Barron's IELTS Essential words Flashcards
an object or piece of information that helps someone to solve a problem or answer a question
*clue1 /kluː/ ●●● S2 noun [countable]
-a desperate search for clues
-Police have found a vital clue.
what are the different kinds of collocations with the word “clue”?
*Provide a clue
-Any information could provide the police with useful clues.
*Hold a clue, yield a clue, provide one
-The poem itself holds a clue about who it was written for.
*Leave a clue
-The bombers may have left behind vital clues.
*Search for clue
-Detectives are still searching the house for clues.
*Look for/ hunt for clues
-Investigators descended on the crime scene hunting for clues.
*Find a clue
-No one had found any clues as to where the missing girl could be.
suggested or understood without being stated directly
what is the opposite word?
*im‧pli‧cit /ɪmˈplɪsɪt/ ●○○ AWL adjective
*implicit criticism/threat/assumption
-Her words contained an implicit threat.
-His statement is being seen as implicit criticism of the work of research laboratories.
the opposite is explicit
(formal)forming a central part of something, but without being openly stated
*im‧pli‧cit /ɪmˈplɪsɪt/ ●○○ AWL adjective
*implicit in
-Confidentiality is implicit in your relationship with a counselor.
complete and containing no doubts
what is the adverb?
*im‧pli‧cit /ɪmˈplɪsɪt/ ●○○ AWL adjective
*implicit faith/trust/belief
-They had implicit faith in his powers.
*implicitly adverb
They believed implicitly in their own superiority
expressed in a way that is very clear and direct
what is the opposite?
*ex‧pli‧cit /ɪkˈsplɪsɪt/ ●○○ AWL adjective
The contrast could not have been made more explicit.
*explicit knowledge of grammar
-The kidnappers gave us explicit instructions not to involve the police.
-Be explicit when you talk about money with your family.
*explicit about
-He made the rules without being explicit about them.
language or pictures that describe or show sex or violence very clearly
*ex‧pli‧cit /ɪkˈsplɪsɪt/ ●○○ AWL adjective
-The film contains some very explicit love scenes.
sexually explicit language
(formal) to move from a higher level to a lower one
what is the opposite?
what is the common word instead of this word these days?
*de‧scend /dɪˈsend/ ●●○ verb
opposite: ascend
-Our plane started to descend.
-I heard his footsteps descending the stairs.
descend to/from/into etc
-The path continues for some way before descending to Garsdale Head.
Register
BMIn everyday English, people usually say go down or come down rather than descend:
They went down into the lobby.
-I heard his footsteps coming down the stairs.
-Investigators descended/went on the crime scene hunting for clues.
to understand something that is complicated or difficult
what is the synonym?
in what kind of sentences, this word can be used?
*com‧pre‧hend /ˌkɒmprɪˈhend $ ˌkɑːm-/ ●○○ verb [intransitive, transitive]
*SYN understand, grasp, → comprehension
-I did not fully comprehend what had happened.
*comprehend what/how/why etc
It may be hard to comprehend how much this gift means for my country.
*comprehend that
Finally, she comprehended that he wanted his pay.
BM Register
In everyday English, people usually say understand rather than comprehend:
I could understand most of what she was saying.
BM GRAMMAR: Patterns with comprehend
* Comprehend is often used in the negative, especially with can’t/cannot:
I cannot comprehend why anyone would do that.
BM Comprehend is not used in the progressive. ✗Don’t say: I am not comprehending why anyone would do that.
the ability to understand something
com‧pre‧hen‧sion /ˌkɒmprɪˈhenʃən $ ˌkɑːm-/ ●●○ noun [uncountable]
- SYN understanding, → comprehend
*comprehension of
-They don’t have the least comprehension of what I’m trying to do.
-The research project will focus on children’s comprehension of pretence.
impossible for me to understand
*beyond my comprehension
-Why you let her talk you into doing such a foolish thing is beyond my comprehension
to get (someone) to do something by talking about the good reasons for doing it
*talk sb into doing sth, to convince or persuade (someone) to do something
-The salesman talked us into buying the car.
-Why you let her talk you into doing such a foolish thing is beyond my comprehension
an exercise given to students to test how well they understand written or spoken language
*com‧pre‧hen‧sion /ˌkɒmprɪˈhenʃən $ ˌkɑːm-/ ●●○ noun [countable, uncountable]
-new methods of testing reading comprehension
-a comprehension task
to express in a shorter, clearer, or different way what someone has said or written
what is the synonym?
*par‧a‧phrase1 /ˈpærəfreɪz/ ●○○ verb [transitive]
synonym: summarize
-To paraphrase Finkelstein, mathematics is a language, like English.
a statement that expresses in a shorter, clearer, or different way what someone has said or written
what is the synonym?
*paraphrase2 ●○○ noun [countable]
*synonym: summary
-These are only rough paraphrases, and we leave the finer details to the brave reader.
