Academic Word of the Day Set 16

2025-09-26

16

strategyAWL

NOUN COUNTABLE a plan drawn up to help achieve a specific goal

To catch their food, octopuses use lots of strategies and tricks. (Spencer and Papastamatiou 2022) Other types of plants may not grow straight because they have different strategies . (Montgomery 2022) Investing in plastics has therefore become a key strategy for fossil fuel firms. (Bauer and Nielsen 2021) The strategies formerly used by the tobacco industry are now applied to climate science. (Clarke 2022) The manufacturing of doubt is another common strategy used across many anti-science positions. (Clarke 2022) Common collocates for this word:

strategy

economic
corporate
new
long-term
political
industrial
global
military
financial
overall
grand
environmental
dominant
competitive
national

Word Family: strategy (noun), strategic (adjective), strategically (adverb)Synonyms: plan, tactic 26/09/2025 - Set 16

2025-09-25

16

unobtainable  AWL AKL OPAL NGSL

ADJECTIVE something which is impossible to reach, obtain or achieve

Something Vogue’s writers forget is that the price of the garments we see on the runway make them unobtainable for most people. (McCreesh 2016) Unfortunately, girls are striving towards an unrealistic and often unobtainable body ideal, leading them to feel dissatisfied with their actual, realistic bodies. (Abbott 2013) The rich do not think of sportscars as unobtainable – more as a suggestion of what might look nice on their driveway. (Holt 2023) Nostalgia is the longing for an idealised and unobtainable past – a time when life was better. (Walker 2025) But while Don Quixote’s goals are utopian, romantic and clearly unobtainable, Sancho is satisfied with feeling safe and eating bread and cheese – accompanied by a little wine, of course – after each of their frustrated misadventures. (Euba 2020) Word Family: unobtainable (adjective)Synonyms: inaccessible, unattainable 25/09/2025 - Set 16

2025-09-24

16

commentAWL AKL OPAL NGSL

NOUN COUNTABLE a statement of fact or opinion about something already written or mentioned

Comments of initial reviewers questioned his data and methods. (Dee 2022) Many people have quoted author Flannery O Connor’s comment that “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.”(Baron 2023) Subsequent teacher comments on their writing are vague and unhelpful - too informal, too colloquial, too chatty, rambling, repetitive. (Adoniou 2014) Much of social media is this type of monologue, even with comments, likes and thumbs ups in the mix. (Cowling and Vanderburg 2018) Besides being an example of Fitzgerald’s radiant prose, this passage is both a comment on the delusions of American ambition, and an assertion of nature’s timeless presence and enduring authority.(Blazek 2025) Common collocates for this word:

comment

fair
following
adverse
critical
social
brief
final
general
political
interesting
ironic
favourable
telling
informed
frequent

Word Family: comment (noun), comment (noun), commentary (noun)Synonyms: remark, observation, commentary 24/09/2025 - Set 16

2025-09-23

16

compensateAWL AKL NGSL

VERB TRANSITIVE 1. to pay money to someone for damage suffered or problems caused; 2. to balance, equalise or offset

As the planet warms, a key concern in international climate negotiations is to compensate developing nations for the damage they suffer. (King et al. 2023) This would make it compulsory for corporations responsible for large-scale emissions to compensate affected regions. (Leonard 2024) How the global community acts to compensate the countries least able to bear these impacts is more important than ever. (Vanhala 2024) And then there are losses related to cultural heritage, physical and mental health and vanishing livelihoods that cannot be compensated through insurance. (Vanhala 2024) Most recently, in 2021, the Supreme Court ruled in NCAA v. Alston that colleges must be allowed to compensate students for education-related expenses up to $5,980 annually. (Thomas 2024) Common collocates for this word:

compensate

victims
farmers
people
depositors
investors
landowners
traders
employees
workers
investor
deprivation
taxpayers
graduates
enterprises
suppliers

Word Family: compensate (verb), compensation (noun), compensatory (adjective)Synonyms: repay, reimburse, redress, offset, balance 23/09/2025 - Set 16

2025-09-22

16

constantAWL AKL OPAL NGSL

ADJECTIVE 1. unchanging; 2. continuing, unceasing

Constant practice with spears and bows made them deadly fighters. (Longrich n.d.) The panels would get constant sunlight as they can rotate and not be blocked by the planet at all. (Whittaker 2021) That’s why you don’t feel a constant breeze, like you would when cycling fast or enjoying a ride on a roller coaster. (Loon 2020) Polygenic scores can give us a personal estimate of our genetic risk for a certain disease, which remains constant throughout life and can be calculated at any point. (Lewis and Pain 2022) They also urge for a deeper consideration of how constant monitoring might shape us – not just consciously, but also in the silent circuitry of our brains. (Seymour and Koenig 2025) Common collocates for this word:

constant

rate
pressure
stream
speed
source
companion
flow
attention
use
supply
threat
prices
vigilance
reminder
battle

Word Family: constant (adjective), constant (noun), constantly (adverb)Synonyms: unchanging, continuous 22/09/2025 - Set 16

2025-09-19

16

contributionAWL OPAL NGSL

NOUN COUNTABLE help given (in services or payment) for the achievement of some objective (or unwitting result)

Every little contribution helps, and research shows that limiting meat consumption can be an effective step. (Byskov 2019) Given its significant contributions to climate change and the depth and breadth of the animal suffering it causes, the demise of factory farming will have many social benefits. (Coulter 2020) Overall, as Frank Infurna and colleagues detail in their contribution, mental health declines in midlife. (Arnett 2022) We found that the three largest glaciers were responsible for 8.1mm of sea level rise, about 15% of the whole ice sheet’s contribution. (Bamber 2020) In November last year, Queensland’s Land Court recommended Palmer’s proposed Waratah coal project in Queensland also be rejected due to its likely contribution to climate change, and subsequent erosion of human rights. (Bell-James 2023) Common collocates for this word:

contribution

significant
major
important
positive
valuable
substantial
useful
financial
great
outstanding
personal
vital
main
unique
real

Word Family: contribution (noun), contribute (verb), contributory (adjective)Synonyms: gift, offer, participation 19/09/2025 - Set 16

2025-09-18

16

corporateAWL

ADJECTIVE CLASSIFIER concerning large business or company

They use their economic power (employment, tax revenues) to support corporate lobbying that weakens government policy. (Erzse 2023) But today’s internet is hardly free and open: for most users “the internet” is huge corporate platforms like Google and Facebook. (Dwyer 2021) Corporate animal agriculture is in crisis, and its days are numbered. (Coulter 2020) In October 2021, 136 countries agreed to establish new tax rules requiring large multinational companies to pay at least 15% in corporate tax. (Mariwany 2025) To explore such patterns, we used a qualitative meta-analysis research design. This allowed us to synthesize the wealth of previously published single-case studies on corporate failures. (Seckler 2019) Common collocates for this word:

corporate

finance
crime
planning
governance
plan
identity
managers
affairs
strategy
sector
management
power
customers
tax
body

Word Family: corporate (adjective), corporation (noun)Synonyms: allied, incorporated, united, consolidated, joint 18/09/2025 - Set 16

2025-09-17

16

deduceAWL AKL OPAL NGSL

VERB TRANSITIVE to reach a conclusion by reasoning from basic facts, or general principles

For example, if I tell you that Will is between the ages of Cate and Abby, and that Abby is older than Cate, you can deduce that Will must be older than Cate. (Ellerton 2016) When distant exoplanets pass in front of their host star, astronomers can deduce what chemicals are in their atmospheres from the tell-tale wavelengths they leave in the detected light. (Rider 2025) The alternative, a top-down approach, is to analyse or strip down modern cells to simplify them and deduce how the key stages in the evolution of complexity might have taken place. (Errington 2016) They were then able to extract human DNA from the pores of the tooth and deduce that this DNA had come from a female individual whose ancestry is most similar to ancient people found further east in Siberia and with Native Americans. (Langley 2023) So, if a sediment layer that records a mass extinction also features unusually high mercury concentrations, we can deduce that volcanic activity likely coincided with (and maybe caused) that extinction. (Percival and Mather 2017) Word Family: deduce (verb), deduction (noun)Synonyms: conclude, infer, comprehend, reason 17/09/2025 - Set 16

2025-09-16

16

demonstrateAWL OPAL NGSL

VERB TRANSITIVE to show with illustrations or practical examples

We want to demonstrate the usefulness of philosophy to everyday life. (Durrant 2023) The UK government recently demonstrated its commitment to PE [physical education] in England. (Cox 2023) So the difference in the shadows demonstrated how much the Earth’s surface curved. (Dorrian and Whittaker 2020) This demonstrates a huge explosive power – one that cannot be explained by magma-water interaction alone. (Cronin 2022) It’s often very difficult to demonstrate that something – like a monster in a lake – does not exist.(Little 2023) Common collocates for this word:

demonstrate

solidarity
competence
success
leadership
commitment
understanding
knowledge
techniques
skills
empathy
compliance
productivity
equipment
labour
interest

Word Family: demonstrate (verb), demonstration (noun), demonstrable (adjective)Synonyms: show, show, describe, illustrate 16/09/2025 - Set 16

2025-09-15

16

excludeAWL AKL OPAL

VERB TRANSITIVE to prevent something or someone entering; set aside

Most commonly, two types of climate model simulations are used: those that include the effects of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, and those that exclude them. (King et al. 2023) Courts need the ability to exclude improperly obtained evidence, because integrity as a rule-of-law concept requires our courts to act coherently. (Clifton 2024) Under the Evidence Act, a judge must decide whether to exclude evidence from the trial if a court finds it was obtained improperly. (Allen-Franks 2025) It’s a bitter irony that a fringe festival, which ostensibly empowers artists and creatives on the margins, would exclude people with disability. (Clifton 2024) Indeed, if we make venues accessible to those on the margins, no one is excluded. (Clifton 2024) Common collocates for this word:

exclude

liability
women
people
evidence
others
consideration
children
animals
smoke
access
loss
analysis
tax
trade
air

Word Family: exclude (verb), exclusion (noun)Synonyms: ban, prohibit, prevent, rule out 15/09/2025 - Set 16