After 2 articles sharing part 1 and part 2 about advanced IELTS vocabulary for speaking and writing, today I continue to bring you good vocabulary so that you can apply for the IELTS exam to get the highest score. If you haven’t learned the vocabulary from the previous 2 parts, you can see more:

To help you learn vocabulary effectively, IELTS Fighter introduces you to Ngoc Cuc’s video lecture on how to improve your IELTS band 8.0 vocabulary!

Just like the previous sharing of each word, you will know the meaning, synonyms, antonyms colocations and also examples of vocabulary used in speaking and writing. So are the warriors of IELTS Fighter ready for today’s lesson?

#ambiguous: (adjective) /æm´bigjuəs/

Meaning: Uncertain, vague, can be understand in more than a way

Synonyms: hazy, obscure, nebulous

Antonyms: explicit, unquestionable

Collocations:

• Highly/somewhat ambiguous
• An ambiguous concept
• Be ambiguously worded

Example:

The plot is ambiguous, which contributes to the huge success of the movie.

The government is denounced due to its ambiguous laws.

The legislation was ambiguously worded.

#Adversity (Noun) /ədˈvɜː(r)səti/

Meaning: A situation in which you have to face a large number of problems that is likely cause by bad luck

Synonyms: affliction, mischance, reverses

Collocations:

• Face/overcome adversity
• In the face of adversity

Example:

She has overcome an innumerable adversities and setbacks before becoming a famous person.

Peter shows his courage in the face of him adversity, which makes people to admire.

#Condemn (Verb) /kən’dem/

Meaning: to express very strong disapproval of somebody/something, usually for moral reasons

Collocations:

• To strongly/roughly/publicly/openly condemn for (doing) something
• Be widely condemned

Example:

Tom has condemned me all day for not telling him the truth.

A large number of people condemn the government for spending money on building more house in stead of investing in preserving the tarnished local environment.

#Stringent (adjective) /ˈstrɪn(d)ʒ(ə)nt/

Meaning: A law, rule, regulation is very strict that must be obeyed

Synonyms: strict, tight, tough, harsh

Collocation: strict law/control/rule/test

Example:

• IELTS Writing: Safety standards were less stringent in those days.
• IELTS Speaking: I was so happy to move out of my parents’ house and escape their stringent rules.

#Notwithstanding (preposition) ˌnät-with-ˈstan-diŋ

Meaning: in spite of something

Synonyms: in spite of the fact that; although, nevertheless, despite

Antonyms: because of; on account of

Example:

• Itwas the same material, notwithstanding the texture seemed different.
• Notwithstanding the long delay, I still decided to set out for my journey.

#Sedentary: (Adjective) /Sɛd(ə)nt(ə)ri/

Meaning:

Spending a lot of time on sitting down, and not moving or exercise very much.

Synonyms:

inactive, sluggish, idle.

Antonyms:

activated, energetic, moving.

Collocations:

Sedentary lifestyle/job/life.

Example:

Actually, I don’t like this job too much. I’ve sat down and kept my eyes glued to screen whole day, so it’s definitely a sedentary job.

People become more obese than before due to their sedentary lifestyles.

#Dominate (verb) /dɒm.ɪ.neɪt/

Meaning: to have control over a place or person

Synonyms: glance, prevail

Collocations: completely, entirely, totally, overwhelmingly, increasingly dominate

Example:

IELTS Speaking:

• They work as a group – no one person is allowed to dominate.
• His work increasingly dominates his life.

IELTS Writing: Territorial agreement in the South China Sea is likely to dominate the news.

#Tremendous (adj) /tri’mendəs/

Meaning: extraordinarily large in size or extent or amount or power or degree

Synonyms: enormous, big, large, sizable, immense

Antonyms: awful, frightful, terrible, extraordinary

Collocations:

• tremendousfact
• tremendousnoise

Example:

For IELTS Speaking:

He’s a better pitcher than he’s ever been. He’s having a tremendous season.

For IELTS Writing:

While Republicans met in Cleveland, Clinton and her top advisers were going through the list intremendous detail.

#Compatible (adjective) /kƏm’padƏb(Ə)l/

Meaning:HARMONIOUS; ABLE TO EXIST OR OCCUR TOGETHER WITHOUT CONFLICT

Synonyms: CONGROUOUS, CONSISTENT

Antonyms: NCONGRUOUS, INCOMPATIBLE, DISCORDANT

Example:

• IELTS Writing: Such policies are not compatible with democratic government.
• IELTS Speaking: It was when they started living together that they found they just weren’t compatible.

#Biased (Adjective) /ˈbaɪ.əst/

Meaning: unfairly prefer one person or group over another

Synonyms: bigoted, arbitrary, partial

Antonyms: public, disinterested

Collocations: be extremely/ heavily/strongly biased again/ towards/ in favor of

Example:

The new reporting was heavily biased towards the government.

Most of parents are biased when it comes to their children.

The company is biased against women when hiring high positions.

#Manipulate: (Verb) /square meterənɪpjə.leɪt/

Definition:

To make someone think and behave exactly as you want them to, by skillfully deceiving or influencing them.

Synonyms:

Influence, Impact, Effect.

Collocations:

Successfully/delicately/skillfully/deliberately/systematically/genetically manipulated.

Example:

“My leader was one of those men who manipulated people.”
“You have the constant feeling you are being manipulated.“

#Identical: (Adjective) /aɪden.tɪ.kəl/

Definition:

Exactly the same, or very similar

Synonyms:

Indistinguishable, Equal, Exact.

Collocations:

With Verb: Appear/be/look/seem/remain identical.
With Adverb: Absolutely/completely/exactly/almost/more or less/practically/virtually identical
With Preposition: Identical to/with/in

Example:

“The ingredients are identical with those of competing products.”
“The sisters were identical in appearance and character.”

“Twins, being of identical ages, are usually even better matched on environmental variables during upbringing than are siblings.”

#Diminish: (Verb) /dɪsquare meterɪn.ɪʃ/

Definition:

To become or make something become smaller or less.

Synonyms:

Reduce, Decline, Decrease, Fall, Drop.

Collocations:

Diminish further/gradually/greatly/rapidly/significantly/steadily.

Example:

“The average rainfall has diminished by around 30 percent.”
“Support for the government steadily is diminishing.”

“Unemployment rate has diminished in the past few months.”

#Isolate: (Verb) /aɪ.Sə.leɪt/

Definition:

To separate one person, group, or thing from other people or things

Synonyms:

Separate, Confine, Detach, Insulate, Divide

Collocations:

With noun: isolate attempt/community/gene/group/rest/world

With verb: become/feel/remain/try

Example:

“The town was isolated by the floods.”
“New born babies must be isolated from possible contamination.”

“It is impossible to isolate political responsibility from moral responsibility.”

#Prohibit: (Verb) /prəHɪb.ɪt/

Definition:

to say that an action is illegal or not allowed.

Synonyms:

Ban, Forbid, Block, Outlaw

Collocations:

Prohibit activity/discrimination/member/sale

Company/constitution/government/injunction/law/legislation/policy/power/regulation/rule/state/statute prohibit

Example:

“California law prohibits housing discrimination based on marital status.”
“Army regulations prohibit public displays of affection by soldiers, and private hideaways are hard to come by.

“Finally, some states prohibit superintendents from participation in a bargaining unit with teachers.”

#Analogy: (Noun) /ənæl.ə.dʒi/

Definition:

Something that seems similar between two situations, processes etc.

Synonyms:

Correlation, Parallel, Resemblance.

Collocations:

With adjective: close/good analogy.

With verb: draw/find/make/use analogy.

Example:

“Ah close analogy with the art of singing can be made here.”
“I have used the” analogy of the structure of a document to describe the basis of the curriculum.”

“We can draw an analogy between geriatrics and paediatrics, another age-based medical specialism.”

Exercise:

Choose the following words to fill in the blank: analogy, refine, scenario, inherent, overlap, confined, distorted, temporary, mediate, ceased.

#Refinement: (Noun) /rɪfaɪnmənt/

Definition:

An improvement, usually a small one, to something.

Synonyms:

Clarity, Processing

Collocations:

With adjective: considerable/great/extra/further/continuous/endless/useful/technical/modern refinement.

With verb: need/require/add/introduce refinement.

Example:

“The technology requires a great deal of refinement.”
“A greater refinement of the categorization is possible.”

“Aims are necessary starting points, but before the teacher can begin to provide learning experiences further refinement is essential.”

#Accumulate : Verb – /əkjuː.mjə.leɪt/

Definition:

To fight get more and more money, possessions, knowledge etc over a period of time.

Synonyms:

Collect, gather, assemble.

Collocations:

Accumulate fought/slowly/rapidly/steadily.

Example:

“I want to pursue the higher education for a desire to accumulate wealth.”

“Fat is big” accumulate around the hips and thighs.”

For IELTS Writing:
“It is unjust that a privileged few should continue to accumulate wealth.”

#Scenario: (Noun) /Sɪnɑː.ri.əʊ/

Definition:

A situation that could possibly happen.

Synonyms:

Plot, Scheme, Outline.

Collocations:

With adjective: alternative/different/ill/likely/plausible/possible/unlikely/whole scenario.

With noun: case/doomsday/nightmare scenario.

With verb: consider/create/follow/image/play scenario.

Example:

“It is just an extension of on-the-road campaigning. Consider this scenario which I see consistently two or three times a year.”
“If this is true, the education secretary will be hoping for one of the following.” scenarios.”

“The downside of such excellent economic performance is that virtually any alternative scenario will represent a deterioration.”

Hopefully, the sharing of each IELTS vocabulary word will be enthusiastically received by you, which will be the motivation of the IELTS Fighter team to continue to bring more useful lessons for you! In addition, IELTS Fighter introduces you to some good vocabulary videos to help you learn best:

Good luck with your studies and achieve a high IELTS score! 😀 😀