IELTS vocabulary

apprehensive

worried or nervous about something that you are going to do, or about the future

assertive (наполеглевий)

behaving in a confident way, so that people notice you

cynical

unwilling to believe that people have good, honest, or sincere reasons for doing something

gullible

too ready to believe what other people tell you, so that you are easily tricked

tactful

not likely to upset or embarrass other people

well-liked

popular, admired, or held in high regard by many people

self-conscious

worried and embarrassed about what you look like or what other people think of you

self-absorbed

interested only in yourself and the things that affect you

self-assured

calm and confident about what you are doing

self-congratulatory

behaviour that shows in an annoying way that you think you have done very well at something

self-deprecating (самопринизливий)

trying to make your own abilities or achievements seem unimportant

self-important

behaving in a way that shows you think you are more important than other people – used to show disapproval (самовпевнений)

well-adjusted

emotionally healthy and able to deal well with the problems of life (врівноважений)

well-bred (old-fashioned)

someone who is well-bred is polite, and behaves as if they come from a family of high social class

well-brought-up

has been taught to be polite and to behave well

well-informed

a lot about one particular subject or about many subjects

well-rounded

has a range of interests and skills and a variety of experience

inconsiderate

not caring about the feelings, needs, or comfort of other people

last an eternity

something feels extremely long, tedious, or never-ending

drag on (and on)

of an event or situation drags on, it continues for too long

to have time on hands

a period when you have nothing you must do

in no time (at all)/in next to no time

very quickly or soon

time seems to speed up

describes the subjective experience that hours, days, or years are passing faster than they used to.

pressed for time

to be in a hurry

time passes in the blink of an eye

something happens extremely quickly, in an instant, or suddenly

an instant ago

a very short time in the past

fleeting

lasting for only a short time

in retrospect

thinking now about something in the past

bygone (age/era/days etc)

belonging to or happening in a past time

preceding

formal happening or coming before the time, place, or part mentioned

topical

a subject that is topical is interesting because it is important at the present time

maintain the status quo

keeping things exactly as they are right now, avoiding any changes to the current social, political, or business situation

status quo

the present situation

opt out (of)

to choose not to be part of an activity or to stop being involved in it

to flaunt

to show your money, success, beauty etc so that other people notice it – used to show disapproval

influential

having a lot of influence and therefore changing the way people think and behave

skewed

an opinion, piece of information, result etc that is skewed is incorrect, especially because it has been affected by a particular thing or because you do not know all the facts

to conform

to behave in the way that most other people in your group or society behave

to obey

to do what someone in authority tells you to do, or what a law or rule says you must do

social mores

social customs