Difficult IELTS Words
IELTS reading is a challenge for many test-takers, especially those who are expecting to get a high score on the academic test. The secret of a good reading mark is you must have a huge and difficult vocabulary. If you are building vocabulary, study these 1000+ hard IELTS words will enrich your reading skills and increase the chance to shoot an excellent score on the reading test.
This app has more than 1000 hard IELTS words selected to improve reading ability. These words are unusually used in daily life but common in topics of IELTS academic readings. We call them difficult IELTS words, which are very valuable for students who are enlarging their reading vocabulary.
This app isn't simply an IELTS vocabulary; it is also a powerful online app integrated with cutting edge information technology and modern English education theory. Learn more with less time; it helps students study and review scientifically and efficiently.
As we mentioned, the app's core is a difficult IELTS word list and is for high score hunter of the academic test. Students who only need a basic mark, such as 5, wouldn't waste time on it. In case you cannot understand half of the explanations, examples, and sentences, it means it is too early for you to study them. You should choose a middle-level vocabulary to work with.
We encourage students to learn more and challenge this hard IELTS vocabulary, but we don't want to waste the time of anyone who is not ready for such a difficult level. So we advise you to try these words only if you are ready and with full confidence.
The app is developed as a handy and convenient tool. IELTS academic test takers should understand and run it without training. In Q and A section, we have a brief introduction to show core features.
This app is based on modern web technology, and some features require saving your data on the cloud. If you want to run all functionalities of Difficult IELTS Words, you have to sign on at first. If you don't have an account yet, create one with your email address. You will receive the access code in minutes.
Sample Words
Below 50 words and their meanings are from Group 5.
| format | v. pattern; design; set into a specific pattern |
| formulate | v. decide upon and express in words |
| forte | n. particular skill; special talent |
| fortify | v. make strong or stronger; prepare oneself for a military confrontation |
| fortnight | n. a period of fourteen consecutive days |
| fossil | n. remnant or trace of an organism of a past geologic age embedded and preserved in the earth crust. |
| frail | a. physically weak; easily broken |
| framework | n. fundamental structure, as for a written work; skeleton |
| fraught | a. furnished or equipped; sufficient to satisfy |
| frontier | n. part of a country which fronts or faces another country or an unsettled region; border, confine, or extreme part of a country |
| frugal | a. sparing; economical; costing little; inexpensive |
| fruition | n. bearing of fruit; fulfillment; realization |
| frustrate | v. make null; bring to nothing; prevent from taking effect or attaining fulfillment |
| fulfil | v. fill full; fill to the utmost capacity, as a vessel, a room; make full or complete |
| fume | n. a cloud of fine particles suspended in a gas; emit a cloud of fine particles |
| funnel | n. passage or avenue for a fluid or flowing substance; specifically, a smoke flue or pipe; iron chimney of a steamship or the like |
| furnish | v. provide; supply; equip with what is needed, especially to provide furniture for |
| futile | a. having no result or success |
| gaily | ad. merrily; showily; in a joyful, cheerful, or happy manner |
| gaol | n. place of confinement, especially for minor offenses or provisional imprisonment |
| gape | v. open the mouth wide; yawn from sleepiness, weariness, or dullness |
| gaudy | a. very showy or ornamented, especially when excessive, or in a tasteless or vulgar manner |
| gaunt | a. very thin, especially from disease or hunger or cold; barren |
| gear up | v. prepare for an activity |
| generalize | v. reach conclusion; become systemic and spread throughout the body |
| generous | a. more than adequate;liberal in giving or sharing |
| genial | a. friendly; cordial; having a pleasant or friendly disposition or manner |
| geology | n. science which treats the structure and mineral constitution of the globe |
| get around | v. move to the other side of an obstruction; avoid or bypass an obstacle; transport oneself from place to place |
| ghastly | a. horrible; inspiring shock; extremely unpleasant or bad |
| glacier | n. large body of ice which flows under its own mass, usually downhill |
| gland | n. any of various organs that synthesize substances needed by the body and release it through ducts or directly into the bloodstream |
| gleam | v. cause to emit a flash of light |
| glide | v. slide; move in a smooth, effortless manner |
| glimmer | n. dim or intermittent flicker or flash of light; faint glow; shimmer |
| glimpse | n. a short, hurried view |
| glossary | n. brief explanation of words, often placed at back of book |
| goad | v. urge with a long pointed stick; give heart or courage to |
| gradual | a. proceeding by steps or degrees; advancing, step by step, as in ascent or descent or from one state to another; regularly progressive |
| granary | n. building for storing threshed grain; region yielding much grain |
| granular | a. consisting of or resembling grains; having grainy texture |
| graph | n. chart; a drawing illustrating the relations |
| grate | v. make a harsh noise; have an unpleasant effect; shred |
| gratuity | n. something given freely or without recompense; free gift; a present |
| gravel | n. small stones, or fragments of stone; very small pebbles, often intermixed with particles of sand |
| graze | v. scrape gently; feed on growing grasses and herbage |
| gripe | v. grasp; seize |
| grit | n. sand or gravel; rough, hard particles; coarse part of meal; grain, as oats or wheat |
| groan | v. give forth a low, moaning sound in breathing |
| grope | v. search blindly or uncertainly; reach about uncertainly; feel one's way |
Q & A
How many words have been selected in Difficult IELTS Words? And what criteria are followed to select words for this web app?
This web app includes 1000+ difficult words. Because we usually adjust the word bank per 6 months so that the vocabulary size may change slightly. This web app is designed for students working hard to get high scores on IELTS tests. The words are usually less frequent daily but occasionally appear in the IELTS exam, especially in the reading section. If you are ready for basic vocabulary, this is an excellent option to enrich your hard IELTS words.
What are the special features of Difficult IELTS Words?
This web app isn't only a word list. It lets students manage each word with one of three statuses: New, Known, and Review. So you can skip known words, review half-known words, and focus on new words. This mechanism ensures you never waste time on known words, keep a fast pace, and have high productivity in your IELTS test preparation.
How can I save word status for future use?
The statues are always kept on your local device when running Difficult IELTS Words app. Before saving to the server, you should sign on. You can manage this through the Note or Panel page. The 'Save' button will send the current statuses to the cloud, and you can access them anytime and anywhere online. If you don't have an account with examword.com yet, please register one. An examword.com account is suitable for all web apps on this site.
When do I use the Save button?
After you change any word status when running Difficult IELTS Words app, you will see a new status immediately. However, these changes aren't saved in the cloud automatically. To sync the new word status, you have to save them. Save only impacts words on the current page.
When do I use the Refresh button?
The refresh button will retrieve statuses that are kept in the cloud for the Difficult IELTS Words app. If you doubt the current page isn't consistent with the values you saved before, or you want to restore the previous statuses on a new device, the 'Refresh' button can help you. Refresh only impacts words on the current page.
Why are the statuses not as same as my previous practice?
If you doubt any error of your IELTS data on the local device, please use the 'Refresh' button to update statuses on demands.
Do I have to be a VIP to access all groups of the Difficult IELTS Words?
No. Except for group 1 and group 2, to run full features of other groups, you need a VIP account; however, even if you aren't VIP, you still can access all groups, just a few features (like print IELTS PDF and Cards) are limited.
Can I load word statuses from the previous version?
Yes. You can load the previous statuses to this version. Your current IELTS data will be overwritten with previous ones.
Load from previous version
Back to Old IELTS Version