IELTS Vocabulary ebook

Being distinguished is a good thing: it implies good behavior, sharp dress, and an excellent reputation. Distinguished people are respected. When we say someone is distinguished, we're expressing respect for them. Usually, someone distinguished is older: distinguished people are wise, accomplished, and professional-looking — and usually have an impressive reputation to match. A teenager can't really be distinguished. They're too young to look the part, and they haven't done enough to earn the title. We admire people who are distinguished.

An occupant is someone who lives or stays at a place for a while. Being an occupant means you're occupying a place. This has nothing to do with owning a house or renting an apartment; if you live there, you're an occupant.

Example sentences:

• The apartment's previous occupant was a painter.
• Both of the car's occupants were injured.
• Most of the occupants had left before the fire broke out

The verb aggravate means to make (an injury, problem, etc.) more serious or severe

• I aggravated my old knee injury after playing basketball yesterday.
• A headache can be aggravated by too much exercise.
• The symptoms were aggravated by drinking alcohol.

It also means to annoy or bother someone

• All of these delays really aggravate me.
• Our neighbors were aggravated by all the noise.

Definition: Cause severe and disabling damage to (a machine); Cause a severe and almost insuperable problem for

Example sentences:

• We have developing countries being crippled by debt, so we need a more value-led globalization.

Definition: Discourage (someone) from doing something by instilling doubt or fear of the consequences

Example sentences:

• All the academic evidence suggests fear of debt deters people from less prosperous backgrounds.

Definition: Equal in value, amount, function, meaning, etc.

Example sentences:

• One unit is equivalent to one glass of wine

Definition: Having limits or bounds:

Example sentences:

• Every computer has a finite amount of memory

If something is a hazard, it is a potential source of danger.  The preposition 'for or to ' is used.

The preposition “to”, is used when some kind of transfer is happening or something is being moved from one place to another.

The preposition “for”, is used when something is being done to benefit something or someone else or when you are trying to express purpose or the reason that something is happening.

Look at these two example sentences:

• The burning of industrial waste is a major hazard to human health.
• Holes in the pavement are a hazard for blind people.

In the first sentence, industrial waste is generally a hazard and burning this waste transfers this hazard to human. In this case, to is used because there is some kind of transfer.

In the case of the second sentence, holes in the pavement can be a hazard for anyone but it is especially a hazard for blind people because they cannot see to avoid these holes. The preposition "for "is used to express the reason why the holes in the pavement are a hazard.

 For example:

• Holes in the pavement are a hazard for blind people.
• Hand injuries are an occupational hazard for typists. (meaning typists are likely to have hand injuries because of the work they do)

The preposition 'to ' is used when it is followed by a thing. For example:

• The burning of industrial waste is a major hazard to human health.

Here are example sentences:  

• Balloons are fun, but they're a hazard for little kids who might put them in their mouths.
• That old staircase is a safety hazard. (meaning it is dangerous; someone could get hurt by using it)
• Young people should be educated about the hazards of excessive drinking.
• Production of these chemicals poses serious environmental hazards.

As a verb, hazard means to take a risk, especially for the chance of a good return. For example:

• You might hazard your chances 
• His friend asked him to hazard a small sum in a business venture.
• She was unwilling to hazard a guess as to who would win.The prepositions; “for” or “to” are often used.

PHRASES

• exposure to a hazard

Example sentence:

• Try and reduce your exposure to hazards such as poor quality air.

COLLOCATIONS

health hazard

• The rubbish needs to be removed before it becomes a health hazard.

a fire hazard

• The unoccupied building was declared a fire hazard.

a safety hazard

• Protesters claim that the nuclear reactor is a safety hazard.

a traffic hazard

• Cars parked in the wrong places can cause a traffic hazard.

a natural hazard (=a hazard caused by nature)

• One of the most widespread natural hazards is flooding.

cause/create a hazard

• There was concern that overhead power lines could cause a health hazard.

pose a hazard (=be a possible hazard)

• It was not known whether radiation from the weapons posed any hazard to soldiers.

eliminate a hazard (=get rid of a hazard)

• They took steps to eliminate all potential fire hazards.

reduce a hazard

• He led the campaign to recognize and reduce the hazard from radiation in our environment.

The verb “hinder” means to make (something, such as a task or action) slow or difficult  It has the same meaning of "impede". Example sentences using the word hinder:

• Their journey was hindered (impeded) by snow and high winds.
• The country's economic growth is being hindered (impeded) by the sanctions.
• It's not clear whether the change will help or hinder (impede) our project.
• Fallen rock is hindering (impeding) the progress of rescue workers

If you impart information or knowledge to people, you tell it to them.

Example sentences:

• The ability to impart knowledge and command respect is the essential qualification for teachers.
• A teacher's most challenging role is not to impart knowledge but to relate to students the value of learning.
• The people who are in favor of the schools, dealing with traditional subjects such as history believe that the children are oblivious of their career path at tender ages, therefore, imparting any specific skill or job oriented knowledge may go in vain.

An impediment is anything that slows or blocks progress. It can refer to a physical thing, like a fallen tree in the road. It can also refer to things that can’t be seen. The preposition “to” is often used.   When we use the word 'impediment', we are talking about long-term obstacles or problems that cannot be solved in a short period of time. Here are example sentences:

• According to a number of teachers, the biggest impediment to working in a small town is the low salary paid to educators.
• The continued war is an impediment to the country’s recovery.
• The agreement is designed to remove impediments to trade between the two countries.
• The board was satisfied that there was no legal impediment to the merger of the two companies. 
• Fallen rock is an impediment to the progress of rescue.

Medically, an impediment is especially said to be a physical hindrance, such as a lisp or a stammer. Here are example sentences:​

• If someone has a reading impediment, it means that their reading strength has roadblocks for one reason or another. 
• Stammer is a physical impediment.
• John's slight speech impediment made it difficult for his mother to understand him.

Definition: Proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with harmful effects

Example senences:

• The obstruction and harassment is subtle but insidious and seriously affects the ability of the aid agencies to do their job.
• Sexually transmitted diseases can be insidious and sometimes without symptoms

Definition: Of only moderate quality; not very good:

Example sentences:

• He is a mediocre actor

An origin is a start. You could say that the origin of yoga was in India, since that's where the practice began, or that the origin of the strawberries in the market is Mexico since they were grown there.Your ancestry is another kind of origin — you might mention your Eastern European origin if that's where your ancestors came from. The phrase "in origin" is used.

Example sentences:

• The origin of this custom/tradition is not known.
• Their medical problems are basically physical in origin.
• Her family is Portuguese in origin.
• The rock is volcanic in origin.

When something originates or when someone originates it, it begins to happen or exist.

Example sentences:

• You can originate the idea of adding a fancy new coffee machine to your company's break room.
• A carpet that originates in Turkey can travel all the way to an apartment in New York. The soya bean originated in China, is used it as 'green manure' to enrich the soil for growing other crops.
• The continental crust is thought to have originated from the movement of magma when plate tectonics first formed billions of years ago.
• Jupiter's moons most likely originated from passing asteroids that were captured into orbit. 
   

Definition: Full of danger or risk:

Example sentences:

• When the distances are longer and the borders tougher, the journeys become much more perilous.

A phenomenon is an extraordinary occurrence or circumstance. In the 1950s, rock-n-roll was considered a new cultural phenomenon, while today we think of crop circles as a mysterious phenomenon. An earthquake, for example, was a phenomenon, because you could see it (and hear it and feel it).  Used in a sentence, “The class was excited to see the eclipse, as it was a natural phenomenon.”

"Phenomena" is simply the plural word for "phenomenon", or it is one or more extraordinary occurrences or circumstances. “May was a great month for astronomists because of the high amount of phenomena in the sky.”Example sentences:

• The movie eventually became a cultural phenomenon.
• This form of civil disobedience isn't a particularly new phenomenon.
• Detailed food labeling is a fairly recent phenomenon.
• Cloudy water is a common phenomenon in new aquariums.

Definition: worthy of mention;uncommon

Example sentences:

• The invention of the computer was a remarkable achievement.

Definition: To an undesirably great or intense degree:

Example sentences:

• Our business has been severely affected by the slowdown.

Definition: Likely or liable to be influenced or harmed by a particular thing

Example senences:

• Adult birds are susceptible to lead poisoning when their food source is contaminated.
• When traveling in tropical climates, travelers are susceptible to malaria.

Definition: Exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally

Example senences:

• Small fish are vulnerable to predators.

Weigh on is to be oppressive or disheartening to someone. It is to express sadness. When someone tells you a sad story, it may weigh on your shoulders, meaning to make you sad and not be able to forget it. Anything that weighs on you makes you unhappy. For example, “It really weighed on my mind when I found out her father died.”

Example sentences using “weigh”:

• The bad news is really weighing on me.
• I can tell that something is weighing on his mind. (This means that he's worried about something)
• He's under huge pressure at work and it's really weighing on him.
• The responsibility of her new job had begun to weigh on her.
• The high price of property weighs heavily on many businesses.