Vocabulary for IELTS
Whittle down: to gradually make (something) smaller by removing parts
Sentence – Vague vows to whittle down wasteful spending have been effective until now.
Tom-tom: proclaim or boast about.
Sentence –Her hands slapped the wall, like some one drumming a loose rhythm on a tom-tom.
Diffidence: modesty or shyness resulting from a lack of self-confidence.
Sentence –They had misgivings about Mr Major’s diffidence, felt he was not carrying the battle to the strongly challenging enemy.
Flinch: to withdraw or shrink from or as if from pain.
Sentence –Sabine did her best not to flinch from the contempt in madame’s voice as well as the implications of what she was saying.
Embodying: include or contain (something) as a constituent part.
Sentence –While two innovations embodying quite different educational values attempt to coexist it is unlikely that both will be successful.
Throttle: attack or kill (someone) by choking or strangling them.
Sentence –The throttle twist grip on the end of the collective stick has to be coordinated with the up and down movements.
Unshackle: liberate; set free.
Sentence –The decision to unshackle the yuan from its two-year peg to the dollar has been met with mixed views.
Tangible: perceptible by touch.
Sentence –There are tangible signs that the republic’s successfully breaking its bonds with Moscow.
Onus: something that is one’s duty or responsibility.
Sentence –We are trying to shift the onus for passenger safety onto the government.
Malign: speak about (someone) in a spitefully critical manner; Malevolent.
Sentence –The malign effects suffered by inbred animals show how evolution can exploit hidden diversity.
Low hanging fruit: the most easily achieved of a set of tasks, measures, goals, etc.
Sentence –“it’s more difficult to produce new drugs—all the low-hanging fruit has been picked”
Cash-strapped: extremely short of money.
Sentence –Especially cash-strapped developers are forced to borrow from the domestic curb market at annual interest rates as high as 40%.
Unchartered waters: new and unknown areas
Sentence –Whether album number three beckons a sea change into unchartered waters remains to be seen, but for now Vampire Weekend’s status as fine purveyors of guitar-orientated pop is firmly cemented.
Squarely: directly, without deviating to one side.
Sentence –The management committee have faced the situation squarely.
Ground breaking: innovative; pioneering.
Sentence –I believe we are all very happy this morning that the new haemodialysis centre which has been planned for some time can take off with the ground breaking ceremony.
Disparity: a great difference.
Sentence –Concern was also expressed over the growing disparity between living standards in Phnom Penh and in the rest of the country.
Curtail: reduce in extent or quantity; impose a restriction on.
Sentence –The president has remained mute about plans to curtail the number of immigrants.
Counteract: act against (something) in order to reduce its force or neutralize it.
Sentence –Some dancers were sucking lollipops to counteract the clenching of the jaws caused by amphetamines.
Heinous: (of a person or wrongful act, especially a crime) utterly odious or wicked.
Sentence –So heinous, in fact, that it carries a penalty of three months in the slammer.
Nefarious: (typically of an action or activity) wicked or criminal.
Sentence –Increasingly, they have been linked to more nefarious activities, from cheating on taxes to financing cocaine traffickers.
Foil: prevent (something considered wrong or undesirable) from succeeding.
Sentence –The pale walls provide a perfect foil for the brightly coloured furniture.
Rein-in: to limit or control (someone or something)
Sentence –But he soon discovered how hard it is to rein-in affairs of the heart.
Monstrosity: a thing which is outrageously evil or wrong; horror; eyesore.
Sentence –These two phenomena have given birth to a monstrosity: the all-powerful, unchallenged, unchallengeable media imam.
