To ‘detect’ something means to find or notice something. You can see that meaning when you think about the word ‘detective.’ You can also detect a smell, or detect contempt or joy.

When you learn new vocab, make sure that you note collocations too. For this group of words some collocations are:
contradictory advice, contradiction of
crucial information, non-crucial functions, crucially important
currency market, available currency
detection of, detect by, detect with

Check the meanings of the words if you don’t already know them. Check the meanings of the various forms as sometimes they are different. You can check them at Time4english by clicking the words (http://www.time4english.com/aamain/lounge/awl.asp).

Vocabulary for IELTS – Academic Word List 88

Complete the sentences. Choose the correct word and then use the correct form of the word.

1. Do you know what accents above the letter ______________ in French? (denote, detect)
2. Despite the Euro there are different ______________ in different parts of Europe. (contradict, currency)
3. It’s hard for children to know what to do sometimes because the many adults around them often give _______________ advice. (contradict, crucial)
4. In Australia sniffer dogs are used at airports for _______________ illegal goods. (denote, detect)
5. During times of severe drought all ______________ water usage must be eliminated. (detect, crucial)

Answers (in the wrong order)
5. non-crucial   3. contradictory   2. currencies   1. denote     4. detecting