IELTS Vocabulary
Misery – great unhappiness.
Sentence – The demise of the industry has caused untold misery to thousands of hard-working tradesmen.
Impartial – not supporting any of the sides involved in an argument.
Sentence – He was not an impartial witness because of his affinity with the accused.
To behave – to act in a particular way.
Sentence – I’d never have expected him to behave like that; he’s a real Jekyll and Hyde.
Bendy – Something that is bendy can be easily bent into new shapes without breaking
Sentence – He struggled and cried, his arms as bendy as rubber.
Extra – added to what is normal.
Sentence – With the extra resources, the scheme now seems feasible.
To administer – to control the operation or arrangement of something.
Sentence – The plan calls for the UN to administer the country until elections can be held.
Murderer – the crime of intentionally killing a person.
Sentence – In former times a murderer who was found guilty would be condemned to death.
To maintain – to continue to have; to keep in existence, or not allow to become less.
Sentence – Only by keeping down costs will America maintain its competitive advantage over other countries.
Mediocre – not very good.
Sentence – Appearances of being vicious, mindless, or mediocre can be deceptive, and the deception is often studied and rehearsed.
Aromatic – a strong, pleasant smell, usually from food or drink.
Sentence – Organic compounds including a number of carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are also present in coal dust.
Dispute – an argument or disagreement, especially an official one between, for example, workers and employers or two countries with a common border.
Sentence – Production has halted at all of the company’s factories because of the pay dispute.
Ambitious – having a strong wish to be successful, powerful, or rich.
Sentence – We were going to do something more ambitious over Christmas this year but we never got it together.
To foretell – to say what is going to happen in the future.
Sentence – I cannot foretell what proposals it will contain, but without an effective ceasefire no one can be deployed.
To ignore – to intentionally not listen or give attention to.
Sentence – The management’s decision to ignore the safety warnings demonstrated a remarkable lapse of judgment.
Virtue – a good moral quality in a person, or the general quality of being morally good.
Sentence – To flee vice is the beginning of virtue, and to have got rid of folly is the beginning of wisdom.
To cope – to deal successfully with a difficult situation.
Sentence – Local authorities have to cope with the problems of homelessness.
Appreciable – If an amount or change is appreciable, it is large or noticeable enough to have an important effect.
Sentence – Therefore, youngsters may swallow appreciable amounts of toothpaste.
Disagreeable – unpleasant.
Sentence – The landlord is an extremely disagreeable man. Have as little to do with him as possible.
Rubbish – something that you think is very low quality or not true.
Sentence – The most direct financial incentive to prevent rubbish is to charge people by the amount of rubbish they put out.
To bear on sth. – to affect.
Sentence – He tried to bring pressure to bear on her.
Lousy – very bad.
Sentence – There can be no argument about how lousy he is at public relations.
To consult – to get information or advice from a person, book, etc. with special knowledge on a particular subject.
Sentence – If you require further information, you should consult the registrar.
Cranky – easily annoyed or upset.
Sentence – On arrival the boy was cranky and refused to walk through the airport.
