IELTS Academic Word List

habit: 
n.
established disposition of the mind or character; distinctive dress, especially of a religious order

haggard: 
a.
wasted away; showing wearing effects of overwork or suffering

haggle: 
v. Syn. bargain
argue about prices; bargain, as over the price of something

hail: 
n.
call for; salute; greet; praise vociferously

hairy: 
a.
bearing or covered with hair; made of or resembling hair; rough with hair

hallmark: 
n. Syn. sign
sign; feature; mark indicating quality or excellence

halt: 
v. Syn. stop; pause
stop; stand in doubt; hesitate

ham: 
n.
meat cut from the thigh of a hog, usually smoked

hamburger: 
n.
a fried bread of minced beef served on a bun

hamper: 
v. Syn. obstruct
put at disadvantage; prevent progress or free movement of

handbook: 
n.
concise reference book providing specific information

handful: 
n.
a small number

handicap: 
n. Syn. disadvantage
disadvantage; physical disability; cripple; hinder; impede

handle: 
v.
touch; feel with the hand; use or hold with the hand; manage in using; deal with

handsome: 
a.
skillful; handy; agreeable to the eye or to correct taste; having a pleasing appearance; attractive

handy: 
a. Syn. convenient; close
convenient; close

hang: 
v.
suspend; fasten to some elevated point without support from below; hold for support

hanger: 
n.
one who hangs, or causes to be hanged; loop or strap by which something is hung

haphazard: 
a. Syn. random
not thorough, constant or consistent; by chance

harbor: 
v. Syn. hide
provide a refuge for; hide; give shelter to

harden: 
v.
become hard or harder

hardware: 
n.
mechanical, magnetic, electronic, and electrical components making up a computer system

hardy: 
a. Syn. robust; healthy
in robust and good health; able to survive under unfavorable conditions

harmful: 
a. Syn. damaging; noxious; detrimental; dangerous
damaging; noxious; detrimental; dangerous

harmless: 
a. Syn. innocuous
unlikely to harm or disturb anyone

harmonious: 
a. Syn. concordant; accordant
concordant; accordant; suitable and fitting

harmony: 
n. Syn. compatibility
compatibility in opinion and action; an agreeable sound property

harness: 
n. Syn. utilize
stable gear consisting of an arrangement to an animal so that it can be attached to and pull a cart

harsh: 
a. Syn. rough; coarse; acid
rough; coarse; severe; unpleasantly stern

harvest: 
v. Syn. gather; reap
gather; yield from plants in a single growing season

haste: 
n. Syn. hurry
hurry; rapidity of action or motion

hasten: 
v. Syn. accelerate; quicken
accelerate; quicken

hasty: 
a. Syn. fast; impetuous
easily angered; irritable; made too quickly to be accurate or wise

hatch: 
v. Syn. breed
breed; emerge from the egg

haughty: 
a.
high; lofty; bold; arrogant; overbearing

haul: 
v. Syn. transport; drag
draw slowly or heavily; pull or drag forcibly; shift direction

haunt: 
v. Syn. torment; bother; disturb
be a regular or frequent visitor to a certain place; bother; disturb

hawk: 
n.
bird of prey typically having short rounded wings and a long tail

hay: 
n.
grass or other plants, cut and dried for fodder

hazard: 
n. Syn. danger; risk
danger; risk

heading: 
n.
course or direction in which a ship or aircraft is moving; title, subtitle, or topic that stands at the top or beginning

headlong: 
a.
uncontrollably forceful or fast; done with head leading; headfirst

heal: 
v. Syn. cure
cure; make or get healthy again

heap: 
n.
crowd or throng; a great number of persons; pile or mass

hearing: 
n.
opportunity to be heard; capacity to hear; judicial investigation of a suit at law

heave: 
v. Syn. lift; raise; hoist; throw
cause to move upward or onward by a lifting effort; lift; raise; hoist; throw

heaven: 
n.
expanse of space surrounding the earth; sky; place where the sun, moon, and stars appear

hedge: 
n.
thicket of bushes, usually thorn bushes

hedgehog: 
n.
small European insectivore, and other allied species of Asia and Africa, having the hair on the upper part of its body mixed with prickles or spines

heed: 
v. Syn. consider
pay attention to; listen to and consider

heel: 
n.
back part of the human foot; lower end of a ship's mast

heighten: 
v. Syn. enhance; hoist; boost
enhance; hoist; raise or increase the quantity or degree of; intensify

heir: 
n. Syn. descendent; offspring
person who inherits some title or office

heiress: 
n.
woman who is an heir, especially to great wealth

helicopter: 
n.
aircraft without wings that obtains its lift from the rotation of overhead blades

hell: 
n.
place of the dead, or of souls after death where sinners suffer eternal punishment; any place of pain and turmoil

helmet: 
n.
defensive covering for head; hat, made of cork, felt, or metal, worn as uniform of soldiers, firemen

helpful: 
a. Syn. useful; beneficial
giving aid; assistant; useful; salutary

helpless: 
a. Syn. unable; powerless; weak
unable to help oneself; powerless or incompetent; powerless; weak

hemisphere: 
n. Syn. halves; sides
halves; half of a sphere bounded by a great circle

hence: 
ad.
from this place; from this time; from this reason; as an inference or deduction

henceforth: 
ad.
from this time forward; henceforward

herald: 
n. Syn. announce; proclaim
proclaim; announces important news; messenger

herb: 
n.
plant lacking a permanent woody stem, some having medicinal properties

herd: 
n. Syn. flock; crowd
flock; crowd; group of cattle or other domestic animals

hesitant: 
a. Syn. reluctant; irresolute
reluctant, irresolute; tending to wait, or proceed with caution or reservation

hesitate: 
v. Syn. vacillate; fluctuate
pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness

hide: 
v.
prevent from being seen or discovered

hideous: 
a. Syn. despicable
frightful, shocking, or offensive to the eyes; offensive to moral sensibilities; despicable

hijack: 
v.
stop and rob a vehicle in transit; seize control of by use of force

hike: 
v. Syn. travel; walk
long walk usually for exercise or pleasure

hinder: 
v. Syn. stunt; inhibit; hamper; impede
put at a disadvantage; tie up; hamper; prevent the progress

hindrance: 
n. Syn. block; obstacle
something that holds back or causes problems with something else; obstacle

hinge: 
n.
a joint that holds two parts together so that one can swing relative to the other

hint: 
n. Syn. allusion; clue
allusion; clue; brief or indirect suggestion

hinterland: 
n. Syn. region; inland
region; remote and undeveloped area

hiss: 
n.
prolonged sound like that letter s, made by forcing out the breath between the tongue and teeth

historian: 
n.
one who is an authority on history

historic: 
a.
having importance or significance in history; belonging to the past; historical

hitchhike: 
v.
travel by getting free rides from passing vehicles; be carried along with something else

hitherto: 
ad.
to this place; to a prescribed limit; up to this time; as yet; until now

hoarse: 
a.
having a harsh, rough, grating voice or sound, as when affected with a cold; making a rough, harsh cry or sound

hobby: 
n.
auxiliary activity; activity or interest pursued outside one's regular occupation

hoe: 
v.
weed, cultivate, or dig up with a tool, which has flat blade attached at right angles to a long handle

hoist: 
v.
raise; lift; elevate; raise to one's mouth in order to drink

hold: 
v.
keep from departing; take and maintain control over; stop dealing with

hollow: 
a. Syn. empty
sound as if echoing in a empty space; void; vain; not solid; having a space or gap or cavity

homely: 
a.
of home; domestic; familiar; intimate; plain; unpretending; rude in appearance; unpolished

homesick: 
a.
unhappy at being away and longing for familiar things or persons

hook: 
n.
a piece of metal, or other hard material, bent into curve or at angle, for catching, holding, or sustaining anything

hop: 
v.
move by successive leaps, as toads do; spring or jump on one foot

horizon: 
n. Syn. range; limit
line at which the sky and Earth appear to meet; range of one's knowledge, experience, or interest

horizontal: 
a. Syn. flat; level
flat; level; parallel to or in a base line

horn: 
n.
one of the bony outgrowths on the heads of certain ungulates

horrible: 
a. Syn. dreadful; terrible; shocking
exciting, or tending to horror or fear; hideous

horror: 
n. Syn. terror; fear
terror; fear; intense dislike

hose: 
n.
a flexible pipe for conveying a liquid or gas

hospitable: 
a. Syn. generous; receptive
disposed to treat guests with warmth and generosity; receptive

hospitality: 
n.
act or practice of one who is hospitable; reception and entertainment of strangers or guests without reward

host: 
n.
great number; person entertaining guests

hostage: 
n.
prisoner who is held by one party to insure that another party will meet specified terms

hostile: 
a. Syn. unfriendly; antagonistic
unfriendly; showing the disposition of an enemy

hound: 
n.
a variety of domestic dog, having large, drooping ears; side bar used to strengthen portions of gear of a vehicle

house: 
v.
provide living quarters for; lodge; contain; harbor

hover: 
v. Syn. float; waver; vacillate
hang about; wait nearby; remain floating

howl: 
v.
utter a loud, mournful sound or cry, as dogs and wolves often do; utter a sound expressive of distress; cry aloud and mournfully

hug: 
v.
crowd together; keep close to; tight or amorous embrace

hull: 
n.
outer covering of anything, particularly of a nut or of grain; outer skin of a kernel; husk

hum: 
n.
low, prolonged sound; humming noise; singing with shut mouth

humane: 
a.
marked by kindness, mercy, or compassion

humanitarian: 
n. Syn. philanthropic
philanthropic; one devoted to the promotion of human welfare and to social reforms

humanity: 
n. Syn. kindness; virtue
kindness; virtue; all of the inhabitants of the earth

humble: 
a. Syn. meek; submissive; modest
low or inferior in station or quality; modest

humid: 
a. Syn. damp; wet
containing a high amount of water or water vapor

humidity: 
n. Syn. dampness; moisture
dampness; moisture

humiliate: 
v. Syn. embarrass; shame
cause to feel shame; hurt the pride of

humorous: 
a. Syn. witty; funny; amusing
employing or showing humor; funny; amusing

hunger: 
n.
strong desire for something; feel the need to eat

hurl: 
v. Syn. throw; cast; toss
throw with great force; cast; toss

husband: 
v. Syn. conserve; save
use economically; conserve; save

hush: 
v.
make silent or quiet; keep from public knowledge; suppress mention of

hustle: 
v. Syn. bustle
bustle; cause to move furtively and hurriedly

hydrogen: 
n.
a nonmetallic univalent element that is normally a colorless and odorless highly flammable diatomic gas

hygiene: 
n. Syn. cleanliness; sanitation
cleanliness; sanitation

hymn: 
n.
song of praise or adoration, especially, a religious ode, a sacred lyric

hypocrisy: 
n.
practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold; falseness; expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction

hypothesis: 
n. Syn. assumption; theory
assumption; theory

hypothetical: 
a. Syn. supposed; theoretical
based on assumptions; supposed

hysteria: 
n.
behavior exhibiting excessive or uncontrollable emotion, such as fear or panic; mental disorder