Vocabulary
New Vocabulary
Learn to communicate better by learning new words and know how to use them in context.
(Source - https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/vocabulary)
General dictionaries
Online dictionaries for general vocabulary
Content-specific dictionaries
Online dictionaries for subject-specific vocabulary
Thesauri
Useful for finding synonyms
Academic Word List
Meaning, pronunciation, synonyms, collocations and usage of academic words.
There are 10 wordlists.
Check your academic word score. Complete tests A and B.
Check your answers for tests A and B here.
Prefixes and suffixes
A video introduction to prefixes and suffixes
A list of prefixes and suffixes, rules, and exercises
A list of prefixes and suffixes commonly used in academic writing
A list of noun, adjective,verb, and adverb suffixes
Collocations
Enter a word. Select the type of 'academic English'. Click 'go'.
A tool for testing the frequency of word combinations
Texts at various levels of difficulty that can be used to make language learning resources.
Enter a word. Select one of 'Examples', 'Word sketch' or 'Similar Words'. Click 'go'.
Context Clues
You may not always need to refer to a dictionary to check the meaning of unfamiliar words. Context clues can help you with this.
Types of context clues and how to recognise them in a text
Strategies (steps) to unlock the meaning of unfamiliar words.
A list of three context clues and two exercises.
Instructional vocabulary
Instructional vocabulary, also known as task words
The list here provides examples of some of the most commonly used instructional words and explains their meaning.
Understanding task words helps you to know exactly what is being asked of you in your assignment questions.