Y10W18VC Theme Words — Global poverty & aid

Structural describes something that is deeply embedded in the basic organisation or system of a society, economy, or institution, rather than being the result of individual choices or surface-level factors.

Word Breakdown: -al (suffix meaning ‘relating to’)

Word family: structurally (adv.), structure (n.)

Example: Structural poverty cannot be addressed through charity alone; it requires changes to the economic and political systems that produce inequality.

Synonyms: systemic, institutional, fundamental

Collocations: structural inequality, structural change, structural poverty

Dependency refers to a state of relying on someone or something else, often to the point where independent functioning becomes difficult or impossible.

Word Breakdown: -ency (suffix meaning ‘the state or quality of’)

Word family: dependent (adj.), depend (v.)

Example: Critics of traditional foreign aid argue that poorly designed programmes can create dependency, reducing the capacity of communities to develop self-sustaining solutions.

Synonyms: reliance, dependence, need

Collocations: economic dependency, create dependency, reduce dependency

Sustainable describes an activity, system, or development that can be maintained over the long term without depleting resources or causing harm to future generations.

Word Breakdown: sus- (prefix from Latin sub, meaning ‘up from below’)

Word family: sustainability (n.), sustainably (adv.)

Example: Aid programmes that invest in education and local infrastructure are more likely to produce sustainable improvements in living standards.

Synonyms: viable, long-term, enduring

Collocations: sustainable development, sustainable growth, sustainable solution

Complicity is involvement in wrongdoing, particularly when a person or institution shares responsibility for harm through their actions, inaction, or acquiescence, even if they did not directly cause it.

Word Breakdown: com- (prefix meaning ‘together’ or ‘with’)

Word family: complicit (adj.)

Example: Critics argue that wealthy nations bear complicity in global poverty through trade policies that disadvantage developing economies.

Synonyms: involvement, culpability, participation

Collocations: complicity in, bear complicity, silent complicity

Culpability is the degree to which a person or institution deserves blame or is morally responsible for a harmful outcome.

Word Breakdown: -ility (suffix meaning ‘the state or quality of being capable of’)

Word family: culpable (adj.)

Example: The court was asked to determine the relative culpability of each party involved in the financial collapse.

Synonyms: responsibility, fault, blame

Collocations: moral culpability, share culpability, diminished culpability

Accountability is the obligation or willingness of a person or institution to accept responsibility for their actions and to answer to those affected by or in authority over them.

Word Breakdown: -ility (suffix meaning ‘the state or quality of being capable of’)

Word family: accountable (adj.), account (v.)

Example: International aid organisations face increasing pressure to demonstrate accountability to both donors and the communities they serve.

Synonyms: responsibility, transparency, answerability

Collocations: demand accountability, political accountability, hold to account

Agency is the capacity or power of an individual or group to act independently and make their own choices, particularly in the face of structural or social constraints.

Word family: agent (n.)

Example: Post-colonial critics argue that traditional aid models can undermine the agency of recipient communities by treating them as passive beneficiaries rather than active agents of change.

Synonyms: autonomy, self-determination, capacity

Collocations: human agency, exercise agency, agency and structure

Responsibility is the state of being accountable for something or the duty to deal with or take care of something.

Word Breakdown: re- (prefix meaning ‘again’ or ‘back’)

Word family: responsible (adj.), responsibly (adv.)

Example: Some economists argue that wealthier nations bear a special responsibility to address global poverty given their historical role in shaping current inequalities.

Synonyms: duty, obligation, accountability

Collocations: moral responsibility, accept responsibility, responsibility for

The phrase ‘X is complicit in’ is used in academic writing to assign shared moral responsibility to a person, institution, or system for a harmful outcome, even if they did not directly cause it.

Example: By purchasing goods produced in exploitative conditions, consumers are arguably complicit in the perpetuation of unfair labour practices.

Synonyms: X shares responsibility for, X bears culpability for, X participates in

Collocations: is complicit in, arguably complicit in, made complicit in