Brian’s Vocabulary Course

For IELTS and TOEFL

By Brian Mark Churchill
Edition 1
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Well begun is half done
Chapter 2
Words you would love to learn
Chapter 3
Impressive words
Chapter 4
It pays to know more
Chapter 5
Good vocabulary is a must for success
Chapter 6
Words that enthral
Chapter 7
Impressive words
Chapter 8
Words are a treasure
Chapter 9
Words for you
Chapter 10
Words that charm the examiner
Chapter 11
A few more steps towards a better score
Chapter 12
Words that fill you with enthusiasm
Chapter 13
Words make a noticeable difference
Chapter 14
Commonly used words
Chapter 15
 A new day
The last words
Recommended reading
 Chapter 1
Well begun is half done
A good vocabulary is a must to score well in IELTS and TOEFL examinations.
Today you will learn 7 impactful words. All these are adjectives. These are your
first 7 big steps towards success.
Valiant
Reluctant
Indefatigable
Immense
Frail
Intractable
Ruthless
Meanings and usage practice:
VALIANT
Meaning: very brave; courageous.
Sentence:
The valiant warriors from the west swiftly conquered the weak empire.
RELUCTANT
Meaning: not willing to do something; not eager to do something.
Sentence:
Rebecca was reluctant to become a doctor as she had always dreamt of
becoming an architect.
INDEFATIGABLE
Meaning: tireless; able to work for a very long time without getting tired.
Sentence:
We need indefatigable youths to launch our marketing campaign.
IMMENSE
Meaning: very great in size or amount.
Sentences:
Vaccination of children is of immense importance.
The pop singer gained immense popularity all over the world.
FRAIL
Meaning: very weak.
Sentence:
The frail old farmer longs to see his child grow up into a strong man.
INTRACTABLE
Meaning1: (a person) too difficult to change.
Sentence:
How does she tolerate him! He is such an intractable alcoholic!
Meaning2: (a disease or pain) too difficult to cure or relieve.
Sentences:
The little girl was suffering from intractable diarrhoea.
 The old man was suffering from cancer. He had to suffer intractable pain
before his death.
Meaning3: (a problem) too difficult to solve.
Sentence:
The couple have intractable personal problems.
RUTHLESS
Meaning: having no pity; merciless; cruel.
Sentence:
Even the devil must have screamed on seeing such a ruthless murder.
Make at least one sentence of your own using the words described above.
 Chapter 2
Words you would love to learn

Lucrative
Evasive
Luxurious
Skeptical
Hasty
Egregious
Meanings and usage practice:
LUCRATIVE
Meaning: highly profitable.
Sentence:
Antony invested all his savings in this lucrative business.
EVASIVE
Meaning: not clear; not honest or not direct.
Sentence:
She gave an evasive answer when she was asked where she was last night.
LUXURIOUS
Meaning: very comfortable and expensive; something that gives great
pleasure.
Sentence:
Who doesn't want to live in a luxurious apartment these days?
SCEPTICAL (UK); Skeptical (US)
Meaning: to be too suspicious about something.
Sentence:
The doctor is skeptical about the statements of the medical company
regarding their new drug.
HASTY
Meaning: quick; in a hurry (sometimes without careful thought)
Sentence:
You might land up in trouble some day because of your hasty decisions.
EGREGIOUS
Meaning: very bad and easily noticeable.
Sentences:
The company fired him because of his egregious misconduct.
The file contains a lot of egregious errors.
 Chapter 3
Impressive words
Multifarious
Gigantic
Unprecedented
Enigmatic
Iconoclastic
Fastidious
Meanings and usage practice:
MULTIFARIOUS
Meaning: Of various types.
Sentence:
The international school promotes multifarious activities to bring out the
talents of the students.
GIGANTIC
Meaning: Huge; extremely large.
Sentence:
The kids loved watching gigantic waves crashing on the Fort Kochi beach.
UNPRECEDENTED
Meaning1: unparalleled; having no comparison;
Sentence:
The team celebrated its unprecedented success in the cricket match.
Meaning2: that which has never been done before; that which has never
been experienced before.
Sentence:
The business experienced an unprecedented growth this year.
ENIGMATIC
Meaning: puzzling; full of mystery;
Sentence:
Can anyone guess the reason behind the enigmatic smile of Mona Lisa?
ICONOCLASTIC
Meaning: one who breaks the image (icon) of; something (like a remark) or
someone who opposes established beliefs and practices.
Sentences:
The iconoclastic remarks of the social worker stunned the media.
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was an iconoclastic leader who abolished the
practice of ‘Sati’ in India.
FASTIDIOUS
Meaning: wanting to always be clean or keep things clean; someone who
is too much careful about how things should be done or kept.
Sentences:
She is fastidious about keeping her files in perfect order.
 Chapter 4
It pays to know more
Scintillating
Industrious
Murky
Lucid
Poignant
Jubilant
Formidable

Meanings and usage practice:

SCINTILLATING
Meaning: very lively and interesting (e.g. a scintillating performance on
stage); very clever and interesting (e.g. a scintillating lecture/ a scintillating
conversation).
Sentences:
We were mesmerized by the little girl's scintillating dance performance on
the stage.
All the viewers were mesmerized by the singer’s scintillating personality.
[Mesmerize means ‘to have someone’s complete attention so that they
cannot think of anything else.]
INDUSTRIOUS
Meaning: hard working.
Sentence:
The little boy admires the industrious nature of ants who work tirelessly
to collect food for themselves.

MURKY
Meaning1: very dark or foggy.
Sentence1: The children looked at the murky skies and shivered. "Is it
going to be one of those bad days?" a kid asked.
Meaning2: (of a liquid) not clear; cloudy; dirty;
Sentence2: The girl hesitated to put her foot into the murky water of the
pond.
Meaning3: not clearly expressed or understood.
Sentence3: The boy offered a murky explanation regarding his absence
from the hostel last night.
Meaning4: involving dishonest or illegal activities that are not well known.
Sentence4: The builder has a murky past.
LUCID
Meaning: very clear and easy to understand (eg. a lucid explanation).
Sentences:
 Enid Blyton wrote many lucid story books for children.
The employee provided a lucid explanation regarding his absence from
work.
POIGNANT
Meaning: causing deep sadness.
Sentence: The woman hates to dwell in the poignant memories of her
painful past.
JUBILANT
Meaning: very happy.
Sentence: The boys joined the soldiers in their jubilant celebration.
FORMIDABLE
Meaning1: very powerful or strong.
Sentence1: The ruler stared at the formidable army standing against him
in the battlefield.
Meaning2: very difficult to deal with or to solve.
Sentence2: Climbing Mount Everest is a formidable task.
Meaning3: huge; large in size or amount.
Sentence3: The businessman has gathered formidable wealth through
illegal mining.
 Chapter 5
Good vocabulary is a must for success
Here are a few more good words to learn today.
Eloquent
Hideous
Cannibalistic
Remote
Gorgeous
Dubious
Undaunted
Usage practice:
ELOQUENT
Meaning: having ability to use a language fluently and clearly.
Sentences:
The audiences were very happy on hearing the Prime Minister's eloquent
speech.
He is an eloquent speaker, no doubt.
HIDEOUS
Meaning: very ugly; repulsive.
Sentences:
The fire left him with a hideous deformed face.
Poverty has forced them to live in those smelly hideous slum areas.
The hideous crime shook the whole world.
CANNIBALISTIC
Meaning: one who eats others of his own kind (eg. man eating man)
Sentence:
It is scary to hear about the cannibalistic tribes in tropical Africa.
REMOTE
Meaning: far away; distant.
Sentence: The doctors happily agreed to go to the remote village to serve
the poor farmers.
GORGEOUS
Meaning: very beautiful or attractive; marvellous;
Sentence:
Oh! The new model is gorgeous!
DUBIOUS
Meaning: uncertain; unsure; doubtful.
Sentence: I am sorry to say that her chances of passing the exams are
dubious.
UNDAUNTED
Meaning: one who cannot be frightened; not afraid to continue doing
something even though there are problems, dangers, etc.
Sentences:
The undaunted firemen fought the fire and saved the child trapped inside
the burning building.
Undaunted, they fought their enemy in the battle field.
 Chapter 6
Words that enthral
These words have always enthralled me. Now it is your turn to love them as
much as I do.
Rejuvenate
Evoke
Deplete
Ensue
Epitomize
Enthral (US usually enthrall)
Bewitch
Fascinate
Entice

REJUVENATE
Meaning: to give new strength or energy to; to make youthful again.
Sentence:
The success was enough to rejuvenate his strength.
EVOKE
Meaning: to cause (a response or a reaction) to happen.
Sentence:
It is difficult to evoke a positive response from him these days. He is
suffering from major depression after losing his job.
DEPLETE
Meaning: to greatly reduce the amount of something; to exhaust (like
energy, money etc.).
Sentence:
Population explosion is rapidly depleting our natural resources.
ENSUE
Meaning: to follow; to follow as a result of something; to happen because
of something.
Sentences:
The doctors did a wonderful surgery. In the ensuing weeks her health
improved dramatically.
After the politician's speech, religious riots ensued in the village.
EPITOMIZE
Meaning: to be a perfect example of (something).
Sentence:
John Hopkins University epitomizes perfection in Biotechnology.
ENTHRAL
Meaning: to keep someone involved and deeply interested in something.
Sentence:
 The beautiful performance of the dancer on the stage enthralled all the
viewers.
BEWITCH
Meaning: To attract or impress someone so much that you have the
power to influence them.
Sentence:
The singer bewitched the crowd by her soft, pleasant and emotional
songs.
FASCINATE
Meaning: To interest or attract someone a lot.
Sentence:
I was fascinated by her beauty.
ENTICE
Meaning: to persuade someone to do something by offering them
something pleasant (like increased salary, bonus, gifts, something free,
etc.)
Sentence:
The new college tried to entice students into joining its courses by offering
a free laptop to every new student.
 Chapter 7
Impressive words
Keep going further, and get good scores in IELTS/TOEFL
Urge
Refrain
Deteriorate
Integrate
Abscond

Meanings and usage practice:

URGE
Meaning: to try to seriously persuade someone to do something.
Sentence:
I urged my friend to give up smoking.
REFRAIN
Meaning: to prevent someone (or yourself) from doing something
desirable.
Sentence:
I refrained myself from drinking wine after the doctor told me that my
liver has gone bad.
DETERIORATE
Meaning: to make worse.
Sentence:
Unclean habits deteriorate one's image in society.
INTEGRATE
Meaning: to add up two or more things to make something bigger.
Sentence:
The scientists integrated all their resources to develop the new satellite.
ABSCOND
Meaning: to run away secretly.
Sentence:
The criminal absconded as soon as he heard the police siren.
 Chapter 8
Words are a treasure
These are very commonly used words, and really add a lot of punch to any
writing.
Succumb
Compel
Indulge
Renew
Resolve
Abhor
Aggravate
Meanings and usage practice:
SUCCUMB
Meaning1: to stop trying to resist something.
Sentence:
You must be bold. You should not succumb to the emotional drama he
sometimes creates to take advantage of you.
Meaning2: to stop trying to resist (and die).
Sentence:
She struggled hard, but at last succumbed to her illness.
COMPEL
Meaning: to force someone to do something.
Sentence:
My boss compelled me to go to Nigeria.
INDULGE
Meaning: to allow (yourself) to do something, or to have something, as a
special pleasure.
Sentence:
He frequently indulges in late night parties. That worries me a lot.
RENEW
Meaning: to refresh; to make 'new' again.
Sentence:
The vacation renewed my interest in photography.
RESOLVE
Meaning1: to make a firm decision to do something.
Sentence:
She resolved to make a new film this year.
Meaning2: to find an answer or solution to some problem.
Sentence:
The couple finally resolved their conflict.
ABHOR
Meaning: to hate deeply.
 Sentence:
I abhor corruption.
AGGRAVATE
Meaning: to make a problem or injury worse, more painful, or severe.
Sentence:
Losing his job aggravated his financial crisis.
Drinking alcohol aggravated his liver injury.
 Chapter 9
Words for you
Apprise
Reiterate
Adhere
Harass
Dominate
Aspire
Annihilate
Meanings and usage practice:
APPRISE
Meaning: to inform.
Sentence:
The students apprised the warden of the problems they were facing in the
hostel.
ADHERE
Meaning: to stick to something.
Sentence:
You must adhere to the rules in order to avoid punishment in this college.
REITERATE
Meaning: to repeat one's words in order to emphasize one's point.
Sentence:
The Principal reiterated that wearing white uniform on Saturdays was
compulsory.
HARASS
Meaning: to annoy or bother someone by troubling repeatedly.
Sentence:
Many seniors love to harass their juniors.
DOMINATE
Meaning1: to control or have power over someone or something.
Sentence:
The king wanted to dominate over the whole world.
Meaning2: to be the most important part of something.
Sentence:
There are only a few actors who dominate Bollywood film industry.
ASPIRE
Meaning: to desire for something (like a particular career, or level of
success).
Sentence:
She aspires to become an architect.
ANNIHILATE
Meaning: to destroy something or someone completely
Sentences:
HIV annihilates ones immune system.
30 years ago, plague annihilated the whole village.
The enemy troops annihilated the entire city.
 Chapter 10
Words that charm the examiner
Refute
Mollify
Flay
Devastate
Misconstrue
Afflict
Culminate

Meanings and usage practice:

REFUTE
Meaning: to prove that something is wrong or not true.
Sentence:
The eyewitness refuted all the statements of the criminal.
MOLLIFY
Meaning: to calm down someone's anger; to pacify; to lessen the severity
of.
Sentence:
He made an attempt to mollify his wife’s anger before she filed for
divorce.
FLAY
Meaning: to beat or whip someone very severely, so much that it even
strips off his skin.
This word is often used figuratively. Like: a girl’s 'biting remarks' may be so
severe that a person feels that that his skin is literally being stripped off.
Sentences:
The angry policeman flayed the criminal. Here, the policeman is beating
the criminal violently, stripping off his skin.
The angry woman flayed her husband in front of her in-laws. (Here the
woman is shouting and cursing her husband severely).
DEVASTATE
Meaning: to cause great damage.
Sentence:
The invaders devastated the whole village.
The sudden loss devastated all my plans of going to America.
MISCONSTRUE
Meaning: to misunderstand
Sentence:
Albert misconstrued the innocent intentions of his wife.
AFFLICT
Meaning: to cause pain or suffering.
 Sentence:
HIV has afflicted many people, and has caused many deaths worldwide.
CULMINATE
Meaning: to reach the end or final point of something (usually followed
by 'with' or 'in').
Sentences:
The investigation culminated with the arrest of two criminals.
 Chapter 11
A few more steps towards a better score
Stifle
Infuse
Disburse
Provoke
Languish
Cajole
Camouflage
Meanings and usage practice:
STIFLE
Meaning1: To suppress; to suffocate; to stop (someone) from doing or
expressing something.
Sentence:
Desires of many youngsters get stifled every day in these difficult times of
economic struggle.
INFUSE
Meaning: to fill with; to cause something or someone to be filled with
something.
Sentence:
Subhash Chandra Bose infused patriotism and courage in thousands of
Indian youths.
DISBURSE
Meaning: to give money from a fund that has been created for a special
purpose.
Sentences:
The government freely disbursed money in helping the poor farmers.
PROVOKE
Meaning: to cause someone to become angry or violent.
Sentence:
The harassment of the maid by the landlord provoked a deadly fight
between him and the poor girl’s family.
LANGUISH
Meaning: to remain in an unwanted or disagreeable situation for a very
long time.
Sentence:
The criminal is languishing in jail.
CAJOLE
Meaning: to persuade someone by flattery; to make someone do
something by saying good-good things, or by making sweet promises.
Sentence:
My sister cajoled me into lending her money for seeing a movie.
CAMOUFLAGE
Meaning: to hide something by using things like plants, trees, grass etc.;
to disguise by using wigs, fake moustache, etc.
Sentences:
The detective camouflaged his identity by coloured contact lenses and a
fake moustache.
It was impossible to find the camouflaged enemy camps.
 Chapter 12
Words that fill you with enthusiasm
Given below are your next six steps towards a better score in IELTS or TOEFL.
Collaboration
Enthusiasm
Esteem
Trepidation
Confrontation
Adversary
Meanings and usage practice: Please make at least one sentence of your own
after reading the description of each word given below.
COLLABORATION
Meaning: Union of people or parties to do some work together (like
collaboration of medical companies, collaboration of architects, etc.)
Sentence:
The collaboration of the two big companies proved to be very profitable
in establishing a business in USA.
Can you modify this word and use it in verb form? Try doing it. An
example is given below:
The two companies collaborated with each other in order to make
their financial status more stable.
ENTHUSIASM
Meaning: Great eagerness (like energetic eagerness) to do something.
Sentence:
I love the kid’s enthusiasm for music.
Now, modify this word and use it as an adjective. An example is
given below:
The girls are very enthusiastic about our new photography project.
ESTEEM
Meaning: great respect for someone
Sentence:
The politician wants to achieve the highest position of esteem and power.
TREPIDATION
Meaning: a feeling of great fear or alarm (like the feeling many people get
while crossing a graveyard in midnight); fear or worry about what is going
to happen.
Sentence:
With trepidation Rohan entered the thick forest in the dark night.
We see the soaring property rates with some trepidation.
CONFRONTATION
Meaning: A face to face argument or fight.
Sentence:
 I had a confrontation with my enemy last night.
Convert this word in verb and use it in your own sentence. An example
has been given below:
She confronted her husband when she came to know that he had insulted
her mother.
ADVERSARY
Meaning: an opponent
Sentence:
He saw her as an adversary in his professional growth.
Please make at least one sentence of your own using the words described
above. Practice is the most important element in your preparation for the
exams like IELTS and TOEFL.
 Chapter 13
Words make a noticeable difference
Generally, people who communicate well are more successful than those who
cannot.
English is a universal language. If you are not well versed in this language, you
are limiting your communication with a major section of the population
worldwide. If you master this language, success will touch your feet.
Take English as your passion. Love it. Work hard to know it more.
Today we are going to learn another five dynamic words.
Debacle
Tenacity
Controversy
Crusade
Chaos

Meanings and usage practice: Make at least one sentence of your own after
reading the description of each word given below.
DEBACLE
Meaning: a complete failure, especially due to bad planning.
Sentence:
The inexperienced youth faced an embarrassing debacle in setting up a
new business in Singapore.
TENACITY
Meaning: Persistence; Strong determination
Sentence:
Despite repeated failures, the boy continued to try. Ultimately he did
succeed in the Olympics. We all admire his tenacity.
Now use this word in adjective form after modifying it suitably. An
example is given below:
It was very difficult to clean the tenacious dirt on the utensils after
the party was over.
CONTROVERSY
Meaning: difference in opinion.
Sentence:
There was a big controversy over the issue of sharing of the river water
between the two Indian states.
CRUSADE
Meaning: a fierce campaign or war.
Sentence:
It is a moral crusade against drugs.
Our country is continuously involved in a crusade against religious
discrimination at workplace.
CHAOS
Meaning: Disorder and confusion.
Sentence:
There was an uncontrollable chaos in the busy market after the bomb
blast.
 Chapter 14
Commonly used words
Agenda
Slump
Norm
Defiance
Disdain
Aspect
Scenario
Meanings and usage practice:
AGENDA
Meaning: a list of works to be done.
Sentence:
A well planned agenda helped me a lot in completing my Physics project
on time.
SLUMP
Meaning: A sudden severe downfall, especially in price or value.
Sentence:
India has worked hard to come out of the economic slump.
NORM
Meaning: an accepted standard; an accepted pattern.
Sentence:
A relaxed lifestyle is a norm in Australia.
Surrogacy is fast becoming a norm in the affluent society.
(Surrogacy means ‘practice of a couple hiring another woman to bear their
child due to medical problems or any other reason’.
Affluent means rich
DEFIANCE
Meaning: open, bold, and stubborn disobedience.
Sentence:
The strike was seen as an act of defiance against the Government.
DISDAIN
Meaning: When you dislike something and feel that it does not deserve
your attention.
Sentence:
It is a shame the way my neighbor treats his wife with disdain.
ASPECT
Meaning: A view of something from one angle or direction; one part of a
situation, problem or a subject.
Sentence:
Why do you see only the emotional aspect of the problem?
Which aspects of the job do you enjoy the most?
 His illness affected almost every aspect of his life.
SCENARIO
Meaning: a description of possible actions or events; outline of a scene
Sentence:
In the present day scenario people don’t have much time for their
personal life.
Worst case scenario: this phrase means: the most unpleasant or serious
thing which could happen in a situation.
The study concludes that in a worst case scenario there might be 80, 000
HIV infections in Nigeria.
 Chapter 15
A new day
Today is a new day… a new day to learn 5 new words full of vibrant energy.
Endurance
Perseverance
Proliferation
Assassin
Perspective
Meanings and usage practice:
ENDURANCE
Meaning: tolerance; the ability to tolerate and keep doing something
difficult, unpleasant or painful for a long time.
Sentence:
I admire the endurance of the villagers who work so hard in the fields
every day.
Can you convert this word into a verb and use it in a sentence of
your own? Here is an example:
God’s love endures our mistakes forever.
PERSEVERANCE
Meaning: continued effort and determination
Sentence:
Mother Teresa changed the lives of many poor people through
perseverance and love.
PROLIFERATION
Meaning: rapid multiplication; rapid increase in number.
Sentence:
With the property rates soaring high, there is a rapid proliferation of real
estate agents all around.
(To soar means to rise very high)
Can you use the word ‘soar’ in a sentence of your own?
Can you convert the word ‘proliferation’ into a verb and use it in a
sentence? Here are a few examples:
The germs proliferate very rapidly.
Due to great demand, software companies rapidly proliferated all
over the country.
ASSASSIN
Meaning: A murderer (especially of an important person)
Sentence:
The assassins, who murdered our prime minister, have been punished by
law.
Now convert this word into a verb, and use it in a sentence. You
want an example? Here it is…
 The three rogues assassinated the political leader ruthlessly.
( Rogue means a dishonest man, a man without good principles ;
ruthlessly means doing something without pity).
PERSPECTIVE
Meaning: A view regarding relative importance of things
Sentence:
A person must keep a balanced perspective to run a business successfully.
This means that the person should have a balanced view regarding
relative importance of different matters.
 The last words
Recommended reading
In the end, I must tell you what books and reading materials I have always
loved. They are really good, and really build up your foundation in English
language.
Here they are:
Six weeks to words of power, by Wilfred Funk.
Cambridge online dictionary (http://dictionary.cambridge.org). This is
very helpful. Any time I have a doubt, I just open this online dictionary
and type the word I want to know more about in its search box. It gives
me the meaning, the usage details…everything I need. Not only this, it
also tells me how to speak the word. YOU TOO MUST MAKE IT YOUR
HABIT. It is highly recommended.
High School English Grammar and Composition by Wren and Martin.
In the end, I want to thank you for reading this book. I hope this book came up
to your expectations.
I would love to get a feedback from you. That will help me improve this book
further. My email: brianmarkc@ymail.com.
May God bless you all and give you success in your exams.
Brian