IELTS environment vocabulary
Environment questions are among the most common in IELTS Writing Task 2. You may be asked whether individuals or governments should do more to tackle pollution, whether economic growth and environmental protection can go together, or why some countries waste far more than others. In Speaking Part 3 the examiner often moves from a personal question about recycling at home to a wider discussion about climate policy, so you need words that work at both levels.
This deck groups the vocabulary you need to describe causes, effects and solutions. For causes, words such as emission, deforestation, consumption and pesticide let you name the problem precisely instead of repeating "bad for nature". For effects, extinction, drought, erosion and biodiversity help you explain what is at stake. For solutions, learn renewable, conservation, sustainable and recycle, and practise them in short phrases: renewable energy, wildlife conservation, sustainable development.
Accuracy matters as much as range. Notice the difference between environment (the natural world around us) and environmental (the adjective: environmental damage). Extinct is an adjective (an extinct species), while extinction is the noun (the extinction of the tiger). Examiners reward this kind of control under the Lexical Resource criterion, and they notice when the wrong word form slips in.
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59 environment words with definitions
| Word | Pronunciation | Part of speech | Definition | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| environment | /ɪnˈvaɪrənmənt/ | n. | natural world in which plants and animals live | A2 |
| pollution | /pəˈluːʃən/ | n. | dirty or dangerous waste released into an environment | B1 |
| emission | /ɪˈmɪʃən/ | n. | a substance (e.g. gas) released into the air | B2 |
| climate | /ˈklaɪmət/ | n. | typical weather conditions in a particular place | B1 |
| atmosphere | /ˈætməsfɪə/ | n. | The mixture of gases surrounding the Earth; the feeling that a place or situation gives you | B1 |
| carbon | /ˈkɑːbən/ | n. | a chemical element (C) found in all living things | B1 |
| fossil | /ˈfɒsəl/ | n. | a plant or animal that has become rock after many thousands of years | B2 |
| fuel | /ˈfjuːəl/ | n. | material used to produce heat or power when burned | B1 |
| renewable | /rɪˈnjuːəbl/ | adj. | Naturally replaced and therefore available for continued use | B2 |
| solar | /ˈsəʊlə/ | adj. | to do with the sun, like sunlight or the heat from the sun | B1 |
| wind | /wɪnd/, /waɪnd/ | n. | natural movement of outside air as part of the weather | A2 |
| energy | /ˈenədʒi/ | n. | physical or mental strength | A2 |
| conservation | /ˌkɒnsəˈveɪʃən/ | n. | the management of land and water in ways that stop it from being damaged | B2 |
| conserve | /kənˈsɜːv/ | v. | to keep safe | B2 |
| habitat | /ˈhæbɪtæt/ | n. | the natural place, or type of place, where a plant or animal lives | B2 |
| species | /ˈspiːʃiːz/ | n. | a group of related animals or plant | B2 |
| extinct | /ɪkˈstɪŋkt/ | adj. | having no living members left | B2 |
| extinction | /ɪkˈstɪŋkʃən/ | n. | the complete disappearance of a species or type of thing | B2 |
| biodiversity | n. | the variation in an environment, the number of different types of life found there | L3 | |
| ecosystem | /ˈiːkəʊsɪstəm/ | n. | Living things and their environment interacting as a connected system | B2 |
| deforestation | /ˌdiːfɒrɪˈsteɪʃən/ | n. | The clearing of forests by cutting down trees | B2 |
| forest | /ˈfɒrɪst/ | n. | large area with many trees | A2 |
| drought | /draʊt/ | n. | A long period with little or no rain | B2 |
| flood | /flʌd/ | n. | a large amount of water covering land that is usually dry | B1 |
| waste | /weɪst/ | v. | to use valuable things ineffectively | A2 |
| recycle | /ˌriːˈsaɪkəl/ | v. | to process used materials so they can be used again | B1 |
| recycling | /ˌriːˈsaɪklɪŋ/ | n. | the process of turning waste into materials usable again | B1 |
| landfill | /ˈlændfɪl/ | n. | A place where waste is buried in the ground | B2 |
| plastic | /ˈplæstɪk/ | n. | a very common, light, strong material that can be formed into many different shapes and is made by a chemical process | A2 |
| sustainable | /səˈsteɪnəbl/ | adj. | capable of continuing for a long time at the same level; does not damage the environment | B2 |
| sustainability | /sə,stenə'bɪlɪti/ | n. | the property of being sustainable | L3 |
| greenhouse | /ˈɡriːnhaʊs/ | n. | a glass or plastic building that keeps growing plants warm | B2 |
| ozone | /ˈəʊzəʊn/ | n. | A gas whose molecules each contain three oxygen atoms | B2 |
| contaminate | /kənˈtæmɪneɪt/ | v. | make something dirty or unsafe by adding harmful substances | C1 |
| toxic | /'tɒksik/ | adj. | poisonous; harmful | L2 |
| pesticide | /ˈpestɪsaɪd/ | n. | a chemical substance used to kill pests | B2 |
| wildlife | /ˈwaɪldlaɪf/ | n. | Animals and other living things in their natural surroundings | B1 |
| endangered | /in'deindʒəd/ | adj. | (of flora or fauna) in imminent danger of extinction | L2 |
| resource | /rɪˈzɔːs/ | n. | essential supply of something | B1 |
| consumption | /kənˈsʌmpʃən/ | n. | how much is spent on things; the process of eating and drinking | B2 |
| reduce | /rɪˈdjuːs/ | v. | to make something smaller or use less of it | B1 |
| preserve | /prɪˈzɜːv/ | v. | to keep something in an unchanged or perfect condition | B2 |
| protect | /prəˈtekt/ | v. | to defend someone or something from harm or danger | A2 |
| environmental | /ɪnˌvaɪrənˈmentəl/ | adj. | of the natural world in which plants and animals live | B1 |
| global | /ˈɡləʊbəl/ | adj. | concerning, affecting, or involving the entire world | B1 |
| warming | /'wɔ:miŋ/ | n. | imparting heat | L2 |
| temperature | /ˈtemprətʃə/ | n. | a measure of how hot or cold something is (e.g., the weather) | A2 |
| glacier | /'gleiʃə/ | n. | a slowly moving mass of ice | L3 |
| ocean | /ˈəʊʃən/ | n. | large body of salt water that covers most of the surface of the earth | A2 |
| coastal | /'kəustəl/ | adj. | of or relating to a coast; located on or near or bordering on a coast | L2 |
| erosion | /ɪˈrəʊʒən/ | n. | The gradual removal of soil or rock by natural forces | C1 |
| organic | /ɔːˈɡænɪk/ | adj. | concerning food made with few or no chemicals | B2 |
| natural | /ˈnætʃərəl/ | adj. | not made by humans; without human intervention | A2 |
| disaster | /dɪˈzɑːstə/ | n. | something that causes a lot of harm or damage | B1 |
| earthquake | /ˈɜːθkweɪk/ | n. | Sudden shaking of the ground caused by movement beneath Earth's surface | B1 |
| shortage | /ˈʃɔːtɪdʒ/ | n. | a situation in which there is not enough of something | B2 |
| scarce | /skeəs/ | adj. | not available in large enough amounts to meet demand | B2 |
| footprint | /ˈfʊtprɪnt/ | n. | A mark left by a foot on a surface | B2 |
| degrade | /dɪˈɡreɪd/ | v. | to treat someone without respect; to reduce in amount or strength | C1 |
How to use these words in Writing and Speaking
Use the flashcards in a steady rhythm. Learn a few new cards today; tomorrow the app brings them back for an overnight review, which is when most forgetting would otherwise happen. Cards you know well then return after longer gaps, so your time goes to the words you still find hard. After each session, try writing two sentences about a local environmental problem using words from the card backs, for example: "The city has reduced plastic waste, but air pollution from traffic is still serious." Using a word in your own sentence is the fastest way to move it from recognition to active use.
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Data sources and credits
- Headwords and English definitions: New General Service List 1.2 & New Academic Word List 1.2 — Browne, C., Culligan, B. & Phillips, J., CC BY-SA 4.0
- Phonetics, CEFR levels, example sentences and Chinese glosses: Word Atlas — Word Atlas contributors — CC BY 4.0. Modified: fields selected, senses shortened, Chinese converted to Traditional characters.
- More phonetics and Chinese translations: ECDICT (MIT)
- Scheduling: ts-fsrs (MIT)
- The topic decks and all page texts are our own.