IELTS Speaking Band 7 to 9 Vocabulary (PDF)

In this post, you’ll find the PDF downloadable list of Words/Phrases/Idioms that should be part of your vocabulary to score band 7-8-9 in IELTS Speaking.

The secret sauce of achieving a high band score is all about how you make use of rich vocabulary and sprinkle some phrases or idioms in between the conversation.

IELTS Speaking is indeed a game of vocabulary & consistent practice. After you win this game, the goal of immigrating or studying in Toronto is never too far.

To guide you further, I’ve formulated a Pdf list of important English language vocabulary words, idioms and sentence structures that may help you in IELTS Speaking Part 1 (2023) Topics Questions & Answers ↗, IELTS Speaking Part-2 Cue Cards (2023) ↗ and IELTS Speaking Part 3 Follow-ups.

Prepare Well !!

Speaking Vocabulary Part-1

Here’s the list of IELTS Speaking Part: 1,2, and 3 vocabulary words, phrases and Idioms, that if successfully applied in conversation, can get you a band score in the range of 7, 8 or 9:

Vocabulary	Meaning & Sentence formation
avid	characterized by enthusiasm and vigorous pursuit : very eager and enthusiastic [I am an avid traveller and since all these years I’ve been travelling to numerous places around the world]
The Great White North	the term Great White North in reference to Canada, the nickname has been in use for many decades. The general breakdown is that Canada is “Great” because it’s the second-largest country in the world. It’s “White” because of the amount of Arctic frozen tundra and snow within the country. Finally, it’s the “North” of the United States. Hence, the Great White North was born.
prompt	to move to action, to serve as the reminder of [There are number of reasons that prompt me to start a new chapter of my life]
multicultural	consisting of or relating to people of many different nationalities and cultures. [Toronto is one of the world’s most multicultural cities]
heaven for foodies	best place for food lovers [I am a foodie and Toronto is heaven for foodies]
one-time affair	something that happens only once [Life is a one-time affair]
mobility	the ability to move or be moved freely and easily [There is large mobility of people towards living in the city]
metropolitan city	relating to or denoting a metropolis or large city [Life in a metropolitan city with malls, cinemas, clubs etc. is the most important factor to get settled]
tranquility	the quality or state of being calm [Peace and tranquility of the area decides where people want to settle]
at the heart of	at the centre of [Town square market is located at the heart of Sector – 15]
proximity	the state of being near in space or time [Due to its proximity to the national highway, it can easily be accessed]
hoax	A hoax is a trick in which someone tells people something that is not true [Mostly Advertisement are a hoax]
escalate	to increase in extent, volume, number, amount, intensity, or scope [The prices are so escalated in shopping malls that a common man may find it hard to purchase]
dampen the spirit	to dull or deaden; depress: to dampen one’s spirits [Traffic jams can’t dampen the spirit of visiting a street market]
very basis	the basic foundation [It’s unfortunate that the very basis of our life is now under threat from environment degradation]
umbrella legislation	broad legislation subsuming different sub-legislations [The Environment Act is an umbrella legislation designed to provide a framework for government to protect the environment]
emphasise	give special importance or prominence to (something) in speaking or writing [The article emphasised different facets of Environment Protection Act]
sustainability	avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance [The Environment law benefits every living creature by protecting and improving sustainability of the environment]
lackadaisical	lacking enthusiasm and determination; carelessly lazy [I feel the government had a lackadaisical implementation of the environmental powers since the enactment of the constitution]
moral responsibility	our self-directed responsibility [It’s our moral responsibility to protect the environment]
uphold	confirm or support something [It’s our moral responsibility to protect the environment and uphold every law framed for it]
took the baton	took over the responsibility [Indians now took the baton in their hands to preserve the mother earth]
noble profession	profession for the service of mankind [Police service is a noble profession]
uproot	pull something out of the ground [A police officer should be physically fit and courageous to uproot crime from the society]
fatal	extremely dangerous [Use of cell phones while driving is fatal for the road safety]
gender disparity	gender differences, male-female differences [I don’t think there should be any gender disparity in the police service]
egalitarian society	the society where every person is entitled to equal rights, receive equal treatment and opportunities [We are living in an egalitarian society which makes every race entitled to equal rights]
rotten apple	a bad or corrupt person in a group [Each country does have some rotten apples]
outlaws	a person who has broken the law, especially one who remains at large or is a fugitive [There is need to strictly deal with the outlaws for favourable growth of a nation]
rational talk	logical conversation [Arguments are the foundation of every rational talk]
turned into	changed into [It all started calmly as a discussion but in no time turned into an argument]
squabble	a noisy quarrel about something petty or trivial [The friendly argument soon became a squabble]
lose sight of	fail to consider, be aware of, or remember [Jenny & Smith didn’t lose sight of their friendship during the argument]
leaves no space for holding grudges	eliminate all hard feelings or grievances [Arguing is healthy because it leaves no space for holding grudges]
trivial	of little value or importance [Families normally disagree on trivial topics like what household things to buy and what not?]
closely knitted	closely connected [Families are so closely knitted that they’ll find arguments in almost everything]
generation gap	a difference in values and attitudes between one generation and another [A generation gap refers to the chasm that separates the thoughts expressed by members of two different generations]
overly self-obsessed	too much egocentric or self-centered [Some people are stubborn because they’re overly self-obsessed and think of their opinion highly]
persona	the public image of one’s personality [Welcoming good arguments and listen to others help us build our persona]
tiling puzzle	Tiling puzzles are puzzles involving two-dimensional packing problems in which a number of flat shapes have to be assembled into a larger given shape without overlaps (and often without gaps).
hard to crack	tough to solve [Some jigsaw puzzles are hard to crack]
walk in the park	something that is very easy to do [Some puzzles are a walk in the park and can be solved in a matter of minutes]
bustle	move in an energetic or noisy manner [Puzzling is perfect for people who want a solo break from the bustle of digital lifestyle]
cognitive abilities	a general mental capability involving reasoning, problem solving, planning and abstract thinking [Solving at least one puzzle a week improve our cognitive abilities]
reinforce	strengthen or support [Sudoku and Jigsaw reinforce connections between brain cells and improves mental speed]
inclination	likeness [I’ve certain inclination towards detective movies]
stimulating	encouraging or arousing interest or enthusiasm [Motion video is far more stimulating than navigating through pages of a novel]
inborn gift	a skill by birth [Natural talent is one such inborn gift that we realise with the gradual passage of time]
for that sake	for that purpose [For that sake, I’ve tried number of things but nothing worked out for me]
accomplished	highly trained or skilled [He is an accomplished music tutor]
hone	refine or perfect (something) over a period of time [I’ll hone my skills under my Uncle’s guidance]
infusing	filling; pervading [I thank god everyday for infusing this natural skill of singing within me]
get their eyes off	stop watching something [People can’t get their eyes off from the TV]
cloud nine	a feeling of well-being or elation [Singing at Wembley made me feel like I’m on cloud nine]
kinfolks	relatives, family members or friends [It was my first ever experience in the Cricket Stadium and so I went there with my kinfolks]
vuvuzelas	The vuvuzela is a horn, about 65 centimetres (2 ft) long, which produces a loud monotone note [People carry vuvuzelas to the stadium that reverberated the atmosphere]
coruscated	sparkled, scintillated [Stadium coruscated with flood lights and loud music blares amazed me]
bucket list	a list of things someone wishes to do in the future [Everybody prepares their bucket list about things they wish to do]
crafted	designed, planned [I crafted this plan to visit the temple and paint my imagination into reality]
uphill task	difficult task [Holidays are coming up so train reservation may be an uphill task]
primordial	basic and fundamental [Salary is primordial factor in career planning]
Capitalism	an economic system focused on capital accumulation [We’re living in an era of Capitalism where everything is measured in terms of money]
strike a balance	make something equally proportioned midway between two or more conflicting or contrasting things [One should strike a balance between life and salary]
overbearing	unpleasantly overpowering [It’s generally seen that high paying jobs are more demanding and overbearing on life]
fathom	to understand [the locals could not fathom out the reason behind his new-found prosperity]
reeling under	to struggle under something [Due to Covid-19, the whole world was reeling under lockdowns]
stumbled upon	came across, to discover something by chance [I stumbled upon wonderful article on health while reading newspaper]
prey	a person or thing that becomes the victim [Less manual hard work makes us prey to various health problems]
congregations	a group of people assembled for religious worship [Flowers are used for worshipping gods in religious congregations]
endure	to sustain [Tulips can endure different weather conditions]
quintessential	extremely essential [Mobile phones nowadays have become quintessential part of our lives]
life pursuits	life goals [It is impossible to even think of our life pursuits without the use of cell phones]
cautionary tale	a story that gives a warning [Her story is a cautionary tale for women travelling alone]
There is no garden without weeds	Nothing is perfect. Even the best of us has his failings and weaknesses.
heavily invested	to have given a lot of time and effort to something and care about it very much [Boston city residents are heavily invested in reading newspapers]
attracting eye balls	catching attention [World cup victory is a recent piece of news that attracted our eye balls]
hate mongers	persons who incite hate [People believe they were surely some hate mongers with an aim to incite violence]
imposters	persons who pretend to be someone else in order to deceive others [the charity has warned anyone approached by the imposters to contact police immediately]
alter ego	a person’s secondary or alternative personality [a national identity such as passport creates an alter ego which we can use to excel in career]
myriad	many, number of [I believe there are myriad of ways to build national identity]
sky scrappers	tall buildings [London, the city where I came from is full of sky scrappers]
marvellous	wonderful, brilliant [The Big Ben Tower is a marvellous piece of architecture]
humongous	huge, enormous [The Big Ben Tower stands 316 feet tall..which is HUMONGOUS!!]
grand edifice	huge building [The town hall is the only grand edifice surviving from the 15th century]
turns upside down	Put in disorder, mix or mess up [if elevator goes out of function, the whole world turns upside down for the residents]
road block	a problem [With the rising population, the scarcity of land is becoming a road block]
fool’s errand	a needless or profitless endeavor [It would be a fool’s errand to build tall residential places in the countryside]
chronically	to a very great extent; extremely [In today’s chronically busy lifestyle we often overlook the significance of joy]
jam-packed	crowded, full, packed [The hall was jam-packed when we reached there]
signature style	someone’s unique style [She, in her signature style, said Hello to everyone and started cracking jokes]
banter	a joke, pun [I remember there was one banter on the life in a Metro train at the comedy show]
rib-tickling	excessively funny [The joke was so rib-tickling that people couldn’t control their laughter]
monotony	boredom, dullness [We all should smile more often to break the monotony of life]
crestfallen	sad and disappointed [Jokes are another great thing that can make any crestfallen human being smile within seconds]
hoodwink	deceive or trick [A fake smile is a powerful tool that may hoodwink people]
tread cautiously	move carefully/warily [Investors should tread cautiously until new interest rates are announced]
to and fro	move repeatedly from one place to another and back again [I drive almost everyday to and fro between home & office]
enchanting	very attractive or charming [It was an enchanting car trip that I made with my family]
daily chores	a routine task or job  [Presence of social media can be felt in almost all of our daily chores]
blown away	to impress very strongly and usually favourably [I was blown away by the power of social media]
spellbound	fascinated, amazed [It was spellbound by the social media post because I was a non-believer of extraterrestrial species]
extraterrestrial	any object or being beyond (extra-) the planet Earth (terrestrial) [It was spellbound by the social media post because I was a non-believer of extraterrestrial species]
engrossed	absorb all the attention or interest of [The video confirmed the authenticity of alien presence and hence engrossed me completely]
conspiracy theories	an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups [I thought aliens were mere conspiracy theories]
double-edged sword	something that has or can have both favourable and unfavourable consequences [Making friends on social networking sites is a double-edged sword]
breathtaking	wonderful, amazing [The painting was breathtaking]
asset	a useful or valuable thing [Preet Tractors is our town’s greatest asset]
prerogative	responsibility [It’s the prerogative of government to provide free skill training courses]
aftermath	the consequences or after-effects of a significant unpleasant event [Higher earnings can provide the necessary cushion against the aftermath of the inflation]
low-hanging fruit	the most easily achieved set of tasks, measures, goals, etc. [Generous donation is a low-hanging fruit that helps big names to attract free publicity]
treasure trove	a collection or store of valuable or delightful things [State Library is a treasure trove for me]
bear the brunt	the principal force, shock, or stress [Every place bear the brunt of rapid urbanization]
accomplished	highly trained or skilled in a particular activity [Her parents are accomplished doctors]
conflict	difference of opinion [There was a conflict between Jenny and her parents]
reasoned out	tried to find an explanation or solution to something [I reasoned out with her and told her that making a career as a musician wouldn’t possibly give her the luxuries of a doctor]
mend	change, fix [Her parents threatened to cut her expenses if she did not mend her ways]
go above and beyond	to put extra effort [I try to help people in need, go above and beyond, regardless of any intention of getting something in return]
strata	group, class [Rich industrialists can help the poor strata of society by generous donations]
samaritan	a charitable or helpful person [If parents lead them by example in helping others, they follow their footsteps and become good samaritans in the future]
leg up	providing help [By engaging with other individuals and communities, we can provide a real leg up to people whoever needs it.
invigorated	strengthened, energized [Showing your own way of helping people, the children will be invigorated to do the same]
realm	a field or domain of activity or interest [Today, I would take this opportunity to tell you about my first day into the realm of education]
befriend	act as or become a friend to (someone) [In an effort to befriend me, they offered me their lunch]
gratifying	giving pleasure or satisfaction [My first day at school was gratifying]
incontrovertible	not able to be denied or disputed [It is incontrovertible that children rely on parents for most of their childhood]
pat on the back	a word or gesture of support, approval, or praise [Parents should often consult with their children in the family decisions and give them pat on the back for their contribution]
chaos	complete disorder and confusion [Too much interference by parents may led into chaos in children’s life]
die-hard fan	someone or something that shows or possesses extreme, absolute or complete loyalty [My family is a die-hard fan of movies and we hardly skip any weekends without watching a movie]
impromptu	done without being planned, organized, or rehearsed [We made no such plan of a movie night, it was all impromptu]
breezed through	do something very easily or confidently [Landon, an aimless, reckless guy who breezed through school on looks and popularity]
awe-inspiring	impressive, stunning, breathtaking [The movie was very awe-inspiring to me]
niche	a specialized audience for a particular kind of product or service [Documentaries have a niche audience so they appear to be less famous on a global scale but in reality they are not]
testament	something that serves as a sign or evidence [His style and range of characters is a true testament to his incredible acting ability]
need of the hour	The need of the hour is defined that it is the need of this moment or time [A fun activity after school/work has become need of the hour]
pays me off	yield good results [Badminton builds good physical stamina and mental agility which consequently pays me off in the work life]
relish	greatly enjoy [Each stroke of the racket makes the typical whoosh sound that I relish]
gender stereotypes	widely accepted biases about certain characteristics or traits about males-females [Dawa Yangzum Sherpa celebrate success in extreme mountaineering and breaking down gender stereotypes]
ally	friend, companion [My mother is my closest ally]
shopping spree	to shop excessively; to buy a lot of things in an extravagant way [Last Saturday we went out together on a shopping spree]
seize the day	make the most of the present moment [This woman looks at life as a challenge and wholeheartedly intends to seize the day every time]
outgrown	grow faster or taller [Older people have outgrown their living standards over the period of time]
fancy	feel a desire or liking for [We both fancy shopping]
daunting task	an intimidating or overwhelming task, difficult task [Frankly speaking, buying a new TV can feel like a daunting task]
doorbuster deals	an exclusive offer which is handed out early into the business’s opening hours [In the Black Friday sale, new models see major discounts in doorbuster deals]
binge-watch	watch multiple episodes of (a television programme) in rapid succession [I prefer to use television to binge-watch my favourite Netflix shows]
TV spree	to watch TV excessively [After returning from workplace, I go on a TV spree to watch my dearly loved Netflix shows]
indispensable	essential, crucial, necessary [Training employees during the start of the job is indispensable]
repercussions	an unintended consequence of an event or action, especially an unwelcome one [Using modern technology excessively at home has serious repercussions]
inevitable	unavoidable [Failure is inevitable]
doomed	an unfortunate and inescapable outcome; ill-fated [All my dreams were doomed in no time]
emotional fallout	emotional breakdown [It became difficult for me to handle the emotional fallout after failure]
with the likes of	similar to [I tried to build an online shopping website to compete with the likes of Amazon & Flipkart]
call it a day	decide or agree to stop doing something [The whole website was affected by a malware(virus) so I call it a day, and decided to shut it down]
down in the dumps	depressed or unhappy [My spirit was down in the dumps]
toiling	working extremely hard or incessantly [There is no point in toiling for something which has no opportunities]
let off a bit of steam	to do or say something that helps you to get rid of strong feelings or energy [Any time I need to let off a bit of steam, I call my friends and and talk]
sinking feeling	a vague unpleasant emotion [There is almost no more sinking feeling that losing your personal and financial belongings with the wallet]
go in vain	unsuccessful; of no value [I reported the theft but all efforts go in vain]
tattered state	torn into shreds ; ragged [I gifted my mother a new wallet because her old wallet was in a tattered state]
sea change	massive change ; a profound or notable transformation [A baby step from all of us can make a sea change in the environment]
laggard	a person who makes slow progress [Although I’ve worked with Environmental NGO’s and played my part but I am still a laggard in my efforts]
amalgamation	merger ; mixture [Festivals such as Halloween has become super popular in India because of increasing amalgamation of Western culture into Indian culture]

IELTS Vocabulary Part-2

Here’s some more IELTS Speaking Part: 1,2, and 3 vocabulary words, phrases and Idioms that can fetch you a 7+ band score.

Vocabulary Word or Idiom	Meaning & Sentence formation
inquisitive	having or showing an interest in learning things; curious [I am an inquisitive person]
one heck of	brilliant, surprisingly good [Spending time with friends is one heck of an adventure]
walk down memory lane	to reminisce over memories of past events [My grandmother spends more time walking down memory lane these days]
apprehensive	anxious or fearful that something bad or unpleasant will happen [For all my life I was apprehensive of diving into the water]
bread and butter	a person’s livelihood or main source of income. [Confidence is the bread and butter of sales people]
as happy as Larry	extremely happy [I was as happy as Larry after getting my first promotion]
goofing around	to spend time doing silly or playful things [I was just goofing around with my life]
Sexagenerian	a person from sixty to sixty-nine years old [I have seen Sexagenerians who started their new lives with new skillset and are quite successful]
mind-bending	influencing or altering one’s state of mind [if you look at Elon Musk’s tweets..they are hilarious and mind-bending]

IELTS Speaking Vocabulary PDF (Band 9)

Click on the link to download the IELTS Speaking Band 7-8-9 Vocabulary list in PDF.

I hope this post will boost your language proficiency. To know more about the Speaking test, check out our Speaking Section.

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All The Best !