4000 IELTS Academic Words

IELTS academic test is widely accepted in English countries. Its score is one of the keys to university or college admission. This 4000 IELTS vocabulary is to help you own a strong words list in the IELTS academic test.

In all English tests, vocabulary level is an essential factor in evaluating language ability; IELTS has no exception. All test sections rely on strong vocabulary to succeed. However, IELTS academic word list isn't a fixed or constant word set. If you search on the Internet, you can see many vocabularies called IELTS academic vocabularies.

So the first step is to choose an IELTS vocabulary for your circumstance: Does this 4000 IELTS Vocabulary Words meet your case? We divide the words into 3 levels; each level consists of 4 groups. If you are interested in the words of all groups (1-12), watch them here.



If you think it matches your case, you can start to work on it. It's long but deserves to spend time. Besides, we remind you this list is based on IELTS general vocabulary. As academic test-takers, IELTS general vocabulary is the foundation, which you shouldn't ignore.

Last but not least, you should know that building vocabulary takes lots of time, and its result plays a crucial factor in the final score. We hope this word list can assist you in building IELTS academic vocabulary. If you cannot set your goal or doubt your plan, go to the IELTS Official Website, which will help you make a right decision.

If you doubt whether this 4000 IELTS Academic Vocabulary is the right option, this section gives you some alternative methods and vocabularies.

Study a word list isn't a unique way to enrich IELTS vocabulary, and this 4000 vocabulary isn't the only list either. If you have half or one year to prepare, there are some other options to accumulate IELTS vocabulary. 20 Ways to Build IELTS Vocabulary introduces some proven ways.

You may learn new words in TV, news, ads, and daily readings that IELTS exam materials likely come from. Every word has own frequency in specified circumstance. IELTS test has own convention to select materials too, for example, many recent academic reading objects are originated from Economist or BBC.

However, if your time frame is very tight, or this 4000 vocabulary is relatively tough, you have to get a more flexible and practical substitute to work. Pick up a dictionary by random to prepare IELTS test isn't a good idea. Your effort and reward both depend on your current level.

For those who want to sharpen IELTS writing vocabulary, this 4000 words list seems large. Instead, IELTS Writing Task Vocabulary collects a short but hard writing vocabulary.

If speaking test is your shortage, enhance speaking vocabulary from 100 IELTS Speaking Words will strengthen your confidence to face examiners.

Students with separate levels or situations may choose differently. Some like a shortlist because time matters; others prefer to learn difficult and large vocabulary in order to pursue a high score. We do know this 4000 IELTS vocabulary cannot cover all test takers' cases, for those who are looking for lighter or smaller lists, 10 Popular IELTS Vocabularies may give some clues.

Two of them possibly you are interested.

If your schedule is very tight, or you just need a passed score, suggest to view 500 IELTS Vocabulary, a short but proven academic vocabulary for students who are in English countries.

The 6000 IELTS Vocabulary Words actually consists of 2000+ words that are not in the 4000 IELTS Academic Words, low frequency but useful, an excellent supplement after your finishing the first 4000 words.

Some students like using PDF lists to learn and review words. We do offer a handy feature to make a PDF word list of each group. Below are demos of Level 1's first group, including 9 non-English explanations.If you have a VIP account, you can print all groups' word list from the website; the details are in:

Cards are useful tools for some students to study new words. We offer two buttons to make one-side and two-side flashcards for each group. Below are one-side cards for Level 1's first group, including 9 non-English explanations.If you have a VIP account, you can print all groups' cards, either one-side or two-side, from the website; the details are in:

May I DIY PDF file of the 4000 IELTS words? Yes, you can run Print Vocabulary in PDF directly. This app can load all vocabularies of this website, please select '4000 IELTS Academic Words', filter and edit words, and create PDF by browsers. It's a free and handy tool to make your IELTS vocabulary PDF file.

If you need more flexible solutions, please go to Download IELTS Vocabulary PDF. In addition to print the whole group, it tells you how to leverage other free Internet PDF tools to produce a PDF file based on this IELTS vocabulary in a few minutes.

To speed up your studying, you can manage words by marking them as New, Known, and Review status. There are two ways: Note page or Panel page to manage words' statuses. You can also save statuses to the cloud and sync back if your device has trouble or want to switch to other devices.

Word status works for all vocabularies on the website, including 4000 IELTS Academic Words. It is a handy flag to skip known words and focus on new and half-familiar words.

By Note

By Panel

casual  
a. informal; purposeless; occurring by chance
The wildlife officer, in casual conversation, asks Hunter Joe where that deer came from.
Show examples and contexts  

catching  
a. act of seizing or taking hold of; captivating; alluring
That is the appeal in catching them; I think it is amazing to pull something massive out of muddy water that few people actually see.
Show examples and contexts  

cellar  
n. room or rooms under a building, and usually below the surface of the ground
The New Zealand wineries are similar to the American wineries and welcome visitors to what they call the cellar door.
Show examples and contexts  

cereal  
n. grass such as wheat, oats, or corn, the starchy grains of which are used as a food
I have a bowl of cereal every morning.
Show examples and contexts  

certificate  
n. the document attesting to the truth of certain stated facts; document issued to a person completing a course
A diploma or certificate is given on graduation from university.
Show examples and contexts  

chamber  
n. cell; compartment; room
Before being taken to the execution chamber, he acknowledged that he deserved punishment, but he said it was unfair that only he paid the ultimate price.
Show examples and contexts