CAE Writing: Formal vs Informal: Vocabulary

Formal Equivalents of Commonly Used  

Informal Verbs, Nouns, 

Adjectives and Adverbials

   

 

 

1. VERBS

Informal	Formal	Example Sentences
go / leave	depart	The train departs at 6 a.m.
keep	retain	You retain the right to take legal action if you do not accept his decision. Please retain your receipt for future reference.
stop	cease	Whether the protests will cease remains to be seen. The company has decided to cease all UK operations after this year.
work	function	Flights were delayed because the airport computer system was not functioning (properly).
chew	masticate	This meat is difficult to masticate.
show	demonstrate	We asked them to come and demonstrate the new invoicing system to the staff.
live	reside	The family now resides in southern France.
seem	appear	They appear very disappointed. There appears to be a problem with the car.
shorten	abbreviate	“Chief Executive Officer” is abbreviated as “CEO”.
end	terminate	How do I terminate my subscription? The takeover talks terminated without agreement.
help	assist aid	The coordinator will assist the director with all aspects of event-planning. New technologies are aiding disabled people in the workplace.
begin	initiate commence	The bank initiated legal proceedings against a former employee for fraud. Unfortunately, he commenced speaking before all the guests finished eating.
want	desire require	The hotel had everything you could possibly desire. This project will require massive investment.
get	obtain	First editions of these books are now almost impossible to obtain.
free	liberate release	They said they sent troops in to liberate the country from the dictator. The club has agreed to release three of its players from contract.
eat	consume	He consumes vast quantities of chips with every meal.

2. NOUNS

lack	deficiency	Deficiencies in the education system have been much in the news.
sight	vision	She has very little vision in her left eye.
home	residence	She took up residence in Canada.
breathing	respiration	Her respiration was slow and difficult.
sleep-walker	somnambulist	There is plenty of scientific evidence to suggest that sleepwalkers, or somnambulists, can engage in complex behavior.
understanding	comprehension	He has no comprehension of the size of the problem.
sweat	perspiration	Beads of perspiration glistened on his brow.

3. ADJECTIVES

wrong	incorrect	It’s incorrect to adtess people by their first names at these formal events.
friendly	amiable	So amiable was the mood of the meeting that a decision was soon reached.
empty	vacant	The hospital has no vacant beds.
mad	insane	For the last ten years of his life he was clinically insane.
cheap	inexpensive	It’s an inexpensive perfume.
lively	animated vivacious	She was dark-haired and vivacious. There was an extremely animated discussion on the subject.
better	superior	This is clearly the work of a superior artist.
worse	inferior	These products are inferior to those we bought last year.
childish	immature infantile	I called someone an emotionally immature moron. These beauties spend their time exchanging infantile jokes suitable for the playground.
enough	sufficient	This recipe should be sufficient for five people.
older	senior	Senior pupils are expected to set an example to the younger children.
younger	junior	My sister is my junior by five years.
whole	entire complete	Between them they ate an entire cake. … a complete list of courses offered by a university...

4. ADVERBIALS

next / later	subsequently	In 1982 he was arrested and subsequently convicted on drug trafficking charges.
mostly / mainly	principally	The advertising campaign is aimed principally at women.
so	consequently therefore	I spent most of my money in the first week and consequently had very little to eat by the end of the holiday.
at first	initially	Initially, most people approved of the new plan.
in the end	ultimately	Everything will ultimately depend on what is said at the meeting with the directors next week.

Sources:
1. Cory H, Advanced writing with English in use: CAE., OUP, 2009.
2. Cambridge Dictionaries Online.