IELTS - Academic Word List Test: Group 7Compiled by Max Sean, Instructor, IELTS/TOEFL

adapt, verbmake fit for, or change to suit a new purposeAdapt our native cuisine to the available food resources of the new countryadapt or conform oneself to new or different conditions

adult, nouna fully developed person from maturity onwardany mature animal

adult, adj(of animals) fully developedan adult animaldesigned to arouse lust

advocate, verbpush for somethingspeak, plead, or argue in favor of

advocate, nouna person who pleads for a cause or propounds an ideaa lawyer who pleads cases in court

aid, verbgive help or assistance; be of serviceimprove the condition of

aid, nouna resourcevisual aids in teachingthe activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purposehe gave me an assist with the houseworkmoney to support a worthy person or causethe work of providing treatment for or attending to someone or something

channel, verbtransmit or serve as the medium for transmission

direct the flow ofchannel information towards a broad audiencesend from one person or place to another

channel, nouna path over which electrical signals can passa channel is typically what you rent from a telephone companya passage for water (or other fluids) to flow throughthe fields were crossed with irrigation channelsa long narrow furrow cut either by a natural process (such as erosion) or by a tool (as e.g. a groove in a phonograph record)a deep and relatively narrow body of water (as in a river or a harbor or a strait linking two larger bodies) that allows the best passage for vesselsthe ship went aground in the channel(often plural) a means of communication or accessit must go through official channels

chemical, nounmaterial produced by or used in a reaction involving changes in atoms or molecules

chemical, adjrelating to or used in chemistrychemical engineerof or made from or using substances produced by or used in reactions involving atomic or molecular changeschemical fertilizer

classic, nouna creation of the highest excellencean artist who has created classic works

classic, adjof recognized authority or excellenceof or relating to the most highly developed stage of an earlier civilisation and its cultureof or pertaining to or characteristic of the ancient Greek and Roman cultures

comprehensive, nounan intensive examination testing a student's proficiency in some

special field of knowledge

comprehensive, adjincluding all or everythingcomprehensive coveragebroad in scopea comprehensive survey of world affairs

comprise, verbbe composed ofinclude or contain; have as a componentform or compose

confirm, verbestablish or strengthen as with new evidence or factshis story confirmed my doubtsstrengthen or make more firmThe witnesses confirmed the victim's accountmake more firmConfirm thy soul in self-control!support a person for a positionThe Senate confirmed the President's candidate for Secretary of Defenseadminister the rite of confirmation tothe children were confirmed in their mother's faith

contrary, nouna relation of direct oppositionexact oppositionpublic opinion to the contrary he is not guiltya logical relation such that two propositions are contraries if both cannot be true but both can be false

contrary, adjvery opposed in nature or character or purposeacts contrary to our code of ethicsof words or propositions so related that both cannot be true but both may be false`hot' and `cold' are contrary termsresistant to guidance or disciplineMary Mary quite contraryin an opposing direction

convert, verbchange from one system to another or to a new plan or policyWe converted from 220 to 110 Voltchange the nature, purpose, or function of somethingconvert lead into goldchange religious beliefs, or adopt a religious beliefShe converted to Buddhismexchange or replace with another, usually of the same kind or categorycause to adopt a new or different faithThe missionaries converted the Indian population

convert, nouna person who has been converted to another religious or political belief

couple, verbbring two objects, ideas, or people togetherlink togethercan we couple these proposals?form a pair or pairsengage in sexual intercourse

couple, nouna pair who associate with one anotherthe engaged couplea pair of people who live togethera married couple from Chicagoa small indefinite numberhe's coming for a couple of daystwo items of the same kind(physics) something joined by two equal and opposite forces that act along parallel lines

decade, nouna period of 10 yearsthe cardinal number that is the sum of nine and one; the base of the decimal system

definite, adjprecise; explicit and clearly defined

I want a definite answerknown for certainit is definite that they have won

deny, verbdeclare untrue; contradictHe denied the allegationsrefuse to accept or believeHe denied his fatal illnessrefuse to grant, as of a petition or requestThe dean denied the students' request for more physics coursesrefuse to let haveShe denies me every pleasuredeny oneself (something); restrain, especially from indulging in some pleasureShe denied herself wine and spirits

differentiate, verbmark as differentbe a distinctive feature, attribute, or trait; sometimes in a very positive sensecalculate a derivative; take the derivativebecome different during developmentcells differentiateevolve so as to lead to a new species or develop in a way most suited to the environment

dispose, verbgive, sell, or transfer to anotherShe disposed of her parents' possessionsthrow or cast awaymake receptive or willing towards an action or attitude or beliefTheir language inclines us to believe themplace or put in a particular orderthe dots are unevenly disposedmake fit or prepared

dynamic, nounan efficient incentive

dynamic, adjcharacterized by action or forcefulness or force of personality

a dynamic marketof or relating to dynamics(used of verbs (e.g. `to run') and participial adjectives (e.g. `running' in `running water')) expressing action rather than a state of being

eliminate, verbterminate, end, or take outdo away withkill in large numbersthe plague wiped out an entire populationdismiss from consideration or a contesteliminate from the body

empirical, adjderived from experiment and observation rather than theoryan empirical basis for an ethical theoryrelying on medical quackery

equip, verbprovide with (something) usually for a specific purposeThe expedition was equipped with proper clothing, food, and other necessitiesprovide with abilities or understandingShe was never equipped to be a dancer

extract, verbremove, usually with some force or effort; also used in an abstract sensepull weedsget despite difficulties or obstaclesI extracted a promise from the Dean for two new positionsdeduce (a principle) or construe (a meaning)extract by the process of distillationseparate (a metal) from an ore

extract, nouna solution obtained by steeping or soaking a substance (usually in water)a passage selected from a larger work

file, verb

record in a public office or in a court of lawfile for divorcesmooth with a filefile one's fingernailsproceed in lineThe students filed into the classroomfile a formal charge againstplace in a container for keeping recordsFile these bills, please

file, nouna set of related records (either written or electronic) kept togethera line of persons or things ranged one behind the otheroffice furniture consisting of a container for keeping papers in ordera steel hand tool with small sharp teeth on some or all of its surfaces; used for smoothing wood or metal

finite, adjbounded or limited in magnitude or spatial or temporal extentof verbs; relating to forms of the verb that are limited in time by a tense and (usually) show agreement with number and person

foundation, nounthe basis on which something is groundedthere is little foundation for his objectionsan institution supported by an endowmentlowest support of a structureit was built on a base of solid rockeducation or instruction in the fundamentals of a field of knowledgehe lacks the foundation necessary for advanced studythe fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained

globe, nounthe 3rd planet from the sun; the planet we live onan object with a spherical shapea sphere on which a map (especially of the earth) is represented

grade, verb

assign a rank or rating tolevel to the right gradientassign a grade or rank to, according to one's evaluationgrade testsdetermine the grade of or assign a grade to

grade, nouna body of students who are taught togethera relative position or degree of value in a graded grouplumber of the highest gradethe gradient of a slope or road or other surfacethe road had a steep gradeone-hundredth of a right anglea degree of ablaut

guarantee, verbgive surety or assume responsibilityI vouch for the quality of my productsmake certain ofThis nest egg will ensure a nice retirement for uspromise to do or accomplishstand behind and guarantee the quality, accuracy, or condition ofThe dealer warrants all the cars he sells

guarantee, nouna written assurance that some product or service will be provided or will meet certain specificationsan unconditional commitment that something will happen or that something is truethere is no guarantee that they are not lyinga collateral agreement to answer for the debt of another in case that person defaults

hierarchy, nouna series of ordered groupings of people or things within a systemput honesty first in her hierarchy of valuesthe organization of people at different ranks in an administrative body

identical, adjexactly alike; incapable of being perceived as differentrows of identical houses

being the exact same one; not any other:this is the identical room we stayed in before(of twins) derived from a single egg or ovumidentical twins are monovularhaving properties with uniform values along all axescoinciding exactly when superimposedidentical triangles

ideology, nounan orientation that characterizes the thinking of a group or nationimaginary or visionary theorization

infer, verbreason by deduction; establish by deductiondraw from specific cases for more general casesconclude by reasoning; in logicguess correctly; solve by guessingbelieve to be the case

innovate, verbbring something new to an environment

insert, verbput or introduce into somethinginsert a picture into the textintroduceInsert your ticket herefit snugly intoinsert casually

insert, nouna folded section placed between the leaves of another publicationan artifact that is inserted or is to be inserted(broadcasting) a local announcement inserted into a network program(film) a still picture that is introduced and that interrupts the action of a film

intervene, verbget involved, so as to alter or hinder an action, or through force or threat of forceWhy did the U.S. not intervene earlier in WW II?

be placed or located between other things or extend between spaces and eventsThis interludes intervenes between the two movementsoccur between other event or between certain points of timethe war intervened between the birth of her two children

isolate, verbplace or set apartThey isolated the political prisoners from the other inmatesobtain in pure formThe chemist managed to isolate the compound

mode, nounhow something is done or how it happensa particular functioning condition or arrangementswitched from keyboard to voice modea classification of propositions on the basis of whether they claim necessity or possibility or impossibilityverb inflections that express how the action or state is conceived by the speakerany of various fixed orders of the various diatonic notes within an octave

paradigm, nounsystematic arrangement of all the inflected forms of a worda standard or typical examplethe class of all items that can be substituted into the same position (or slot) in a grammatical sentence (are in paradigmatic relation with one another)the generally accepted perspective of a particular discipline at a given timehe framed the problem within the psychoanalytic paradigm

phenomenon, nounany state or process known through the senses rather than by intuition or reasoninga remarkable development

priority, nounstatus established in order of importance or urgencypreceding in time

prohibit, verbcommand against

publication, nouna copy of a printed work offered for distributionthe act of issuing printed materialsthe communication of something to the public; making information generally knownthe business of issuing printed matter for sale or distribution

quote, verbrepeat a passage fromHe quoted the Bible to hername the price ofquote prices for carsrefer to for illustration or proofHe said he could quote several instances of this behaviorput quote marks aroundHere the author is quoting his colleague

quote, nouna punctuation mark used to attribute the enclosed text to someone elsea passage or expression that is quoted or cited

release, verbrelease, as from one's gripgrant freedom to; free from confinementlet (something) fall or spill from a containerprepare and issue for public distribution or saleeliminate (a substance)

release, nounmerchandise issued for sale or public showing (especially a record or film)a new release from the London Symphony Orchestrathe act of liberating someone or somethinga process that liberates or discharges somethingthere was a sudden release of oxygenan announcement distributed to members of the press in order to supplement or replace an oral presentationthe termination of someone's employment (leaving them free to

depart)

reverse, nouna relation of direct oppositionwe thought Sue was older than Bill but just the reverse was truethe gears by which the motion of a machine can be reversedan unfortunate happening that hinders or impedes; something that is thwarting or frustratingthe side of a coin or medal that does not bear the principal design(American football) a running play in which a back running in one direction hands the ball to a back running in the opposite direction

reverse, verbchange to the contraryturn inside out or upside downrule againstcancel officiallyreverse the position, order, relation, or condition of

reverse, adjdirected or moving toward the rearof the transmission gear causing backward movement in a motor vehiclein reverse gearreversed (turned backward) in order or nature or effect

simulate, verbreproduce someone's behavior or lookscreate a representation or model ofmake a pretence ofShe assumed indifference, even though she was seething with anger

sole, nounthe underside of footwear or a golf clublean flesh of any of several flatfishthe underside of the footright-eyed flatfish; many are valued as food; most common in warm seas especially European

sole, verb

put a new sole onsole the shoes

sole, adjnot divided or shared with othersbeing the only one; single and isolated from others

somewhat, advto a small degree or extentto a moderately sufficient extent or degree

submit, verbrefer for judgment or considerationThe lawyers submitted the material to the courtput beforeI submit to you that the accused is guiltyyield to the control of anotherhand over formallyrefer to another person for decision or judgment

successor, nouna person who follows next in orderhe was President Lincoln's successora thing or person that immediately replaces something or someonea person who inherits some title or office

survive, verbcontinue to live through hardship or adversityWe went without water and food for 3 dayscontinue in existence after (an adversity, etc.)He survived the cancer against all oddssupport oneselflive longer than

thesis, nounan unproved statement put forward as a premise in an argumenta treatise advancing a new point of view resulting from research; usually a requirement for an advanced academic degree

topic, nounthe subject matter of a conversation or discussion

some situation or event that is thought abouthe kept drifting off the topic

transmit, verbtransfer to anothertransmit or serve as the medium for transmissionbroadcast over the airwaves, as in radio or televisionsend from one person or place to anothertransmit a message

ultimate, nounthe finest or most superior quality of its kindthe ultimate in luxury

ultimate, adjfurthest or highest in degree or order; utmost or extremethe ultimate achievementbeing the last or concluding element of a seriesthe ultimate sonata of that opus

unique, adjin single file(followed by `to') applying exclusively to a given category or condition or localitythe single one of its kindhighly unusual or rare but not the single instancespoke with a unique accent

visible, adjcapable of being seen; or open to easy viewa visible objectobvious to the eyea visible change of expressionpresent and easily available

voluntary, noun(military) a person who freely enlists for servicecomposition (often improvised) for a solo instrument (especially solo organ) and not a regular part of a religious service or musical performance

voluntary, adj

of your own free will or design; done by choice; not forced or compelledman is a voluntary agentcontrolled by individual volitionvoluntary motions