3.4 Words and Phrases

Vocabulary

Word Meaning Example sentence
wisdom the quality of good sense and sound judgement The king valued wisdom above wealth.
observation the act of watching closely and noticing details Careful observation revealed the camel’s limp.
deduction a conclusion reached by reasoning from clues Each deduction was based on a clear sign.
reasoning thinking logically to reach a conclusion His reasoning convinced the whole court.
merchant a trader who buys and sells goods The merchant searched everywhere for his camel.
accuse to blame someone for doing wrong He began to accuse them of theft.
innocent not guilty of wrongdoing The friends were completely innocent.
lame unable to walk properly; limping The camel was lame in one leg.
sentry a soldier who keeps guard A sentry stood at the palace gate.
adviser a person who gives expert advice The king made them his royal advisers.
evidence facts or signs that prove something The tracks were the evidence they needed.
suspicious feeling that something is wrong The merchant grew suspicious of them.

Phrases and expressions

Expression What it means
in search of looking for
paves the way prepares or makes possible (a good outcome)
jump to a conclusion to decide something hastily without enough proof
let the facts speak to let evidence prove the truth

Exam Tip Learn the family of “thinking” words together: observe → observation, deduce → deduction, reason → reasoning, conclude → conclusion. Knowing both the verb and the noun helps you answer “fill in the correct form” questions.

Use what you’ve learnt

Fill each blank with the right word: deduction, accuse, innocent, evidence, wisdom.

  1. They had no proof, so they should not ___ anyone.
  2. Each ___ was supported by a clue on the road.
  3. The tracks were strong ___ of the camel’s limp.
  4. The friends were proved ___ in the king’s court.
  5. The king’s ___ lay in recognising true talent.
  1. accuse   2. deduction   3. evidence   4. innocent   5. wisdom