Evaluative language: praise and criticism (C1 Vocabulary)
In academic and formal talk, swap vague praise like 'really good' for terms that name exactly what earns the credit. Laudable praises an intention, and it keeps close company with aim, goal, effort, ambition, intention — note the sting in its tail, because praising the aim often implies the result fell short ('a laudable aim, whatever the practical hurdles'). Commendable praises an action that deserves approval, with no such reservation. Incisive praises analysis that cuts straight to the point, and goes with analysis, critique, question, comment.
Praising with precision
laudable /ˈlɔdəbəl/ — Widening access through fee waivers is a laudable aim, whatever the practical hurdles.
commendable /kəˈmɛndəbəl/ — The team showed commendable restraint in publishing its raw data alongside the findings.
incisive /ɪnˈsaɪsɪv/ — Her incisive reading of the budget exposed the assumption everyone else had missed.
Not ""The decision was really good." (a vague intensifier that names nothing)" — say ""The decision was laudable, given how much it widened access."". Precise praise like laudable tells the reader what earned the approval, which vague words like 'really good' never do.
Try it: Priya: Their report went straight to the flaw nobody else had spotted. Marcus: Yes, it was genuinely ___ analysis. Which word praises sharp, penetrating analysis? (incisive / laudable / commendable) Answer: incisive — "Incisive" praises analysis that cuts straight to the heart of a problem, which is exactly what Priya describes. "Laudable" praises a worthy aim or goal, and "commendable" praises an action deserving approval, but neither captures the analytical sharpness Marcus means.
Condemning what cannot be defended
When criticism has to be firm, name the fault precisely. A position that can no longer be defended is untenable — it goes with position, claim, assumption, situation, and often with become or prove ('the position became untenable'). An argument that only looks plausible is specious, used of arguments, reasoning, claims. Reasoning built on false grounds is spurious; note that a spurious correlation is a fixed term in statistics, meaning one that appears in the data without a real link behind it.
untenable /ʌnˈtɛnəbəl/ — Once the audit surfaced, the claim that the system was secure became untenable.
specious /ˈspiʃəs/ — The proposal rests on a specious argument that longer delays somehow improve quality.
spurious /ˈspjʊriəs/ — The paper treats a spurious correlation between the two trends as if it were causal.
Not ""The argument is specious." (said of a stance that has actually collapsed under new facts)" — say ""The position is untenable now that the evidence has come out."". Untenable says a stance can no longer be held at all, while specious only says an argument looks convincing but is flawed; do not swap one for the other.
Try it: Nadia: After the new evidence, can the minister really keep insisting the policy worked? Owen: No, that position is now completely ___. Which word says the position can no longer be defended? (untenable / specious / spurious) Answer: untenable — "Untenable" means a position can no longer be held or defended, which is what the new evidence does to the minister's claim. "Specious" describes an argument that looks plausible but is wrong, and "spurious" describes false or fake reasoning; both judge the quality of an argument rather than saying the stance has collapsed.