IELTS Vocabulary

Vicious 

deliberately cruel or violent. 

"a vicious assault" 

Astute 

having or showing an ability to 

accurately assess situations or 

people and turn this to one's  

advantage. 

"an astute businessman" 

Ascension 

the action of rising to an important  

position or a higher level. 

"his ascension to the presidency" 

Boorish 

rough and bad-mannered; coarse. 

"boorish behaviour" 

Axiomatic 

self-evident or unquestionable. 

"it is axiomatic that dividends have to  

be financed" 

Rhetoric 

language designed to have a persuasive 

or impressive effect, but which is often  

regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful  

content. 

"all we have from the Opposition is empty rhetoric" 

Stonewall 

delay or obstruct (a request, process, or person)  

by refusing to answer questions or by being  

evasive. 

"she has also stonewalled queries about her love life" 

Hoard 

accumulate (money or valued objects) and hide or store away. 

"thousands of antiques hoarded by a compulsive collector" 

disgust 

cause (someone) to feel revulsion or strong disapproval. 

"they were disgusted by the violence" 

irate 

adjective 

feeling or characterized by great anger. 

(adjective - no past tense) 

fete 

verb 

past tense: fêted; past participle: fêted; past tense: feted; past participle: feted 

honour or entertain (someone) lavishly. 

"she was an instant celebrity, feted by the media" 

onus 

noun 

something that is one's duty or responsibility. 

"the onus is on you to show that you have suffered loss" 

beguiling 

adjective 

charming or enchanting, often in a deceptive way. 

"a beguiling mixture of English, French and Italian 

imperative 

adjective 

1. 

of vital importance; crucial. 

"immediate action was imperative" 

advent 

noun 

1. 

the arrival of a notable person or thing. 

"the advent of television" 

dissuade 

verb 

persuade (someone) not to take a particular course of action. 

"his friends tried to dissuade him from flying" 

benign 

adjective 

1. 

gentle and kind. 

"his benign but firm manner" 

consent 

noun 

1. 

permission for something to happen or agreement to do something. 

"no change may be made without the consent of all the partners" 

scantily 

adverb 

in a way that is small or insufficient in quantity or amount. 

"a small, scantily furnished room" 

nuance 

noun 

plural noun: nuances 

1. 

a subtle difference in or shade of meaning, expression, or sound. 

"he was familiar with the nuances of the local dialect" 

eclectic 

adjective 

1. 

deriving ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources. 

"universities offering an eclectic mix of courses" 

displease 

verb 

make (someone) feel annoyed or upset. 

"the tone of the letter displeased him" 

blithely 

adverb 

adverb: blithely 

in a way that shows a casual and cheerful indifference considered to be callous or improper. 

LITERARY 

in a happy or carefree manner. 

"the prince was wandering blithely out into the courtyard" 

atone 

verb 

make amends or reparation. 

"a human sacrifice to atone for the sin" 

He atoned by apologizing 

He felt he had atoned for what he had done to his son. 

nevertheless 

adverb 

in spite of that; notwithstanding; all the same. 

"statements which, although literally true, are nevertheless misleading" 

The economy was poor this year, nevertheless our sales were strong. 

reprimand 

noun 

1. 

a formal expression of disapproval. 

"the golfer received a reprimand for a breach of rules" 

Stan was severely reprimanded for the mistake on the financial report. 

tenacity 

/tɪˈnasɪti/ 

noun 

the quality or fact of being able to grip something firmly; grip. 

"the sheer tenacity of the limpet" 

the quality or fact of being very determined; determination. 

"you have to admire the tenacity of these two guys" 

Myriad 

noun 

1. 

a countless or extremely great number of people or things. 

myriads of insects danced around the light above my head 

Trivialize 

verb 

make (something) seem less important, significant, or complex than it really is. 

"the problem was either trivialized or ignored by teachers" 

pragmatic 

adjective 

dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations. 

"a pragmatic approach to politics" 

propensity 

noun 

an inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way. 

"his propensity for violence" 

futz 

verb 

INFORMAL•NORTH AMERICAN 

gerund or present participle: futzing 

waste time; idle or busy oneself aimlessly. 

"mother futzed around in the kitchen" 

rue1 

verb 

verb: rue; 3rd person present: rues; past tense: rued; past participle: rued; gerund or present participle: rueing; gerund or present participle: ruing 

1. 

bitterly regret (something one has done or allowed to happen) and wish it undone. 

"Ferguson will rue the day he turned down that offer" 

infer 

/ɪnˈfəː/ 

verb 

past tense: inferred; past participle: inferred 

deduce or conclude (something) from evidence and reasoning rather than from explicit statements. 

"from these facts we can infer that crime has been increasing" 

Meagre 

/ˈmiːɡə/ 

adjective 

(of something provided or available) lacking in quantity or quality. 

"they were forced to supplement their meagre earnings" 

preposterous 

adjective 

contrary to reason or common sense; utterly absurd or ridiculous. 

"a preposterous suggestion" 

skedaddle 

/skɪˈdad(ə)l/ 

verb 

INFORMAL 

depart quickly or hurriedly; run away. 

"when he saw us, he skedaddled" 

posit 

verb 

3rd person present: posits 

1. 

put forward as fact or as a basis for argument. 

"the Confucian view posits a perfectible human nature" 

synonyms:

postulate, put forward, advance, propound, submit, predicate, hypothesize, take as a hypothesis, set forth, propose, pose, assert; More

2. 

put in position; place. 

"the Professor posits Cohen in his second category of poets"