‘Revolution’ has a couple of different meanings. Firstly it means to go around. We could count the revolutions a tyre makes per minute. Secondly it means to bring in something new. It could be new thinking or it could be a new government. There could be a revolution in education or in medicine. Often the meaning is linked with the idea of protesting against a government.

When you learn new vocab, make sure that you note collocations too. For this group of words some collocations are:
restrained behaviour, restrain myself
revolt against
rigidity of
route to, route through

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 106

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

1. Sometimes you want to show a child how to do something, but you have to show ______________ because they need to discover things themselves. (rigid, restrain)
2. He lacks flexibility; there is a certain ______________ to his outlook and behaviour. (rigid, revolution)
3. Back in the 1980s first wordprocessors and then computers _______________ office work. (restrain, revolution)
4. There are a number of different _______________ for the way that we can manage the problem, but I prefer one of the low-tech solutions. (route, scenario)
5. The highway is blocked due to an accident, so police are ______________ traffic. (route, scenario)

Answers (in the wrong order)
5. rerouting   3. revolutionised   2. rigidity   1. restraint     4. scenarios