Understanding ‘Defray’: A Key Word for IELTS Success
Learn about the verb ‘defray’, its meaning, usage, and importance in financial discussions. This video explains the word’s history, provides synonyms and antonyms, and offers examples to help you use it correctly in your IELTS exam.
Imagine you’re planning a grand event, and suddenly you realize the costs are piling up. How do you handle these expenses?
Today, we’re exploring a sophisticated word that’s crucial for financial discussions and perfect for boosting your IELTS score to that coveted 8.0 band: defray.
Word type: Defray is a verb.
Meaning: To defray means to provide money to pay for a cost or expense. It’s often used in contexts where one party helps to cover or contribute to the expenses of another.
Word history: The word defray has an interesting etymology. It entered the English language in the 16th century, derived from the Middle French word defrayer, which itself comes from de-, meaning away, and frais, meaning expenses.
This gives us a clear picture of its core meaning: to take away or cover expenses.
Antonyms: While defray is about covering costs, its antonyms relate to increasing financial burden.
Some antonyms include: incur, accumulate, and augment.
Synonyms: To expand your vocabulary further, consider these synonyms for defray: cover, pay, finance, fund, subsidize, and underwrite.
Examples use in sentences: Let’s look at how to use defray in various contexts: The company offered to defray the travel expenses for candidates attending the job interview.
The government introduced a new tax to help defray the costs of healthcare reform. Donations from alumni were used to defray the expenses of building the new university library.
To defray the cost of their wedding, the couple asked guests to contribute to their honeymoon fund instead of buying gifts.
Common errors in use: When using defray, be careful to avoid these common mistakes: First, remember that defray is always used with costs or expenses.
You can’t defray a person or an object. Second, defray doesn’t mean to completely pay off an expense, but rather to help cover or contribute to it.
For instance, saying The scholarship defrayed her entire college education is incorrect. Instead, you could say The scholarship helped to defray the costs of her college education.
Lastly, defray is often confused with defer, which means to delay. While they sound similar, their meanings are quite different.
Mastering the word defray and using it correctly in your IELTS speaking and writing tasks can significantly enhance your lexical resource score.
It demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of financial vocabulary and shows your ability to discuss complex topics related to expenses and cost management.
Remember, in the IELTS test, it’s not just about using advanced vocabulary, but using it accurately and in the right context.
Practice incorporating defray into your language use, and you’ll be well on your way to achieving that band 8.0 score.
