ADVANCED VOCABULARY FOR IELTS PART -3

- N -

Nascent: MEANING: The birth or beginning of something

SENTENCE: If we could identify these revolutionary movements in their nascent state, we would be able to eliminate serious trouble in later years.

Negate: MEANING: Make ineffective by counterbalancing the effect of

SENTENCE: The discovery of one dinosaur jaw negated the wisdom that all dinosaurs were vegetarian; that jaw was from a carnivore.

Nuance: MEANING: Shade of subtle difference in meaning, colour or feeling;

SENTENCE: The unskilled eye of the layperson has difficulty in discerning the nuances of colour in the painting.

- O -

Obdurate : MEANING: Stubborn

SENTENCE: I argued this point with him, but he was obdurate despite all the convincing reasons I could give.

Objurgation: MEANING: Harsh criticism

SENTENCE: When someone receives a severe scolding, they experience objurgation.

Neophyte: MEANING: A person who is brand new to a subject or activity

SENTENCE: Four-day cooking classes are offered to both neophytes and experts.

Nettlesome : MEANING: Causing irritation or annoyance; easily annoyed SENTENCE: She found the paperwork in her job very nettlesome.

Notoriety: MEANING: Famous but for negative reasons

SENTENCE: The notoriety of Pakistan as a corrupt state is due to its lack of a genuine system for accountability.

Obsequious: MEANING: Servile, fawning

SENTENCE: The famous singer had an entourage of friends and staff, many of whom were obsequious.

Obviate: MEANING: Eliminate a need or difficulty

SENTENCE: To obviate an ant infestation we clean our kitchen regularly.

Occlude: MEANING: Close up, or obstruct (an opening)

SENTENCE: Foundation make-up occludes the pores of our skin.

Officious : MEANING: Excessively eager in giving unwanted advice, interfering

SENTENCE: My colleague can be officious in telling me how to do my job. It is annoying!

Omniscience: MEANING: All-knowing; having infinite knowledge SENTENCE: Nobody except God can claim to have omniscience.

Onerous: MEANING: Involving a great deal of effort, trouble, or difficulty

SENTENCE: He found his duties increasingly onerous.

Opprobrium: MEANING: A state of extreme dishonour

SENTENCE: He threw a can of drink off the balcony, and earnt opprobrium.

Orthodox: MEANING: Traditional; adhering to what is commonly accepted

SENTENCE: He was an orthodox vegetarian; he did not even eat fish.

Ostentatious : MEANING: Characterized by a pretentious or showy display; designed to impress

SENTENCE: Her dress was a simple design – glamorous without being ostentatious.

- P -

Paradigm: MEANING: Standard example; accepted perspective

SENTENCE: Far from being atypically bawdy, this limerick is a paradigm of the form – nearly all of them rely on off-colour jokes.

Paragon: MEANING: A person or thing regarded as a perfect example of a particular quality.

SENTENCE: My mother was the paragon of kindness; she was beloved by many.

Partisan: MEANING: One-sided; prejudiced

SENTENCE: Our judicial system consists of partisan judges; in order to be promoted as a judge, one should have a strong relationship with a strong political party.

Pathological: MEANING: Caused by physical or mental disease

SENTENCE: Her friend turned out to be a pathological liar, nothing she ever said was true.

Patronising: MEANING: Treating others with condescension

SENTENCE: Experts in a field sometimes appear to patronise people who are less knowledgeable on the subject.

Paucity: MEANING: The presence of something in only small or insufficient quantities

SENTENCE: A paucity of good cheer at the party led to the host turning up the music.

Pedantic: MEANING: Excessively concerned with minor details or rules; overly scrupulous

SENTENCE: His analyses are careful and even painstaking, but never pedantic.

Pedestrian: MEANING: Ordinary; dull

SENTENCE: Vocabulary class without example sentences looks to be pedestrian for many students.

Penchant : MEANING: Liking, preference or strong inclination

SENTENCE: He had a strong penchant for sculpture and owned so many statues.

Perfidious : MEANING: Untrustworthy and deceitful

SENTENCE: The lawyer decided not to represent his perfidious client.

Perfunctory: MEANING: Done routinely and with little interest or care

SENTENCE: Her boyfriend gave her a perfunctory kiss on his way out the door.

Peripheral: MEANING: Not of primary importance

SENTENCE: My main goal is to get into a good graduate school; whether it has good fitness facilities is really a peripheral concern.

Permeable: MEANING: Allowing liquids or gases to pass through SENTENCE: A frog's skin is permeable to water.

Perspicacious: MEANING: Shrewd, wise, discerning SENTENCE: For a five-year-old kid, Toby was very perspicacious.

Penury: MEANING: Extreme poverty

SENTENCE: A job loss and family breakdown can lead to penury.

Perennial: MEANING: Lasting for an infinite time; enduring or continually recurring

SENTENCE: His parents had a perennial distrust of the media.

Pervasive: MEANING: Spreading or spread throughout, everywhere SENTENCE: Talking about the weather is pervasive among adults.

Phlegmatic: MEANING: Having an unemotional and stolidly calm disposition.

SENTENCE: The British character can be phlegmatic compared with the emotional Spanish.

Phony: MEANING: Fake; insincere

SENTENCE: She's such a phony person, pretending to befriend people and then talking about them behind their backs.

Piety : MEANING: Devotion to God or to religious practices. SENTENCE: The nuns live lives of piety and charitable works.

Placate: MEANING: Pacify; bring peace to

SENTENCE: The teacher tried to placate the upset mother whose child had failed in the class.

Placid: MEANING: Peaceful, calm

SENTENCE: Her dog was quite placid, and did not struggle when the vet gave him an injection.

Plasticity: MEANING: The quality of being easily shaped or moulded SENTENCE: Fine clay, at the right degree of plasticity, is more useful.

Plethora: MEANING: An abundance or excess or something SENTENCE: She had a plethora of potential dates; 10 boys asked her out.

Plummet : MEANING: Drop sharply; fall straight down.

SENTENCE: During the first minute or so of a skydive, the diver plummets towards earth in free fall; then, he activates a parachute and floats down at what seems like a relatively leisurely pace.

Polemical: MEANING: Involving controversy or dispute

SENTENCE: Don’t discuss politics with your parents; it will only end up in a polemical argument.

Porous: MEANING: Full of holes or openings

SENTENCE: The border between the USA and Mexico was porous before they built the wall.

Pragmatic: MEANING: A person or solution that takes a realistic approach

SENTENCE: My daughter wants a unicorn for her birthday, which isn’t very pragmatic.

Platitude: MEANING: A trite or obvious remark; a cliche

SENTENCE: The pep talk the boss gave to his team was full of platitudes.

Preamble : MEANING: Introductory statement, preface

SENTENCE: His early publications were just a preamble to his later, extensive written works.

Preclude: MEANING: Prevent from happening, make impossible SENTENCE: Taking the Pill precluded her from falling pregnant.

Precariously: MEANING: Dangerously

SENTENCE: The glass was precariously balanced on the edge of the table.

Precipitate: MEANING: cause something to happen suddenly, unexpectedly and not always in a good way

SENTENCE: The assassination of the Archbishop precipitated World War Two.

Prevarication: MEANING: The deliberate act of deviating from the truth

SENTENCE: The reporter said that he is extremely sorry for spreading the prevarications about the Prime Minister's death in the hospital.

Pristine: MEANING: Unspoiled; remaining in a pure state

SENTENCE: Much of the coastline of Australia is made up of pristine beaches.

Precursor: MEANING: Something that comes before, and indicates that something will follow

SENTENCE: Pride is a precursor to a fall.

Probity : MEANING: The quality of having strong moral principles; honesty and decency

SENTENCE: She showed great probity in the divorce process and they split amicably.

Prescient: MEANING: Having or showing knowledge of events before they take place

SENTENCE: It is difficult, now, to appreciate just how prescient her art work was.

Problematic: MEANING: Constituting or presenting a problem.

SENTENCE: The COVID-19 lockdown was problematic for businesses and employees.

Presumptuous: MEANING: Taking liberties, bold forwardness

SENTENCE: I hope I won't be considered presumptuous if I offer you some advice.

Prodigal : MEANING: Rashly or wastefully extravagant

SENTENCE: Out of all the family, their uncle was the most prodigal, and they bailed him out frequently.

Profound: MEANING: Very insightful; deep

SENTENCE: She realised the book offered some very profound messages on our current society.

Prevaricate: MEANING: Be deliberately ambiguous in order to mislead

SENTENCE: His style was to prevaricate, but she saw through him and got to the truth.

Prohibitive: MEANING: Tending to discourage (especially prices)

SENTENCE: The books were made browser-proof with prohibitive cellophane wrapping.

Proliferate : MEANING: Increase rapidly in number; multiply SENTENCE: Science fiction magazines proliferated in the 1920s.

Prolific: MEANING: Productive; fruitful

SENTENCE: She wrote three songs before breakfast; she was a prolific songwriter in this stage of her career.

Propensity: MEANING: An inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way

SENTENCE: The dog has a propensity to bark, and we have a propensity to be annoyed by it!

Proscribe: MEANING: Forbid, especially by law

SENTENCE: The headmaster proscribed the use of mobile phones in the classroom.

Protracted: MEANING: Drawn out for a long time, in a tedious way

SENTENCE: The protracted heat had the effect of driving people away from the city yesterday.

Prudent : MEANING: Wise; judicious.

SENTENCE: Her partner was prudent with their money and their future, which made her very happy!

Punctiliously : MEANING: Fastidiously, very carefully

SENTENCE: British soldiers act punctiliously at the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.

Propitiate: MEANING: win or regain favour; appease

SENTENCE: He propitiated his mother on Mother’s Day with a bouquet and a box of chocolates.

Pungent: MEANING: Having a sharply strong taste or smell SENTENCE: This homegrown garlic has a particularly pungent flavour.

Propriety: MEANING: Conforming to good manners or appropriate behaviour

SENTENCE: They questioned the propriety of certain investments made by the council.

- Q -

Qualified: MEANING: officially recognized as being trained to perform a particular job; certified

SENTENCE: I was well qualified with a degree to teach the class English vocabulary!

Quibble: MEANING: Small fight or argument over something unimportant

SENTENCE: She did not want to quibble over a few euros when she bought the dog from the pet shop.

Quiescent: MEANING: Resting, quiet

SENTENCE: He enjoyed quiescent moments in his garden hammock on a beautiful summer Sunday.

Quotidian : MEANING: Daily, routine, ordinary

SENTENCE: She enjoyed all things quotidian: doing chores, brushing her teeth, going to work, because she had a happy nature.

- R -

Rankle: MEANING: Aggravate; make angry

SENTENCE: We did not want to rankle the cat, so we put the puppy outside.

Rarefied: MEANING: Elevated above the ordinary

SENTENCE: The scholars were in an animated and rarefied conversation about world politics.

Rebuttal: MEANING: A counter argument to argument; a disagreement

SENTENCE: Steve rebutted Jason’s view that his team would win the game.

Recalcitrant: MEANING: Obstinately uncooperative; pig-headed SENTENCE: She has a class of recalcitrant fifteen-year-olds.

Recant : MEANING: Take back something that was previously said SENTENCE: Heretics were burned if they did not recant.

Recluse: MEANING: A person who lives a solitary life and tends to avoid other people

SENTENCE: After returning from the pilgrimage she has turned into a virtual recluse.

Recondite: MEANING: Difficult to comprehend; abstruse

SENTENCE: The book on mathematical theory is full of recondite information.

Refractory: MEANING: Stubborn or unmanageable

SENTENCE: My dog is refractory on the lead; he does not want to walk!

Refute: MEANING: Prove to be false

SENTENCE: She refuted her kids’ claim they had brushed their teeth by producing the dry toothbrushes.

Relegate: MEANING: Assign to an inferior rank or position

SENTENCE: Their soccer team was relegated to third division in the new season.

Reproach : MEANING: Criticize.

SENTENCE: I want my work to be above reproach and without error

Reprobate: MEANING: An unprincipled person; a bad egg

SENTENCE: The politician had to present himself as more of a lovable reprobate than a purely corrupt official.

Repudiate: MEANING: Refuse to accept; reject.

SENTENCE: As an adult, Ben repudiated the religion of his upbringing and went to work on Sundays.

Rescind: MEANING: Revoke, cancel, or repeal (a law, order, or agreement)

SENTENCE: The government eventually rescinded the policy after it faced severe criticism from both the opposition and the public.

Resolution: MEANING: Quality of being firmly determined

SENTENCE: Given the many areas of conflict still awaiting resolution, the outcome of the peace talks remains problematic.

Resolve: MEANING: Settle or find a solution to a problem or contentious matter

SENTENCE: The firm aims to resolve problems within 30 days

Reticent: MEANING: Quiet, restrained

SENTENCE: She was reticent about her feelings in his company as she did not know him very well.

Revelling : MEANING: Taking great pleasure

SENTENCE: After receiving the job offer she revelled all weekend with her family and friends.

Reverent : MEANING: Feeling or showing deep and solemn respect

SENTENCE: In church there is a reverent silence when the priest says, ‘Let us pray.’

Rudimentary: MEANING: Basic; crude

SENTENCE: The test will be easy; it only requires a rudimentary knowledge of English.

- S -

Sagacious: MEANING: Acutely wise, very shrewd

SENTENCE: The president acquired some sagacious advisors to help him with managing the economy.

Sage: MEANING: A profoundly wise man, especially in ancient history or legend

SENTENCE: Aristotle, the great Athenian philosopher, was undoubtedly a sage.

Salubrious: MEANING: Conducive to health or wellbeing

SENTENCE: After spending many years smoking and drinking, Tom recognized the necessity of adopting a more salubrious lifestyle.

Sanction: MEANING: Approve, give permission; punish, speak harshly to

SENTENCE: America's sanctions on Cuba mean that it is illegal for Americans to do business with Cuban companies.

Sanguine: MEANING: Confidently optimistic and cheerful

SENTENCE: The whole family was sanguine about their chances of going on holiday.

Satiate: MEANING: Satisfy

SENTENCE: The Japanese meal did not satiate him and he ate a sandwich when he got home.

Saturate : MEANING: Soak thoroughly

SENTENCE: The rain saturated the field and caused the river to rise.

Saturnine: MEANING: Gloomy, mean, scowling

SENTENCE: Do not be misled by his saturnine appearance; he is not as gloomy as he looks.

Savour: MEANING: Appreciate fully; taste something savoury

SENTENCE: As a parent, it's important to take a step back and really savour the special moments –those children will grow up sooner than you think.

Scathing: MEANING: Very harsh or severe

SENTENCE: Joseph suffered scathing criticism from the judge at the singing competition.

Scrupulous: MEANING: Careful to do things properly or correctly

SENTENCE: She was scrupulous with repaying her friends straight away if they lent her money.

Secrete: MEANING: Conceal, hide; release

SENTENCE: HIs assets had been secreted to Swiss bank accounts

Shard: MEANING: A broken piece of a brittle artifact SENTENCE: Shards of glass flew in all directions

Skeptic : MEANING: One who doubts others unless they have seen evidence

SENTENCE: She was sceptical about her sister’s claim she had seen a ghost!

Solicitous: MEANING: Full of anxiety and concern; showing hovering attentiveness

SENTENCE: She was tiny and solicitous, a soft, sweet lady.

Soporific: MEANING: Tending to induce drowsiness or sleep SENTENCE: The motion of the train had a somewhat soporific effect.

Spartan: MEANING: Practicing great self-denial, unsparing and uncompromising in discipline or judgement

SENTENCE: Her apartment was so spartan that she couldn't even serve us both soups; she only had one bowl and one spoon.

Spasmodically: MEANING: In spurts and fits; with spasms

SENTENCE: The newborn giraffe lies in a sodden heap, heaving spasmodically with its first gulps of air.

Specious: MEANING: Plausible but false; deceptively pleasing

SENTENCE: Misinformation, falsehoods and specious claims dominate his public pronouncements.

Sporadic: MEANING: Recurring in scattered and irregular or unpredictable instances

SENTENCE: In the last few decades, the west has been subjected to sporadic terrorist bombings.

Stigma : MEANING: A negative association

SENTENCE: These days there is far less stigma attached to being in a same sex relationship.

Stingy : MEANING: Not generous with money

SENTENCE: Many companies are too stingy to raise the salaries of their workers.

Stint: MEANING: Be very economical about spending; an unbroken period of time

SENTENCE: He doesn't stint on wining and dining – every night he spends hundreds of dollars in restaurants and bars

Stipulate: MEANING: Specify as a condition or requirement in a contract or agreement

SENTENCE: He stipulated certain conditions before their marriage

Stolid: MEANING: Showing little emotion; expressionless SENTENCE: Her face was stolid, but inside she was thrilled.

Substantiate: MEANING: Give support to a claim

SENTENCE: More evidence of the Tooth Fairy is needed to substantiate her existence.

Superficiality: MEANING: Lack of depth of knowledge or thought or feeling; shallowness

SENTENCE: Instant digital interactions, on your phone or computer, encourage superficiality, insularity and tribalism.

Strife: MEANING: State of fighting or arguing violently

SENTENCE: Strife in the Middle East has continued for many, many years.

Supersede: MEANING: Take the place or move into the position of

SENTENCE: When his father passed away, Toby superseded him as head of the family.

Strut: MEANING: Walk with a proud swagger with a little arrogance thrown in

SENTENCE: After hitting his third six, the batsman strutted down the pitch.

Subpoena: MEANING: A writ ordering a person to attend a court

SENTENCE: The courier delivered the subpoena to her door and she had to sign for it.

Subside: MEANING: Wear off or die down; sink to a lower level; descend

SENTENCE: The world waited patiently for the danger of COVID-19 to subside.

Supposition: MEANING: An assumption or hypothesis

SENTENCE: They were working on the supposition that his death was murder.

Sycophant : MEANING: A person who tries to win favour from powerful people by flattering them

SENTENCE: The fans backstage we very sycophantic.

- T -

Tacit : MEANING: Understood, without actually being expressed; implied SENTENCE: They were holding hands; it was tacit they were lovers.

Taciturn: MEANING: Talking little, reserved

SENTENCE: Desmond’s taciturn behaviour in front of the Fulbright decision panel has made his interview awkward, hence the panel has rejected him for the scholarship.

Tangential: MEANING: Of superficial relevance, if any

SENTENCE: She made some tangential remarks on her sister’s career, and then changed the subject.

Thrift : MEANING: Great care in spending money

SENTENCE: In older age, most people become thrifty and tend to save money as much as possible.

Timorous: MEANING: Timid, shy

SENTENCE: In big groups she was timorous, but with close friends she was very outgoing.

Tirade: MEANING: Long string of violent, emotionally charged words

SENTENCE: There are many tirades in the speeches of politicians in parliament.

Temperance: MEANING: Moderation, restraint

SENTENCE: Noted for his temperance, he seldom drinks alcohol.

Torpor : MEANING: Mental and physical inactivity

SENTENCE: After the huge meal at the fiesta, the family fell into a torpor and did not manage to dance.

Tenuous: MEANING: Very thin or slight

SENTENCE: There is a tenuous link between interest rates and investment.

Torrid: MEANING: Very hot; passionate and emotionally charged

SENTENCE: It was the most torrid romance she had ever been lucky enough to find.

Tortuous: MEANING: Full of twists and turns

SENTENCE: The route to Cairns from Brisbane in Australia is remote and tortuous.

Tractable: MEANING: Easily managed or controlled

SENTENCE: Emerging sequencing technologies can provide extra information and make the computational problem more tractable.

Transgression: MEANING: An act that goes against a law, rule, or code of conduct; an offense.

SENTENCE: I'll be keeping an eye out for further transgressions from that employee.

Trifling: MEANING: Unimportant

SENTENCE: After he interrupted the teacher with some trifling matter, the teacher resumed the class.

Truculence: MEANING: Obstreperous and defiant aggression

SENTENCE: The basketball team won through sheer truculence; there were lots of fouls in the game.

Tumultuous: MEANING: Troubled and disordered, turbulent

SENTENCE: The police presence ensured there was not a tumultuous reaction to the extension of lockdown.

- U -

Ubiquitous: MEANING: Existing everywhere at the same time

SENTENCE: Facebook, Coca-Cola and Hollywood are ubiquitous American inventions.

Umbrage: MEANING: A feeling of anger caused by being offended

SENTENCE: I took umbrage at the suggestion that I was lazy, as I work eight hours a day.

Underscore: MEANING: To emphasize, call special attention to SENTENCE: He underscored his points in the debate.

Unseemly : MEANING: Indecent; inappropriate; unacceptable

SENTENCE: Heather’s uncle made unseemly suggestions to her friend when they were alone.

- V -

Vacillation: MEANING: Moving back and forth; changing of opinion

SENTENCE: There was a fair bit of vacillation on Steven’s part, he could not make up his mind.

Venerate: MEANING: Worship, adore, be in awe of

SENTENCE: You probably don’t venerate your teacher or your boss, however you may act like you do!

Veracious: MEANING: Truthful; precisely accurate

SENTENCE: While we elect our leaders in the hope that everything that they say will be veracious, history has shown that such a hope is naive.

Verbose : MEANING: Using or containing too many words

SENTENCE: This article is too verbose; nobody has enough time to read the whole article, so we must edit it to make it brief and to the point.

Viable: MEANING: Able to function properly, able to grow

SENTENCE: The infant, though prematurely born, is viable and has a good chance of survival.

Vindicate: MEANING: Show to be right by providing justification or proof; clear of blame; defend

SENTENCE: The governor’s policy on lockdown was vindicated by the drop in coronavirus deaths; his decision to extend it was the right one.

Viscous: MEANING: Having a thick, sticky consistency between solid and liquid; having a high viscosity.

SENTENCE: It seemed to take forever for the viscous cough medicine to pour out of the bottle.

Vituperative: MEANING: Marked by harshly abusive criticism; scathing

SENTENCE: Scots who opposed independence hurled vituperative insults at the independence party.

Vociferous: MEANING: Offensively loud; given to vehement outcry

SENTENCE: Some states in the US are contending with vociferous protests as they extend lockdown for COVID-19.

Volatile: MEANING: Liable to lead to sudden change; tending to vary often

SENTENCE: Sophie’s relationship with Dave can be volatile; they fight and make up regularly.

Volubility: MEANING: The quality of being effortless in speech and writing

SENTENCE: The volubility in his expression shows his level of knowledge in the topic.

- W -

Warranted : MEANING: Justified or shown to be reasonable; provide adequate ground for

SENTENCE: The employees feel that industrial action is warranted

Wary: MEANING: Very cautious; on guard

SENTENCE: Be wary of anyone who tells you that 'anyone' can get rich with some special plan or scheme.

Welter: MEANING: Move in a turbulent fashion; a confused multitude of things; be immersed in

SENTENCE: Easter was solemnly marked amid the welter of death and suffering due to COVID-19.

Whimsical: MEANING: Determined by chance or whim; indulging in or influenced by fancy

SENTENCE: The plot and characters in Peter Pan are quite whimsical.

- Z -

Zeal: MEANING: Eager enthusiasm; prompt willingness; excessive fervour.

SENTENCE: Each inherited their parents’ zeal for social justice.

SENTENCE: Each inherited their parents’ zeal for social justice.