Strong Vocabulary Practice For, IELTS,TOEFL -

Pairs of words we often confuse

Explanation & Examples

Here are some words that you can use to perform better in speaking and writing tasks in English Proficiency tests like Duolingo English Test, IELTS and TOEFL. You should use strong vocabulary to enhance your production score in all English language exams.

Commemorate, celebrate
Sympathy, empathy
Output, input
Internet, intranet
Intercity, intracity
Descending, ascending
Lend, borrow
Ameliorate, mitigate
Overt, covert

Commemorate , celebrate

Commemorate: remembering and showing respect for something or someone solemnly
” A ceremony was held to commemorate the dead of the war.”
Celebrate: acknowledging a happy day or event joyously, with a gathering usually, honouring and praising publicly
” My friend is celebrating his birthday at the Rotary park today.”
“The contribution of Abraham Lincoln, who abolished slavery, is celebrated and honoured greatly.”

Sympathy ,Empathy

Sympathy: the ability to support and console others in their problems or issues, feeling sorry for someone
“She was sorry for the issues her friend was facing, so she sympathized with her.”
Empathy: Understanding and sharing someone’s problem, ability to identify and relate to someone’s situation, when you are able to step in the same shoes, feel the same way as them.
” I know how you feel since I can relate to your issue and can empathize with you.”

Input, output(n.)(v.)

Input (n.)means an “action or process” of putting something in like data or information in the computer system.
Input devices in the computer can be a keyboard or mouse, through which data is entered in the system.
Input also means the contribution of work or information by someone e.g ” There was a great input by the team members in this project.”
“Thanks for your input.”
Input(v.) The receptionist inputted the client’s information in the system.”
Output(n.) The action or process of producing something, e.g,”
“What is the output of this printer like?”
” His performance at work has resulted in great outputs.”
Output(v) “You can output the result of your typing on the computer screen.”

Internet,Intranet

Internet is a public or globally connected network of computers for sharing information.
“People across the world can share information and connect with each other through internet”
Intranet is a private, local or restricted network in an organization(limited to a company or organization). Only the people in the organization can share information with each other.” All the employees of the company can access the intranet.”

Intercity, Intracity

Inter means “between” so intercity means between two cities. Intercity transport or intercity buses are commonly used terms. E.g” The tickets for intercity travel have become expensive.”
Intra means “within”, so intracity means within a city. An intracity train service would mean a service only provided within the city. It does not connect two cities. E. g. “The intracity subway operates between 6 a.m to 11 a.m.”

Descending, Ascending

Descending means climbing down from stairs or a height etc;
“The king descended from his throne.”
or an arrangement from highest to the lowest. In maths it would mean from the biggest to the smallest number.e.g. 10, 9, 8, 7 etc. For alphabets, it will be from Z to A.

Ascending means increasing in size, importance, value or rising in position etc.
E.g; The plane gradually ascended in the sky and slowly started to look very small.”
An ascending order begins from lowest to the highest number. Forward Counting is an example of ascending order e. g. 1,2,3,4 etc.
Names in ascending order would start from the letter “A” or whatever alphabet is available after it. E.g. “The names Christopher, Dominic, Sophie are in alphabetical or ascending order.”

Lend, borrow

Lend means you give something to someone to use it temporarily. Eg; “I lent him my bicycle for one day”
Borrow means taking something from someone to use it temporarily.
” I borrowed Mike’s ladder to do some work in my backyard.”
More examples:
Can you lend me your pen for a minute?
Can I borrow your grass mower for one day?

Ameliorate , Mitigate

Ameliorate means to make an unsatisfactory thing or situation better or improve it.
” The government is trying to ameliorate the situation of hospitals during the COVID 19 pandemic.”
Ameliorate a problem, ameliorate a policy, ameliorate a condition
Mitigate means to make less or relieve pain, misery, crisis etc.
“The doctor gave him a medicine to mitigate pain.”
” The new peace treaty served to mitigate the crisis between the two countries”

Overt, covert

Overt means open, done or shown openly, visibly
“Now he is showing overt signs of depression.”
“The efforts to overcome the pandemic situation did not show any overt positive results in the beginning.”
Covert means (covered)hidden, not shown or done openly
“Our forces are deployed at the borders and trying to monitor the covert operations of the enemy.”
Overt or covert are used to talk about the kind of behaviour.Overt behaviours can be singing, dancing or smiling; while covert behaviours can be thinking, planning in head or dreaming etc.

That was the list of powerful vocabulary that you can use in your Duolingo English Test, IELTS and TOEFL. It is a good idea to increase your vocabulary in order to get good score in all language based tests. Learn more vocabulary with explanation in the following articles.

English vocabulary lessons on English for learners

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