Why This Matters
Some students are convinced that using complex vocabulary will impress the examiner and boost their Lexical Resource score. That’s false. Using words you don’t fully understand — especially “fancy” ones lifted from YouTube lists or vocabulary apps — will almost always hurt your score. Examiners aren’t looking for performance. They’re looking for clarity, control, and natural use of language. Peacock words don’t make you sound smart — they make you sound fake.
What Are Peacock Words?
“Peacock words” are show-off, academic-sounding, overpolished terms that some IELTS blogs and tutors claim will wow the examiner.
Words like:
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Aberration
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Alacrity
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Conundrum
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Paradigm
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Juxtaposition
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Alleviate (in every single essay)
You’ve probably seen titles like:
“40 Band 9 Words You Must Use”
“100 Hard Words That Will Wow Your IELTS Examiner”
Let’s be blunt:
This advice is garbage.
Why These Lists Are Dangerous
These “magic vocabulary” posts are popular — but they do real damage.
The problems:
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They teach students to prioritise flash over clarity
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They ignore the actual IELTS band descriptors
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They result in writing that sounds unnatural, incoherent, or memorised
Here’s what the real band descriptors say for Lexical Resource:
“Uses a wide range of vocabulary with very natural and sophisticated control of lexical features.”
Nowhere does it say:
“Use unnecessarily difficult words you found on Instagram.”
Real Example: Bad Writing from a Peacock List
Original:
The amelioration of public transport is an imperative consideration for governmental bodies as it can alleviate traffic conundrums and ameliorate citizens’ quotidian experience. Moreover, an efficacious transit system augments productivity paradigms.
Why it fails:
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The meaning is unclear
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It sounds like AI or a thesaurus exploded
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“Ameliorate” is used twice. “Paradigms” adds nothing
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This isn’t academic English — it’s a parody of it
Fixed Version – Clear, Band-9 Style
Improving public transport should be a top priority for governments, as it can reduce traffic problems and make daily life easier for residents. A reliable system also helps workers commute more efficiently, which benefits the economy overall.
Why it works:
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Vocabulary is precise and appropriate
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Sentences flow naturally
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It actually makes a point
What the Examiner Actually Wants
They’ve seen it all.
What they want is:
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Clarity
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Logic
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Accuracy
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Natural tone
If you use words you don’t fully understand, or try to “upgrade” every noun and verb, it shows.
And it doesn’t impress — it backfires.
So What Should You Do Instead?
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Use vocabulary that you actually know how to use
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Don’t “upgrade” simple words unless the replacement is 100% accurate
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Use word families and related forms naturally (e.g. environment → environmental → environmentally)
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Focus on making your point clearly and supporting it with a realistic example
Say this:
Air quality is poor.
Not this:
The atmospheric condition is in a state of deterioration.
Want to Practise?
Fix this sentence:
This trend alleviates the deleterious ramifications of urbanisation.
Rewrite it so it sounds like a real human wrote it under exam conditions.
Final Word
If you follow the structures on this site and write clearly, the examiner will notice.
They’ve read thousands of essays. They’ve seen every trick.
Trying to impress with flashy words you don’t fully understand is like wearing a sequinned cape to a job interview — it doesn’t work, and it makes them suspicious.
There’s nothing wrong with a chicken.
You don’t need peacock feathers.
You need a clear, structured, focused argument with examples.
Write like someone who wants to be understood —
Not someone who wants to be admired.