List of Useful Synonyms & Antonyms for IELTS Band 9 (Part 1)

Kasturika Samanta

7 min read

Updated On Oct 22, 2025

Unlock your vocabulary power with this blog! It offers an extensive list of useful synonyms and antonyms for IELTS band 9 with examples and exercises to improve writing variety, lexical resource, and accuracy for both IELTS Writing and Speaking modules.

Useful Synonyms & Antonyms for IELTS Band 9

List of Useful Synonyms & Antonyms for IELTS Band 9
Practice Exercises for Useful Synonyms & Antonyms for IELTS Band 9
Answer Keys for Practice Exercises on Useful Synonyms & Antonyms for IELTS Band 9

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When preparing for the IELTS exam, mastering vocabulary beyond the basics is essential. High-level words not only help you convey your ideas more precisely but also demonstrate lexical resource, which is a key criterion in both writing and speaking tasks. However, repeating the same words might affect your score, which makes learning their synonyms and antonyms essential.

This blog presents 40 advanced words, their meanings, sample original sentences, and practice exercises to test your grasp of their usage. These words cover a variety of contexts, including emotions, behaviors, social relationships, and descriptive language, which are commonly tested in the IELTS exam.

List of Useful Synonyms & Antonyms for IELTS Band 9

Using synonyms and antonyms effectively can improve your IELTS band score, allowing you to avoid repetition and express nuanced meanings. So, let us look at the list of the powerful antonyms and synonyms for IELTS Writing and Speaking in the table below.

Word	Synonyms	Antonyms	Example Sentence
Remote	Distant, isolated	Near, close	The village is so remote that it is unreachable by public transport.
Predict	Forecast, anticipate	Misjudge, doubt	Meteorologists predict heavy rainfall this weekend.
Banish	Exile, expel	Welcome, accept	The king banished the traitor from the kingdom.
Detest	Abhor, loathe	Love, admire	She detests dishonesty in any form.
Kin	Relatives, clan	Stranger, outsider	He felt a strong bond with his kin during the festival.
Fraud	Deceit, swindle	Honesty, integrity	The company uncovered a massive fraud in its accounts.
Gracious	Courteous, polite	Rude, unkind	The host was gracious to every guest.
Pensive	Contemplative, reflective	Carefree, indifferent	She sat in a pensive mood, staring at the horizon.
Saccharine	Sugary, cloying	Bitter, sincere	The movie’s ending felt saccharine and unrealistic.
Drag	Haul, pull	Push, propel	He had to drag the heavy suitcase up the stairs.
Simulate	Mimic, replicate	Original, genuine	The pilots simulate emergency scenarios to prepare for real crises.
Generic	Standard, common	Unique, specific	This generic brand tastes exactly like the expensive one.
Jovial	Merry, jolly	Morose, gloomy	His jovial personality made him popular among colleagues.
Charisma	Magnetism, appeal	Repulsiveness	The leader’s charisma drew people to his cause.
Qualm	Misgiving, hesitation	Certainty, confidence	She had qualms about signing the contract.
Indifferent	Apathetic, unconcerned	Concerned, interested	He remained indifferent to the heated argument.
Apportion	Allocate, distribute	Withhold, keep	The manager apportioned the tasks equally among team members.
Wary	Cautious, alert	Reckless, careless	She was wary of strangers approaching her.
Distort	Misrepresent, warp	Clarify, straighten	The politician distorted the facts to gain support.
Inscrutable	Mysterious, enigmatic	Transparent, clear	His expression was inscrutable, revealing nothing of his thoughts.
Appall	Shock, horrify	Comfort, please	The conditions in the abandoned factory appalled the inspectors.
Upright	Honorable, ethical	Dishonest, corrupt	He lived an upright life and helped many.
Reverie	Daydream, fantasy	Reality, wakefulness	Lost in reverie, she forgot the time.
Sumptuous	Lavish, opulent	Plain, modest	The palace was decorated in sumptuous gold and velvet.
Loot	Plunder, pillage	Return, restore	The invaders looted the village.
Reel	Stagger, wobble	Steady, stabilize	He reeled after hearing the shocking news.
Loquacious	Talkative, garrulous	Silent, reticent	The loquacious guide kept the tourists entertained.
Chimera	Fantasy, dream	Reality, fact	Their hopes of winning were a mere chimera.
Nabob	Magnate, tycoon	Pauper, commoner	The nabob donated generously to charity.
Pall	Fade, diminish	Brighten, revive	The excitement began to pall after hours of waiting.
Sacrosanct	Sacred, inviolable	Profane, ordinary	Freedom of speech is considered sacrosanct in a democracy.
Louche	Shady, questionable	Respectable, honest	He had a louche reputation in the business world.
Temerity	Audacity, nerve	Caution, humility	She had the temerity to question her professor.
Stentorian	Booming, thunderous	Soft, gentle	The speaker’s stentorian voice filled the hall.
Educe	Extract, evoke	Suppress, hide	The teacher helped educe the student’s latent talent.

Practice Exercises for Useful Synonyms & Antonyms for IELTS Band 9

We have put together a few exercises that you should take some time to solve to enhance your comprehension and use of the essential synonyms and antonyms for IELTS vocabulary score.

Which of these words is closest in meaning to the word provided?

Q. No.	Word	Options
1	Remote	a. automatic b. distant c. savage d. mean
2	Detest	a. argue b. hate c. discover d. reveal
3	Gracious	a. pretty b. clever c. pleasant d. present
4	Predict	a. foretell b. decide c. prevent d. discover
5	Kin	a. exult b. twist c. friend d. relative
6	Pensive	a. oppressed b. caged c. thoughtful d. happy
7	Banish	a. exile b. hate c. fade d. clean
8	Fraud	a. imposter b. argument c. clown d. malcontent
9	Saccharine	a. leave b. sweet c. arid d. quit
10	Drag	a. sleepy b. crush c. proud d. pull
11	Jovial	a. incredulous b. merry c. revolting d. dizzy
12	Indifferent	a. neutral b. unkind c. precious d. mean
13	Simulate	a. excite b. imitate c. trick d. apelike
14	Charisma	a. ghost b. force c. charm d. courage
15	Apportion	a. divide b. decide c. cut d. squabble
16	Generic	a. general b. cheap c. fresh d. elderly
17	Qualm	a. distress b. impunity c. persevere d. scruple
18	Wary	a. calm b. curved c. confused d. cautious
19	Distort	a. wrong b. evil c. deform d. harm
20	Sumptuous	a. delirious b. gorgeous c. perilous d. luxurious
21	Reel	a. whirl b. fish c. hit d. mistake
22	Inscrutable	a. difficult b. mysterious c. inflexible d. wary
23	Appall	a. delirious b. covered c. dismay d. confuse
24	Upright	a. honorable b. horizontal c. humble d. supine
25	Reverie	a. palimpsest b. phantom c. daydream d. curio
26	Loot	a. destruction b. waste c. spoils d. cavort
27	Loquacious	a. talkative b. thirsty c. beautiful d. complicated
28	Chimera	a. chimney b. protest c. illusion d. panache
29	Temerity	a. audacity b. fearfulness c. shyness d. stupidity
30	Educe	a. demand b. elicit c. ideal d. unlawful
31	Nabob	a. bigwig b. doubter c. frolic d. converse
32	Pall	a. light b. satiate c. carry d. horror
33	Sacrosanct	a. prayer b. sanctuary c. pious d. sacred
34	Louche	a. gauche b. fine c. brilliant d. indecent
35	Stentorian	a. violent b. misbegotten c. loud d. stealthy

Explore our Vocabulary for IELTS to boost your IELTS vocabulary!

Answer Keys for Practice Exercises on Useful Synonyms & Antonyms for IELTS Band 9

b. remote means faraway, or distant
b. to detest means to feel intense or violent dislike, or to hate
c. gracious means to be pleasant or considerate in social interactions
a. to predict means to declare in advance or to foretell
d. kin means people with common ancestors, or relatives
c. pensive means moodily or dreamily thoughtful
a. to banish means to drive out from home or country, or to exile
c. a fraud is someone who is not what he or she pretends to be, or an imposter
b. saccharine means overly sweet
d. to drag is to pull, or to cause movement in a direction with applied force
b. jovial means good-humored or merry
a. to be indifferent is to be marked by impartiality or to be neutral
b. to simulate is to assume the outward appearance of, or to imitate
c. charisma is magnetic charm or appeal
a. to apportion is to divide and share out
a. generic means having the characteristic of a whole group, or general
d. a qualm is a feeling of uneasiness about a moral issue, or a scrupled. wary means to be attentive especially to danger, or to be cautious
c. to distort means to twist out of a normal state, or to deform
d. sumptuous means excessively costly, rich, or luxurious
a. one meaning of reel is to move around and round or to whirl
b. inscrutable means not easily interpreted or understood, or mysterious
c. to appall is to overcome with shock, or to dismay
a. upright can mean either honorable or vertical; horizontal and supine are both antonyms of upright
c. a reverie means the state of being lost in thought or a daydream
c. loot means goods seized in war or spoils
a. loquacious means excessively talkative, or garrulous
c. a chimera is a fabrication of the mind, or an illusion
a. temerity means unreasonable contempt for danger or recklessness, or audacity
b. to reduce means to develop something potential or latent; to elicit means to draw out something hidden or latent
a. a nabob is a person of great wealth or importance, or a bigwig
b. to pall can mean to deprive of pleasure in something by satiating
d. sacrosanct means the most sacred, or holy
d. louche means not reputable, or indecent
c. stentorian means loud and is usually used to imply a voice of great power and range

To conclude, mastering these synonyms and antonyms of the Band 8+ words and adding them to your advanced vocabulary word list for IELTS significantly boosts your lexical range for IELTS. However, remember that only accurate usage demonstrates sophistication in both speaking and writing, helping you achieve a Band 9. So, make sure to practice them regularly through writing sentences, simulating speaking tests, and reviewing synonyms to ensure these words become part of your active vocabulary.

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