IELTS Vocabulary: Understanding the Word ‘Drug’
Explore the meanings, uses, and origins of the word ‘drug’ to enhance your IELTS vocabulary. Learn about its functions as a noun and verb, synonyms, antonyms, and common usage errors to improve your exam performance.
The word drug is a common term you might encounter in your IELTS exam, whether in reading passages or listening exercises.
Understanding its various meanings and uses can significantly boost your vocabulary skills and help you achieve a higher band score.
Let’s explore this versatile word together. Word type. Drug can function as both a noun and a verb in English.
Meaning. As a noun, a drug primarily refers to a substance used as medicine or in making medicine. It can also mean an illegal substance taken for its effects on the mind or body.
As a verb, to drug means to add a drug to someone’s food or drink without their knowledge, or to affect someone with drugs.
Word history. The word drug has an interesting origin. It comes from the Old French word drogue, which meant dry cask or supply barrel.
This is because many medicinal substances were originally stored and transported in dry barrels. Antonyms.
Some opposites of drug include antidote, which is a substance that counteracts the effects of a poison or drug, and placebo, which is a harmless substance given instead of medicine.
Synonyms. Some similar words for drug include medicine, medication, pharmaceutical, narcotic, and substance.
Examples use in sentences. Let’s look at how to use drug in different contexts. As a noun, you might say The doctor prescribed a new drug to treat her condition.
Or in a different context, The police are working hard to stop the illegal drug trade in the city. As a verb, you could say The kidnappers drugged their victim to keep him unconscious during transport.
Common errors in use. Be careful not to confuse drug with drug. Drug is not a word in English. Also, remember that in standard English, the past tense of drug as a verb is drugged, not drug.
For example, it’s correct to say He was drugged, not He was drug. To wrap up, the word drug is a versatile term with important uses in medical, legal, and social contexts.
Practice using it in different sentences to become more comfortable with its various meanings and forms.
This will help you recognize and use it correctly in your IELTS exam, potentially improving your vocabulary score.
