Understanding Questions: English Vocabulary List

in a way that makes sense based on clear thinking or reasoning

"Logically the answer must be correct."

"Logically the answer must be correct because all of the evidence supports it and there is no counterargument."

in accordance with truth

"Give me the precise time."

"The precise measurements are important for the experiment to be successful."

to give special attention or importance to something

"Give special attention to this."

"The speaker will emphasize the key takeaways from the presentation for everyone to remember."

to gradually decrease the effectiveness, confidence, or power of something or someone

"His words undermine trust."

"His constant criticism began to undermine her confidence and made her doubt her own abilities."

to reach an opinion or decision based on available evidence and one's understanding of the matter

"I infer this from facts."

"From the evidence presented in the report we can infer that the company is likely to go bankrupt soon."

to use something as a basis for further development

"We can build on this success."

"The young athlete hopes to build on her recent success at the national championships and qualify for the Olympic team next year."

to express the meaning of something written or spoken with a different choice of words

"Paraphrase the passage in your own words."

"When writing research papers you must paraphrase your sources rather than copying them directly to avoid plagiarism."

the overall sense of unity, logic, and connectedness in a text or discourse, where the ideas, information, and elements are organized and presented in a clear and meaningful way

"Essay has good coherence."

"The essay has excellent logical coherence and clear structure from the beginning until the very end."

to lessen the value or quality of something

"Noise can detract from peace."

"The constant interruptions from his phone calls began to detract from the focus of the important meeting."