Welcome to the first installment of the Virtual Writing Tutor’s Vocabulary Booster. On this page, you will find a dozen randomly chosen, low-frequency, high-impact vocabulary words that you can integrate into your speaking and writing. If you are preparing for the IELTS or the TOEFL exam, using these words correctly will give the examiners a good impression of the size and sophistication of your active vocabulary.
Scroll to the bottom of the page to download a PDF of these words arranged onto cards. Print them out, cut them up, and play a guessing game with friends and family. See below for instructions.
sensational
/sen-SAY-shun-nul/
Adjective
- Calculated to produce a startling impression
- Intended to thrill
obnoxious
/obb-NOCK-shuss/
Adjective
- Odious
- Objectionable
- Offensive
vindictive
/vin-DICK-tiv/
Adjective
- Vengeful
- Characterized by a desire for revenge or retribution
prudish
/PROO-dish/
Adjective
- Excessively modest, demur, or prim
- Uptight
deter
/de-TUR/
Verb
- Discourage and stop by inciting fear or doubt
erotomania
/ee-ROT-uh-MAY-nee-uh/
Noun
- Madness caused by sexual excitement
- Abnormally strong sexual desire
feasible
/FEE-sib-bull/
Adjective
- Capable of being done
- Possible
- Viable
solicitous
/so-LISS-si-tuss/
Adjective
- Anxious
- Apprehensive
- Deeply concerned
desolate
/DESS-so-luht/
Adjective
- Solitary, lonely, miserable
- Uninhabited, abandoned
- Rhymes with “chocolate”
fastidious
/fass-TID-dee-us/
Adjective
- Hard to please
- Easily disgusted
- Squeamish
obese
/oh-BEES/
Adjective
- Very fat
callipygian
/kall-lip-PID-jyan/
Adjective
- Of, pertaining to, or having shapely or finely developed buttocks
Download and play the card game
Download and print the cards and the card backs on a double-sided sheet of paper. Cut the cards along the lines and place them in a pile facedown. In groups of 3 or 4, take turns selecting a card from the top of the pile, reading the definitions.
Player One takes a card from the pile and reads the definition and part of speech. The other players try to guess the word first. The first player to guess correctly gets the card, placing it faceup in front of him or her.
The player to the left takes the next turn.
If no one can guess the word from its definition, the player whose turn it is reads the answer and returns the card to the bottom of the pile, and selects another card from the top of the pile.
The player with the most cards (and therefore the best vocabulary) at the end of the game is the winner.
