Essential English Vocabulary: A Comprehensive Guide to Common Words and Phrases
Affluent: having a great deal of money. Derision: the situation in which someone or something is laughed at and considered stupid or of no value. Emergent: in the process of coming into being or becoming prominent. Gritty: having strong qualities of tough, uncompromising realism; courageous, brave. Lofty: haughty and aloof; very tall and impressive. Paramount: more important than anything else; supreme. Peril: serious and immediate danger. Precarious: not securely held or in position; dangerously likely to fall or collapse. Repercussion: the effect that an action, event, or decision has on something, especially a bad effect. Tantamount: equivalent in seriousness to; virtually the same as. To be rattled: to be nervous, worried, or irritated. To dismantle: to take to pieces. To flaunt: to display something, especially in order to provoke envy. To frown upon: to view with disapproval. To have a go: to try. To mingle: to move among and engage with others at a social function. To pin down: to determine or fix something. Tumult: disturbance, a state of agitation. Gaiety: lively celebration or festivities. To reign supreme: to be the best or the most important. Sluggish: unable or unwilling to act quickly. The class consciousness: awareness of one’s place in a system of social class. To stay in touch: to maintain contact with another person, especially at intervals so as to remain up to date with each other’s lives. To buck the system: to fight against the usual way of doing something. Fresh out of: having just finished or sold all of something. To immerse oneself in: to be fully involved in some activity or interest. To provoke a fuss: to cause needless excitement. To blur gender boundaries: to make gender boundaries unclear or difficult to understand. To go to extraordinary measures: to do whatever possible. On the surface: at first glance, apparently, outwardly. (To) the full extent of: (to) the limit, magnitude. To run errands: to take a short trip to do a specific thing.
Upwardly-mobile: advancing in economic and social standing. To read history: to study history (formal). To stamp one’s personality upon: to have a strong or permanent influence on. To go about: to begin or carry on with (an activity). Tetchy: irritable and bad-tempered. To cope with: to face and deal with problems. Fatigue: extreme tiredness. To deduce: to arrive at a conclusion by reasoning. To knock on a bit: to be getting old. To tweak: to adjust, to fine-tune, to make small adjustments. To escort: to accompany (someone or something) somewhere. To prompt: to cause (someone) to do something. To cling: to hold onto something or someone very tightly (clung, clung). To dispel: to make (something, such as a belief, feeling, or idea) go away or end. To refrain from: to hold back from doing something; to choose not to do something as planned. To take hold: to start to have an effect. To suppress: to end or stop (something) by force. To carry oneself: to move, especially emphasizing the manner in which one moves; to behave. To tap into: to manage to use something in a way that brings good results. Demure: (of a woman or her behavior) reserved, modest, and shy. Exterior (noun and adjective): the outer surface or structure of something; forming, situated on, or relating to the outside of something. Repressive: inhibiting or restraining personal freedom. Resilience: the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. Fluidity: the quality of being likely to change repeatedly and unexpectedly. Harrowing: extremely upsetting because connected with suffering. Vigorously: very forcefully or energetically; strongly and healthily. Stilted: awkward especially because of being too formal. In essence: essentially; fundamentally. On (the) record: known or recorded officially and publicly; recorded for future reference. In terms of: regarding something; concerning something. To skim the surface: to do, engage with, or understand something to only a minimal or superficial degree. A whistle-stop tour: a series of short visits to different places (by politicians).
Predictions. 1. Be going to: prediction with evidence. 2. Will: prediction without evidence. Plans/Arrangements: 1. Will: decisions at the moment; with words like think, believe, expect, hope, possibly, etc; promises, threats, offers, requests. 2. Be going to: intention that was planned before the time of speaking. 3. Present Continuous: future plans or (social) arrangements (we must give the time, date and/or place). Other. 1. Future Continuous: activity at a certain point in the future + things that are already planned, or which are part of a regular routine + for polite enquiries about people’s plans. 2. Future Perfect: finished activity in the future + used with a time expression using by. 3. Present Simple: timetable, schedule. 4. Shall: offers and propositions in Sg1 and Pl1. Avidly: with enthusiasm and interest. Backbiting: gossiping, malicious talk about someone who is not present. To put the principles into practice: to carry the principles out in action. To do a job of work: to work. A fluid society: a changing/adaptable society. Rigid: inflexible, not moving. Heterogeneous: having many different kinds and levels (opposite: homogeneous). Inferior breeds: races that were not as clever/important as the people who dominated them. Absolutely rabid: mad and attacking. All-pervasive: something which has penetrated/influenced everywhere. To jump on the bandwagon: to support something that is popular. To resign from cabinet: to leave cabinet. To concede: to acknowledge before something is officially established. To vote along party lines: to vote loyally to the party. To renege: to refuse to do something you promised to do. To heckle: to interrupt a public speech with loud and unfriendly statements/questions. An opening gambit: an opening tactic/statement which is made to secure an advantageous position. A spin doctor: a person who tries to control public opinion. Lame duck 1. an official whose time in an office will soon end; 2. weak, unsuccessful. Gerrymandering: manipulating district boundaries to create advantage (voting and politics).