IELTS Vocabulary Flashcard

Aggravating is the adjective of "aggravate" and used to describe situations that are annoying. For example:

• His loud music was aggravating. (Aggravating is a word that describes the music.)
• He has some very aggravating [=annoying, irritating] habits.

When people such as immigrants assimilate into a community or when that community assimilates them, they become an accepted part of it. Here are example sentences:

• In order to assimilate into the new culture, immigrants should learn to follow the customs of the new country and learn the new language.
• This country assimilates immigrants very quickly.
• The organization’s goal is to help refugees to assimilate into American culture.
• The Inca civilization arose in the mountainous regions of Peru in the early 13th century. From 1438 to 1533, the Inca assimilated a large part of western South Americans.

If you assimilate new ideas, techniques, or information, you learn them and understand them thoroughly.  Here are example sentences:

• Informed people generally assimilate information from several divergent sources before coming to an opinion.

The verb "assimilate" can also mean to "absorb and digest". Here is an example sentence:

• The sugars in the fruit are readily assimilated by the body

The noun "assimilation" it the act of assimilating. It can have the following meanings:

• The process of taking in and fully understanding information or ideas.
• The absorption and integration of people, ideas, or culture into a wider society or culture.
• The absorption and digestion of food or nutrients by the body

Here are example sentences:

• Forced assimilation of native people into European and American cultures caused the degradation of Native American art.
• Over the course of the Inca Empire, the Inca used conquest and peaceful assimilation to incorporate in their empire a large portion of western South America.
• Two of the main purposes of homework are the assimilation of knowledge and practice of vital skills. 
• Assimilation of nutrients happens in the small intestine

Definition: bewildering or striking dumb with wonder

Example sentences:

• In the past year, American beekeepers have reported losing, on average, an astounding 42.1 per cent of their hives.

Definition: to confuse to a point at which no progress can be made

Example sentences:

• The cause of many harmful diseases have baffled doctors for centuries.
• In a debate, you might baffle the opposition by introducing new information that your opponents are not familiar with.

The adjective captivating describes something that holds your attention. You might find a marathon of episodes of a TV show so captivating that you forget to eat dinner. When people are captivating, they're often very intelligent, attractive, charming, or otherwise fascinating. Something that catches and holds your interest is captivating, like a captivating mystery novel you just can't put down.

Take a look at its use below:

• A captivating story
• A captivating smile
• The story is captivating and keeps the viewer hooked.
• Our university is looking to hire captivating teachers that can keep students engaged for long periods of time.

Definition: a personal attractiveness or interestingness that enables you to influence others

Example sentences:

• He was known for this charismatic personality

Definition: characterized by extreme care and great effort; guided by conscience or sense of right and wrong

Example sentences:

• It’s well-known that personality influences professional prowess, as high earners tend to be extraverted, ambitious, conscientious and self-confident.
• The purpose of college is to create conscientious, thinking individuals who know how to function in society.

The word "diffuse" can be a verb or an adjective.

If a gas, heat or liquid diffuses or is diffused, it becomes spread widely in all directions. For example:

• The heat from the radiator diffuses throughout the room.
• The drop of red dye diffused slowly in the water.
• The heat was diffused throughout the room.

If a gas or a substance diffuses or is diffused through something, it means to move and spread through it. For example

• Oxygen diffuses from the lungs into the bloodstream.
• Cell membranes are very thin to allow materials to diffuse through them easily.
• Oxygen diffuses through the cell membrane.
• Nicotine diffuses slowly and steadily into the bloodstream

If something such as knowledge or information is diffused or diffuses somewhere, it is made known over a wide area or to a lot of people. You will also see the usages of "diffuse knowledge or information". Here are example sentences:

• The Asian culture gradually diffused westward.
• Technologies diffuse rapidly.
• As agriculture developed, agricultural ideas diffused across Europe.
• Over time, the technology is diffused and adopted by other countries.

If something diffuses light, it makes the light shine less brightly by spreading it in many directions. For example:

• The photographer uses a screen to diffuse the light.
• The moon was fuller than the night before, but the light was diffused by cloud.

The word "diffuse" can be used an adjective to describe something that is spread out or to describe a speech or writing that is vague and unclear. For example:

• The forest was filled with a soft, diffuse light.
• A diffuse speech is scattered and unclear.
• His writing is so diffuse and obscure that it is difficult to make out what it is he is trying to say.

Definition: The action of spreading the light from a light source evenly to reduce glare and harsh shadows;The dissemination of elements of culture to another region or people;The dissemination of elements of culture to another region or people:

Example senences:

• Some parts are painted white to assist with light diffusion, but the essential texture and character of the material is still legible.
• According to world culture theorists, the diffusion took place in three phases.

As an intransitive verb,  the verb "disperse" means to disappear in all different directions. We use the verb "disperse" when we want to say something that can be seen like the crowd disappear in all different directions. For example:

• The crowd dispersed after the race.
• When the rain came down the crowds started to disperse.

As a transitive verb,  the verb "disperse" means to cause something that can be seen to disappear in all different directions.  For example:

• Plants disperse their seeds over a wide area to increase their chances of growth and survival.
• Once the seeds are released into the air, the wind quickly disperses them.
• Wild grasses are adapted to disperse their seeds by releasing them once they are ripe.

The noun "dispersion" is the act of dispersing. The verb "disperse" means to disappear in all different directions or to cause something to disappear in all different directions. 

Here are example sentences using dissipation:

• In the dispersion of seeds, birds play an indispensable role.
• A refraction is the dispersion of white light into its individual colors by a glass prism. 
• Dispersion of light through a prism produces a spectrum of colors.

The verb disseminate is a transitive verb. Disseminate means to spread information, knowledge, opinions widely. 

Example sentences using the word disseminate:

• The Internet allows us to disseminate information/news/ideas faster.
• It took years to disseminate information about Aids in Africa
• One of the organization's aims is to disseminate information about the disease.​

Disseminate vs propagate 

Disseminate and propagate both have the meaning of spreading information to the public. However,  "disseminate" implies scattering information widely as if sowing seed, whereas "propagate" implies making people in public accept an idea and be followers.

The noun "dissemination" is the act of disseminating. The verb disseminate is a transitive verb. Disseminate means to spread information, knowledge, opinions widely. 

Here are example sentences using dissemination:

• The dissemination of information is the most important aspect of a public relations person's job.
• The Internet allows faster dissemination of information.

Definition: A thing that is very ugly, especially a building

Example sentences:

• With many of the old eyesores now disappearing from sight more effort will be called for to really get the town looking its best for the spring, summer and autumn.

Definition: Inspiring fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful, intense, or capable:

Example sentences:

• He is a formidable opponent

Definition: A thing intended to simulate or copy something else

Example senences:

• These works are often replicas or imitations of ancient Greek and Roman art. Surely, there could be imitations and really good reproductions, but these cannot be considered original art

To implicate someone means to show or claim that they were involved in something wrong or criminal.

The phrase "in retrospect" means when thinking about the past or something that happened in the past​ Here are example sentences:

• In retrospect, I should have realized I was going to fail the class.
• In retrospect, I made the right decision.​

Something ingenious shows creativity and inventiveness. If someone compares you to Einstein, they're implying that you, too, are ingenious. It started off meaning someone who was talented or incredibly smart but has come to mean inventive, or clever. If you can solve 746,643 * 67,389 in your head, people might call you a math genius. But if you come up with a way to turn water into fuel, you will be praised as ingenious. 

Example sentences:

• Gautier's solution to the puzzle is ingenious.
• She was ingenious in finding ways to work more quickly.
• It was ingenious of him to arrange the schedule so precisely.

Ingenuity is the ability to think creatively about a situation or to solve problems in a clever way. If you want to build a boat out of toothpicks and yarn, you’ll need a lot of ingenuity.Ingenuity is all about imagination, and an imaginative mind knows that every obstacle can be overcome with a little ingenuity. 

Example sentences:

• She showed amazing ingenuity in finding ways to cut costs.
• It will take considerable/much/some ingenuity to fix these problems.
• Inspecting the nest may require some ingenuity.

To instigate is to provoke, or stir up, but if often used in a negative way. Many times when you instigate something, it may not end up how you planned. 

Example sentences using instigate:

• There has been an increase in the amount of violence instigated by gangs.
• She blamed him for instigating (meaning starting) the argument.​
• The government has instigated an investigation into the cause of the accident.

Tangible and intangible are antonyms. Tangible is something that you can touch or something that can be perceived by your senses. Normally, children are only encouraged by tangible rewards. 

If you say, “Wow! You did great” it won’t go very far with a seven-year-old. However, if you say “Wow! You did great!” and also give the child a sticker, they will likely be more excited because the sticker is tangible and something they can look at and feel.

On the contrary, intangible things can not be touch, felt, smelt or tasted. Feelings are intangible because even though you can’t feel them with your senses, you can feel them in your heart. For example, if you are sad, you aren’t able to pick up your sadness and throw it away. You also may feel a lot of joy from intangible things, such as a promotion. Even though your desk stays the same, your pride may be bursting at the seams.

Definition: The action or process of intervening

Example sentences:

• The intervention by central banks is to correct or prevent long-run misalignments of exchange rates.

The verb "proliferate" means to increase a lot and suddenly in number.​ When something proliferates, it's growing, spreading or multiplying really quickly. 

Example sentences using the word proliferate:

• Funny YouTube videos normally proliferate on the internet​
• The flowers proliferated rapidly all spring.
• Small businesses have proliferated in the last ten years.
• Starved of oxygen, malignant cells in many parts of the tumor proliferate and may even become more aggressive.

The noun "proliferation" is the act of proliferating. The verb "proliferate" means to increase a lot and suddenly in number. We sometimes use this word in a negative sense, as in things that we don’t want to overpopulate.

Example sentences using the word proliferation:

• The proliferation of mosquitoes would be a disaster.
• The proliferation of illegal drugs in this country has become a serious social problem.
• In recent months, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction has become the major concern of the international community.
• Scientists have produced a drug which is given to cows to aid in the proliferation of certain cells responsible for producing milk.
• The past two years have seen the proliferation of TV channels.​
•  There has been a recent proliferation of medical advertising on TV.
• The proliferation of private cars on the roads in many parts of the world has led to serious problems of pollution and may contribute to global warming.

Definition: Continuing for a long time or longer than usual; lengthy:

Example sentences:

• Drought is a prolonged, abnormally dry period when there is not enough water to meet normal or expected needs. There will be a prolonged recovery period because of the damage the lorry sustained and its precarious position

To propagate is to produce a new plant or to make a plant to produce a new plant. For example:

• If you are a great gardener, your plants will likely propagate.
• We are discovering new ways to propagate plants without seeds.
• He propagated the apple tree by grafting.
• The plants failed to propagate.
• Mathematics has proved useful in understanding how particular tree species propagate across a geographic region.

The verb propagate can also mean to make (thing, such as an idea, message, new, information, or belief) known to many people. For example:

• The group propagates its antigovernment doctrine on the Web.
• We must propagate the message.
• The Internet has given consumers the ability to rapidly propagate information to a large number of people.
• The newspaper propagates a fake story about the president.

In physics, to propagate means to transmit or be transmitted in a particular direction or through a medium. For example:

• Sound propagates through a medium such as a solid, liquid, or gas = Sound is propagated through a medium such as a solid, liquid, or gas

The noun "propagation" means the act of producing a new plant. For example:

• The propagation of healthy plants is very important.
• Today’s class is plant propagation

The noun "propagation" can also mean the spread of ideas. For example:

• The rapid propagation of information is now possible with the invention of the Internet.

The noun "propagation" can also mean the transmission of motion, light or sound in a medium. For example:

• The rate of propagation of sound depends on the compressibility, ocean oceai water at the tropical temperature of 77° F.

If you describe something as provocative, you mean that it is intended to make people react angrily or argue against it.​

Example sentences:

• A provocative book might get people talking about a controversial idea. 
• He has made a string of outspoken and sometimes provocative speeches in recent years.
• His behavior was called provocative and antisocial.

​​If you describe someone's clothing or behavior as provocative, you mean that it is intended to make someone feel sexual desire.  For example:​

• She was wearing a very provocative outfit.

Provoke is a verb that means to do something that causes a reaction. For example, you don’t want to provoke a lion, because it is likely the lion will attack. You will generally only hear and use the word “provoke” used in a negative sense. Used in a sentence, “My mom was angry because she knows I provoked my little brother to cause mayhem.”

Phrase

be easily provoked

• He is sensitive and easily provoked.

Collocations

provoke a reaction/response

• The report provoked a furious reaction from staff.

provoke debate/discussion/controversy/

• A new book criticising Hollywood has provoked fierce debate in the US.

provoke criticism

• The introduction of the tax provoked widespread criticism.

provoke protest(s)/an outcry

• Not surprisingly, the new rules have provoked protests from gun owners.
• The crackdown provoked an international outcry.

provoke anger/outrage

• His detention has provoked the anger of his supporters.

provoke opposition

• The government's proposals provoked widespread backbench opposition.

provoke hostility

• Aggressive behavior provokes hostility.

provoke violence

• It was a small incident but it provoked weeks of violence.

provoke interest

• Their campaign provoked great interest.

provoke laughter

• Sara's remark provoked faint laughter.

The adjective ‘riveting’ also has the same meaning of keeping you on the edge of your seat.

A rivet is a fastener that holds something fixed or two things together, so when you say something is riveting, it means it keeps you fixed or glued to your seat and grabs your attention. We can say a movie is riveting, a book is riveting, and so on.

Take a look at its use below:

• The story is riveting and keeps the viewer hooked.
• The movie/book/narrative was riveting.

The word "spur" can be used as a verb. To spur something on is to get it going or to encourage it. You will see the usage "spur economic growth" a lot. For example:

• Lower interest rates should spur economic growth.
• Cheap transportation networks, the rise of cities, and the availability of capital and credit all spurred the shift to factory production. 
• The fundamental concept in supply-side economics is that tax cuts will spur economic growth because these tax cuts will allow entrepreneurs to invest their tax savings, thereby creating more jobs and profits

The word "spur" is a noun. Spurs are small metal wheels with sharp points that are attached to the heels of a rider's boots. The rider uses them to make their horse go faster. We can say something that encourages a person or organization to do that thing is a "spur". For example:

• The reward was offered as a spur to greater work/achievement.

A stimulant is a drug that increases bodily activity, often increasing the heart rate.​

Example sentences using the word stimulant:

• Caffeine is a stimulant.
• The football player used the stimulant to increase his energy level.
• Athletes use stimulants to enhance their performance.
• Chicken is raised without the use of antibiotics, animal by-products, or growth stimulants.
• Stimulants can increase your heart rate and make you feel more energetic.
• Stimulants increase dopamine in the brain, which increases heart rate and feelings of alertness and energy.​

A stimulus causes an action or response, like the ringing of your alarm clock if you didn't sleep through it. Most times, you will use “stimulus” in the plural form- “stimuli.” For example “Light, heat and sound are common physical stimuli.

Example sentences using the word stimulus:

• The pay raise was a stimulus for production.
• The dog responded to the stimulus of the ringing bell.
• Heat and light are physical stimuli.​
• The brain was no longer responding to the stimuli of shocks, commands, smells, noises, pressures, pains.

If something is thought-provoking it is stimulating interest or thought. A thought-provoking book makes you think about what it is about long after you have finished reading it. 

Example sentences:

• This book is readable, informative and thought-provoking.
• The film had a thought-provoking message.
• This is an entertaining yet thought-provoking film.

Titillating is an adjective that describes something that is pleasantly and superficially exciting. Titillating is typically used in a sexual reference, so be careful how you use it.

Let’s take a look the way it is used:

• titillating gossip
• an intentionally titillating movie
• Even though she knew this was all an act, it was nevertheless titillating.
• Honestly, their concealed phone calls and secret texts had been more titillating than the actual acts.

Titillating comes from the word titillate which is very similar in meaning to titillating. Titillate means to interest or excite (someone) in an enjoyable and often sexual way.

Definition: Emotionally disturbing or distressing;Relating to or causing psychological trauma.

Example sentences:

• Psychological reactions to traumatic events also affect sexual functioning

When you use "trigger" as a verb, you are putting something into motion or moving to act. For example, when a movie has a sad scene, the producers are likely wanting to trigger an emotion from the audience.

Example sentences using trigger in the noun form:

• He pulled/squeezed the trigger.
• Police officers are trained to not be too quick on the trigger. (meaning eager to fire a gun)
• These are known as your anger triggers.
• Stress is among the major smoking triggers.
• The sleeping position also triggers snoring.
• The faulty wire was the trigger for the explosion.
•  

Example sentences using the word trigger in the verb form:

• Smoke triggered the fire alarm.
• The timer was set to trigger the bomb in exactly one hour.
• His remarks triggered a public outcry.
• Certain foods trigger his headaches.
• The power outage was triggered by heavy rains.

Definition: Never done or known before

Example senences:

• The government took the unprecedented step of releasing confidential correspondence