C2 English Vocabulary [PDF]

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abate, verb to reduce in amount, degree or severity abdicate, verb to renounce or relinquish a throne aberrant, adjective abnormal or deviant abeyance, noun suspended action abject, adjective utterly hopeless; humiliating or wretched ablution, noun act of cleansing abscond, verb depart secretly and hide abstemious, adjective sparing in eating and drinking; temperate acquiesce, verb to comply, give in acrid, adjective sharp or biting to the taste or smell acrimonious, adjective caustic, stinging or bitter in nature adjoin, verb to be close or in contact with admonish, verb to counsel against something; caution;

warn; reprove adulterate, verb to make impure by adding inferior or tainted substances aesthetic, adjective artistic; dealing with or capable of appreciating the beautiful affable, adjective friendly, courteous aggrandize, verb to increase in power, influence and reputation aggregate, verb gather; accumulate

ambivalence, noun the state of having contradictory or conflicting emotional attitudes ameliorate, verb to make better; to improve amity , noun friendship; peaceful harmony anachronism, noun something or someone misplaced in time; an obsolete or archaic form anarchy, noun absence of governing body; state of disorder

alacrity, adjective cheerful promptness; eagerness alleviate, verb relieve

androgynous, adjective being both male and female anomalous, adjective abnormal; irregular

altruist, noun a person unselfishly concerned for the welfare of others

antipathy, noun aversion; dislike

amalgamate, verb combine; unite in one body amatory, adjective of or pertaining to lovers or lovemaking ambiguous, adjective unclear or doubtful in meaning

apartheid, noun any system or caste that separates people according to race apathy, adjective lack of interest or emotion; uncaring; indifference appease, verb pacify or soothe; relieve

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approbation, noun approval; praise, consideration appropriate, adjective acquire; take possession of for one’s own use arduous, adjective hard; strenuous artless, adjective without guile; open and honest ascetic, adjective practicing self-denial; austere assiduous, adjective diligent, persistent, hardworking assuage, verb to make less severe; ease or lessen (pain); satisfy (hunger); soothe (anger) atrophy, verb to waste away; wither or deteriorate; the wasting away of body tissue audacious, adjective daring; bold austere, adjective forbiddingly stern in appearance; severely simple and unornamented autonomous, adjective self-governing;

independent

unconditionally or on stipulated terms

banal, adjective boring; commonplace; trite; lacking originality; clichéd; hackneyed belligerent, adjective warlike, given to waging war bemoan, verb to express pity for

capricious, adjective unpredictable; fickle; changing one’s mind quickly and often castigate, verb to punish or criticize harshly

benevolent, adjective desiring to do good to others

catalyst, noun agent that increases the rate of a chemical action; person or thing that causes action

benign, adjective having a kindly disposition

caustic, adjective burning; sarcastically biting

bilateral, adjective pertaining to or affecting two or both sides

chicanery, noun trickery; deception by means of craft or guile

bolster, verb support; reinforce

circuitous, adjective roundabout, indirect

bombastic, adjective pompous in speech and manner ; using inflated language

circumscribe, verb to draw a line around

boorish, adjective rude; insensitive

coagulate, verb thicken; congeal; clot

burnish, verb make shiny by rubbing; polish buttress, verb support; prop up capitulate, verb to surrender

circumspect, adjective watchful and discreet

cogent, adjective convincing and well reasoned commensurate, adjective corresponding in extent, degree, etc.;

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proportionate

claim; thesis

intimidate; frighten

complacent, adjective self-satisfied, unconcerned

contentious, adjective quarrelsome

decadent, adjective decaying; deteriorating

contravene, verb to come into conflict with

decorum, adjective propriety; orderliness and good taste in manners

compliant, adjective yielding; conforming to requirements compunction, noun a feeling of uneasiness for doing wrong concentric, adjective having a common center conciliate, verb to placate, win over conciliatory, adjective reconciling; soothing condone, verb overlook; forgive; give tacit approval; excuse conflagration, noun a large destructive fire confluence, noun merging into one

contrite, adjective feeling regret and sorrow for one’s sins or offenses; penitent conundrum, noun riddle; difficult problem convalescent, adjective recovering from illness converge, verb approach; tend to meet; come together

default, verb failure to act deference, noun respect; courteous regard for another’s wishes deferential, adjective respectful; to yield judgment to deign, verb to think fit or in accordance with one’s dignity

convoke, verb to call together convoluted, adjective intricate and complicated

delude, verb to mislead the mind of judgment of, deceive

corroborate, verb to provide supporting evidence

denigrate, verb blacken

craven, adjective cowardly

deride, verb ridicule; make fun of

congenital, adjective existing or as such from birth

credulous, verb too trusting; gullible

derision, noun contemptuous or jeering laughter; ridicule.

connoisseur, noun person competent to act as a judge of art; a lover of art

cursory, adjective going rapidly over something; hasty; superficial

derivative, noun unoriginal; obtained from another source

contention, noun

daunt, verb

desiccate, verb

confound, verb confuse; puzzle

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to dry out thoroughly desultory, adjective aimless; haphazard; digressing at random deterrent, adjective something that discourages; hindrance dichotomy, noun split; branching into two parts (especially contradictory ones) diffident, adjective lacking or marked by a lack of self-confidence; shy and timid. diffuse, verb to spread widely or thinly digression, noun wandering away from the subject dilatory, adjective inclined to delay or procrastinate dilettante, noun someone with an amateurish and superficial interest in a topic dirge, noun lament with music disabuse, verb correct a false impression; to set right; to free from error

discerning, adjective mentally quick and observant; having insight discordant, adjective not harmonious; conflicting

disquiet, noun a lack of calm or peace dissemble, verb disguise; pretend; to disguise one’s real intentions or character

discredit, verb defame; destroy confidence in; disbelieve

disseminate, verb distribute; spread widely; scatter (like seeds)

discrepancy, noun lack of consistency; difference

dissolution, noun disintegration; looseness in morals

discrete, adjective separate; unconnected; consisting of distinct parts

dissonance, noun discord; opposite of harmony

disingenuous, adjective lacking genuine candor; insincere disinterested, adjective unprejudiced disjointed, adjective lacking coherence; separated at the joints dismiss, verb eliminate from consideration; reject disparage, verb belittle disparate, adjective fundamentally distinct or different in kind; entirely dissimilar

distend, verb to expand by stretching; swell out distill, verb purify; refine; concentrate diverge, verb vary; go in different directions from the same point doctrine, noun a principle or body of principles presented for acceptance or belief; dogma document, verb provide written evidence dogma, noun a firmly held opinion, often a religious belief

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dogmatic, adjective opinionated; arbitrary; doctrinal doleful, adjective sorrowful, mournful dormant, adjective sleeping; lethargic; latent dour, adjective sullen, gloomy dupe, verb to deceive; a person who is easily deceived duplicity, noun deceitfulness in speech or conduct; doubledealing ebullient, adjective showing excitement; overflowing with enthusiasm eclectic, adjective selective; composed of elements from a variety of sources efficacy, noun effectiveness ; power to produce desired effect effigy, noun a dummy; a likeness or image, especially of a person. effrontery, noun impudence; shameless boldness; sheer nerve;

presumptuousness

composure

elicit, verb draw out by discussion

equivocate, verb lie; mislead; attempt to conceal the truth

elocution, noun art of clear and expressive speaking embellish, verb adorn; ornament; enhance, as a story empathy, noun the identification with the feelings or thoughts of others empirical, adjective based on experience emulate, verb imitate; rival

eulogy, noun expression of praise, often on the occasion of someone's death euphemism, noun an inoffensive expression that is substituted for one that is considered offensive exacerbate, verb worsen; to increase bitterness or violence

endemic, adjective prevailing among a specific group of people or in a specific area or country engender, verb to produce, cause or bring about enhance, verb increase; improve

execrable, adjective abominable exigency, noun urgent situation; pressing needs or demands; state of requiring immediate attention exigent, adjective urgent; requiring immediate action

enigma, noun a puzzle; a mystery ephemeral, adjective short-lived; fleeting equanimity, noun calmness of temperament;

erudite, adjective learned, scholarly, bookish

expound, verb to set forth in detail exult, verb to show or feel triumphant joy

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facetious, adjective joking (often inappropriately); humorous facilitate, verb help bring about; make less difficult fallacious, adjective false; misleading fatuous, adjective brainless; inane; foolish, yet smug fawning, adjective trying to please by behaving obsequiously, flattering, or cringing fervor, noun glowing ardor; intensity of feeling flag, verb droop; grow feeble; to decline in vigor or strength

frugality, noun thrifty; economy fusillade, noun continuous discharge of firearms or outburst of criticism futile, adjective useless; hopeless; ineffectual

goad, verb urge on

impair, verb injure; hurt

grandiloquent, adjective pompous or inflated in language; bombastic; using high-sounding language

impassive, adjective without feeling; imperturbable; showing or feeling no emotion

gregarious, adjective sociable

flout, verb reject; mock; show contempt for

guileless, adjective without deceit

fractious, adjective irritable, peevish

idolatry, noun worship of idols; excessive admiration immutable, adjective unchangeable

guile, noun deceit or trickery

forestall, verb prevent by taking action in advance

hypocritical, adjective affecting virtues or qualities one does not have

garrulous, adjective loquacious; talkative; wordy

fledgling, adjective inexperienced

foment, verb to arouse or incite

hyperbole, noun exaggeration; overstatement

impermeable, adjective impervious; not permitting passage through its substance imperturbable, adjective calm; placid

gullible, adjective easily deceived harangue, noun long, passionate, and vehement speech homogeneous, adjective of the same kind

impede, verb hinder; block

impervious, adjective impenetrable; incapable of being damaged or distressed impetuous, adjective quick to act without thinking

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implacable, adjective incapable of being pacified implicit, adjective understood but not stated

state of being lazy or slothful

isolation interloper, noun someone who intrudes in the domain of others

induce, verb to move or lead by influence

intractable, adjective unruly; stubborn; unyielding

implode, verb burst inward

inert, adjective inactive; lacking power to move

inadvertently, adjective unintentionally; by oversight; carelessly

infusion, noun liquid extract so obtained

intransigence, noun refusal of any compromise; stubbornness

incongruity, noun lack of harmony; absurdity

inherent, adjective firmly established by nature or habit

intransigent, adjective refusing to agree or compromise

inconsequential, adjective insignificant; unimportant

inimical, adjective hostile, unfriendly

inundate, verb overwhelm; flood; submerge

innocuous, adjective harmless

incorporate, verb introduce something into a larger whole; combine; unite

insensible, adjective unconscious; unresponsive

incursion, noun a hostile entrance into a place

insidious, adjective intended to trap or beguile

indeterminate, adjective uncertain; not clearly fixed; indefinite

insinuate, verb hint; imply; creep in

indigence, noun poverty indigent, adjective experiencing want or need; impoverished. indolence, noun

irascible, adjective irritable; easily angered irresolute, adjective uncertain how to act; weak itinerary, noun plan of a trip laconic, adjective brief and to the point; using few words

insipid, adjective lacking in interest or flavor; dull

lassitude, noun languor; weariness

insolent, adjective boldly rude or disrespectful

latent, adjective potential but undeveloped; dormant; hidden

insularity, noun narrow-mindedness;

laud, verb

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praise

clumsy, tactless

lethargic, adjective drowsy; dull

malevolent, adjective characterized by or expressing bad will

levee, noun earth or stone embankment to prevent flooding levity, noun lack of seriousness or steadiness; frivolity litigate, verb to make the subject of a lawsuit log, noun record of a voyage or flight; record of day-today activities loquacious, adjective talkative lucid, adjective easily understood; clear; intelligible luminous, adjective shining; issuing light magnanimity, noun generosity magnanimous, adjective generous in forgiving an insult or injury

ill-humored; sullen; melancholy

malign, verb to speak harmful untruths about, to slander

mundane, adjective worldly as opposed to spiritual; everyday nascent, adjective starting to develop

malingerer, noun one who feigns illness to escape duty malleable, adjective capable of being shaped by pounding; impressionable maverick, noun rebel; nonconformist maxim, noun an expression of general truth or principle mendacious, adjective lying; habitually dishonest metamorphosis, noun change of form meticulous, adjective excessively careful; painstaking; scrupulous

negate, verb cancel out; nullify; deny obdurate, adjective stubborn, hardened in feelings; resistant to persuasion oblique, adjective having a slanting or sloping direction obsequious, adjective overly submissive and eager to please; servile; sycophantic obsolescent, adjective becoming obsolete obstreperous, adjective noisily defiant, unruly obtuse, adjective not sharp, pointed or acute obviate, verb to prevent; make unnecessary; get rid of

mitigate, verb to soften, to lessen

magnate, noun a powerful or influential person

mollify, verb to calm or make less severe; soothe

maladroit, adjective

morose, adjective

officious, adjective meddlesome; excessively pushy in offering one’s services

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omnivorous, adjective eating or absorbing everything

penury, noun severe poverty; stinginess

onerous, adjective troublesome and oppressive; burdensome

perennial, adjective something long-lasting

opprobrium, noun public disgrace; infamy; vilification oscillate, verb vibrate; waver ostentatious, adjective showy; pretentious; trying to attract attention panoply , noun a wide-ranging and impressive array or display paragon, noun model of excellence or perfection

authenticity and determine their meaning

perfidious, adjective treacherous; disloyal; willing to betray one’s trust perfunctory, adjective superficial; not thorough; lacking interest, care, or enthusiasm; done in a routine way; peripatetic, adjective walking or traveling about; itinerant permeable, adjective penetrable; porous; allowing liquids or gas to pass through

phlegmatic, adjective calm; not easily disturbed piety, noun devoutness; reverence for God placate, verb pacify; conciliate plasticity, noun ability to be molded platitude, noun trite remark; commonplace statement plethora, noun excess; overabundance plummet, verb fall sharply

pervasive, adjective spread throughout

porous, adjective full of pores; like a sieve

pathological, adjective pertaining to disease

petulant, adjective showing sudden irritation, esp. over some annoyance

pragmatic, adjective practical (as opposed to idealistic); concerned with the practical worth or impact of something

paucity, noun smallness of quantity; scarcity; scantiness

philanderer, noun one who carries on flirtations

pedantic, adjective showing off learning; bookish

philanthropy, noun charity; a desire or effort to promote goodness

partisan, adjective one-sided; prejudiced; committed to a party

penchant, adjective strong inclination; liking

preamble, noun introductory statement

philology, noun the study of literary texts to establish their

precarious, adjective uncertain; risky precipitate , adjective adj. rash, premature, hasty, sudden

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preclude, verb to prevent the presence of precocious, adjective unusually advanced or mature in mental development or talent

complete prohibitive, adjective tending to prevent the purchase or use of something; inclined to prevent or forbid

precursor, noun forerunner

proliferate, verb grow rapidly; spread; multiply

predilection, noun preference, liking

propensity, noun natural inclination

presentiment, adjective a feeling of anticipation over a future event

propound, verb to set forth for consideration

presumptuous, adjective arrogant; taking liberties prevaricate, verb to lie or deviate from the truth pristine, adjective characteristic of earlier times; primitive; unspoiled probity, noun honesty; uprightness; incorruptibility problematic, adjective doubtful; unsettled; questionable; perplexing

punctilious, adjective strict or exact in the observance of formalities pungent, adjective stinging; sharp in taste or smell; caustic pusillanimous, adjective lacking courage or resolution qualified, adjective limited; restricted

propriety, noun correct behavior or conduct, obedience to rules and customs proscribe, verb to condemn as harmful or odious; ostracize; banish; outlaw protract, verb to prolong, draw out, extend provident, adjective having or showing foresight prudence, noun wisdom, caution or restraint

querulous, adjective full of complaints quibble, noun minor objection or complaint quiescence, noun n. the condition of being at rest, still, inactive quiescent, adjective adj. at rest; dormant; temporarily inactive; motionless rarefied, adjective made less dense (of a gas) recalcitrant, adjective obstinately stubborn; determined to resist authority; unruly

prodigal, adjective lavish; wasteful; reckless with money

puerile, adjective childish, immature

profound, adjective deep; not superficial;

pugnacious, verb to quarrel or fight readily

recant, verb disclaim or disavow; retract a previous

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statement; openly confess error recluse, noun hermit; loner recumbent, adjective lying down; reclining; leaning refute, verb disprove rejoinder, verb to reply, retort relegate, verb banish to an inferior position; delegate; assign remonstrate, verb to say or plead in protest, objection, or reproof reprehensible, adjective deserving rebuke or censure; blameworthy. reprisals, noun retaliation against an enemy reproach, verb express disapproval or disappointment reprobate, noun person hardened in sin; wicked person; devoid of a sense of decency repudiate, verb disown; disavow; to

reject the validity of sedition, noun incitement of discontent or rebellion against a government

resolution, noun determination resolve, verb to make a firm decision about reticent, adjective silent; reserved; uncommunicative; inclined to silence reverent, adjective respectful; worshipful sage, noun person celebrated for wisdom salient, adjective prominent or conspicuous

skeptic, adjective doubter; person who suspends judgment until having examined evidence supporting a point of view sociopath, noun a person whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility solicitous, adjective worried; concerned soporific, adjective sleep-causing; lethargy; marked by sleepiness

salubrious, adjective conducive or favorable to health or well-being sanction, noun approve; ratify

specious, adjective having the ring of truth or plausibility but actually fallacious) spectrum, noun colored band produced when a beam of light passes through a prism

satiate, verb satisfy fully saturate, verb soak thoroughly

sporadic, adjective occurring irregularly

savor, verb enjoy; have a distinctive flavor, smell, or quality secrete, verb hide away or cache; produce and release a substance

stigma, noun a mark of shame or discredit stint , verb to restrict or limit, as in amount or number; be

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sparing with

earnest entreaty

violation of a law; sin

stipulate, verb to lay down as a condition of an agreement; require by contract

supposition, noun hypothesis; surmise

truculence, noun aggressiveness; ferocity

tacit, adjective understood; not put into words

vacillate, verb waver; fluctuate

stolid, adjective dull; impassive; unemotional; lacking sensitivity strut, verb walk pompously wal subjugate, verb to conquer subpoena, noun a writ requiring appearance in court to give testimony subside, verb settle down; descend; grow quiet substantiate, verb establish by evidence; verify; support subterfuge, noun an artifice or expedient used to evade a rule supercilious, adjective arrogant, haughty, condescending supersede, verb cause to be set aside; replace; make obsolete supplicate, verb to make humble and

venerate, verb revere

taciturn, adjective silent, not talkative tangential, adjective peripheral; only slightly connected; digressing tenable, adjective capable of being held, maintained or defended tenacious, adjective holding fast; holding or tending to hold persistently to something tirade, noun extended scolding; denunciation; harangue torpor, noun lethargy; sluggishness; dormancy tortuous, adjective winding; full of curves

veracity, noun filled with trust and accuracy verbose, adjective wordy verity, noun truthfulness viable, adjective practical or workable vicarious, adjective performed, exercised, received or suffered in place of another vilify, verb to slander, to defame viscous, adjective sticky, gluey vituperative, adjective abusive; scolding

tractable, adjective docile; easily managed or controlled

vociferous, adjective crying out noisily

transcendent, adjective going beyond ordinary limits

volatile, adjective changeable; explosive; evaporation rapidly

transgression, noun

volition, noun

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free choice, free will; act of choosing voracious, adjective having a great appetite warranted, adjective justified; authorized wary, adjective very cautious whimsical, adjective capricious; fanciful zealot, noun fanatic; person who shows excessive zeal

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