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 By Kuah Hauiro

IELTS Speaking Vocabulary: Basic Words and Lists Grouped by Topic

The IELTS Speaking module tests your ability to communicate clearly and correctly in English. You will talk with an examiner face to face for a total of 15-20 minutes. The speaking module usually goes with a fixed three-part structure, though the topics vary from case to case.

Speaking test requires the candidate to express thought through the mouth. It means test-takers should have enough so-called speaking vocabulary: know them and pronounce them clearly and correctly. Anyone who wants to get a higher score from a speaking test must build a stronger speaking vocabulary.

However, the following 100+ word list is for all candidates, even if one only needs an average score. It is a minimum IELTS speaking vocabulary. Try to pronounce them fluently and loudly with full confidence, which is the basis to shoot a good score on the speaking tests.

If you don't have time to learn and practice all of them, we remark stars (*) for some important words you may start at first.

In addition to these generic words, we prepared some speaking vocabularies by topics that are also deserved to study by high score hunters.

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100 IELTS Speaking Words


1. fantastic Look Up (*)

They did a fantastic job. Speak

2. amazing Look Up (*)

she makes the most amazing cakes. Speak

3. absurd Look Up

Gym shorts looked absurd on such a tall girl. Speak

4. unbelievable Look Up (*)

Your audacity is unbelievable. Speak

5. intelligent Look Up (*)

Annabelle is intelligent and hardworking. Speak

6. annoyed Look Up (*)

Kelly was annoyed with him. Speak

7. gorgeous Look Up (*)

Such a gorgeous color and exquisite decoration. Speak

8. brilliant Look Up (*)

You are a brilliant young mathematician. Speak

9. monotonous Look Up

Soon we heard a low, monotonous wailing of many voices. Speak

10. doleful Look Up

We dislike that doleful consequence. Speak

11. stringent Look Up

California's air pollution guidelines are stringent. Speak

12. efficient Look Up (*)

It's an energy efficient heating system. Speak

13. outstanding Look Up (*)

The team's outstanding performance impresses me very much. Speak

14. adventurous Look Up (*)

They wanted more adventurous meals. Speak

15. impatient Look Up (*)

They are impatient for change. Speak

16. practical Look Up (*)

There are two obvious practical applications of the research. Speak

17. romantic Look Up (*)

He's very handsome, and so romantic. Speak

18. deliberate Look Up (*)

He is a careful and deliberate worker. Speak

19. ambitious Look Up (*)

The scope of the book is very ambitious. Speak

20. organized Look Up (*)

I am systematic and organized enough to save things. Speak

21. reserved Look Up

He is a reserved, almost taciturn man. Speak

22. sociable Look Up (*)

We will visit a very sociable little village. Speak

23. talkative Look Up (*)

The talkative driver hadn't stopped chatting. Speak

24. unusable Look Up

The steps were overgrown and unusable. Speak

25. avid Look Up

She was avid for information about the murder inquiry. Speak

26. greedy Look Up (*)

They got the greedy thief who plundered a defense contractor. Speak

27. understanding Look Up (*)

Foreign visitors with little understanding of English. Speak

28. dedicated Look Up (*)

Investing in dedicated bike lanes will encourage more bicycle commuters. Speak

29. incurable Look Up

The claim that a product can cure an incurable disease should sound alarms. Speak

30. pretty Look Up (*)

She is a pretty little girl with an engaging grin. Speak

31. outgoing Look Up (*)

She's an extremely affable, jovial, outgoing type of person. Speak

32. disorganize Look Up (*)

Attacks on leading government figures might disorganize the regime. Speak

33. frank Look Up (*)

It's a long and frank discussion. Speak

34. generous Look Up (*)

She was generous with her money. Speak

35. tolerant Look Up (*)

We must be tolerant of others. Speak

36. inexperienced Look Up (*)

This young lady is an inexperienced driver. Speak

37. mischievous Look Up

Two mischievous kittens had decorated the bed with shredded newspaper. Speak

38. sensitive Look Up (*)

The new method of protein detection was more sensitive than earlier ones. Speak

39. sensible Look Up (*)

I cannot believe that it is sensible to spend so much. Speak

40. emotional Look Up (*)

He was a strongly emotional young man. Speak

41. sentimental Look Up (*)

She felt a sentimental attachment to the place creep over her. Speak

42. responsible Look Up (*)

The gene was responsible for a rare type of eye cancer. Speak

44. supportive Look Up (*)

The staff are extremely supportive of each other. Speak

45. passive Look Up (*)

The women were portrayed as passive victims. Speak

46. costive Look Up (*)

If he did ask her she would become costive. Speak

47. stingy Look Up

His employer is stingy and idle. Speak

48. malignant Look Up

They were in the hands of malignant fate. Speak

49. vigilant Look Up

The burglar was spotted by vigilant neighbors. Speak

50. omnipotent Look Up

They argued an omnipotent sovereign on that point. Speak

51. fierce Look Up (*)

He kissed her with a fierce, demanding passion. Speak

52. severe Look Up (*)

The charges would have warranted a severe sentence. Speak

53. intriguing Look Up

No one forgot that intriguing story. Speak

54. retarded Look Up

In retrospect, it was a totally retarded idea. Speak

55. discreet Look Up

We made some discreet inquiries. Speak

56. discreditable Look Up

He must stop his discreditable conduct. Speak

57. thrifty Look Up

I'm cheap, or rather thrifty and money smart. Speak

58. furtive Look Up (*)

They spent a furtive day together. Speak

59. shabby Look Up (*)

A conscript in a shabby uniform saluted the car. Speak

60. assertive Look Up (*)

Patients should be more assertive with their doctors. Speak

61. tangible Look Up (*)

The emphasis is now on tangible results. Speak

62. tempting Look Up (*)

He cannot refuse a tempting financial offer like this. Speak

63. tire Look Up (*)

Soon the ascent grew steeper and he began to tire. Speak

64. cynical Look Up (*)

No one will accept her cynical attitude. Speak

65. notorious Look Up (*)

Los Angeles is notorious for its smog. Speak

66. applicable Look Up (*)

The same considerations are equally applicable to accident claims. Speak

67. agitated Look Up (*)

There's no point getting agitated. Speak

68. boldly Look Up (*)

You will have our support as long as you fight boldly against corruption. Speak

69. eminent Look Up

He is one of the world's most eminent statisticians. Speak

70. dry Look Up (*)

The jacket kept me warm and dry. Speak

71. doleful Look Up

We dislike his doleful look. Speak

72. unavoidable Look Up (*)

It's the natural and unavoidable consequences of growing old. Speak

73. inevitable Look Up (*)

They believe that war was inevitable. Speak

74. dignified Look Up (*)

She maintained a dignified silence. Speak

75. indispensable Look Up

He made himself indispensable to the parish priest. Speak

76. cunning Look Up

A cunning look came into his eyes. Speak

77. reveal Look Up

The clouds were breaking up to reveal a clear blue sky. Speak

78. flashy Look Up

He always had a flashy car. Speak

79. impressive Look Up (*)

The photo shows us an impressive view of the mountains. Speak

80. rational Look Up

I'm sure there's a perfectly rational explanation. Speak

81. reasonable Look Up (*)

It seems a reasonable enough request. Speak

82. miserable Look Up (*)

Their happiness made Anne feel even more miserable. Speak

83. spontaneous Look Up

The audience broke into spontaneous applause. Speak

85. industrious Look Up (*)

He struck me as being particularly hardworking, energetic and industrious . Speak

86. studious Look Up

We all noticed his studious absence from public view. Speak

87. indolent Look Up

They didn't want any competition in the lazy and indolent stakes. Speak

88. cosmopolitan Look Up

His knowledge of French, Italian, and Spanish made him genuinely cosmopolitan. Speak

89. radiant Look Up (*)

She gave him a radiant smile. Speak

90. versatile Look Up

She just brought a versatile sewing machine. Speak

91. canny Look Up

The canny shoppers came early for a bargain. Speak

92. cautious Look Up (*)

The plan received a cautious welcome. Speak

93. discreet Look Up

We made some discreet inquiries. Speak

94. immortal Look Up (*)

Our mortal bodies are inhabited by immortal souls. Speak

95. extravagant Look Up

It was rather extravagant to buy both. Speak

96. idle Look Up (*)

Being idle won't pay the bills Speak

97. abstemious Look Up

The monks here have willingly chosen this abstemious life. Speak

98. frugal Look Up

He led a remarkably frugal existence. Speak

99. wholehearted Look Up

You have my wholehearted support. Speak

100. competent Look Up

She spoke quite competent French. Speak

101. sympathetic Look Up (*)

He was sympathetic toward staff with family problems. Speak

102. compassionate Look Up

One of the lessons she tried to teach her son is to be compassionate. Speak

103. eccentric Look Up (*)

My favorite aunt is very eccentric. Speak

104. interpersonal Look Up

You will need good interpersonal skills. Speak

105. introversive Look Up

Try to find out those children in your class who are introversive. Speak

106. cozy Look Up

We have a cozy chat in lunch room. Speak

107. lax Look Up (*)

He asked to improve lax security arrangements at the airport. Speak

108. conceited Look Up

Not to be vain or conceited , but it was the truth and anyone sensible would agree. Speak

109. extraordinary Look Up (*)

Young children need extraordinary amounts of attention. Speak

110. vernal Look Up

We are shocked by the vernal freshness of the land. Speak

111. futile Look Up (*)

He knew it's a futile attempt to keep fans from mounting the stage. Speak

112. crooked Look Up

His teeth were yellow and crooked. Speak

113. timorous Look Up

We heard her timorous voice and felt her nervousness. Speak

114. harsh Look Up (*)

The story took place on days of harsh military discipline. Speak

115. consecutive Look Up (*)

The project will last five consecutive months. Speak

116. anti clockwise Look Up (*)

To release the cover, move anti clockwise. Speak

117. clockwise Look Up (*)

Please turn the knob clockwise. Speak

118. dread Look Up

Jane was dreading the party. Speak

119. instinctive Look Up (*)

She has an instinctive distaste for conflict. Speak

120. bleak Look Up

She looked around the bleak little room in despair. Speak

121. brisk Look Up

I usually have a good brisk walk in the morning. Speak

122. caustic Look Up

The players were making caustic comments about the refereeing. Speak

123. brittle Look Up

Her bones became fragile and brittle. Speak

124. unceasing Look Up

The success is from the unceasing efforts of staffs. Speak

125. climatic Look Up (*)

Under certain climatic conditions, desert locusts increase in number. Speak

126. clumsy Look Up

A terribly clumsy fellow ruins efforts of all team members. Speak

127. considerate Look Up (*)

The girl is the quietest and most considerate tenants possible. Speak

128. coherent Look Up

They failed to develop a coherent economic strategy. Speak

129. incredible Look Up (*)

They did an almost incredible tale of triumph and tragedy. Speak

130. constant Look Up (*)

The company has kept its prices fairly constant. Speak