TOEFL & IELTS Vocabulary Practice

Learn and practice likely TOEFL and IELTS vocabulary to prepare for either exam-- or for academic study afterward.

Picture of students in a library with a crossword puzzle using examples of TOEFL & IELTS vocabulary: determine, persuasive, transition, infer, etc.Crosswords can help you review vocabulary.

On this page you can find:

• practice with IELTS vocabulary on topics of everyday life. Prepare for the speaking and listening tests and for living in English-speaking countries.

• academic vocabulary practice for the TOEFL and IELTS. These words are also important for university study and professional work in English.

Both sections are arranged with related pages together. They generally start with easier vocabulary. Later links go to pages with more difficult words to practice.

Both the IELTS & the TOEFL sections will have many pages that can help you prepare for either exam, as well as for university studies and for professional work.

IELTS Vocabulary: Daily Life Topics

• Medical Vocabulary (words for health and illness, doctor visits, tests, and treatments) 

• Types of Germs

• Climate Change & Weather Vocabulary

• Money Words

• Skills for 21st Century Jobs

• Personality Vocabulary (useful for job resumes/CVs & for describing yourself or your friends.)

• Emotions. (great illustrations of each feeling, brief explanations, & a video with pronunciations. It links to a crossword puzzle for practice.)

• Basic Family Vocabulary. (A visual family tree to explain aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, etc. For informal family terms (Mom, Dad, Nana, etc.) see English Detective Back Issues, #119 (Dec.4, 2018.) It's the second section after the campfire photo.

• Understanding the News in English

• Citizenship & Immigration Vocabulary

General Academic Vocabulary

• Top 100 List of Vocabulary Words

• Be a Word Detective (words relating to detective investigations)

• Sherlock Holmes & the Language of Detection

• Practice 19 Words from the AWL (Academic Word List) 

• Writing Test Vocabulary (explains and tests essential instruction words)

• Online Crossword: Essential Academic Vocabulary. (This crossword includes some writing test vocabulary. You might want to study that page first.)

• A Range of Writing Words

• Transition Words

• Linking Words

• Art Vocabulary

• Product Design Vocabulary

• Vocabulary from Classical Roots

• English Words for Success

• Vocabulary for Achievement

• Advanced Adjective Opposites Matching Games. The next three pages also practice matching adjectives with the opposites:

• >Adjectives for Thinking

• >Size and Importance

• >Positive and Negative

• Practice Common Prefixes (This page and the next use many common academic words.)

• Practice (and Play with) Negative Prefixes.

• Sense Vocabulary

Science & Psychology Vocabulary

• Science Vocabulary

 • Science Words

 • Science Crossword Puzzles (printable plus one online interactive puzzle)

• Scientific Method Vocabulary

• Science Discoveries and Inventions

• Scientific Words Quiz

• Psychology Quiz

• Nervous System Vocabulary: Online Crossword

Social Science Vocabulary +

• Social Change Vocabulary

• British Power Vocabulary Exercise.

• Vocabulary Building Games: Networking

• Teamwork & Cooperation Vocabulary

• Understanding the News in English

• News Vocabulary

• Words for Truth, Falsehood, & Error    (and Answers)

• Vocabulary for Violence (It includes some very ugly words. Sorry, but you need to know them to understand the news in English.)

• Political Language

Advanced Academic Vocabulary

Most of these pages use somewhat less common academic vocabulary—and a lot of words at once. Don’t start with these, but do try them once you know most of the more basic words above. They are also from the Academic Word List. They're used in textbooks, university lectures, and on tests like the TOEFL.

• Free Printable Crossword Puzzles. (See especially the Social Science Vocabulary, City Planning, Together & Concurrent, & Connections puzzles. They're connected with newsletters 17-23. Look at the Collaborative Thinking crossword too.)

• Business Vocabulary

• Disaster Assistance Vocabulary Exercises

• Conservation Terminology (on global warming)

• Vocabulary Exercises: Types of Organizations

• More Vocabulary Exercises: Governments  & NGOs

• Practice Latin Word Roots

• Academic Vocabulary (with J.F. Kennedy's 1961 State of the Union address)

• Two U.S. Presidents on Berlin (Academic Vocab Practice 2.)

• President Obama on Polish Freedom (Academic Vocab Practice 3.)

See Vocabulary Games for vocabulary practice arranged by type of game. (It includes puzzles, word scrambles, matching, and gap-fills.)

English Language Tests has general test preparation suggestions as well as a listing of quizzes and tests. (Most are also included on this page, but here organized by topic.)

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