Y10W28VC Theme Words — Free trade & exploitation

Labour refers to work, especially physical work, or to the workforce as a whole, particularly in economic and political contexts.

Word family: labourer (n.), labour (v.)

Example: Critics of globalisation argue that free trade agreements often drive down labour standards in developing nations to attract investment.

Synonyms: work, workforce, employment

Collocations: labour standards, child labour, labour market

A commodity is a raw material or primary agricultural product that can be bought and sold, or more broadly, anything treated primarily as an object of economic exchange.

Word family: commodify (v.), commodification (n.)

Example: When labour is treated as a commodity, workers become interchangeable units of production whose human needs can be disregarded in the pursuit of profit.

Synonyms: product, good, resource

Collocations: raw commodity, treat as a commodity, commodity markets

To negotiate means to hold formal discussions with the aim of reaching an agreement, particularly between parties with different interests.

Word Breakdown: neg- (from Latin negotium, meaning ‘business’)

Word family: negotiation (n.), negotiated (adj.)

Example: Trade unions negotiate on behalf of workers to secure better wages, safer conditions, and more secure employment contracts.

Synonyms: bargain, discuss, arrange

Collocations: negotiate an agreement, negotiate terms, negotiate with

Contested describes a claim, territory, idea, or position that is disputed or debated, with different parties holding competing views about it.

Word Breakdown: con- (prefix meaning ‘against’ or ‘together’)

Word family: contest (v.)

Example: The benefits of free trade agreements for developing economies remain deeply contested, with economists and activists holding sharply opposing views.

Synonyms: disputed, debated, controversial

Collocations: hotly contested, deeply contested, contested territory

Disputed describes something that is challenged or questioned, with different parties disagreeing about its accuracy, validity, or ownership.

Word Breakdown: dis- (prefix meaning ‘apart’)

Word family: dispute (v. & n.)

Example: The disputed figures at the centre of the trade negotiations were independently verified by three separate economic research institutions.

Synonyms: contested, challenged, controversial

Collocations: disputed claim, disputed territory, widely disputed

Debated describes something that is the subject of formal or extended discussion, with different arguments or positions being put forward and considered.

Word family: debate (v. & n.)

Example: Whether free trade agreements ultimately benefit or harm workers in developing economies is a much-debated question among economists and policy-makers.

Synonyms: discussed, contested, argued

Collocations: much-debated question, widely debated, hotly debated

Controversial describes something that causes strong disagreement or debate because different groups hold opposing and often strongly felt views about it.

Word Breakdown: contro- (prefix meaning ‘against’)

Word family: controversy (n.), controversially (adv.)

Example: The use of economic sanctions as a tool of foreign policy remains controversial, with advocates emphasising their effectiveness and critics highlighting humanitarian costs.

Synonyms: divisive, contentious, disputed

Collocations: highly controversial, controversial decision, controversial claim

Contentious describes something that is likely to cause disagreement or argument, particularly because it involves issues about which people feel strongly.

Word family: contention (n.), contentiously (adv.)

Example: The proposal to extend trade agreements to include intellectual property rights provisions proved deeply contentious among member states.

Synonyms: controversial, disputed, divisive

Collocations: highly contentious, contentious issue, contentious proposal

The phrase ‘this is contested’ is used in academic writing to signal that the claim, interpretation, or evidence just presented is not universally accepted and remains the subject of ongoing debate.

Example: The claim that free trade reduces global poverty is not straightforward; this is contested, with substantial evidence on both sides of the debate.

Synonyms: this is disputed, this remains debated, this is not universally accepted

Collocations: this is contested by, this remains contested, this is highly contested