Upper-Intermediate Vocabulary (B2 · 213 lessons)
Upper-Intermediate vocabulary covers precise grammar and wider vocabulary for work, study and detailed writing. Open any lesson below for the explanation, examples and practice points.
ambiguous (adj.)
having more than one possible meaning
coherent (adj.)
logical and well organised
compelling (adj.)
very convincing or interesting
contemporary (adj.)
belonging to the present time
crucial (adj.)
extremely important
diminish (v.)
to become or make smaller
elaborate (v.)
to give more detail
emphasise (v.)
to give special importance to
feasible (adj.)
possible to do
fluctuate (v.)
to change often
inevitable (adj.)
certain to happen
inherent (adj.)
existing as a natural part
mitigate (v.)
to make less severe
notion (n.)
an idea or belief
obsolete (adj.)
no longer used
plausible (adj.)
seeming reasonable
reluctant (adj.)
unwilling
resilient (adj.)
able to recover quickly
scrutinise (v.)
to examine closely
substantial (adj.)
large in amount or importance
surpass (v.)
to do better than
thorough (adj.)
complete and careful
trivial (adj.)
of little importance
undermine (v.)
to weaken gradually
vulnerable (adj.)
easily harmed
advocate (v.)
to publicly support
alleviate (v.)
to reduce pain or problems
comprehensive (adj.)
including everything needed
deteriorate (v.)
to become worse
discrepancy (n.)
a difference between things that should match
endeavour (n.)
a serious attempt
hinder (v.)
to make progress difficult
implement (v.)
to put a plan into action
indispensable (adj.)
absolutely necessary
meticulous (adj.)
very careful about details
prevalent (adj.)
widespread
profound (adj.)
very deep or intense
scarce (adj.)
not enough in supply
sustain (v.)
to keep going
tangible (adj.)
real and touchable
versatile (adj.)
able to do many things
abandon (v.)
to leave completely
abundant (adj.)
existing in large quantities
acknowledge (v.)
to accept or admit
adequate (adj.)
enough or good enough
adjacent (adj.)
next to something
allocate (v.)
to give for a particular purpose
anticipate (v.)
to expect or predict
arbitrary (adj.)
based on random choice
assess (v.)
to judge the value or quality
bias (n.)
unfair preference
capacity (n.)
the maximum amount something can hold
clarify (v.)
to make clear
collaborate (v.)
to work together
compensate (v.)
to make up for a loss
constitute (v.)
to form or make up
controversial (adj.)
causing disagreement
criterion (n.)
a standard for judging
deduce (v.)
to reach a conclusion from evidence
dilemma (n.)
a difficult choice
distinguish (v.)
to recognise differences
enhance (v.)
to improve the quality of
exploit (v.)
to use fully or take unfair advantage of
fundamental (adj.)
basic and most important
hypothesis (n.)
a proposed explanation
illustrate (v.)
to explain with examples or pictures
incentive (n.)
something that motivates
integrate (v.)
to combine into a whole
legitimate (adj.)
lawful or reasonable
manipulate (v.)
to control cleverly or unfairly
negotiate (v.)
to discuss to reach agreement
obtain (v.)
to get
overcome (v.)
to succeed in dealing with
perceive (v.)
to become aware of
persistent (adj.)
continuing firmly
preliminary (adj.)
coming before the main part
reinforce (v.)
to strengthen
restrain (v.)
to hold back
scope (n.)
the range of a subject
speculate (v.)
to guess without full evidence
stimulate (v.)
to encourage activity
transparent (adj.)
easy to see through or understand
vague (adj.)
not clear
expedition (n.)
a long journey for a purpose
pilgrimage (n.)
a journey to a holy place
detour (n.)
a longer indirect route
stopover (n.)
a break in a journey
quarantine (n.)
isolation to prevent disease spread
contagious (adj.)
spreading by contact
inflammation (n.)
swelling and redness
rehabilitation (n.)
treatment to restore health
nutrition (n.)
the process of nourishing the body
insomnia (n.)
inability to sleep
algorithm (n.)
a set of steps for a task
cybersecurity (n.)
protection of digital systems
interface (n.)
the way a user interacts with a system
malware (n.)
harmful software
artificial intelligence (n.)
machine intelligence
entrepreneur (n.)
a person who starts businesses
redundant (adj.)
dismissed as no longer needed
appraisal (n.)
an assessment of performance
delegate (v.)
to give tasks to others
outsource (v.)
to hire outside companies
revenue (n.)
income of a company
bankrupt (adj.)
unable to pay debts
deficit (n.)
a shortfall
asset (n.)
something valuable owned
dividend (n.)
a share of profit
biodiversity (n.)
variety of life
deforestation (n.)
clearing of forests
emissions (n.)
gases released
conservation (n.)
protection of nature
erosion (n.)
gradual wearing away
culinary (adj.)
relating to cooking
gourmet (adj.)
of high-quality food
ferment (v.)
to chemically break down sugar
garnish (n.)
decoration on food
spacious (adj.)
having a lot of room
cosy (adj.)
warm and comfortable
foundation (n.)
the base of a building
insulation (n.)
material to retain heat
seminar (n.)
a small discussion class
thesis (n.)
a long research paper
literacy (n.)
ability to read and write
pedagogy (n.)
the method of teaching
nostalgic (adj.)
longing for the past
resentful (adj.)
bitter about unfair treatment
content (adj.)
satisfied
apprehensive (adj.)
anxious about the future
euphoric (adj.)
intensely happy
spouse (n.)
a husband or wife
orphan (n.)
a child without parents
upbringing (n.)
the way you were raised
kinship (n.)
family relationship
garment (n.)
a piece of clothing
extravagant (adj.)
spending too much
merchandise (n.)
goods for sale
haggle (v.)
to argue over price
athletics (n.)
track and field sports
stamina (n.)
energy to keep going
forfeit (v.)
to lose by not playing
sportsmanship (n.)
fair play
critic (n.)
a judge of art
rehearsal (n.)
practice before a show
composer (n.)
a person who writes music
abstract (adj.)
not representing reality
jurisdiction (n.)
authority to judge
treaty (n.)
a formal agreement between countries
bureaucracy (n.)
complex official procedures
sovereignty (n.)
supreme power
amend (v.)
to change formally
carnivore (n.)
a meat eater
herbivore (n.)
a plant eater
nocturnal (adj.)
active at night
domesticate (v.)
to tame
digestion (n.)
breaking down food
metabolism (n.)
body's chemical processes
reflex (n.)
an automatic response
circulation (n.)
blood flow
catalyst (n.)
a substance speeding a reaction
radiation (n.)
energy emitted as waves
particle (n.)
a tiny piece of matter
photosynthesis (n.)
how plants make food from light
empirical (adj.)
based on observation
metropolis (n.)
a very large city
commuter (n.)
a person who travels to work
urban (adj.)
of a city
municipal (adj.)
of a city government
chronological (adj.)
in time order
prompt (adj.)
quick
sporadic (adj.)
occasional
perpetual (adj.)
never-ending
acquisition (n.)
buying another company
stakeholder (n.)
a person with an interest in a business
monopoly (n.)
exclusive control of a market
turnover (n.)
total sales or staff change
scalable (adj.)
able to grow easily
articulate (adj.)
expressing clearly
debate (n.)
a formal discussion
rhetoric (n.)
persuasive speaking
retort (v.)
to reply sharply
compassionate (adj.)
caring about others' suffering
diligent (adj.)
hard-working
cynical (adj.)
distrustful of motives
eccentric (adj.)
odd in behaviour
shrewd (adj.)
clever in judging
torrential (adj.)
falling heavily
hurricane (n.)
a violent tropical storm
monsoon (n.)
a seasonal wind with heavy rain
accumulate (v.)
to gather gradually
cultivate (v.)
to nurture
demonstrate (v.)
to show clearly
eliminate (v.)
to remove
generate (v.)
to produce
modify (v.)
to change slightly
navigate (v.)
to find a route
retain (v.)
to keep
transform (v.)
to change greatly
calculate (v.)
to work out mathematically
ratio (n.)
a comparison of amounts
exponential (adj.)
growing faster and faster
numerous (adj.)
many
enthusiast (n.)
a keen fan
recreation (n.)
enjoyable activity
dabble (v.)
to do casually
vandalism (n.)
deliberate destruction
culprit (n.)
the guilty person
testify (v.)
to give evidence
surveillance (n.)
close watching
etiquette (n.)
rules of polite behaviour
taboo (n.)
a social prohibition
indigenous (adj.)
native to a place
ancestral (adj.)
inherited from ancestors
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