Health Vocabulary IELTS – The most important words

Health Vocabulary IELTS – One of the major scoring factors in IELTS is vocabulary. Having a good vocabulary will help you in all 4 modules of IELTS.

You can get health-related topics in reading, writing, and speaking. This list will help you with all your needs on health vocabulary for IELTS

Nutrition

• Meaning – Food or nourishment
• Synonyms – nourishment, sustenance,
• Examples
  • The economic crises in South Sudan motivated people to turn to potatoes for nutrition.
  • The economic slowdown in Burundi made its citizens lean towards potatoes for sustenance.
  • Because of the financial situation in poor rural economies, residents are relying on potatoes for nourishment.
  • My youngest sister wants to be a nutritionist and hence she took a course in nutrition.
  • Sunlight is a major source of nutrition for plants.

Food

• Meaning – Any nutritious substance that people eat or drink.
• Synonyms – aliment, diet, nutriment, meals, edibles, viand, victual, dish, cuisine.
• Examples
  • The food that you eat should be freshly prepared.
  • Food and water are the necessities for life.
  • Children should eat nutritious food.
  • Obese people should watch the food they eat.
  • A healthy diet is the first step towards a healthy life.

Fodder

• Meaning – food for cattle and livestock in general.
• Examples
  • He always buys fodder for his stud farm from the local market.
  • Amazon sells fodder for sheep.
  • On average, a cow needs half a bag of fodder every day.

Hunger

• Meaning – the desire to eat something, a feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by lack of food.
• Synonyms – Desire, craving, longing, yearning, want, need, hanker, famine, starvation, malnourishment
• Synonymous phrases – Have a thirst for, hanker after, have an appetite for, have a yen for
• Examples:
  • Hunger in the poor rural economies is a pressing issue that the government needs to address.
  • The sight of weak and malnourished people reflected their dire hunger situation.
  • The doctor said that she fainted due to hunger.
  • The reasons for her weakness are hunger and thirst.
  • He was so hungry that he ate the sandwiches in no time.

Exercise

• Meaning – an activity that requires physical effort.
• Synonyms – physical activity, workout.
  • There are other synonyms for exercise like pumping iron, gymnastics, training, etc. But these should be used with caution and the meaning of the sentence should also be taken into consideration. The 2 synonyms that I have mentioned above can be freely used to replace exercise.
• Examples
  • People should exercise regularly to maintain good health and fitness level.
  • Stretching is the best exercise to improve flexibility.
  • The best time to do exercise is early morning and in the evening.
  • In simple language, a physiotherapist is a doctor trained in various types of exercises.

Fitness

• Meaning – The condition of being physically fit and healthy.
• Synonyms – health, well-being, physical fitness, vigor.
• Synonymous phrases – state of health.
• Examples:
  • He has to work on his fitness in order to serve in the army.
  • Physical fitness and mental health are a reflection of each other.
  • Athletes pay the most attention to their fitness.

Endurance

• Meaning – The strength or power to handle or go through a difficult situation or process.
• Synonyms – Stamina, tolerance, sufferance, stoicism, toughness, resilience.
• Examples:
  • Marathon is a sport that tests the endurance of the athlete.
  • Mountain climbers train diligently to improve their endurance and stamina.
  • Every athlete should start endurance training at the earliest.
  • His endurance allowed him to climb Mount Everest on the first attempt.

Weight

I believe all of you are aware of the meaning and use case of ‘weight’. I am going to explain 3 terms that are related to weight. For your reference, weight refers to the mass of the body or object. Our body weight is usually written in kilograms (kg) or pounds (lb).

Overweight

• Meaning – Above the normal or desired weight level.
• Synonyms – Obese, fat, plump, fleshy, chubby.
• Examples:
  • The biggest cause of arthritis at a young age is overweight.
  • Eating fast food every day can quickly make you overweight.
  • My gym specializes in helping overweight males achieve their weight loss goals.
  • The first advice a doctor gives to overweight patients is to lose weight.

Underweight

• Meaning – Below the normal or desired weight level.
• Synonyms – malnourished, starved, undernourished, feathery, thin, light, tiny, slim, petite, slender.
• Examples:
  • Underweight children go through slower physical development in comparison to other kids.
  • Being underweight could be due to an underlying medical condition requiring ongoing monitoring and treatment.
  • The underweight model on the ramp looked like a walking skeleton.

Brawny

• Meaning – Physically strong or muscular
• Synonyms – Herculean, mighty, powerful, sinewy
• Synonymous phrases – as strong as an ox, well built, muscle-bound, solidly built.
• Antonyms – Scrawny, puny, weak.
• Examples:
  • The entertainment industry is dominated by brawny men.
  • Wrestling is a sport with all brawny athletes.
  • The brawny nurse carried the patient into the operating room.
  • The scrawny wrestler was pinned down by the brawny one in just a few seconds.

Immunity

• Meaning – The quality of being resistant to falling sick.
• Synonyms – Defence, shield, protection.
• Immunity is also used in legal or paralegal contexts. In that case, it simply refers to protection. I will explain this term in detail with examples in a separate article focussing on all legal terminologies.
• Immunization refers to the act of giving immunity. This is usually done through vaccination.
• Examples:
  • It is scientifically proven that vaccines boost immunity.
  • Immunity is the term given to the body’s natural defense mechanism.
  • A nutritious diet and exercise greatly contribute to good immunity.

Strength

• Meaning – The state of being strong.
• Synonyms – Power, force, toughness, solidity, brawn.
• Strength antonyms – Weakness, frailty, vulnerability, friability.
• Example:
  • India’s military strength is second to none in the subcontinent.
  • He lifted the table with his strength.
  • A good body and a sound mind reflect the overall strength of a person.

Some healthcare professionals to know for Health Vocabulary IELTS

Doctor

• Meaning – A qualified practitioner of medicine
• Synonyms – Physician, clinician, medic, surgeon, medical practitioner.

Surgeon

• Meaning – A doctor qualified to practice surgery.

Physiotherapist

• Meaning – A person who treats injury or illness through massage and/or exercise.

Dentist

• Meaning – A person trained and qualified to treat diseases of teeth and gums.

An Important note: – Physicians and surgeons are not synonyms for each other. They can be used to replace the word doctor. Physicians are usually referred to doctors who treat patients with chronic illnesses. Surgeons are doctors who perform surgery.

Nurse

• Meaning – A person trained to care for sick people.

Midwife

• Meaning – A woman trained to assist a pregnant woman in childbirth.
• For male midwives, an alternative term (closest alternative) would be accoucheurs. It is preferably used for an obstetrician.

Pharmacist

• Meaning – A person who is qualified to prepare and dispense medicine.

Few terms related to illnesses and conditions – Health Vocabulary IELTS

Illness

• Meaning – A disease or duration of sickness.
• Synonyms – Sickness, ailment, disease, disorder.
• Synonymous phrases – To feel under the weather, not a hundred percent
• Examples of synonymous phrases:
  • I didn’t sleep well last night since I was feeling a little bit under the weather.
  • I am feeling better than last night, but I am still not a hundred percent.

Infection

• Meaning – The process of being infected.
• Examples with synonyms:
  • COVID-19 is an infectious disease. Synonym: COVID-19 is a contagious disease.

Chronic vs Acute

• Meaning
  • Chronic – long-lasting or from a long time. Example – Diabetes
  • Acute – for a short period of time or recently experienced. Example – Headache
• Examples
  • Diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder.
  • Flu is an example of acute illness or infection

Some important points to keep in mind

• There are many synonyms for each word in English. You don’t have to remember all of them.
• Remember 3 to 4 synonyms and understand how to use them in a sentence.
• Remember, Vocabulary is one of the scoring parameters in IELTS. It’s not the only thing.
• You also need to work on grammar and sentence formation as well.

References and links:

• Word meanings – Oxford languages and Google
• Image source – Canva
• Previous article – IELTS vocabulary online