Essential Vocabulary for Advanced English Learners: Tier 1 Words and Definitions

Acrid

Having a strong, bitter, or harsh taste or smell; caustic in tone.

Resplendent

Shining, glowing

Misnomer

Wrong name, inappropriate nickname

Cliché

An overused expression or idea that has lost originality.

Gratuitous

Unnecessary

Exhaustive

Comprehensive, complete

Repel

Drive away; disgust;

Fell

Cruel; (of a disease) deadly

Nebulous

Unclear, uncertain

Turbulence

State of violent agitation;

Taciturn

Speaking little, reticent

Appease

To mollify or soothe

Concede

To give in, to yield

Skeptic

Sceptic; doubter;

Mercenary

Greedy

Inane

Silly

Enigma

Mystery, secret, riddle

Sway

Swing from side to side; influence (someone) to change one's opinion;

Spurn

To reject with disdain or contempt

Equitable

Fair

Equivocal

Evasive, misleading, deliberately indirect

Amass

Collect (gradually, in a very large amount)

Rhetorical

Pertaining to effective communication; insincere in language.

Rigor

Severity; winter

Conciliatory

Making peace, pacifying, calming

Furtive

Secretive, on the sly

Disdain

To ridicule, to mock

Miserly

Stingy; mean

Detrimental

Harmful; damaging;

Discordant

Not harmonious; conflicting

Satirical

Using satire; mocking

Inherent

Innate, natural, born with ability

Iconoclastic

Attacking cherished traditions;

Heterogeneous

Dissimilar; mixed; not homogeneous; consisting of dissimilar elements or plants

Arrogance

Pride; haughtiness;

Pacifist

One opposed to force; antimilitarist;

Discrepancy

Huge difference or rift, inconsistency

Sage

Person celebrated for wisdom; wise person;

Bombastic

Pompous, high sounding but lacking substance

Deplore

To put down, to belittle

Vigor

Energy, enthusiasm

Intervene

To become involved in a situation, to break into a situation

Acrimonious

Bitter, harsh

Pervasive

Spread throughout

Hypercritical

Overly critical

Ascendancy

Controlling influence; position of controlling influence;

Fervor

Passion, zeal

Autonomous

Independent

Polemical

Aggressive in verbal attack; disputatious (rather than simply expressing opinions)

Affirmation

Positive assertion; confirmation;

Insularity

Narrow-mindedness; isolation;

Innate

Inborn

Inexorable

Unstoppable, relentless

Equanimity

Composure or calm

Fallacious

False; based on a fallacy; misleading;

Savory

Pleasant in taste; tasty; pleasing, attractive, or agreeable;

Ardent

Intense; passionate; zealous.

Overt

Obvious, conspicuous

Brevity

Briefness

Concur

To agree

Lassitude

Lack of energy

Debilitate

To handicap or maim

Disclose

Reveal;

Conviction

Belief

Laud

Praise;

Altruistic

Unselfishly generous; concerned for others;

Disperse

To drive away, scatter

Impugn

To insult, malign, damage the reputation of

Pithy

Laconic, short worded

Linger

Loiter or dawdle; be slow in leaving; delay going; continue or persist;

Indefatigable

Tireless; untiring; showing no sign of getting tired

Analogous

Comparable; similar

Provocative

Exciting, attracting attention or controversy

Rancor

Deep bitterness or hatred

Austere

Harsh, spartan

Elucidate

To clarify, to clear up, to make understandable

Feasible

Practical; able to be carried out; practicable

Trivialized

Made to seem unimportant

Recalcitrant

Disobedient

Fitful

Intermittent, infrequent

Ameliorate

To alleviate, to make better, to mollify

Materialism

Love of material things

Tantamount

Equal to

Sluggish

Slow moving, lazy

Peripheral

Located on the boundary or outside

Irreproachable

Untouchable, perfect

Immutable

Unchangeable, permanent

Censorious

Severely critical

Tentative

Uncertain, hesitant

Quagmire

Bog; marsh; soft, wet, boggy land; predicament

Eloquence

Expressiveness; persuasive speech;

Prolific

Producing a lot

Efface

To wipe out, to erase

Eccentric

Strange, quirky

Repugnant

Disgusting, offensive, repelling

Ephemeral

Temporary, transient

Candor

Frankness; open honesty;

Quandary

Riddle, problem not easily solved

Rebuttal

Refutation; response with contrary evidence;