animosity (n) a deep-seated ill will animus, antagonism, his open animosity towards us made

antipathy, bad blood, our meeting very uncomfortable

bitterness, enmity

Guffaw (n) an explosive sound that is a sign of belly laugh, boff (or boffo), managed to keep a straight face for a

amusement boffola, cachinnation, cackle, minute before he let loose with a loud

chortle, chuckle guffaw

Malodorous (adj.) having an unpleasant smell fetid, foul, frowsty [chiefly the cellar will need to be cleared of

British], frowsy several malodorous piles of garbage

Insipid (adj.) lacking in taste or flavor dead, flat, flavorless, an apple pie with a mushy, insipid filling

savorless, tasteless, unsavory that strongly resemble soggy

cardboard

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Besiege (v) to surround (as a fortified place) with beleaguer, blockade, invest, armies besieged the city for six months

armed forces for the purpose of leaguer before it finally surrendered

capturing or preventing commerce and

communication

Debase (v) to lower in character, dignity, or quality abase, bastardize, canker, we debase ourselves when we adopt

cheapen, corrupt, debauch, the moral code and behavior of our

degrade despised enemies

Lethargic (adj) slow to move or act dull, inactive, inert, quiescent, a big meal always makes me feel

sleepy, sluggish, torpid lethargic and sleepy

Tarnish (v) to affect slightly with something morally blemish, darken, mar, poison, a false accusation that nonetheless

bad or undesirable spoil, stain, taint, touch, tarnished her reputation

vitiate

Vindictive (adj.) likely to seek revenge revengeful, vengeful be careful not to annoy the vindictive

old woman who lives down the street

Convivial (adj.) likely to seek or enjoy the company of boon, clubbable (also the hiking club attracts a wide range of

others clubbable), clubby, convivial people who share a love of

companionable the outdoors

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Morose (adj.) causing or marked by an atmosphere black, bleak, cheerless, chill, those morose job seekers who have

lacking in cheer Cimmerian grown accustomed to rejection

Erratic (adj.) lacking a definite plan, purpose, or aimless, arbitrary, catch-as- so far your effort to land a summer job

pattern catch-can, desultory has been very erratic

Archaic (adj.) having passed its time of use or antiquated, dated, démodé, the company needs to update its

usefulness demoded, fossilize archaic computer system

Placid (adj.) free from emotional or mental agitation calm, collected, composed, an exceptionally placid mother who

cool, coolheaded was rarely upset by her six children

Tawdry (adj.) marked by low quality and unbecoming brummagem, flashy, garish, We tolerate the neighbors' tawdry

appearance gaudy, glitzy, kitsch Christmas display during the holidays,

but by January we're about sick of it.

Assuage (v) to make more bearable or less severe allay, alleviate, ease, help, a mother cooing to her toddler and

mitigate, mollify assuaging his fear of the dark

Besmirch (v) to make dirty befoul, begrime, bemire, inconsiderately besmirched the carpet

blacken, daub, dirty with their dirty feet

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Dilapidated (adj.) showing signs of advanced wear and beat-up, bombed-out, dog- a dilapidated car that had seen better

tear and neglect eared, down-at-the-heels days

Veneer (n) a deceptively attractive external facade (also façade), gloss, the veneer of civility that the neighbors

appearance window dressing had maintained over the years

disappeared with the filing of the first

lawsuit

Cogent (adj.) having the power to persuade compelling, conclusive, the results of the DNA fingerprinting

convincing, decisive, effective were the most cogent evidence for

acquittal

Urbane (adj) having or showing very polished and debonair, smooth, a gentlemanly and urbane host of

worldly manners sophisticated, suave elegant dinner parties

Voracious (adj.) having a huge appetite edacious, esurient, it seemed like the voracious kitten was

gluttonous, greedy, hoggish eating her weight in food every day

Spendthrift (adj.) given to spending money freely or extravagant, high-rolling, spendthrift consumers had amassed a

foolishly prodigal, profligate, mountain of debt on their credit cards

squandering

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Profusion (n) a considerable amount abundance, barrel, basketful, apples grow in profusion in this valley

boatload, bucket

Obstinate (adj.) sticking to an opinion, purpose, or course adamant, adamantine, the child was obstinate about wanting

of action in spite of reason, arguments, bullheaded, dogged, hard, that specific toy, despite being offered

or persuasion hardened several others

Taxing (adj) requiring much time, effort, or careful arduous, burdensome, a very taxing workload that is taking a

attention challenging, demanding lot of time to finish

Ornate (adj.) elaborately and often excessively bedizened, florid, fussy, an ornate gambling casino that is

decorated gingerbread designed to look like an Italian palace

Fickle (adj.) likely to change frequently, suddenly, or capricious, changeable, a fickle friendship that was on and off

unexpectedly changeful over the years

Incessant (adj) going on and on without any ceaseless, continual, the incessant noise from an outside

interruptions continued, continuing, repair crew was a real distraction

continuous during the test

Pugnacious (adj) feeling or displaying eagerness to fight aggressive, agonistic, a movie reviewer who is spirited, even

argumentative, assaultive pugnacious, when defending her

opinions

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Complete Preparation Academic & General
IELTS Vocabulary | Word List

Smattering (n) a small number couple, few, handful, scatter, a smattering of guests at the art exhibit
scattering

Meander (v) to move about from place to place cruise, drift, float, gad theatergoers meandering around the

aimlessly (about), gallivant lobby waiting for the play to start

Vanquish (v) to bring under one's control by force of conquer, dominate, vanquished nation after nation in his

arms overpower, pacify, subdue relentless conquest of Europe

Malleable (adj) capable of being easily molded or moldable, plastic, shapeable malleable cookie dough

modeled

Devolve (v) to become worse or of less value atrophy, crumble, decay, the once-lovely neighborhood has

Decline, degenerate devolved into a squalid slum

Stolid (adj.) not expressing any emotion blank, catatonic, deadpan, the butler responded to the duchess's

empty, expressionless constant demands with stolid

indifference

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IELTS Vocabulary | Word List

Ingenuity (n) the skill and imagination to create new cleverness, creativeness, the mystery writer's exceptional

things creativity, imagination, ingenuity enabled her to devise plots

imaginativeness that always had readers guessing to

the very end

Enumerate (v) to specify one after another detail, itemize, List, numerate, I proceeded to enumerate the reasons

recite, reel off why I would be justified in filing a

lawsuit for negligence

Desecrate (v) to treat (a sacred place or object) defile, profane, violate vandals desecrated the cemetery last

shamefully or with great disrespect night by covering the tombstones with

graffiti

Perturb (v) to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy agitate, ail, alarm (also the caller's strange remark perturbed

alarum), bother, concern, me enough to keep me awake that

derail night

Elusive (adj) hard to find, capture, or isolate hard to find, capture, or isolate

Fawn (v) to use flattery or the doing of favors in apple-polish, bootlick, fuss, a student who could not wait to fawn

order to win approval especially from a kowtow over the new teacher

superior

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IELTS Vocabulary | Word List

Sanguine (adj.) eager for or marked by the shedding of bloodthirsty, bloody, bloody- the Civil War remains America's most

blood, extreme violence, or killing minded, homicidal sanguine conflict

Whimsical (adj.) prone to sudden illogical changes of capricious, freakish, it's hard to make plans with such a

mind, ideas, or actions impulsive whimsical best friend

Tirade (n) a long angry speech or scolding Diatribe, harangue, jeremiad, after the inspection by the health

philippic, rant department, we had to listen to the

manager's tirade about keeping the

restaurant's kitchen cleaner

Respite (n) a short period of time when you are able calm, calmness, hush, peace, The weekend provided a nice respite

to stop doing something that is difficult peacefulness, placidity, quie from the pressures of her job.

or unpleasant or when something

difficult or unpleasant stops or is delayed

Robust (adj.) enjoying health and vigor able-bodied, bouncing, fit, a robust and sturdy toddler

hale, healthy

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IELTS Vocabulary | Word List

Proponent (n) a person who actively supports or favors advocate, advocator, a vocal proponent of the use of

a cause apostle, backer, booster electric-powered cars

Ploy (n) a clever often underhanded means to artifice, device, dodge, fetch, asking me to take her shopping turned

achieve an end flimflam, gambit, gimmick out to be a ploy to get me to the

surprise party

Intransigent (adj.) sticking to an opinion, purpose, or course adamant, adamantine, he has remained intransigent, refusing

of action in spite of reason, arguments, all suggestions for improvement of the


bullheaded, dogged, hard
or persuasion process

Exhort (v) to try to persuade (someone) through egg (on), encourage, goad, the speaker exhorted the graduating

earnest appeals to follow a course of nudge, press, prod students to go forth and try to make a

action difference in the world

Contempt (n) open dislike for someone or something Contemptuousness, my undying contempt for people who

considered unworthy of one's concern or despisement, despite, abuse animals

respect despitefulness

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IELTS Vocabulary | Word List

Spurn (v) to show unwillingness to accept, do, balk (at), decline, deselect, fiercely independent, the elderly couple

engage in, or agree to disapprove, negative, nix spurned all offers of financial help

Excruciating (adj.) intensely or unbearably painful agonizing, harrowing, he finally visited the doctor when the

racking, raging, tormenting pain became too excruciating to ignore

Telltale (adj.) indicating something denotative, denoting, I know you've been eating chocolate

indicative, reflective, because of the telltale smudges on


significant your face

Unconscionable going beyond a normal or acceptable baroque, devilish, excessive, an unconscionable number of errors

limit in degree or amount exorbitant, extravagant, for an important government report

extreme

Destitute (adj.) lacking money or material possessions beggared, beggarly, broke, many families were left destitute by the

Dirt-poor, down-and-out horrible fire

Bellicose (adj.) feeling or displaying eagerness to fight aggressive, agonistic, bellicose hockey players who seem to

argumentative, assaultive, spend more time fighting than playing

belligerent

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IELTS Vocabulary | Word List

Sanctimonious pretending to be morally better than canting, goody-goody, A sanctimonious speech from

(adj.) other people holier-than-thou, moralistic, someone who refused to acknowledge

pharisaical, pious his own past failings.

Pertinent (adj.) having to do with the matter at hand applicable, apposite, he impressed the jury with his concise,
apropos, germane pertinent answers to the attorney's

questions

Rankle (v) to be excited or emotionally stirred up boil, burn, foam, fume, rage, that kind of rude treatment from a

with anger seethe, sizzle, steam, storm young person makes me rankle

Humdrum (adj.) causing weariness, restlessness, or lack arid, boring, colorless, drab, she leads a humdrum life that will

of interest dreary, drudging never be made into a major motion

picture

Detrimental (adj.) causing or capable of causing harm adverse, bad, baleful, there were serious concerns that the

baneful, damaging, factory's waste was detrimental to the

dangerous local environment

Deride (v) to make (someone or something) the gibe (or jibe), jeer, laugh (at), my brothers derided our efforts, but

object of unkind laughter mock, ridicule, scout, shoot were forced to eat their words when we

down won first place

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IELTS Vocabulary | Word List

Affable (adj.) having a relaxed, casual manner breezy, devil-may-care, as the show's affable host, she keeps

easygoing, happy-go-lucky, the freewheeling gabfest from getting

laid-back out of hand

Indignant (adj) feeling or showing anger angered, angry, apoplectic, the poker player became indignant at

ballistic, cheesed off the accusation of cheating

Convoluted (adj.) having many parts or aspects that are baroque, byzantine, complex, a convoluted explanation that left the

usually interrelated complicated listeners even more confused than they

were before

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