Common Paraphrases/Synonyms

According to the Online Cambridge Dictionary, a ‘Paraphrase‘ is “to repeat something written or spoken using different words, often in a humorous form or in a simpler and shorter form that makes the original meaning clearer”.

Quite often, in the IELTS Speaking exam, the ‘Paraphrasing’ covered in the Lexcial Resource section of the criteria, synonyms can be used.

A ‘Synonym‘ is defined as “a word or phrase that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word or phrase in the same language”.

There are other ways, such as using an opposite/negative:

It was hard = It wasn’t easy

Another way is to use more/less formal language:

I’m concerned = I’m worried/I’m stressed.

Both of these are essential in the IELTS Speaking Exam and important in the IELTS Writing exam for the higher (6.5+) scores. 

Below are some more common Synoyms used with those in my new 9分达人 Speaking book highlighted.