AWL  –  Academic  Word  List  development  

 
Word:   •Ambiguous  /æmˈbɪg.ju.əәs/  
Definition:   •  having  /  expressing  more  than  one  possible  meaning,  sometimes  intentionally  
Word  forms:   •  ambiguity  (noun)  ,  (un)ambiguous  (adjective),  ambiguously  (adverb)  
Sentence:   •The  government  has  been  ambiguous  on  this  issue.  
 
•Beneficial  /ˌben.ɪˈfɪʃ.əәl/  
•  
•  (4)    
•  
 
•Controversy  /ˈkɒn.trəә.vɜː.si/  /ˈkɑːn.trəә.vɝː-­‐/    
•  
•  (2)    
•  
 
•Derivative  /dɪˈrɪv.əә.tɪv/  
•  
•  (3)    
•  
 
•Emphasis  /ˈemp .fəә.sɪs/  
•  
•  (3)    
•  
 
•Facilitate    /fəәˈsɪl.ɪ.teɪt/  
•    
•  (3)    
•  
 
•Hypothesis  /haɪˈpɒθ.əә.sɪs/  
•  
•    (4)    
•  
 
•Initiate    /ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt/  
•  
•  (3)  
•  
 
•Justify  /ˈdʒʌs.tɪ.faɪ/    
•  
•  (4)    
•  
 
•Logic  /ˈlɒdʒ.ɪk/  
•  
•(3)    
•  
 
 
               

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AWL  –  Academic  Word  List  development  
 
 
•Ambiguous  /æmˈbɪg.ju.əәs/  
•having  or  expressing  more  than  one  possible  meaning,  sometimes  intentionally  
•  ambiguity  (noun)  ,  (un)ambiguous  (adjective),  ambiguously  (adverb)  
•The  government  has  been  ambiguous  on  this  issue.  
 
•Beneficial  /ˌben.ɪˈfɪʃ.əәl/  
•helpful,  useful  or  good  
•beneficial,  beneficiary,  benefit,  to  benefit  
The  improvement  in  sales  figures  had  a  beneficial  effect/influence  on  the  company  as  a  
whole.  
•Controversy  /ˈkɒn.trəә.vɜː.si/  /ˈkɑːn.trəә.vɝː-­‐/    
•a  lot  of  disagreement  or  argument  about  something,    
•controversies,  controversial,  controversially,  uncontroversial  
•The  policy  has  caused  fierce  controversy  ever  since  it  was  introduced  
 
•Derivative  /dɪˈrɪv.əә.tɪv/  
•it  is  not  the  result  of  new  ideas,  but  has  been  developed  from  something  else  
•derivation,    derivative,  derive  
•His  theory  of  business  dynamics  is  terribly  derivative  and  and  fails  to  facilitate  
modern  ideology.  
•Emphasis  /ˈemp .fəә.sɪs/  
•he  particular  importance  or  attention  that  you  give  to  something  
•emphasise,  emphatic,  emphatically  
•The  minister  has  issued  an  emphatic  rejection  of  the  accusation.  
 
•Facilitate    /fəәˈsɪl.ɪ.teɪt/  
•  to  make  possible  or  easier  
•facilitated,  facilitating,  facilitation,  facilitator,  facility  
•The  current  structure  does  not  facilitate  efficient  work  flow  
 
•Hypothesis  /haɪˈpɒθ.əә.sɪs/  
•an  idea  or  explanation  for  something  that  is  based  on  known  facts  but    not  been  proved  
•  hypotheses,  hypothesise,  hypothetical,  hypothetically  
•Several  hypotheses  for  global  warming  have  been  suggested.  
 
•Initiate    /ɪˈnɪʃ.i.eɪt/  
•to  cause  something  to  begin  
•  initiation,  initiative,  initiator,  
•Several  hypotheses  for  global  warming  have  been  suggested.  
 
•Justify  /ˈdʒʌs.tɪ.faɪ/    
•to  give  or  to  be  a  good  reason  for  
•  justification,  justifiable,  justifiably,  (un)  justified,    
•The  actions  taken  by  the  consultation  agency  were  quite  justifiable  under  the  
circumstances.  
•Logic  /ˈlɒdʒ.ɪk/  
•a  formal  scientific  method  of  examining  or  thinking  about  ideas  
•(il)logical,  (il)logically,  logician  
•It  is  an  illogical  statement  by  the  politician,  because  only  one  part  of  governmental    
 
 
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Sentences  in  context  
 
•The  government  has  been  ambiguous  on  this  issue.  
•The  improvement  in  sales  figures  had  a  beneficial  effect/influence  on  the  company  as  
a  whole.  
•The  policy  has  caused  fierce  controversy  ever  since  it  was  introduced  
•His  theory  of  business  dynamics  is  terribly  derivative  and  and  fails  to  facilitate  
modern  ideology.  
•The  minister  has  issued  an  emphatic  rejection  of  the  accusation.  
•The  current  structure  does  not  facilitate  efficient  work  flow.  
•Several  hypotheses  for  global  warming  have  been  suggested.  
•The  peace  initiative  was  welcomed  by  both  sides  but  the  validity  of  the  agreement  is  
questionable..  
•The  actions  taken  by  the  consultation  agency  were  quite  justifiable  under  the  
circumstances.  
•It  is  an  illogical  statement  by  the  politician,  because  only  one  part  of  governmental  
policy  is  applicable,  however,  the  underling  fundamentals  are  false.  
•The  methodology  and  findings  of  the  research  team  have  been  criticized.  
Chris  Wills    
 
 
 
 

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