C1 vocabulary
Words chosen for register and nuance. At C1 you use English flexibly for academic and professional purposes, and the word you pick says how formal you are being.
What this list covers
C1 vocabulary is rarely about naming something new. Almost everything on this page has a plainer equivalent you already know: a C1 writer chooses substantial over big, persistent over always happening, alleviate over make less bad — and the choice carries information about the register, not just the meaning.
These 426 words are the C1 entries in this site's learner layer. It is the smallest of the published lists, and that is honest rather than tidy: the layer was built from the bottom up, so the higher bands are thinner. Every word here carries the same data as every other level — meaning, part of speech, syllable break, pronunciation, example and family — and the same evidence mark showing how well its level is supported.
Evidence on this page (checked 24 August 2026): ✓✓ 80 well supported — two or more published references agree · ✓ 267 matching the one reference that covers the word · ≠ 20 placed in different bands by different references — usually neighbouring ones, so read those as approximate · ✓* 0 reviewed by the editor · ⚠ 59 draft, covered by none yet. Check any ≠ or ⚠ word against a published list before it goes into an official document or a test. How levels are checked →
The word list
Grouped by topic, then alphabetically. Every entry carries the same things: the word, its syllable break, its pronunciation, its part of speech, a plain meaning, an example sentence and the family it belongs to. Use the filters to narrow the list; the topic groups hide and reappear as you type.
society66 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| accused ✓ac·cused/əˈkjuzd/ | n. | the person who is on trial for a crime in a courtfamily: accuse, accusation | The accused stood quietly while the judge read the decision. |
| activist ✓ac·tiv·ist/ˈæktəvəst/ | n. | a person who works hard to bring about social changefamily: act, action, active, activism, activists | The activist gave a talk about protecting the river from pollution. |
| allege ✓✓al·lege/əˈlɛdʒ/ | v. | to say that someone did something wrong without giving prooffamily: allegation, alleged, allegedly, alleges, alleging | The report alleges that the company copied its rival's design. |
| allegedly ✓al·leg·ed·ly/əˈlɛdʒədli/ | adv. | said to be true, although it has not been provedfamily: allege, alleged, allegation | The company allegedly copied designs from a smaller rival. |
| amend ✓a·mend/əˈmɛnd/ | v. | to make small changes to a law or document to improve itfamily: amendment, amendments, amended, amending, amends | The committee amended the rules to allow online meetings. |
| amendment ✓a·mend·ment/əˈmɛndmənt/ | n. | a small change made to a law or an official documentfamily: amend, amended, amending, amendments | The committee made an amendment to the club rules last week. |
| breach ✓/bɹitʃ/ | n. | an act of breaking a rule, law or agreementfamily: breaches, breached, breaching | Sharing the exam questions was a serious breach of the rules. |
| capitalism ✓cap·i·tal·ism/ˈkæpɪtəˌlɪzəm/ | n. | an economic system in which businesses are owned by private people, not the statefamily: capital, capitalist, capitalists, capitalistic | The course compares capitalism with other ways of organising an economy. |
| capitalist ✓cap·i·tal·ist/ˈkæpətəlɪst/ | adj. | relating to an economic system in which businesses are owned by private peoplefamily: capital, capitalism, capitalists, capitalistic | Most capitalist countries allow companies to set their own prices. |
| casualty ✓ca·su·al·ty/ˈkæʒəwəlti/ | n. | a person who is hurt or killed in an accidentfamily: casualties | Rescue teams took the casualties to the nearest hospital. |
| chamber ✓cham·ber/ˈtʃeɪmbɚ/ | n. | a large room used for a special purpose, such as making lawsfamily: chambers | The council meets in a wood-panelled chamber in the old town hall. |
| civic ✓civ·ic/ˈsɪvɪk/ | adj. | relating to a town or city and the people who live therefamily: civics | The new civic centre offers free classes for local residents. |
| civilian ✓ci·vil·ian/səˈvɪljən/ | n. | a person who is not a member of the army or policefamily: civil, civilians | After ten years as a soldier, he returned to life as a civilian. |
| collective ✓col·lec·tive/kəˈlɛktɪv/ | adj. | shared or done together by all the members of a groupfamily: collect, collection, collector, collectively | Winning the prize was a collective effort by the whole team. |
| combat ✓com·bat/ˈkɑmbæt/ | n. | fighting, especially between soldiers during a warfamily: combats, combatant, combative | Modern pilots train for months before their first combat mission. |
| commentary ✓com·men·tar·y/ˈkɑmənˌtɛɹi/ | n. | a spoken description of an event as it happens, especially on televisionfamily: comment, commentaries, commentator | We listened to the radio commentary during the football match. |
| commissioner ✓com·mis·sion·er/kəˈmɪʃənɚ/ | n. | an official who is in charge of a government department or public servicefamily: commission, commissioned, commissions, commissioners | The police commissioner spoke to reporters about road safety. |
| communist ✓com·mu·nist/ˈkɑmjənəst/ | adj. | relating to a political system in which the state owns all propertyfamily: communism, communists | The museum shows daily life during the communist period of that country. |
| compliance ✓✓com·pli·ance/kəmˈplaɪəns/ | n. | the practice of obeying rules, laws or requestsfamily: comply, compliant, complied, complies, complying | The factory was checked for compliance with the new safety rules. |
| compliant ✓com·pli·ant/kəmˈplaɪənt/ | adj. | following the rules or requirementsfamily: comply, compliance, complied, complies, complying | All new buildings must be compliant with the fire safety code. |
| comply ✓✓com·ply/kəmˈplaɪ/ | v. | to do what a rule, law or request saysfamily: compliance, compliant, complied, complies, complying | All visitors must comply with the laboratory safety rules. |
| conform ✓con·form/kənˈfɔɹm/ | v. | to behave in the way that rules or most people expectfamily: conformity, conformed, conforming, conforms, conformist | Students who refuse to conform to the dress code are sent home. |
| constituency ✓con·stit·u·en·cy/kənˈstɪtʃuənsi/ | n. | an area whose voters choose one member of parliamentfamily: constituent, constituents, constituencies | The candidate visited every town in her constituency before the election. |
| coup ✓/ku/ | n. | a sudden illegal taking of power from a government, often by the armyfamily: coups | The history lecture explained how the coup changed the country's government. |
| cult ✓/kʌlt/ | n. | a small religious group whose beliefs and leader are seen as extremefamily: cults, cultish, cultist, cultists | The documentary explained how young people were persuaded to join the cult. |
| custody ✓cus·to·dy/ˈkʌstədi/ | n. | the legal right and duty to care for a childfamily: custodial, custodian | The court decided which parent would have custody of the children. |
| customary ✓cus·tom·ar·y/ˈkʌstəˌmɛɹi/ | adj. | usual, and done the same way by most peoplefamily: custom, customs, customarily | It is customary to remove your shoes before entering a Thai home. |
| debut ✓✓de·but/deɪˈbju/ | n. | the first public appearance of a performer, player or productfamily: debuts, debuted, debuting | The young singer made her debut at a small concert in Chiang Mai. |
| delegation ✓del·e·ga·tion/ˌdɛləˈɡeɪʃən/ | n. | a group of people chosen to represent others at an official eventfamily: delegate, delegates, delegations | A delegation from the ministry visited our campus to discuss the new programme. |
| detention ✓de·ten·tion/dɪˈtɛnʃən/ | n. | the act of keeping someone in a place and not letting them leavefamily: detain, detained, detaining, detentions | The student had to stay for detention after school for missing homework. |
| disclosure ✓dis·clo·sure/dɪsˈkloʊʒɚ/ | n. | the act of telling people facts that were secretfamily: disclose, disclosed, disclosures | The company delayed the disclosure of its financial problems for months. |
| electoral ✓e·lec·tor·al/ɪˈlɛktɚəl/ | adj. | connected with choosing leaders by votingfamily: elect, election, elector, electorate, elected, electorally | The student council follows a simple electoral process each year. |
| empower ✓em·pow·er/ɪmˈpaʊɚ/ | v. | to give someone the ability or confidence to make their own decisionsfamily: empowered, empowering, empowerment, empowers | Good training empowers new staff to solve problems by themselves. |
| endorsement ✓✓en·dorse·ment/ɛnˈdɔɹsmənt/ | n. | public support for a person, product or ideafamily: endorse, endorsed, endorsements | The product gained sales after an endorsement from a famous athlete. |
| enforcement ✓en·force·ment/ɛnˈfɔɹsmənt/ | n. | the action of making people obey a law or rulefamily: enforce, enforced, enforces, enforcing, enforceable, enforcer | Strict enforcement of the speed limit has made the road safer. |
| exploitation ✓✓ex·ploi·ta·tion/ˌɛksplɔɪˈteɪʃən/ | n. | the unfair use of people or things for your own benefitfamily: exploit, exploited, exploiting, exploitative, exploits | The report describes the exploitation of workers in some factories. |
| faction ✓✓fac·tion/ˈfækʃən/ | n. | a small group inside a larger one that has different ideasfamily: factions, factional | A faction within the committee wanted to delay the vote. |
| feminist ✓fem·i·nist/ˈfɛmənɪst/ | adj. | supporting equal rights and chances for womenfamily: feminism, feminists | Her essay takes a feminist view of women's roles in modern workplaces. |
| footage ✓foot·age/ˈfʊtɪdʒ/ | n. | film or video of a particular event or placefamily: foot | The news showed footage of the flooded streets after the storm. |
| forensic ✓fo·ren·sic/fəˈɹɛnsɪk/ | adj. | using science to find facts about a crimefamily: forensics, forensically | A forensic team examined the broken window for fingerprints. |
| forge ✓/fɔɹdʒ/ | v. | to make an illegal copy of something to trick peoplefamily: forgery, forger, forged, forging, forges | Someone forged the manager's signature on the payment form. |
| governance ✓gov·er·nance/ˈɡʌvɚnəns/ | n. | the way an organisation or country is controlled and managedfamily: govern, governed, governing, government, governor, governmental | The university improved its governance by publishing all board decisions. |
| harassment ✓✓ha·rass·ment/həˈɹæsmənt/ | n. | behaviour that annoys, threatens or upsets someone again and againfamily: harass, harassed, harassing | The company has a clear policy against harassment at work. |
| homeland ✓home·land/ˈhoʊmˌlænd/ | n. | the country where a person was born or belongsfamily: home, land, homelands | After ten years abroad, she returned to her homeland to teach. |
| hostage ✓hos·tage/ˈhɑstɪdʒ/ | n. | a person held by force until others do what is demandedfamily: hostages | The police talked for hours until every hostage was released. |
| humanitarian ✓hu·man·i·tar·i·an/hjuˌmænəˈtɛɹiən/ | adj. | concerned with helping people who are sufferingfamily: humanity, humane, humanitarianism | Volunteers delivered humanitarian aid to families after the floods. |
| inclusion ✓✓in·clu·sion/ɪnˈkluʒən/ | n. | the act of making someone or something part of a group or activityfamily: include, included, includes, including, inclusive, inclusions | The school promotes the inclusion of students with disabilities in every class. |
| inclusive ✓in·clu·sive/ɪnˈklusɪv/ | adj. | welcoming and open to people of every kindfamily: include, included, including, inclusion, inclusively, inclusivity | The university wants its clubs to be inclusive of all students. |
| indictment ✓in·dict·ment/ɪnˈdaɪtmənt/ | n. | an official statement saying that someone is accused of a serious crimefamily: indict, indicted, indictments | The court issued an indictment against the company's former director. |
| indigenous ✓in·dig·e·nous/ɪnˈdɪdʒənəs/ | adj. | living or growing naturally in a place, not brought from outside | Several indigenous languages are still spoken in the mountain villages. |
| injustice ✓✓in·jus·tice/ɪnˈdʒʌstɪs/ | n. | a situation that is unfair and wrongfamily: injustices, justice, unjust | The students wrote a letter about the injustice of the new rule. |
| intervention ✓in·ter·ven·tion/ˌɪntɚˈvɛnʃən/ | n. | action taken to stop or change a problem or situationfamily: intervene, intervened, intervenes, intervening, interventions | Early intervention helped the struggling student catch up with the class. |
| judicial ✓ju·di·cial/dʒuˈdɪʃəl/ | adj. | connected with courts of law and judgesfamily: judge, judiciary, judicially | The judicial system takes months to decide some cases. |
| jurisdiction ✓✓ju·ris·dic·tion/ˌdʒʊɹəsˈdɪkʃən/ | n. | the legal power of a court or official to make decisionsfamily: jurisdictions, jurisdictional | The local court has no jurisdiction over cases from other provinces. |
| liable ✓li·a·ble/ˈlaɪəbəl/ | adj. | legally responsible for something, especially for payingfamily: liability, liabilities | Tenants are liable for any damage to the flat. |
| magistrate ✓mag·is·trate/ˈmædʒəˌstɹeɪt/ | n. | a judge in a local court who deals with less serious casesfamily: magistrates | The magistrate ordered the driver to pay a small fine. |
| mainstream ✓main·stream/ˈmeɪnˌstɹim/ | n. | the ideas and ways of living that most people accept as normalfamily: mainstreamed, mainstreaming | Electric cars have moved from a rare idea into the mainstream. |
| mandatory ✓man·da·to·ry/ˈmændəˌtɔɹi/ | adj. | required by a rule or law, not optionalfamily: mandate | Attendance at the safety briefing is mandatory for all new staff. |
| ministry ✓min·is·try/ˈmɪnəstɹi/ | n. | a government department led by a senior politicianfamily: minister, ministers, ministerial, ministries | The Ministry of Education announced new rules for schools. |
| nominate ✓nom·i·nate/ˈnɑməˌneɪt/ | v. | to formally suggest someone for a job, prize or positionfamily: nomination, nominee, nominated, nominating, nominator | Each class may nominate one student for the award. |
| oblige ✓✓o·blige/əˈblaɪdʒ/ | v. | to make someone do something because it is a rule or dutyfamily: obligation, obligatory, obliged, obliges, obliging | The new law obliges shops to recycle their plastic bags. |
| privileged ✓priv·i·leged/ˈpɹɪvlədʒd/ | adj. | having special advantages that most people do not havefamily: privilege, privileges | Only a privileged few could afford university a century ago. |
| provincial ≠pro·vin·cial/pɹəˈvɪnʃəl/ | adj. | relating to the parts of a country outside the capital cityfamily: province, provinces, provincially | Many provincial schools now offer online lessons with city teachers. |
| restoration ✓✓res·to·ra·tion/ˌɹɛstəˈɹeɪʃən/ | n. | the work of returning an old building or object to good conditionfamily: restore, restored, restorations | The restoration of the temple took three years to complete. |
| socialist ✓so·cial·ist/ˈsoʊʃələst/ | adj. | supporting the idea that the state should own and share wealthfamily: socialism, social, socialists, socialistic | The lecture compared socialist and market economies in the twentieth century. |
| tribal ✓trib·al/ˈtɹaɪbəl/ | adj. | connected with a group of people who share the same customs and languagefamily: tribe, tribes, tribalism, tribally | The museum displays tribal masks from several regions. |
describing63 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| accustomed ✓ac·cus·tomed/əˈkʌstəmd/ | adj. | familiar with something because you have done it oftenfamily: accustom | She soon became accustomed to waking up at five. |
| adjacent ✓ad·ja·cent/əˈdʒeɪsənt/ | adj. | next to or very close to something elsefamily: adjacently | The library is adjacent to the main lecture hall. |
| aesthetic ✓✓aes·thet·ic/ɛsˈθɛtɪk/ | adj. | connected with beauty and the way things lookfamily: aesthetics, aesthetically | The new library was designed for aesthetic reasons as well as practical ones. |
| akin ⚠a·kin/əˈkɪn/ | adj. | similar to; a formal word used with to | Chanting is akin to slow singing. |
| appealing ✓ap·peal·ing/əˈpilɪŋ/ | adj. | attractive and interesting, so that you like or want itfamily: appeal, appealingly, unappealing | The idea of a week by the sea sounded very appealing. |
| arbitrary ✓ar·bi·trar·y/ˈɑɹbəˌtɹɛɹi/ | adj. | decided by chance or personal choice, not by any reason or rulefamily: arbitrarily, arbitrariness | The order of the names on the list is completely arbitrary. |
| authentic ✓au·then·tic/əˈθɛntɪk/ | adj. | real and true, not a copyfamily: authenticity, authentically, authenticate | This restaurant serves authentic Thai food cooked by a local chef. |
| brutal ✓bru·tal/ˈbɹutəl/ | adj. | extremely cruel or harshfamily: brute, brutality, brutally, brutalise, brutalism | The critics gave the new film a brutal review. |
| candid ✓can·did/ˈkændəd/ | adj. | honest and direct, even when the truth is uncomfortablefamily: candidly, candidness, candour | Her candid feedback helped me improve the essay. |
| clad ⚠/klæd/ | adj. | covered or dressed, a literary word | The hills stood clad in mist. |
| classy ✓class·y/ˈklæsi/ | adj. | stylish and of high qualityfamily: class, classier, classiness | They chose a classy restaurant for the farewell dinner. |
| comparable ✓com·pa·ra·ble/ˈkɑmpɚəbəl/ | adj. | similar in size, amount or quality to something elsefamily: compare, comparison, comparably, comparative, compared | The two universities offer comparable courses, but the fees are very different. |
| compelling ✓com·pel·ling/kəmˈpɛlɪŋ/ | adj. | so interesting or persuasive that you cannot ignore itfamily: compel, compelled, compellingly | She gave a compelling reason for changing the exam date. |
| compromised ✓com·pro·mised/ˈkɑmpɹəˌmaɪzd/ | adj. | made weaker or less safe than beforefamily: compromise, compromises, compromising | The patient's immune system was compromised after the illness. |
| credible ✓✓cred·i·ble/ˈkɹɛdəbəl/ | adj. | able to be believed or trustedfamily: credibility, credibly, incredible | The report gives credible evidence from several independent studies. |
| crude ✓✓/kɹud/ | adj. | made or done in a simple, rough way without much skillfamily: crudely, crudeness, cruder, crudest | He drew a crude map on a napkin to show us the way. |
| damaging ✓dam·ag·ing/ˈdæmɪdʒɪŋ/ | adj. | causing harm to something or someonefamily: damage, damaged, damages | Too much sun can be damaging to your skin. |
| defensive ✓de·fen·sive/dɪˈfɛnsɪv/ | adj. | meant to protect against attack or criticismfamily: defence, defend, defensively | The coach chose a defensive plan to stop the other team scoring. |
| dire ⚠/daɪɹ/ | adj. | extremely serious or urgent | The village was in dire need of water. |
| distinctive ✓dis·tinc·tive/dɪˈstɪŋktɪv/ | adj. | having a special quality that makes something easy to recognisefamily: distinct, distinctively, distinction | The singer has a distinctive voice that listeners recognise immediately. |
| disturbing ✓dis·turb·ing/dɪˈstɝbɪŋ/ | adj. | making you feel worried or upsetfamily: disturb, disturbance, disturbed, disturbingly | The report contains some disturbing facts about pollution in the river. |
| dual ✓du·al/ˈduəl/ | adj. | having two parts or purposes | The hall has a dual use: sport and exams. |
| engaging ✓en·gag·ing/ɛnˈɡeɪdʒɪŋ/ | adj. | pleasant and interesting in a way that holds your attentionfamily: engage, engagement, engaged, engagingly | The lecture was so engaging that nobody looked at their phone. |
| explicit ✓ex·plic·it/ɪkˈsplɪsət/ | adj. | said or shown clearly, leaving nothing to guessfamily: explicitly, explicitness | The teacher gave explicit instructions about how to format the essay. |
| explicitly ✓ex·plic·it·ly/ɪkˈsplɪsətli/ | adv. | in a clear and direct way, leaving nothing hiddenfamily: explicit, explicitness | The teacher explicitly told us to bring a calculator. |
| flawed ✓/flɔd/ | adj. | having a mistake or weakness that spoils itfamily: flaw, flaws, flawless | The study's conclusion was flawed because the sample was too small. |
| fragile ✓frag·ile/ˈfɹædʒəl/ | adj. | easily broken or damagedfamily: fragility | Please pack the glasses carefully because they are fragile. |
| generic ✓ge·ner·ic/dʒəˈnɛɹɪk/ | adj. | shared by a whole group rather than one particular memberfamily: generically | The course teaches generic study skills that are useful in any subject. |
| halfway ✓half·way/ˌhæfˈweɪ/ | adv. | at the middle point between two places or timesfamily: half | We stopped for lunch halfway through the long drive north. |
| immense ✓✓im·mense/ɪˈmɛns/ | adj. | extremely large or great in size, amount or degreefamily: immensely, immensity | Building the new library required an immense amount of planning. |
| inclined ✓in·clined/ɪnˈklaɪnd/ | adj. | likely to do or feel somethingfamily: incline, inclination | After a long day, I am inclined to skip the gym. |
| infamous ✓in·fa·mous/ˈɪnfəməs/ | adj. | well known for something badfamily: infamy, infamously | The road is infamous for its heavy traffic every morning. |
| inherent ✓✓in·her·ent/ɪnˈhɪɹənt/ | adj. | existing as a natural and permanent part of somethingfamily: inherently | There is an inherent risk in every new business idea. |
| insightful ✓in·sight·ful/ˈɪnˌsaɪtfəl/ | adj. | showing a clear and deep understanding of somethingfamily: insight, insightfully | Her insightful comments helped us see the problem differently. |
| instrumental ✓in·stru·men·tal/ˌɪnstɹəˈmɛntəl/ | adj. | playing an important part in making something happenfamily: instrument, instruments | The head teacher was instrumental in starting the reading club. |
| intact ✓in·tact/ɪnˈtækt/ | adj. | not damaged, with every part still completefamily: intactness | The old vase survived the house move completely intact. |
| integral ✓✓in·te·gral/ˈɪntəɡɹəl/ | adj. | necessary to make something whole or completefamily: integrate, integration, integrally | Group discussion is an integral part of the seminar each week. |
| integrated ✓in·te·grat·ed/ˈɪntəˌɡɹeɪtəd/ | adj. | combined so that the different parts work together as onefamily: integrate, integration, integrating, integrates | The city has an integrated transport system linking buses and trains. |
| intriguing ✓in·trigu·ing/ɪnˈtɹiɡɪŋ/ | adj. | very interesting because it is unusual or hard to explainfamily: intrigue, intrigued, intriguingly | The lecture raised an intriguing question about how children learn languages. |
| ironic ≠i·ron·ic/aɪˈɹɑnɪk/ | adj. | strange or funny because the opposite of what you expect happensfamily: irony, ironies, ironically, ironical | It is ironic that the swimming teacher cannot swim. |
| laden ⚠la·den/ˈleɪdən/ | adj. | carrying a heavy loadfamily: load | Laden boats sat low in the water. |
| lesser ✓less·er/ˈlɛsɚ/ | adj. | smaller in size, amount or importance than anotherfamily: less, least | The other problems were of lesser importance and could wait. |
| lethal ✓le·thal/ˈliθəl/ | adj. | able to cause deathfamily: lethally, lethality | Even a small amount of this chemical can be lethal. |
| marginal ✓✓mar·gin·al/ˈmɑɹdʒənəl/ | adj. | very small and not important enough to make a differencefamily: margin, margins, marginally, marginalise | The new software brought only a marginal improvement in speed. |
| mere ≠/mɪɹ/ | adj. | nothing more thanfamily: merely | It took a mere five minutes. |
| minimal ✓min·i·mal/ˈmɪnəməl/ | adj. | as small in amount or degree as possiblefamily: minimum, minimally, minimise, minimalist, minimalism | The storm caused only minimal damage to the school roof. |
| notable ✓✓no·ta·ble/ˈnoʊtəbəl/ | adj. | important or interesting enough to deserve attentionfamily: note, notably | The report showed a notable rise in the number of part-time students. |
| odds ✓/ɑdz/ | n. | the chances of something happening | The odds of rain are high today. |
| partially ✓par·tial·ly/ˈpɑɹʃəli/ | adv. | in part, but not fullyfamily: part, partial, partly | The building was only partially finished when the term began. |
| problematic ✓prob·lem·at·ic/ˌpɹɑbləˈmætɪk/ | adj. | full of difficulties and hard to deal withfamily: problem, problems | Sharing one computer between five students proved problematic during the project. |
| profound ✓✓pro·found/pɹoʊˈfaʊnd/ | adj. | very great, deep or strongly feltfamily: profoundly, profundity | The new teacher had a profound effect on the students' confidence. |
| pronounced ✓pro·nounced/pɹəˈnaʊnst/ | adj. | very easy to notice or very strongfamily: pronounce, pronounces, pronouncing, pronunciation | There was a pronounced difference between the two test scores. |
| prospective ✓✓pro·spec·tive/pɹəˈspɛktɪv/ | adj. | expected or likely to become something in the futurefamily: prospect, prospects | The university held an open day for prospective students and their parents. |
| robust ✓✓ro·bust/ɹoʊˈbʌst/ | adj. | strong and not easily broken or harmedfamily: robustly, robustness | The new phone case is robust enough to survive a fall. |
| specialized ✓spe·cial·ized/ˈspɛʃəˌlaɪzd/ | adj. | designed or trained for one particular purposefamily: specialize, specialist, specialization, special | The hospital has specialized equipment for treating burns. |
| standing ✓stand·ing/ˈstændɪŋ/ | adj. | continuing to exist or apply for a long timefamily: stand | There is a standing rule that meetings finish by five o'clock. |
| stark ✓/stɑɹk/ | adj. | very clear and plain, often in an unpleasant wayfamily: starkly, starkness | There is a stark difference between the two exam results. |
| structural ✓✓struc·tur·al/ˈstɹʌktʃɚəl/ | adj. | connected with the way something is built or organisedfamily: structure, structurally, structures | The engineer found structural problems in the old bridge. |
| teal ⚠/til/ | n. | a dark blue-green color | She painted the wall teal. |
| theatrical ✓the·at·ri·cal/θiˈætɹɪkəl/ | adj. | connected with plays and acting on stagefamily: theatre, theatrically, theatrics | The university has a theatrical group that performs twice a year. |
| tier ⚠/tiɹ/ | n. | one level in a structure of several levels | The top tier holds the trophy. |
| vicious ✓✓vi·cious/ˈvɪʃəs/ | adj. | cruel, and meant to harm someone or something badlyfamily: viciously, viciousness | The reviewer wrote a vicious comment about the young writer's first book. |
| vocal ✓vo·cal/ˈvoʊkəl/ | adj. | expressing opinions loudly and oftenfamily: vocally, vocalist | Parents were very vocal about the change to the school timetable. |
abstract44 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| accordance ✓ac·cor·dance/əˈkɔɹdəns/ | n. | agreement with a rule, a wish or a planfamily: accord, according, accordingly | The exam was marked in accordance with the university rules. |
| accumulation ✓ac·cu·mu·la·tion/əˌkjumjəˈleɪʃən/ | n. | a large amount of something collected together over timefamily: accumulate, accumulated, accumulating, accumulative | There was an accumulation of dust on the old bookshelves. |
| adaptation ✓ad·ap·ta·tion/ˌædəpˈteɪʃən/ | n. | a change made so that something suits a new situationfamily: adapt, adapted, adapting, adaptable, adaptive | Living in a new country needs some adaptation to local customs. |
| alignment ✓✓a·lign·ment/əˈlaɪnmənt/ | n. | the arrangement of things in a straight line or correct positionfamily: align, aligned, alignments | Check the alignment of the text before you print the poster. |
| applicable ✓ap·pli·ca·ble/ˈæpləkəbəl/ | adj. | relevant to a particular person, group or situationfamily: apply, application, applicability | This discount is only applicable to full-time students. |
| array ✓ar·ray/əˈɹeɪ/ | n. | a large and impressive group of thingsfamily: arrays, arrayed | The market offered an array of fresh fruit from every region. |
| autonomy ✓au·ton·o·my/ɔˈtɑnəmi/ | n. | the freedom to make your own decisionsfamily: autonomous, autonomously | Universities want more autonomy in deciding what courses to offer. |
| backdrop ✓back·drop/ˈbækˌdɹɑp/ | n. | the situation or scenery behind something that happensfamily: backdrops | The talks took place against a backdrop of rising food prices. |
| backing ✓back·ing/ˈbækɪŋ/ | n. | support or money given to help a plan succeedfamily: back, backed, backer, backers | The new library project has the backing of the whole city council. |
| boundary ✓bound·a·ry/ˈbaʊndɚi/ | n. | a line that marks where one area ends and another beginsfamily: boundaries | The river forms the boundary between the two provinces. |
| buffer ✓✓buf·fer/ˈbʌfɚ/ | n. | a thing that protects against harm or lessens the effect of a changefamily: buffers, buffered, buffering | Her savings acted as a buffer when she lost her job. |
| bulk ✓✓/bʌlk/ | n. | the main or largest part of somethingfamily: bulky, bulks, bulked | The bulk of the work was finished before the deadline. |
| clarity ✓clar·i·ty/ˈklɛɹəti/ | n. | the quality of being easy to understand or seefamily: clear, clearly, clarify, clarification, unclear | Her essay explains the theory with great clarity. |
| conditional ✓con·di·tion·al/kənˈdɪʃənəl/ | adj. | depending on something else happening firstfamily: condition, conditions, conditionally, conditioned | The job offer is conditional on passing a medical check. |
| consistency ✓con·sis·ten·cy/kənˈsɪstənsi/ | n. | the quality of always behaving or happening in the same wayfamily: consistent, consistently, inconsistent, inconsistency | Good teachers show consistency in the way they mark essays. |
| constraint ✓✓con·straint/kənˈstɹeɪnt/ | n. | something that limits what you can dofamily: constrain, constrained, constraints | Time was the main constraint on our group project. |
| contemplate ✓con·tem·plate/ˈkɑntəmˌpleɪt/ | v. | to think about something carefully for a long timefamily: contemplation, contemplative, contemplated, contemplates, contemplating | She sat by the window and contemplated her choice of university. |
| conviction ✓✓con·vic·tion/kənˈvɪkʃən/ | n. | a very strong belief that something is truefamily: convict, convicted, convictions | She spoke with conviction about the need for cleaner rivers. |
| credibility ✓✓cred·i·bil·i·ty/ˌkɹɛdəˈbɪlɪti/ | n. | the quality that makes people believe and trust youfamily: credible, credibly, incredible | The newspaper lost credibility after printing a false report. |
| demon ✓de·mon/ˈdimən/ | n. | an evil spirit believed to bring harm or bad luckfamily: demons, demonic | In the old story, a demon lives in the cave and frightens travellers. |
| denial ✓de·ni·al/dɪˈnaɪəl/ | n. | a statement that something is not true or did not happenfamily: deny, denied, denies, denying, denials | The company issued a quick denial of the story in the newspaper. |
| dependence ✓de·pen·dence/dɪˈpɛndəns/ | n. | the state of needing someone or something in order to live or succeedfamily: depend, dependent, dependable, dependency, depends, independent | The country wants to reduce its dependence on imported oil. |
| discretion ✓dis·cre·tion/dɪˈskɹɛʃən/ | n. | the freedom to decide what should be done in a situationfamily: discretionary, discreet | Teachers have some discretion over how they mark late homework. |
| dominance ✓dom·i·nance/ˈdɑmənəns/ | n. | the state of being more powerful or important than othersfamily: dominate, dominant, dominated, domination, dominating | The team's dominance in the league lasted for three seasons. |
| entity ✓en·ti·ty/ˈɛntəti/ | n. | something that exists as a single, separate thingfamily: entities | After the merger, the two companies became a single legal entity. |
| fairness ✓fair·ness/ˈfɛɹnəs/ | n. | the quality of treating everyone equally and in a reasonable wayfamily: fair, fairly, unfair, unfairly | Students respect the teacher for the fairness of her marking. |
| handful ✓hand·ful/ˈhændˌfʊl/ | n. | a small number of people or thingsfamily: hand, hands, handfuls | Only a handful of students came to the extra class. |
| handling ✓han·dling/ˈhændlɪŋ/ | n. | the way someone deals with a situation or problemfamily: handle, handled, handles, handler | The manager was praised for her calm handling of the complaint. |
| ideological ✓i·de·o·log·i·cal/ˌaɪdiəˈlɑdʒɪkəl/ | adj. | based on a fixed set of political or social beliefsfamily: ideology, ideologies, ideologically | The two writers disagree for ideological reasons, not practical ones. |
| inherently ✓in·her·ent·ly/ɪnˈhɪɹəntli/ | adv. | as a basic and natural part of somethingfamily: inherent | Group projects are inherently harder to organise than individual work. |
| integrity ✓in·teg·ri·ty/ɪnˈtɛɡɹəti/ | n. | the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles | The committee praised her integrity when she reported the error. |
| intensity ✓in·ten·si·ty/ɪnˈtɛnsəti/ | n. | the level of strength or force of somethingfamily: intense, intensely, intensify, intensive | The intensity of the sunlight made the classroom uncomfortably hot. |
| latent ✓la·tent/ˈleɪtənt/ | adj. | present but not yet seen, active or developedfamily: latency, latently | The course helped him discover a latent talent for design. |
| legacy ✓✓leg·a·cy/ˈlɛɡəsi/ | n. | something from the past that still has an effect todayfamily: legacies | The old headteacher left a legacy of kindness and hard work. |
| likelihood ✓✓like·li·hood/ˈlaɪkliˌhʊd/ | n. | the chance that something will happenfamily: likely, unlikely, likelihoods | There is little likelihood of rain this weekend, the forecast says. |
| magnitude ✓mag·ni·tude/ˈmæɡnəˌtud/ | n. | the great size or importance of somethingfamily: magnitudes | Nobody understood the magnitude of the problem until the report came out. |
| manipulation ✓✓ma·nip·u·la·tion/məˌnɪpjəˈleɪʃən/ | n. | clever control of people or facts, often in an unfair wayfamily: manipulate, manipulated, manipulating, manipulative, manipulator | Careful manipulation of the numbers made the results look better than they were. |
| meaningless ✓mean·ing·less/ˈminɪŋləs/ | adj. | having no purpose, sense or importancefamily: meaning, mean, meaningful | Without the answer key, these numbers on the sheet are meaningless. |
| momentum ✓mo·men·tum/moʊˈmɛntəm/ | n. | the force that keeps something moving or growing | The project gained momentum once the funding was approved. |
| quest ✓✓/kwɛst/ | n. | a long and difficult search for something importantfamily: quests | Her quest for a cure took many years of research. |
| respective ✓re·spec·tive/ɹɪˈspɛktɪv/ | adj. | belonging separately to each of the people or things mentionedfamily: respect, respectively | After the meeting, the students returned to their respective classrooms. |
| sacrifice ✓✓sac·ri·fice/ˈsækɹəˌfaɪs/ | n. | something important you give up to gain something betterfamily: sacrifices, sacrificed, sacrificing, sacrificial | Her parents made many sacrifices so she could study abroad. |
| suspension ✓✓sus·pen·sion/səˈspɛnʃən/ | n. | the act of stopping something from happening for a period of timefamily: suspend, suspended, suspending, suspends, suspensions | The suspension of bus services caused problems for many students. |
| underlying ✓un·der·ly·ing/ˌʌndɚˈlaɪɪŋ/ | adj. | real or basic, but not easy to see at firstfamily: underlie, underlies, underlay | Poor sleep was the underlying cause of his low marks. |
work39 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| accountable ✓ac·count·a·ble/əˈkaʊntəbəl/ | adj. | responsible for something and expected to explain your actionsfamily: account, accountability, accountant, accounting, accounts | Managers are accountable for the decisions their teams make. |
| administer ✓ad·min·is·ter/ədˈmɪnəstɚ/ | v. | to manage and be responsible for an organisation or systemfamily: administration, administrator, administrative, administered, administers | The university office administers all student grants and loans. |
| advisory ✓ad·vi·so·ry/ædˈvaɪzɚi/ | adj. | having the job of giving suggestions rather than making decisionsfamily: advise, advice, adviser, advisers, advisor, advisors | She sits on an advisory committee for the new science building. |
| aide ✓/eɪd/ | n. | a person who helps someone in their workfamily: aid | A teaching aide joined the class. |
| align ✓✓a·lign/əˈlaɪn/ | v. | to place in a straight line; to bring into agreementfamily: alignment | Align the sheet with the margin. |
| allocate ✓al·lo·cate/ˈæləˌkeɪt/ | v. | to give out money, time or space for a particular purposefamily: allocation, allocated, allocating, allocates | The school allocated extra funds to the science department this year. |
| charter ✓✓char·ter/ˈtʃɑɹtɚ/ | n. | an official document granting rightsfamily: chartered | The city charter dates from 1290. |
| coil ⚠/kɔɪl/ | n. | something wound into rings | A coil of rope lay on deck. |
| collaborate ✓✓col·lab·o·rate/kəˈlæbɚˌeɪt/ | v. | to work together with other people on a shared taskfamily: collaboration, collaborative, collaborator, collaborated, collaborates, collaborating | The two universities collaborated on a study of river pollution. |
| confer ✓con·fer/kənˈfɝ/ | v. | to discuss something with other people before decidingfamily: conference, conferences, conferred, conferring, confers | The judges conferred for ten minutes before announcing the winner. |
| consultation ✓✓con·sul·ta·tion/ˌkɑnsəlˈteɪʃən/ | n. | a meeting where you ask an expert for advicefamily: consult, consultant, consultancy, consulted, consulting, consults | Students can book a consultation with a lecturer before the exam. |
| contractor ✓✓con·trac·tor/ˈkɑnˌtɹæktɚ/ | n. | a person or company paid to do a particular jobfamily: contract, contracted, contracting, contractors | The university hired a contractor to repair the library roof. |
| coordinate ✓co·or·di·nate/koʊˈɔɹdəˌneɪt/ | v. | to organise different people or activities so they work well togetherfamily: coordination, coordinator, coordinated, coordinating, coordinates | A teacher coordinates the timetable for the whole department. |
| coordination ✓co·or·di·na·tion/koʊˌɔɹdəˈneɪʃən/ | n. | the organising of different people or parts so that they work well togetherfamily: coordinate, coordinated, coordinates, coordinating, coordinator | Good coordination between the two departments saved a lot of time. |
| coordinator ✓co·or·di·na·tor/koʊˈɔɹdəˌneɪtɚ/ | n. | a person whose job is to organise people or activities so they work togetherfamily: coordinate, coordinated, coordinates, coordinating, coordination, coordinators | The course coordinator sends the timetable to all students each term. |
| counterpart ✓coun·ter·part/ˈkaʊntɚˌpɑɹt/ | n. | a person or thing with the same job or role in a different placefamily: counterparts | Our finance manager met her counterpart from the Singapore office yesterday. |
| defect ✓de·fect/ˈdifɛkt/ | n. | a fault or weakness that makes something not perfectfamily: defects, defective | The factory found a small defect in the phone screens and stopped production. |
| deploy ✓de·ploy/dɪˈplɔɪ/ | v. | to put people or equipment in position, ready for usefamily: deployed, deploying, deployment, deployments, deploys | The company deployed extra staff to the airport during the holiday. |
| deployment ✓de·ploy·ment/dɪˈplɔɪmənt/ | n. | the act of moving people or equipment into position for usefamily: deploy, deployed, deploying, deploys, deployments | The deployment of the new software will start on Monday morning. |
| directory ✓di·rec·to·ry/dəˈɹɛktɚi/ | n. | a list of names, addresses or phone numbers in orderfamily: directories | Check the staff directory to find her office phone number. |
| dismissal ✓dis·miss·al/dɪˈsmɪsəl/ | n. | the act of making someone leave their jobfamily: dismiss, dismissed, dismissals, dismissive | His dismissal came after several warnings about arriving late. |
| dyer ⚠dy·er/ˈdaɪɚ/ | n. | a person whose work is dyeing clothfamily: dye | The dyer's yard smells of indigo. |
| erect ✓e·rect/ɪˈɹɛkt/ | v. | to build or put up a structure | They erected a new hall. |
| franchise ✓fran·chise/ˈfɹænˌtʃaɪz/ | n. | the right to sell a company's products under its name in an areafamily: franchises, franchisee, franchisor, franchised, franchising | She opened a coffee franchise near the university last year. |
| idle ≠i·dle/ˈaɪdəl/ | adj. | not working or being used | The machine stood idle. |
| lieu ⚠/lu/ | n. | used in the phrase in lieu of: instead of | A day off in lieu of overtime. |
| listing ✓list·ing/ˈlɪstɪŋ/ | n. | a printed or online list of items, often with detailsfamily: list, lists, listed, listings | The house listing showed photos of every room and the garden. |
| machinery ✓ma·chin·er·y/məˈʃinɚi/ | n. | large equipment with moving parts used in factories or on farmsfamily: machine, machines | The farm bought new machinery to harvest the rice faster. |
| mining ✓min·ing/ˈmaɪnɪŋ/ | n. | the work of digging coal, metal or stone out of the groundfamily: miner, mines, mined | Mining provides many jobs in the northern part of the country. |
| newsletter ✓news·let·ter/ˈnuzˌlɛtɚ/ | n. | a short report sent regularly to members of a groupfamily: newsletters | The school sends a newsletter to parents every month. |
| niche ✓✓/nɪtʃ/ | n. | a small special area of business or activity that suits one groupfamily: niches | The shop found a niche selling handmade notebooks to students. |
| notify ✓no·ti·fy/ˈnoʊtəˌfaɪ/ | v. | to tell someone officially about somethingfamily: notification, notified, notifies, notifying | The office will notify students by email when results are ready. |
| occupational ✓oc·cu·pa·tion·al/ɑkjəˈpeɪʃənəl/ | adj. | connected with a person's jobfamily: occupation, occupations, occupy | Back pain is a common occupational problem for office workers. |
| operational ✓op·er·a·tion·al/ˌɑpəˈɹeɪʃənəl/ | adj. | working and ready to be usedfamily: operate, operation, operations, operator, operators | The new train line will be fully operational by next year. |
| oversee ✓✓o·ver·see/ˌoʊvɚˈsi/ | v. | to watch and direct work to make sure it is done properlyfamily: oversaw, overseen, overseeing, overseer, oversees | A senior nurse oversees the training of every new staff member. |
| plea ✓/pli/ | n. | an urgent requestfamily: plead, pleaded | The letter was a plea for more books. |
| predecessor ✓✓pre·de·ces·sor/ˈpɹɛdəˌsɛsɚ/ | n. | the person who had a job or position before someone elsefamily: predecessors | The new director thanked her predecessor for his years of work. |
| reel ⚠/ɹil/ | n. | a round object that thread or film winds around | Wind the thread onto the reel. |
| terminate ✓ter·mi·nate/ˈtɝməˌneɪt/ | v. | to bring something to an endfamily: termination, terminated, terminating, terminal, terminator | The company terminated the contract after repeated late deliveries. |
actions31 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| accelerate ✓ac·cel·er·ate/ækˈsɛlɚˌeɪt/ | v. | to move faster, or to make something happen more quicklyfamily: acceleration, accelerator, accelerated, accelerating, accelerates | The train accelerated quickly after leaving the station. |
| alleviate ✓al·le·vi·ate/əˈliviˌeɪt/ | v. | to make a problem or pain less severefamily: alleviation, alleviated, alleviates, alleviating | A short walk can alleviate the stress of a long study day. |
| circulate ✓✓cir·cu·late/ˈsɝkjəˌleɪt/ | v. | to pass from one person or place to anotherfamily: circulation, circulated, circulates, circulating, circulator | The report was circulated to every member of the committee. |
| cling ✓/klɪŋ/ | v. | to hold on to something very tightlyfamily: clung, clinging, clings, clingy | The child clung to her mother's hand in the crowded market. |
| commence ✓com·mence/kəˈmɛns/ | v. | to begin, especially something formal or officialfamily: commencement, commenced, commencing, commences | The graduation ceremony will commence at nine o'clock in the main hall. |
| compel ✓✓com·pel/kəmˈpɛl/ | v. | to force someone to do somethingfamily: compelled, compelling, compels, compulsion, compulsory | Rising costs compelled the school to cancel the trip. |
| consolidate ✓con·sol·i·date/kənˈsɑlɪˌdeɪt/ | v. | to join several things into a single, stronger wholefamily: consolidation, consolidated, consolidating, consolidates | She consolidated her lecture notes into one clear summary before the exam. |
| creep ✓/kɹip/ | v. | to move slowly and quietly so nobody noticesfamily: crept, creeping, creeps, creeper, creepy | He crept into the room so he would not disturb the class. |
| designate ✓des·ig·nate/ˈdɛzəɡˌneɪt/ | v. | to choose someone or something officially for a particular purpose or jobfamily: designation, designated, designating, designates | The university designated the old library as a quiet study area. |
| discard ✓✓dis·card/dɪˈskɑɹd/ | v. | to throw away something you no longer want or needfamily: discarded, discarding, discards | Please discard any notes you no longer need before we move office. |
| disclose ✓dis·close/dɪsˈkloʊz/ | v. | to make secret or private information knownfamily: disclosure, disclosed, discloses, disclosing | The company refused to disclose how much the new director earns. |
| elevate ✓✓el·e·vate/ˈɛləˌveɪt/ | v. | to raise something to a higher level or positionfamily: elevated, elevates, elevating, elevation, elevator | The nurse asked him to elevate his leg on a pillow. |
| embark ✓✓em·bark/ɛmˈbɑɹk/ | v. | to begin a long or important activityfamily: embarked, embarking, embarkation, embarks | Next month she will embark on a two-year research project. |
| exert ✓✓ex·ert/ɪɡˈzɝt/ | v. | to use effort, power or influence to make something happenfamily: exertion, exerted, exerting, exerts | Teachers can exert a strong influence on how children see themselves. |
| foster ✓fos·ter/ˈfɑstɚ/ | v. | to help something grow or developfamily: fostered, fostering, fosters | Group projects foster teamwork among first-year students. |
| grind ✓/ɡɹaɪnd/ | v. | to crush something into very small pieces or powderfamily: ground, grinder, grinding, grinds | Grind the coffee beans just before you make the coffee. |
| halt ✓/hɔlt/ | v. | to stop; a formal word | Rain halted the match. |
| induce ≠in·duce/ɪnˈdus/ | v. | to cause something to happenfamily: induced, induces, inducing, inducement, induction | Lack of sleep can induce headaches in many students. |
| inhibit ✓in·hib·it/ɪnˈhɪbət/ | v. | to stop something from happening or make it slowerfamily: inhibition, inhibited, inhibitor, inhibits, inhibiting | Fear of mistakes can inhibit students from speaking in class. |
| initiate ✓in·i·ti·ate/ɪˈnɪʃiˌeɪt/ | v. | to make something beginfamily: initiated, initiation, initiative, initiator | The university initiated a recycling programme in every building. |
| insertion ✓in·ser·tion/ɪnˈsɝʃən/ | n. | the act of putting something inside another thingfamily: insert, inserted, inserting, inserts, insertions | The insertion of a new paragraph made the essay much clearer. |
| intervene ✓in·ter·vene/ˌɪntɚˈvin/ | v. | to become involved in a situation in order to change itfamily: intervention, intervened, intervening, intervenes | The teacher intervened when the two students started arguing loudly. |
| manifest ✓man·i·fest/ˈmænəˌfɛst/ | v. | to show something clearly through signs or actionsfamily: manifestation, manifested, manifesting, manifests, manifestly | Stress often manifests itself as headaches and poor sleep. |
| maximize ✓max·i·mize/ˈmæksəˌmaɪz/ | v. | to make something as large or as great as possiblefamily: maximum, maximization, maximized, maximizing, maximal | Sit near the front to maximize your chances of hearing well. |
| portray ✓✓por·tray/pɔɹtˈɹeɪ/ | v. | to show or describe someone or something in a particular wayfamily: portrayal, portrayed, portraying, portrays, portrait | The film portrays village life as slow and peaceful. |
| provoke ✓✓pro·voke/pɹəˈvoʊk/ | v. | to cause a strong reaction or feeling in peoplefamily: provocation, provocative, provoked, provokes, provoking | The new parking rules provoked complaints from staff. |
| render ✓✓ren·der/ˈɹɛndɚ/ | v. | to cause something to be in a particular statefamily: rendered, rendering, renders | The heavy rain rendered the football pitch unusable for the whole weekend. |
| rotate ✓✓ro·tate/ˈɹoʊˌteɪt/ | v. | to turn around a central point, like a wheelfamily: rotation, rotated, rotates, rotating, rotator | The Earth rotates once every twenty-four hours. |
| rove ⚠/ɹoʊv/ | v. | to wander from place to placefamily: roving | Vendors rove the fair all day. |
| thrive ✓/θɹaɪv/ | v. | to grow well or become very successfulfamily: thrived, thrives, thriving | Small cafés thrive in this part of the city. |
| undermine ✓un·der·mine/ˌʌndɚˈmaɪn/ | v. | to make something gradually weaker or less effectivefamily: undermined, undermines, undermining | Constant criticism can undermine a young learner's confidence. |
academic24 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| adhere ≠ad·here/ədˈhɪɹ/ | v. | to follow a rule, plan or belief closelyfamily: adherence, adherent, adhered, adheres, adhering, adhesive | All laboratories must adhere to the university safety guidelines. |
| apparatus ✓ap·pa·ra·tus/ˌæpəˈɹætəs/ | n. | the equipment needed for a scientific or technical taskfamily: apparatuses | The students set up the apparatus before starting the chemistry experiment. |
| archive ✓ar·chive/ˈɑɹˌkaɪv/ | n. | a collection of old documents and records kept for studyfamily: archives, archived, archiving, archival, archivist | The library archive holds newspapers from more than a century ago. |
| assertion ✓✓as·ser·tion/əˈsɝʃən/ | n. | a strong statement that something is true, often without prooffamily: assert, asserted, asserting, asserts, assertive, assertions | Her assertion that the data were wrong surprised the whole team. |
| contend ✓con·tend/kənˈtɛnd/ | v. | to argue that something is truefamily: contention, contender, contended, contending, contends, contentious | The author contends that small classes help students learn faster. |
| contention ✓con·ten·tion/kənˈtɛnʃən/ | n. | a strong opinion that someone states in an argument or discussionfamily: contend, contends, contentions, contentious | The author's main contention is that reading improves memory. |
| contested ✓con·test·ed/kənˈtɛstəd/ | adj. | argued about because people do not agreefamily: contest, contests, contesting | The meaning of the term is still contested among researchers. |
| contextual ✓con·tex·tu·al/ˌkɑnˈtɛksˌtʃuəl/ | adj. | connected with the situation in which something happensfamily: context, contexts, contextually, contextualise | Good readers use contextual clues to guess new words. |
| critique ✓cri·tique/kɹəˈtik/ | n. | a detailed piece of writing that judges the strengths and weaknesses of somethingfamily: critiques, critiqued, critiquing, critic, critical, criticism | Each student must write a critique of a published research article. |
| density ✓den·si·ty/ˈdɛnsəti/ | n. | the amount of people or things in a given area or spacefamily: dense, densely, densities | Bangkok has a much higher population density than the countryside. |
| depict ✓✓de·pict/dɪˈpɪkt/ | v. | to show something in a picture or describe it in wordsfamily: depiction, depicted, depicting, depicts | The painting depicts a busy floating market at sunrise. |
| empirical ✓em·pir·i·cal/ˌɛmˈpɪɹɪkəl/ | adj. | based on real observation or experiment rather than on theoryfamily: empirically, empiricism | The study gives empirical evidence that sleep improves memory. |
| experimental ✓ex·per·i·men·tal/ɪkˌspɛɹɪˈmɛntəl/ | adj. | connected with scientific tests done to discover somethingfamily: experiment, experimentally, experimentation | The experimental group received the new teaching method for ten weeks. |
| explanatory ✓ex·plan·a·to·ry/ɪkˈsplænəˌtɔɹi/ | adj. | giving reasons that help people understand somethingfamily: explain, explanation, explained, explaining, explanations | Each diagram comes with a short explanatory note underneath. |
| formulate ✓✓for·mu·late/ˈfɔɹmjəˌleɪt/ | v. | to develop a plan, idea or rule carefully and in detailfamily: formula, formulation, formulated, formulating | The committee spent months formulating a new policy on student attendance. |
| indicator ✓in·di·ca·tor/ˈɪndəˌkeɪtɚ/ | n. | something that shows the state or level of a situationfamily: indicate, indicated, indicates, indicating, indication, indicative | Test scores are only one indicator of a student's ability. |
| irrelevant ✓ir·rel·e·vant/ɪˈɹɛləvənt/ | adj. | not connected with the subject being discussedfamily: relevant, relevance, irrelevance, irrelevantly | Please leave out details that are irrelevant to the question. |
| linear ✓✓lin·e·ar/ˈlɪniɚ/ | adj. | moving or arranged in one straight direction, step by stepfamily: line, linearly, linearity | The story follows a linear path from her childhood to old age. |
| manuscript ✓man·u·script/ˈmænjəˌskɹɪpt/ | n. | a book or text written by an author before it is printedfamily: manuscripts | She sent her manuscript to three publishers last month. |
| precision ✓✓pre·ci·sion/pɹiˈsɪʒən/ | n. | the quality of being exact and correct in every detailfamily: precise, precisely | The scientist measured each sample with great precision. |
| specimen ✓✓spec·i·men/ˈspɛsəmən/ | n. | a single example of something, used for study or testingfamily: specimens | The students examined a leaf specimen under the microscope. |
| statistical ✓sta·tis·ti·cal/stəˈtɪstɪkəl/ | adj. | based on numbers that have been collected and studiedfamily: statistic, statistics, statistically, statistician | The report gives statistical evidence that reading improves grades. |
| theoretical ✓the·o·ret·i·cal/ˌθiəˈɹɛtɪkəl/ | adj. | based on ideas rather than practice or experiencefamily: theory, theories, theoretically, theorist, theorize | The course covers the theoretical background before the laboratory work. |
| verify ✓ver·i·fy/ˈvɛɹəˌfaɪ/ | v. | to check that something is true or correctfamily: verification, verified, verifies, verifying, verifiable, verifier | Please verify your email address before you submit the form. |
buddhism23 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| abbot ⚠ab·bot/ˈæbət/ | n. | the senior monk in charge of a monastery | The abbot welcomed the visitors. |
| aggregate ⚠ag·gre·gate/ˈæɡɹəɡət/ | n. Pali: khandha | one of the five groups that make up a person in Buddhist analysis | Form is the first aggregate. |
| alms ⚠/ɑlmz/ | n. Pali: dāna | food or goods offered to monks or those in need | Villagers offer alms each morning. |
| amen ⚠a·men/eɪˈmɛn/ | n. | a word said at the end of a prayer | The congregation said amen. |
| cessation ✓ces·sa·tion/ˌsɛˈseɪʃən/ | n. Pali: nirodha | complete stopping or endingfamily: cease | The Third Noble Truth is the cessation of suffering. |
| clinging ⚠cling·ing/ˈklɪŋɪŋ/ | n. Pali: upādāna | holding on tightly; in Buddhist texts, the mind's gripfamily: cling, clung | Clinging to results brings stress. |
| delusion ⚠de·lu·sion/dɪˈluʒən/ | n. Pali: moha | a mistaken way of seeing that clouds the mindfamily: deluded | Greed, hatred and delusion are the three roots. |
| equanimity ⚠e·qua·nim·i·ty/ˌikwəˈnɪmɪti/ | n. Pali: upekkhā | an even, balanced state of mind in good times and bad | She received the news with equanimity. |
| fetter ⚠fet·ter/ˈfɛtɚ/ | n. Pali: saṃyojana | a chain; one of the ties said to bind beings to suffering | The first three fetters fall away at stream-entry. |
| hindrance ≠hin·drance/ˈhɪndɹəns/ | n. Pali: nīvaraṇa | something that blocks progress; one of the five obstacles to meditationfamily: hinder | Doubt is the fifth hindrance. |
| impermanence ⚠im·per·ma·nence/ˌɪmˈpɝmənəns/ | n. Pali: anicca | the fact that all conditioned things change and passfamily: impermanent | The falling leaf was a lesson in impermanence. |
| mantra ⚠man·tra/ˈmæntɹə/ | n. Pali: manta | a word or phrase repeated to help the mind focus | She repeated the mantra softly. |
| ordain ≠or·dain/ɔɹˈdeɪn/ | v. Pali: upasampadā | to formally make someone a monk or priestfamily: ordination | He was ordained at twenty. |
| ordination ⚠or·di·na·tion/ˌɔɹdəˈneɪʃən/ | n. Pali: upasampadā | the ceremony that makes someone a monk or priestfamily: ordain | His ordination is set for July. |
| precept ⚠pre·cept/ˈpɹiˌsɛpt/ | n. Pali: sikkhāpada | a training rule for good conduct | Lay people keep five precepts. |
| precepts ⚠pre·cepts/ˈpɹiˌsɛpts/ | n. Pali: sikkhāpada | plural of precept: rules of training for conductfamily: precept | Lay visitors keep five precepts. |
| rapture ≠rap·ture/ˈɹæptʃɚ/ | n. Pali: pīti | uplifting joy that suffuses body and mind | Rapture arises as concentration deepens. |
| rebirth ⚠re·birth/ɹiˈbɝθ/ | n. Pali: punabbhava | being born again; in Buddhist texts, the next becomingfamily: birth, reborn | The mural shows the cycle of rebirth. |
| renunciation ⚠re·nun·ci·a·tion/ɹɪˌnʌnsiˈeɪʃən/ | n. Pali: nekkhamma | giving up worldly pleasures for a higher aimfamily: renounce | His renunciation surprised his family. |
| rite ≠/ɹaɪt/ | n. | a formal religious ceremonyfamily: ritual | The rite is performed at dawn. |
| sage ≠/seɪdʒ/ | n. | a very wise person | The sage answered in one sentence. |
| tranquility ✓tran·quil·i·ty/tɹæŋkˈwɪlɪti/ | n. Pali: passaddhi | deep calm of body and mindfamily: tranquil | Tranquility settles the mind for insight. |
| vice ✓/vaɪs/ | n. | a bad habit or immoral behaviour | The text lists gambling as a vice. |
school19 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| coherent ≠co·her·ent/koʊˈhɪɹənt/ | adj. | clear and logically connectedfamily: coherence | Her argument was coherent throughout. |
| dean ⚠/din/ | n. | a senior officer in a college or university | The dean approved the request. |
| discourse ✓✓dis·course/ˈdɪskɔɹs/ | n. Pali: sutta | language used in speech or writing | Classroom discourse follows patterns. |
| epic ⚠ep·ic/ˈɛpɪk/ | adj. | very long and impressive | The Ramayana is an epic poem. |
| gene ≠/dʒin/ | n. | a part of a cell that carries inherited featuresfamily: genetic | The gene was identified last year. |
| grid ✓/ɡɹɪd/ | n. | a pattern of straight lines crossing to make squares | Copy the word into the grid. |
| implicit ⚠im·plic·it/ˌɪmpˈlɪsət/ | adj. | suggested but not stated directlyfamily: implicitly, imply | The criticism was implicit. |
| ions ⚠i·ons/ˈaɪənz/ | n. | atoms carrying an electrical chargefamily: ion | Salt separates into ions in water. |
| literacy ✓lit·er·a·cy/ˈlɪtɚəsi/ | n. | the ability to read and writefamily: literate, illiterate, illiteracy | The library runs free literacy classes for adults every evening. |
| nuance ⚠nu·ance/ˈnuɑns/ | n. | a very small difference in meaningfamily: nuanced | The translation lost every nuance. |
| parse ⚠/pɑɹs/ | v. | to break a sentence into its grammar parts | Parse the sentence on the board. |
| prevalent ⚠prev·a·lent/ˈpɹɛvələnt/ | adj. | common in a place or at a timefamily: prevalence | That spelling error is prevalent here. |
| prose ≠/pɹoʊz/ | n. | ordinary written language, not poetry | Write your answer in prose. |
| ratio ✓ra·tio/ˈɹeɪʃiˌoʊ/ | n. | the relation between two amounts, shown as two numbers | Keep a one-to-four teacher ratio. |
| satire ⚠sat·ire/ˈsæˌtaɪɚ/ | n. | writing that uses humour to criticise people or ideas | The play is a gentle satire on exams. |
| syllable ≠syl·la·ble/ˈsɪləbəl/ | n. | a unit of sound in a wordfamily: syllabic | Water has two syllables. |
| threshold ✓thresh·old/ˈθɹɛˌʃoʊld/ | n. | the level at which something begins | She crossed the B2 threshold. |
| tome ⚠/toʊm/ | n. | a large heavy serious book | The old grammar tome stays on the shelf. |
| unscramble ⚠un·scram·ble/ənskˈɹæmbəl/ | v. | to put mixed things back in orderfamily: scramble, scrambled | Unscramble the word and write it down. |
people17 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| amateur ✓✓am·a·teur/ˈæməˌtɝ/ | n. | a person who does something for pleasure, not as a jobfamily: amateurish, amateurism, amateurs | He is only an amateur, but his photographs look professional. |
| bail ✓/beɪl/ | n. | money paid so an arrested person can wait at home for trial | The court set bail at a high sum. |
| bard ⚠/bɑɹd/ | n. | a poet, especially in older times | The bard sang of the river kings. |
| clash ✓/klæʃ/ | n. | a strong disagreement between people or groupsfamily: clashes, clashed, clashing | There was a clash of opinions between the two managers at the meeting. |
| contributor ✓con·trib·u·tor/kənˈtɹɪbjətɚ/ | n. | a person who gives money, help or writing to a shared projectfamily: contribute, contributed, contributes, contributing, contribution, contributors | She is a regular contributor to the university magazine. |
| dedicated ✓ded·i·cat·ed/ˈdɛdəkeɪtəd/ | adj. | giving a lot of time and effort to something you care aboutfamily: dedicate, dedication, dedicates, dedicating | Our dedicated nurse stayed late to check every patient again. |
| gathering ✓gath·er·ing/ˈɡæðɚɪŋ/ | n. | a group of people who have come together for a purposefamily: gather, gathered, gatherer, gatherings | About fifty people attended the family gathering on Sunday. |
| gran ⚠/ɡɹæn/ | n. | an informal word for grandmother | My gran lives nearby. |
| insider ✓in·sid·er/ɪnˈsaɪdɚ/ | n. | a person who belongs to a group and knows its secretsfamily: inside, insiders | Only an insider could know when the company plans to hire. |
| interference ✓in·ter·fer·ence/ˌɪntɚˈfɪɹəns/ | n. | the act of getting involved in something that is not your businessfamily: interfere, interfered, interferes, interfering | The manager's constant interference made the team slow and unhappy. |
| kin ⚠/kɪn/ | n. | your family and relativesfamily: kinship, kinsman | She travelled to meet distant kin. |
| lad ✓/læd/ | n. | a boy or young man | The lad carried the bags. |
| lesbian ✓les·bi·an/ˈlɛzbiən/ | adj. | describing a woman who is attracted to other womenfamily: lesbians, lesbianism | The student club supports lesbian and gay members on campus. |
| maternal ✓ma·ter·nal/məˈtɝnəl/ | adj. | relating to a mother or typical of a motherfamily: maternally, maternity, mother | The nurse spoke to the frightened child in a warm, maternal voice. |
| mob ✓/mɑb/ | n. | a large, noisy, often angry crowd | A mob gathered outside the gate. |
| realm ✓/ɹɛlm/ | n. | a kingdom; an area of knowledge or activity | Grammar is her realm. |
| reign ✓/ɹeɪn/ | n. | the period a king or queen rules | The bridge dates from the last reign. |
nature14 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| drainage ⚠drain·age/ˈdɹeɪnədʒ/ | n. | the way water flows away from landfamily: drain | Poor drainage flooded the field. |
| drift ✓/dɹɪft/ | v. | to move slowly, carried by water or airfamily: drifted, drifter, drifting, drifts | The empty boat drifted across the lake in the wind. |
| elm ⚠/ɛlm/ | n. | a large tree with broad leaves | An old elm stood by the gate. |
| evolutionary ✓ev·o·lu·tion·ar·y/ˌɛvəˈluʃəˌnɛɹi/ | adj. | connected with the slow change of living things over many generationsfamily: evolve, evolution, evolved, evolves, evolving | The museum explains the evolutionary history of birds from dinosaurs. |
| geological ✓ge·o·log·i·cal/ˌdʒiəˈlɑdʒɪkəl/ | adj. | connected with the rocks and soil that make up the Earthfamily: geology, geologist, geologically, geologic | The students studied a geological map of the river valley. |
| isle ≠/aɪl/ | n. | a small islandfamily: island | A quiet isle lies offshore. |
| mare ⚠/mɛɹ/ | n. | a female horse | The mare stood by the fence. |
| prey ✓/pɹeɪ/ | n. | an animal hunted by another for food | The owl watches for prey. |
| ram ≠/ɹæm/ | n. | an adult male sheep | The ram stood on the hill. |
| reap ✓/ɹip/ | v. | to cut and gather a crop | Farmers reap the rice in autumn. |
| reed ≠/ɹid/ | n. | a tall grass that grows near water | Reeds line the riverbank. |
| sow ⚠/saʊ/ | v. | to plant seeds in the groundfamily: sowing | Farmers sow rice in June. |
| terrain ✓✓ter·rain/təˈɹeɪn/ | n. | land of a particular type, such as hills or rocksfamily: terrains | The hikers moved slowly across the rocky terrain. |
| weir ⚠/wɪɹ/ | n. | a low wall built across a river to control the water | Fish gather below the weir. |
discourse13 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| arguably ✓ar·gu·a·bly/ˈɑɹɡjuəbli/ | adv. | used to say something is probably true, although others may disagreefamily: argue, arguable, argument | This is arguably the best café in the whole city. |
| coupled ✓cou·pled/ˈkʌpəld/ | adj. | joined together with something elsefamily: couple, couples, coupling | High prices, coupled with low wages, made life difficult. |
| irony ✓✓i·ro·ny/ˈaɪɹəni/ | n. | a situation that is odd because it is the opposite of what you expectfamily: ironies, ironic, ironically | The irony was that the English teacher spelt the word wrong. |
| namely ✓name·ly/ˈneɪmli/ | adv. | used to say exactly who or what you meanfamily: name | Only two subjects are compulsory, namely English and mathematics. |
| notably ✓no·ta·bly/ˈnoʊtəbli/ | adv. | used to point out the most important examplefamily: note, noted, notable | Sales rose in many regions, notably in the north. |
| principally ✓prin·ci·pal·ly/ˈpɹɪnsɪpli/ | adv. | mainly, or more than anything elsefamily: principal | The course is principally for students who plan to teach. |
| reportedly ✓re·port·ed·ly/ɹɪˈpɔɹtədli/ | adv. | according to what people say, though not yet provedfamily: report, reported, reports | The company is reportedly planning to open a new factory next year. |
| respectively ✓re·spec·tive·ly/ɹɪˈspɛktɪvli/ | adv. | in the same order as the things already mentionedfamily: respect, respective | Class A and Class B scored 85 and 92 respectively. |
| seemingly ✓seem·ing·ly/ˈsimɪŋli/ | adv. | in a way that appears true but may not befamily: seem, seeming, seems, seemed | The seemingly simple question took the whole class an hour to answer. |
| solely ✓sole·ly/ˈsoʊlli/ | adv. | only, and not involving anyone or anything elsefamily: sole | The decision was made solely by the head of the department. |
| thereby ✓✓there·by/ˌðɛɹˈbaɪ/ | adv. | as a result of the action just mentioned | She left early, thereby missing the last part of the lecture. |
| whatsoever ✓what·so·ev·er/ˌwʌtsoʊˈɛvɚ/ | adv. | used after nothing or no to mean at all | The manager gave no reason whatsoever for cancelling the meeting. |
| whereby ✓where·by/wɛɹˈbaɪ/ | adv. | by which something is done or made possible | The school has a system whereby students can borrow laptops for free. |
body12 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| chronic ✓chron·ic/ˈkɹɑnɪk/ | adj. | lasting a long time and hard to curefamily: chronically | He has chronic back pain from sitting all day. |
| circulation ✓✓cir·cu·la·tion/ˈsɝkjəˌleɪʃən/ | n. | the movement of blood, air or goods around a systemfamily: circulate, circulated, circulating, circulatory, circulations | Regular exercise improves the circulation of blood around your body. |
| clinical ✓✓clin·i·cal/ˈklɪnəkəl/ | adj. | relating to the treatment and study of real patientsfamily: clinic, clinics, clinician, clinically | The new medicine passed its clinical trials last year. |
| diagnose ✓di·ag·nose/ˌdaɪəɡˈnoʊs/ | v. | to find out which illness or problem someone or something hasfamily: diagnosis, diagnoses, diagnosed, diagnosing, diagnostic | The doctor diagnosed the illness after looking at the test results. |
| diagnosis ✓di·ag·no·sis/ˌdaɪəɡˈnoʊsəs/ | n. | a doctor's judgement of what illness a person hasfamily: diagnose, diagnosed, diagnosing, diagnoses, diagnostic | The doctor ordered a blood test before giving a final diagnosis. |
| intake ✓in·take/ˈɪnˌteɪk/ | n. | the amount of food, drink or air taken into the bodyfamily: intakes | Doctors advise reducing your daily intake of sugar and salt. |
| muscular ✓mus·cu·lar/ˈmʌskjəlɚ/ | adj. | having a strong body with well-developed musclesfamily: muscle, muscles, muscularity | Years of swimming made him lean and muscular. |
| psychiatric ✓✓psy·chi·at·ric/ˌsaɪkiˈætɹɪk/ | adj. | relating to the medical treatment of mental illnessfamily: psychiatry, psychiatrist | The hospital opened a new psychiatric ward for young patients last month. |
| renal ⚠re·nal/ˈɹinəl/ | adj. | relating to the kidneys | The clinic runs renal checks monthly. |
| serum ⚠se·rum/ˈsɪɹəm/ | n. | the clear liquid part of blood; a liquid skin product | The clinic tests the serum sample. |
| spine ✓/spaɪn/ | n. | the line of bones down the middle of the backfamily: spinal | Sit tall and keep the spine straight. |
| surgical ✓sur·gi·cal/ˈsɝdʒɪkəl/ | adj. | connected with medical operationsfamily: surgery, surgeon, surgically, surgeries | The nurse prepared the surgical instruments before the operation. |
feelings10 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| aggression ✓ag·gres·sion/əˈɡɹɛʃən/ | n. | angry, unfriendly behaviour that may lead to fightingfamily: aggressive, aggressively, aggressor | The coach told the players to control their aggression on the field. |
| curse ≠/kɝs/ | n. | words said to wish harm on someonefamily: cursed | The story tells of an ancient curse. |
| distress ✓dis·tress/dɪˈstɹɛs/ | n. | great worry, sadness or painfamily: distressed, distressing, distresses | The lost child was in obvious distress until her mother arrived. |
| frustrating ✓frus·trat·ing/ˈfɹʌˌstɹeɪtɪŋ/ | adj. | making you feel annoyed because you cannot succeedfamily: frustrate, frustrated, frustration | It was frustrating to wait an hour for a bus that never came. |
| hostile ✓✓hos·tile/ˈhɑstəl/ | adj. | unfriendly and showing strong dislike or oppositionfamily: hostility, hostilities | The audience became hostile when the speaker ignored their questions. |
| rant ⚠/ɹænt/ | v. | to speak angrily at length | He ranted about the delay. |
| reassure ✓✓re·as·sure/ˌɹiəˈʃʊɹ/ | v. | to make someone feel less worried about somethingfamily: assure, assurance, reassurance, reassured, reassuring | The doctor reassured us that the cough was not serious. |
| sane ⚠/seɪn/ | adj. | having a healthy, reasonable mindfamily: sanity | It was the only sane choice. |
| sentiment ✓✓sen·ti·ment/ˈsɛntəmənt/ | n. | a feeling or opinion about somethingfamily: sentiments, sentimental, sentimentality | The survey shows growing sentiment against longer working hours. |
| troubled ✓trou·bled/ˈtɹʌbəld/ | adj. | worried, unhappy, or having many problemsfamily: trouble, troubles, troubling, troublesome | The teacher spoke gently to the troubled student after class. |
tech9 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| activation ✓ac·ti·va·tion/ˌæktəˈveɪʃən/ | n. | the moment when something is switched on and starts to workfamily: activate, activated, activating, active | Activation of your new phone card takes about ten minutes. |
| detection ✓de·tec·tion/dɪˈtɛkʃən/ | n. | the act of finding or noticing something that is hidden or hard to seefamily: detect, detected, detecting, detectable, detector, detective | The new software allows early detection of errors in the system. |
| dynamically ✓dy·nam·i·cal·ly/daɪˈnæmɪkli/ | adv. | in a way that changes or moves with a lot of energyfamily: dynamic, dynamics | The website updates its prices dynamically as demand changes. |
| interface ✓in·ter·face/ˈɪntɚˌfeɪs/ | n. | the screen and controls a person uses to work with a computer programfamily: interfaces, interfaced, interfacing | The app's new interface is simple enough for older users. |
| magnetic ✓✓mag·net·ic/mæɡˈnɛtɪk/ | adj. | able to pull iron or steel objects towards itselffamily: magnet, magnets, magnetism, magnetically | Some rocks are naturally magnetic and can pull small nails towards them. |
| meta ⚠me·ta/ˈmɛtə/ | adj. | about or referring to itself | A word list about word lists is meta. |
| optical ✓op·ti·cal/ˈɑptɪkəl/ | adj. | connected with light, sight or the eyesfamily: optic, optics, optically, optician | The new optical cable carries internet data as pulses of light. |
| simulate ✓sim·u·late/ˈsɪmjəˌleɪt/ | v. | to copy the conditions of a real situation, often with a computerfamily: simulation, simulator, simulated, simulates, simulating | The program simulates how traffic moves through the city centre. |
| spam ✓/spæm/ | n. | unwanted advertising email | The reply went to the spam folder. |
money7 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| allocation ✓al·lo·ca·tion/ˌæləˈkeɪʃən/ | n. | an amount of money, time or space given for a particular purposefamily: allocate, allocated, allocating, allocations | Each department received its budget allocation at the start of the year. |
| buck ✓/bʌk/ | n. | a dollar, in informal speechfamily: bucks | The sandwich cost me five bucks at the airport. |
| chit ⚠/tʃɪt/ | n. | a short official note, especially one showing money owed | Sign the chit for the extra copies. |
| commercially ✓com·mer·cial·ly/kəˈmɝʃəli/ | adv. | in a way connected with buying and selling for profitfamily: commerce, commercial, commercialise | The new app was commercially successful within its first year. |
| expenditure ✓ex·pen·di·ture/ɪkˈspɛndətʃɚ/ | n. | the total amount of money that is spent on somethingfamily: expend, expense, expenses, expenditures | The university reduced its expenditure on paper by moving forms online. |
| fundraising ✓fund·rais·ing/ˈfʌnˌdɹeɪsɪŋ/ | n. | the activity of collecting money for a charity, school or causefamily: fundraise, fundraiser, fundraisers, fund | The students organised a fundraising concert to help the local hospital. |
| tout ⚠/taʊt/ | v. | to praise or advertise something stronglyfamily: touted | Posters tout the new night market. |
time7 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| aftermath ✓af·ter·math/ˈæftɚˌmæθ/ | n. | the situation that exists after a bad event | In the aftermath of the flood, many roads were closed for weeks. |
| consecutive ✓con·sec·u·tive/kənˈsɛkjətɪv/ | adj. | coming one after another without a breakfamily: consecutively | It rained for five consecutive days during the holiday. |
| expire ✓✓ex·pire/ɪkˈspaɪɹ/ | v. | to come to the end of the period when it can be usedfamily: expiry, expiration, expired, expires, expiring | My passport expires next month, so I need a new one. |
| imminent ✓im·mi·nent/ˈɪmənənt/ | adj. | going to happen very soonfamily: imminently, imminence | With the deadline imminent, the team worked late every night. |
| interim ✓in·ter·im/ˈɪntɚəm/ | adj. | lasting only until something permanent is arranged | An interim manager will run the office until the new one arrives. |
| meantime ✓mean·time/ˈminˌtaɪm/ | n. | the period between now and a later event | The results arrive next week; in the meantime, keep practising. |
| presently ✓pres·ent·ly/ˈpɹɛzəntli/ | adv. | at this time, in formal or written Englishfamily: present | The office is presently closed for repairs, so please email us. |
city6 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| landmark ✓land·mark/ˈlændˌmɑɹk/ | n. | a famous building or place that helps people find their wayfamily: landmarks | The clock tower is the best-known landmark in our town. |
| marketplace ✓mar·ket·place/ˈmɑɹkətˌpleɪs/ | n. | an open area in a town where people buy and sell goodsfamily: market, marketplaces | Farmers sell fresh vegetables at the marketplace every Sunday morning. |
| municipal ✓mu·nic·i·pal/mjuˈnɪsəpəl/ | adj. | belonging to a town or city and its local governmentfamily: municipality, municipally | The municipal library is open until eight every evening. |
| riot ✓ri·ot/ˈɹaɪət/ | n. | violent public disorder by a crowd | The report described a riot. |
| suburban ✓✓sub·ur·ban/səbˈɝbən/ | adj. | relating to an area of houses just outside a city centrefamily: suburb, suburbs, urban | They moved from a busy city flat to a quiet suburban house. |
| tar ⚠/tɑɹ/ | n. | a thick black substance used on roads | The tar softened in the heat. |
travel6 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| bypass ✓by·pass/ˈbaɪˌpæs/ | v. | to avoid a place or a step by going around itfamily: bypassed, bypasses, bypassing | The new road lets drivers bypass the busy town centre. |
| collision ✓col·li·sion/kəˈlɪʒən/ | n. | an accident in which two moving things hit each other hardfamily: collide, collided, collisions | The collision between the two buses blocked the road for hours. |
| descent ✓✓de·scent/dɪˈsɛnt/ | n. | a movement from a higher place to a lower onefamily: descend, descended, descending, descents | The plane began its descent into the airport as the sun set. |
| mainland ✓main·land/ˈmeɪnˌlænd/ | n. | the main part of a country, not its islandsfamily: mainlands, mainlander | A ferry links the island to the mainland twice a day. |
| oar ⚠/ɔɹ/ | n. | a pole with a flat end used to row a boat | He lost an oar in the current. |
| transit ✓✓tran·sit/ˈtɹænzɪt/ | n. | the movement of people or goods from one place to another | The parcel was damaged while it was in transit. |
daily4 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| cape ⚠/keɪp/ | n. | a loose piece of clothing over the shoulders | The statue wears a stone cape. |
| opus ⚠o·pus/ˈoʊpəs/ | n. | a piece of music by a composer, given a number | The choir learned an early opus. |
| seam ⚠/sim/ | n. | the line where two pieces of cloth are joined | The seam of the robe split. |
| tees ⚠/tiz/ | n. | small stands that hold a golf ballfamily: tee | He bought a pack of tees. |
food4 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| cater ✓ca·ter/ˈkeɪtɚ/ | v. | to provide food and drink for an eventfamily: catering, caterer, caterers, catered, caters | A local restaurant catered the lunch at the conference. |
| creamy ✓cream·y/ˈkɹimi/ | adj. | smooth and thick, like fresh milkfamily: cream, creamier, creaminess | The mushroom soup was thick, rich and creamy. |
| dine ⚠/daɪn/ | v. | to eat dinner, especially formallyfamily: dinner, dining | They dined at the hotel. |
| feeding ✓feed·ing/ˈfidɪŋ/ | n. | the act of giving food to a person or animalfamily: feed, fed, feeds, feedings | The zoo keeper starts the morning feeding of the elephants at eight. |
home4 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| fixture ✓✓fix·ture/ˈfɪkstʃɚ/ | n. | a piece of equipment attached to a building and left there permanentlyfamily: fix, fixed, fixtures | The bathroom fixtures, including the sink and the lights, are all new. |
| reside ✓re·side/ɹɪˈzaɪd/ | v. | to live in a particular placefamily: residence, resident, residential, resided, resides, residing | Her family has resided in Chiang Mai for over twenty years. |
| rim ≠/ɹɪm/ | n. | the outer edge of something round | Wipe the rim of the cup. |
| suite ✓/swit/ | n. | a set of connected rooms | The hotel suite has two rooms. |
environment3 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| atmospheric ✓at·mo·spher·ic/ˌætməˈsfɛɹɪk/ | adj. | relating to the air around the Earthfamily: atmosphere, atmospheres, atmospherics | Scientists measured atmospheric pressure at the top of the mountain. |
| conserve ✓✓con·serve/kənˈsɝv/ | v. | to protect something from harm or waste so it lastsfamily: conservation, conserved, conserves, conserving | Turning off unused lights helps conserve energy at home. |
| dispose ✓dis·pose/dɪˈspoʊz/ | v. | to get rid of something you no longer wantfamily: disposal, disposable, disposed, disposes, disposing | Please dispose of old batteries at the collection point downstairs. |
weather1 words
| Word | Part of speech | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| arid ⚠ar·id/ˈæɹəd/ | adj. | very dry, with little rainfamily: aridity | Arid land needs careful irrigation. |
Practice these words
Six scrambles taken from the list above. Each one opens in the unscrambler with the letters already entered, so you can try it in your head first and then check.
To practice a set you choose yourself, paste your own words into the scramble maker and print a sheet with an answer key. If you are a teacher, the worksheet library has ready-made sets with a classroom procedure attached.
Study notes for C1
At C1 the useful question is no longer what does this word mean but where does this word belong. Two words can share a definition and still be unusable in each other's place: one belongs in a report, the other in conversation. When you meet a word here, read the example sentence first and ask what kind of writing it came from.
A plain scramble is no longer the main tool at this level. Rearranging letters drills recognition of a written form, and by C1 you recognise written forms fluently. Use the scramble maker in its with definitions format, where the task is recalling which word carries a given sense, and use Practice My Words for the spacing.
C2 has 28 entries in the learner layer and is not published as a list. A page of that size presented as a level would misrepresent the level, so it is not offered.
Where to go next
There is no C2 list here. See the note above for why.
All six bands are explained on the levels page. The unscrambler shows the band on every learner entry, so any learner word you look up tells you roughly how hard it is. Teachers matching these bands to a national curriculum may want the Thai curriculum mapping.
Sources: Meanings are written for learners rather than adapted from any single dictionary, and checked against established learner dictionaries. CEFR levels are evidence-graded against the CEFR-J Wordlist v1.5 (© Tono Laboratory, TUFS), the Oxford 3000/5000 level bands and, for C1–C2, the Octanove Vocabulary Profile (CC BY-SA 4.0); each level carries one of five evidence marks (✓✓ ✓ ≠ ✓* ⚠). Pronunciations derive from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary (Copyright © 1993–2015 Carnegie Mellon University), General American. Full methodology, exact counts and the change log: methodology & sources. Last checked: 24 August 2026.