PTE Academic vocabulary practice
PTE Academic items are short and timed: one sentence for a summary, a few sentences for a graph, an essay in twenty minutes. There is no room for a word that is almost right. Lyra Practice practices choosing and producing the exact one.
For candidates who already read academic English comfortably and want their written and spoken responses to carry the same precision.
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Salient
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Which sentence uses salient with its correct meaning?
From understood to precise
A summary is scored on whether it captures the main idea; a describe-image response on whether it names what the data does. Precision is what lets a short response do that work.
First attempt
The text says there are many reasons why cities grow.
Your response
“The passage boils down to one claim: cities grow where transport costs fall, not where policy encourages them.”
Word count: 18
Compresses a long passage to its governing claim, which is exactly what a one-sentence summary is scored on.
First attempt
The line goes up and then goes down a bit.
Your response
“Emissions surged between 1995 and 2005 before flattening into an almost imperceptible decline.”
Word count: 13
Gives the size of the rise and the shape of what followed, rather than narrating direction only.
First attempt
Some people think advertising is bad for children.
Your response
“Critics advocate an outright ban on advertising to children, though the evidence bears out only a narrower restriction.”
Word count: 18
States who holds the position and how far the evidence supports it, instead of an anonymous “some people”.
Start with the conversation in front of you. We'll surface only the expressions that fit.
Your situation
Compress a passage to its governing claim in one sentence with language that makes your intent and next step clear.
Expressions for this conversation
How Lyra Practice works
Hear each word in real academic use, understand its meaning and register, distinguish it from near-synonyms that carry different implications, then practice producing it in a PTE-style item with feedback.
Example journey · trajectory
166 expressions
After you strip away all the secondary detail, "boil down to" names the one essential cause, reason, or deciding factor that's left.
Salient describes the point(s) that stand out and deserve attention from within a larger set of facts, risks, or ideas — it's not a fancier word for…
To use evidence, data, or results to confirm that a claim, prediction, or decision made earlier was correct.
To contribute understanding to something previously unclear — explaining a cause or revealing a fact — without claiming it's fully proven or resolved.
A caveat is a specific limitation that either qualifies an otherwise confident statement or independently flags how far a claim, plan, dataset, or analysis can…
To hedge is to reduce exposure, keep another option open, or qualify a claim when the outcome is uncertain; it does not mean fully avoid, solve, or prevent the…
Foster means to deliberately create the conditions that let a quality, relationship, or process grow gradually over time — not to cause it directly,…
Trajectory names the direction and shape of a pattern over time — read from multiple points, not a single fact or event — and, by extension, where things are…
A surge is a rapid, powerful rise in a business number — demand, traffic, costs, tickets, complaints — sharp enough to call for a real response, not just a…
Imperceptible describes a real change or difference too small to notice — either because it built up gradually over time, or because it falls below what a…
With an object, break down means to separate something into clear parts or to dismantle a barrier to collaboration; without an object, it means a process,…
A paradigm is the shared, often-unspoken set of assumptions a field, industry, company, or team treats as normal — and a paradigm shift is the moment those…
Efficacy is whether something — a strategy, campaign, product or feature, program, policy, or process — actually produced the result it was meant to produce,…
Present or found everywhere you look — so total that a professional audience can now simply assume it's there instead of checking.
Pivotal describes a person, decision, event, factor, or period as crucial or centrally important to how an outcome develops - the result substantially depends…
Something is ambiguous when its wording, data, or situation genuinely supports two or more reasonable readings — a property of the thing itself, not a claim…
Equivocal describes a statement, answer, or stance built to support two or more contradictory readings on purpose, so the speaker avoids fully committing to a…
Tentative is a status label for something real but not yet locked in — a date, a number, an agreement, or a conclusion that could still change.
Something is already granted, agreed, produced, or in effect right now, but it still needs one more specific, defined step before it becomes final.
Dispassionate describes a person's judgment, analysis, or conduct that stays free of their own emotional stake or bias — not someone who lacks feelings or…
In professional argument, concede means to accept that a disputed point or criticism is valid, often while maintaining a broader position.
Compelling describes something with strong enough persuasive or attention-holding force to pull a particular audience toward attention, belief, or action.
Tend to + verb means that someone or something usually or typically does something or has a characteristic; it states a general pattern, not a rule that holds…
Largely means for the most part: the greater share of a cause, result, group, or description, leaving room for a smaller remainder.
Unequivocal means leaving no doubt: a statement, answer, position, or piece of evidence that can be read only one way, typically with no hedge or condition…
Contend that puts forward a position as something the speaker or source holds and argues for; it reports the claim without saying whether it is true.
Seemingly marks a description as appearing true from the available signs or evidence while leaving open that fuller information could change it.
Predominantly means mainly or for the most part. It points to the dominant component or tendency without meaning all or entirely.
Explicit means stated clearly and directly, leaving the intended meaning unambiguous rather than merely suggested.
Inconclusive describes evidence, a test, or a process that does not support a definite result or decision.
Contradict means state or show something that is incompatible with a claim, statement, or account.
Infer means reach a conclusion from evidence, facts, wording, or a pattern.
Correlation is an observed statistical relationship in how two variables vary; it does not by itself establish cause.
A premise is a statement or proposition on which an argument, conclusion, theory, or plan is based.
Implication has two everyday senses. First, a meaning that a statement, silence, or piece of wording suggests without saying it directly: the implication is…
Rationale means the underlying reason or reasons, principles, or intentions that explain a belief, decision, or action. One reason can be a rationale.
Consensus is general agreement across a group: the position the group as a whole holds.
Contention is a claim, belief, or position that someone expresses or advances, especially in an argument; in this sense it is countable (a contention,…
Stem from means that an outcome or condition is caused by or originates in a source; in X stems from Y, X is the outcome and Y is the source.
Give rise to means cause a result, situation, feeling, or question to happen or exist; it is a formal way to say one thing produced another.
Underlying describes the basic cause, problem, assumption, or pattern that lies beneath what you can see on the surface: the deeper thing a visible problem,…
As a formal verb, precipitate means cause an event or change to happen suddenly or sooner than expected, often with a disruptive result.
Undermine means to make confidence, authority, credibility, an argument, a relationship, or an effort less strong or less effective, often indirectly.
To attribute X to Y is to regard X as caused by, explained by, or produced (created, said, or written) by Y: attribute the delay to a late dependency;…
In professional analysis, outweigh means to be more important, valuable, or consequential than a competing consideration in a comparison.
A drawback is a specific negative feature that counts against an option without necessarily making the whole option unacceptable.
Downside means an unfavorable aspect or consequence of an option or situation, often considered alongside its positive features.
A trade-off is a situation or decision in which getting more of one thing means accepting less of another. Name both the gain and the cost when you state one.
Upside means the favorable side of a situation or decision: the positive point set against a cost or drawback (the upside is that...), or — especially in…
Curb means bring an unwanted activity, amount, or trend under control or keep it in check, usually without suggesting that it will be eliminated.
Exacerbate means make an existing problem, harmful condition, tension, symptom, or other negative situation worse.
Mitigate means to reduce the likelihood, severity, or consequences of something harmful — or your exposure to it — without necessarily removing it completely.
Deplete means reduce a supply, stock, reserve, resource, or population, usually by drawing on it, using it, or losing it, often by a large amount, without…
Irreversible means a change, decision, loss, or condition cannot be undone or returned to its earlier state once it has happened.
Finite means having a limit or an end — not endless — and says nothing about whether the amount is small, running out, or hard to find.
Plummet means to fall very steeply and rapidly, especially when a measurable level, value, rate, or amount changes.
Fluctuate means rise and fall repeatedly or irregularly over time, instead of moving steadily in one direction.
As a verb, plateau means to stop rising or falling and remain broadly stable; as a noun, it means the stable phase or level that results.
Level off means that a rate, amount, or trend that was rising or falling stops changing and holds at a roughly steady level.
Stagnate means stop growing, developing, or changing and stay at the same level for a period, with no real activity, like water that has stopped flowing.
Marginal describes an amount, change, difference, or effect that is very small.
Rebound means go back up or improve again after a fall, a loss, or a weak period; it can be a verb (sales rebounded) or a noun (a rebound in sales).
Proliferate means to become much more numerous, often over a relatively short period; dictionaries also use it for something that increases greatly in amount…
Diminish means become less, or make an amount, effect, quality, importance, or strength less.
Persist means continue to exist, occur, or act over time, often despite change, difficulty, or an expectation that the continuation would end.
Detrimental is a formal adjective meaning causing harm or damage to someone or something.
Negligible describes an amount, effect, risk, cost, or difference so small that it is not worth considering in the decision or analysis at hand.
Substantial means large or important in amount, degree, or extent.
Disproportionate means too large or too small relative to a relevant comparison or benchmark.
Unprecedented means never previously known, experienced, or done within the relevant scope.
Predominant describes the element that is greater in presence, influence, or importance than the relevant or contextually understood alternatives.
Analogous means similar in a relevant feature, function, structure, or relationship, so that comparison is informative.
Divergent describes paths, trends, views, accounts, methods, or outcomes that are different or that develop or point in different directions.
Whereas joins two clauses to place contrasting facts or situations side by side in one sentence.
Conversely introduces a proposition that shows the reverse relationship of the proposition before it.
Shortcoming means a fault, limitation, or failure to reach a standard in a person, plan, system, or piece of work.
As a noun, a remedy is a measure or method used to correct or deal with a problem. As a formal verb, remedy means correct or improve something wrong.
Strike a balance means give appropriate weight to two competing goals or needs so that neither one is neglected.
To pose a threat to someone or something is to be a possible source of harm, damage, or loss to them: the subject is the danger, and the to phrase names what…
To bear the brunt of something is to receive the main or worst part of something unpleasant, so that, of everyone affected, you are the one hit hardest.
Take its toll (on) means cause serious harm, damage, or weakening to a person, group, thing, or institution, usually as the accumulated effect of a sustained…
To conflate two things is to treat two distinct things (ideas, issues, measures, terms, people) as if they were one thing or the same thing, without keeping…
To overgeneralize is to draw a conclusion about more cases, people, or situations than the evidence supports: for example, treating what a few cases show as…
Apposite describes something that is very well suited or relevant to the purpose, situation, or matter at hand — most often a remark, example, quotation,…
Judicious means showing good judgment in what is chosen, used, done, or said: the right thing, in the right measure, for the situation.
Indiscriminate means done without making careful or relevant distinctions, or without selecting discerningly.
To oversimplify something is to describe, explain, or present it in a way that is too simple, leaving out facts, causes, or differences that matter, without…
Entail means to have something as a necessary part, condition, or consequence: if a plan, job, or decision entails a cost or a step, that cost or step comes…
X is tantamount to Y means that X amounts, in effect, to Y even though X is not literally or officially Y: requiring a permit for every protest is tantamount…
Constitute means be, count as, or form something: an act constitutes a breach, and a group of people or parts constitutes a share of a whole or the whole…
Comprise means be made up of the parts or members that follow: the whole is the subject and the parts come straight after the verb.
Denote means stand for or mean something: a symbol, color, code, mark, or word denotes what it is defined or agreed to represent.
Signify means be a sign of, mean, or stand for something: a symbol, an event, a change, or a deliberate gesture signifies what it shows or represents.
Curtail means cut back the extent, scope, or duration of an activity, service, program, right, or period, so that it now happens less, covers less, or ends…
Abate means become less strong or less intense: a storm, a flood, pain, anger, criticism, inflation, or pressure abates when it weakens, without necessarily…
Counteract means work against an effect, trend, force, or symptom by producing the opposite effect, so that it is reduced or prevented, without necessarily…
Replenish means fill a supply, stock, reserve, or store again after it has been drawn down, by putting back more of the same kind, without necessarily saying…
Squander means use something valuable — money, time, resources, talent — carelessly or wastefully, or lose a chance, a lead, or an advantage by using it badly…
Ravage means damage a place, population, resource, or sector very badly and extensively, usually by a destructive force such as a storm, fire, disease, pest,…
Phase out means stop using, providing, producing, or allowing something gradually, in stages, over a period, until it is no longer used.
Posit means put a claim, assumption, or explanation forward as the basis for an argument or discussion, treating it as the starting point without saying it has…
Reiterate means say a statement, point, position, or request again, usually to make it clear or to stress it; the word itself tells the listener that it was…
Espouse means adopt an idea, belief, cause, value, or approach as your own and support it; in its modern figurative use, its object is an idea rather than a…
Repudiate means formally reject and refuse to accept a claim, idea, policy, offer, or agreement, or declare that you will have nothing more to do with a…
Disavow means deny or refuse to acknowledge that you are responsible for something, know about it, authorized it, or are connected with it, or state that you…
Invoke means put a law, right, power, or clause into effect, or call on a rule, precedent, principle, or authority as the grounds for what you argue or do;…
Bolster means make something stronger or better supported, such as an argument, a position, confidence, morale, a team, or reserves; it often strengthens a…
Engender means be the cause of a feeling, attitude, or situation in people, such as trust, resentment, debate, or a sense of belonging; it is a formal way to…
Perpetuate means cause an existing situation, belief, practice, or cycle to keep going instead of ending, typically one the writer treats as unwanted, without…
Compound (verb) means make a difficult situation, or a bad action, worse by adding a further problem, factor, or act to it, so that a second difficulty joins…
Culminate in means that a process, series of events, or period of development reached its final point in a particular event or outcome.
Oscillate means keep moving back and forth or up and down over time, most often between two levels or states or around a level: a rate between 2 and 5 percent,…
Outstrip means be greater than, more successful than, or grow faster than a comparable quantity, group, or competitor: demand outstrips supply; rent increases…
Converge means move toward one another, or toward the same point, level, or conclusion, from different positions, levels, or directions.
Subside means become less strong, intense, or prominent, or go down to a lower level: a spike in tickets, a wave of complaints, a pain, a noise, a storm, or…
Equitable means fair and reasonable to everyone concerned in how something is shared, decided, or applied.
Disruptive means interrupting the way something normally runs: as a problem (a strike disruptive to commuters, a disruptive pupil), or, of a product or…
Augment means make something greater, larger, stronger, or more effective, often by adding to what is already there.
Displace means push someone or something out of the place or position they had, either because something new takes that place or because a force makes people…
Pedagogical means relating to teaching methods or the practice of teaching: it describes how something is taught.
Sedentary describes work or activity done mostly sitting down (a sedentary job, a sedentary day), or a person or lifestyle that involves little physical…
Exorbitant describes a price, fee, rent, rate, or sum of money that is much higher than it should be; it makes a judgment about the amount, not a claim that…
Cogent describes an argument, case, reason, analysis, or explanation whose reasoning is clear, forceful, and convincing, or evidence that clearly and strongly…
Far-reaching describes effects, consequences, implications, or changes that are extensive: they reach widely, often to many people or things, or well beyond…
Adverse is a formal adjective, almost always placed before a noun, for an effect, condition, reaction, or outcome that works against someone's interests,…
A pressing concern is an important matter or worry of a person or group that needs attention soon; the phrase pairs urgency with importance (worry is common…
Profound describes an effect, change, influence, or difference that is very great, intense, or deep: it is strongly felt or experienced, not slight or…
Flawed means something has a mistake, weakness, or imperfection in it, without saying that it has failed, been rejected, or become unusable.
Problematic means something involves problems, is difficult to deal with or decide, or is open to objection, now or in prospect, without saying that a specific…
Legitimate means something has proper grounds: it is fair and reasonable, or it is allowed by law or accepted rules.
Robust means strong in a specific way: a system, plan, process, design, economy, argument, or finding keeps working, or keeps holding true, when conditions…
Subtle means hard to notice or understand unless you pay careful attention, and yet real: a subtle difference, change, or hint is easy to miss but is there.
To trigger something is to set it off: an event or condition makes a reaction, process, or series of events start, often quickly; the noun trigger names that…
Scrutiny means careful, thorough examination of something or someone, usually by a named or implied party such as regulators, auditors, or the press; it…
Credibility is the quality of deserving to be believed and trusted, belonging to a person, institution, source, claim, or plan; it can be gained, lost,…
Validity is the quality of being valid: an argument, claim, or comparison that is well grounded; a test, survey, or metric that measures what it claims to…
Verify most often means find out whether something is correct or true by checking it against evidence: a claim, a figure, an identity, a signature, an image.
A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for something observed that has not yet been proved and can be tested; the word reports the status of the idea, not…
A criterion (plural criteria) is the basis on which something is judged, ranked, selected, or decided; it names what you judge by, not whether the thing passed.
Credible means deserving or able to be believed or trusted: a credible claim, account, or source is one that warrants belief, and a credible threat, challenge,…
Consolidate means either make something you already hold (a position, a lead, a gain, a majority) firmer and more secure, or bring several separate things…
Encompass means to include or take in a broad, varied range of things within one scope: a term, a study, a role, or a plan encompasses the different things…
Facilitate means make a process, activity, or outcome easier or smoother, or help it happen; in its main pattern the object is the process (a portal…
Formulate means to give something a definite, worked-out form: to develop a plan, policy, or set of options and settle its details, or to put a thought,…
In the main pattern taught here, manifest (verb) means that an inner state, condition, or problem shows itself in a visible, observable form: the thing you…
Depict means to show or represent someone or something in a work such as a picture, film, map, statue, or piece of writing; the object is what is shown, and as…
Differentiate means tell two or more things apart or state how they differ, or, with a feature or a choice as the subject, be what sets one thing clearly apart…
A distinction is a clear difference or contrast, especially between similar or related things.
An intervention is intentional action or involvement meant to change the course of a situation or process; most often, someone from outside steps into a…
A deficiency is a lack of something that is needed, such as a substance in the body or a resource a plan needs, or a specific weakness or fault in a system,…
Inadequate means not good enough, big enough, skilled enough, or simply not enough for a particular purpose or need.
Pronounced (adjective) means strongly marked, very noticeable in degree: a pronounced accent, a pronounced decline, a difference that has become more…
Acute describes a problem, shortage, need, or pressure that is very serious, severe, or intense; acute shortages, needs, and crises have often reached a sharp…
Misleading means likely to make people believe something that is not true, whether or not the words or figures are literally false, and without saying that…
Rational means based on reasons and thinking rather than on emotion: a rational decision, choice, or explanation rests on reasons, and a rational person is…
On the contrary asserts the opposite of an idea that is being rejected: it contradicts a claim or assumption someone has made, or it follows a negative…
Nonetheless means in spite of the fact just mentioned: the first point is conceded as true, and the second point holds anyway.
Presumably marks a statement as your own reasonable inference: you think it is probably true because of what you know or can see, and you have not confirmed it.
Notably directs attention to what is worth noting: a noteworthy example from a group you have just named (most notably marks the standout one), or a fact about…
Undoubtedly presents a statement as definitely true, beyond reasonable doubt: the writer commits to it as settled.
Accelerate means make a process, trend, change, or plan happen faster or sooner, or, without an object, happen faster: a rollout is accelerated, a decline…
Intensify means become stronger, more severe, or more intense, or make something do so: fighting intensifies, competition intensifies, police intensify a…
Sustain means keep something going for a period of time, such as growth, momentum, a pace, or a level of service; in news reports it also means suffer damage,…
Stabilize means become or remain steady, or make or keep something steady: churn stabilizes at 3%, a patient's condition stabilizes, a central bank stabilizes…
Keep exploring
Optional reading for when you want more than the practice path on one situation.
No, and be skeptical of anything that does. Lyra Practice is not affiliated with PTE Academic or Pearson, and it does not claim to know how the automated scoring weights any single word. What it practices is real: producing precise academic vocabulary in short, timed responses.
No. A static list builds recognition, not the ability to produce the right word correctly in one sentence under a timer. Each expression here is taught as a distinction from its near-synonyms, then practiced in an item-shaped task.
“Salient” is common in academic passages and easy to recognize, but often used loosely for “important” in general. Choosing it precisely is exactly what a summary item asks for.
The academic core overlaps on purpose — argument, evidence, comparison, degree — but each page frames it by that exam’s own tasks. Here the tasks are PTE’s: summarize written text, write essay, describe image, re-tell lecture.
No. The question above and the full catalog are open without an account. Signing up unlocks the scheduled practice path for each expression.
Start with any expression above, or begin a guided path built around your own vocabulary gaps.
Lyra Practice is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or a substitute for official PTE Academic preparation.
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