If you see an unfamiliar word in the IELTS Reading test, don’t worry – it’s perfectly normal, just like when you read in daily life at work, university, or for leisure.
Just because there is a word that you don’t know, it doesn’t mean that it can stop you from understanding the passage and answering a question.
While dictionaries are not allowed in the IELTS test, there are some strategies to help you work out the meaning of less familiar vocabulary.
Identify the tone of the passage
One thing that may help you understand the word is the tone of the sentence or paragraph, like if it has a positive or a negative meaning. For example, the word ‘exacerbate’ is not commonly used. If you have never heard of it before, look at the following sentence and see if you think it has a positive or a negative meaning.
The air quality in the city is one of the worst in the whole country, which has been especially exacerbated by the increased use of coal in the past three years.
From this sentence, you can see that there is a negative meaning by looking at the words around it (one of the worst / increased use of coal). So, you can deduce that the use of coal has not improved the situation, but has actually made it worse.
Look for synonyms or paraphrases nearby
Sometimes the clues for an unfamiliar word can appear in another sentence or even in another paragraph in an IELTS Reading passage. Try to find some words that you think may have a similar meaning (synonyms) where the writer has tried to avoid repetition.
Look at the following paragraph and see if you can work out the meaning of ‘novelty’.
Back in the 1980s, owning your own mobile phone was a rare occurrence, especially considering the hefty price tag of the device and the exorbitant amount people paid for phone calls. This is why they were mainly used by business executives and were more of a novelty for the bulk of society, hardly being seen in everyday life. Fast forwarding to the 2020s, we can see that this newness and originality has been lost, with almost every individual owning one, including very young children.
In the sentence after the word ‘novelty’ is used, there is the phrase ‘newness and originality’ which refers back as a way of avoiding repetition.
When looking at the whole paragraph, you can see that mobile phones were quite special, but now they are very common (i.e. they were a novelty, but now they are typical).
Rocco Nigro and Andy Watts discuss how to handle unfamiliar vocabulary in the IELTS Reading test in this one-minute extract from the IELTS Prepare by IDP video podcast series.
Look for explanations or examples
There may even be cases where the writer explains the unfamiliar word, or even provides examples which can help you work out the meaning.
Have you ever heard of the word ‘repertoire’ before? Have a look at the sample paragraph and the explanation the writer provides.
A major difference can be observed in internationally experienced professional table tennis players compared to ones who are restricted to domestic competitions, especially when it comes to their huge repertoire of shot selections, or if you like, their wide range of slices, top spins, side spins, blocks, backhands, forehands, etc. they have to choose from.
A ‘repertoire’ means a wide range of skills that a person regularly uses. In this case, the writer uses the phrase ‘or if you like’ to in introduction the explanation that they are a ‘wide range’ and includes the specific types (e.g. slices, top spins, etc.).
Check for antonyms or contrast words
If you see words you are unsure of, another approach is to check for words with the opposite meaning (antonyms), especially if you can see any contrasting words (e.g. however, but, on the other hand, although, etc.) that are related to it.
If you have a good understanding of the antonym, you can use it to guess what the unfamiliar word is.
Let’s look at the following sentences and imagine that you are unsure of the word ‘enhanced’ but you understand the word ‘worsened’.
Student attention steadily worsened throughout the review period. However, once translation was avoided, teachers felt that student engagement was enhanced.
In this case, the contrasting word (However, ...) indicates that the student engagement (or attention) did not worsen, suggesting that it improved.
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Identify word class
You can also use a word’s part of speech to help you guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word.
Adverbs
Quite often, these are easy to spot, such as:
-ly to indicate an adverb
The professors checked on student progress periodically, enabling the learners to depend on each other more.
You may be able to work out here that ‘periodically’ can relate to how often the professors checked on the learners.
Adjectives
The suffixes or word endings -able / -ible / -al / -ful / -ic / -ish / -ive / -ous / etc. indicate an adjective.
Many in the medical profession believe that strenuous exercise should be avoided and that low-impact activities are less demanding on the human body.
You can see here that the word ‘strenuous’ is an adjective and describes how much energy is given to exercise.
Nouns
Nouns can also be easily identified, especially with suffixes such as –ment / - ness / -tion / - age / -ity / -ence / etc.
Many of the attendees at the funeral offered their sincere condolences to the family after the service was completed.
You can see here that the noun ‘condolences’ is in plural form, which indicates it is countable. You can also deduce that this is something that people offer someone who is sad from the loss of a loved one.
Verbs
Verbs can be identified by their suffixes too, such as words ending with –ate / -ify / -ise / -ed /-en / etc.
It was pleasing to see that the victorious team commiserated with the heartbroken opposition players when they shook hands with them after the match.
You can see that the suffix of –ated indicates this is an action that is a good gesture someone does towards a person who is saddened.
Pay attention to prefixes
Remember too, that you can use prefixes to work out the meaning of a word.
A prefix is a group of letters added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning.
Here are a few examples:
anti-
This often means against or opposite.
E.g. The students moved around the classroom in an anticlockwise direction.
con- / com-
This can mean something has been joined or done together.
E.g. There is often flooding at the confluence of the Murray and Darling Rivers.
inter-
This means between or among things.
E.g. Many businesses avoid using intermediaries when it comes to purchasing goods in new markets.
Tip: Learn common prefixes and their meaning.
Here are a few more:
Prefix | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
un- | not, remove, reverse | unhappy, unlock, unable, unpack |
re- | again, back | rewrite, renew, reconsider, redo |
in- ir- im- il- | not | inappropriate, irrelevant, impossible, illogical |
dis- | reverse or remove | disagree, disconnect, disqualify, dishonest |
pre- | before | preview, preschool, precaution, pre-pandemic |
post- | after | postgraduate, post-war, postmodern, postnatal |
under- | too little, below | undergraduate, underground, underpaid, underwear |
over- | too much, above | overcook, overcoat, overcharge, overestimate |
IELTS Reading vocabulary list
How many words in this article were new for you?
If you’d like to practise using them, here’s a quick recap:
Word | Part of speech | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
exacerbate | verb | to make something that is already bad even worse. |
novelty | noun | the quality of being new and unusual. |
repertoire | noun | all the things that someone can do or all the methods that someone can use. |
enhanced | adjective | improved, better than before. |
periodically | adverb | refers to actions or events that occur repeatedly but not constantly. |
strenuous | adjective | using a lot of physical or mental energy. |
condolence(s) | noun (commonly used in the plural form) | expressing sympathy or sadness for the family or friends of a person who has recently died. |
commiserate | verb | to express sympathy to someone about their bad luck. |
anticlockwise | adjective and adverb | moving in the opposite direction to the clock’s hands. |
confluence | noun | the point where two rivers flow together and become one bigger river. |
intermediary | noun | someone who delivers messages between two people or groups who are unable or unwilling to meet. |
The next time you do reading practice and come across some unfamiliar IELTS vocabulary, try out some of the strategies in this article to help you. Be persistent and use them more than once so they become more familiar.
Don’t forget you can find a lot of IELTS Reading tips in our IELTS Prepare Hub.
We’re here to help you build the skills you need to succeed both in the IELTS test and the next stage of your life.
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