Level: B2-C1
100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know
100 essential English words for academic texts, news, and professional communication — each with a clear, simple definition.
- abjure – to promise not to do something; to give up a belief or habit
- abrogate – to end or cancel something (like a law or agreement)
- abstemious – not eating or drinking much; self-controlled
- acumen – the ability to understand and make good decisions
- antebellum – before a war, especially the American Civil War
- auspicious – showing signs of future success; lucky
- belie – to give a false idea about something
- bellicose – wanting to fight or argue
- bowdlerize – to remove parts of a book, play, or text that may be offensive
- chicanery – using tricks to cheat or deceive people
- chromosome – a part in cells that carries genetic information
- churlish – rude or not polite
- circumlocution – using too many words to say something simple
- circumnavigate – to travel all the way around something, especially the world
- deciduous – losing leaves every year
- deleterious – harmful; causing damage
- diffident – shy; not confident
- enervate – to make someone feel weak or tired
- enfranchise – to give someone the right to vote
- epiphany – a sudden, clear understanding of something
- equinox – the time when day and night are the same length
- euro – the money used in many European countries
- evanescent – lasting only a short time; disappearing quickly
- expurgate – to remove bad or offensive parts from a text
- facetious – joking in a way that is not serious
- fatuous – silly; foolish
- feckless – weak; not responsible
- fiduciary – relating to trust, especially in money matters
- filibuster – a long speech in a legislature to delay or stop a vote
- gamete – a cell (egg or sperm) used for reproduction
- gauche – awkward; not polite in social situations
- gerrymander – to change the borders of an area for political advantage
- hegemony – leadership or control by one country or group
- hemoglobin – a substance in red blood cells that carries oxygen
- homogeneous – all the same or similar
- hubris – too much pride or confidence
- hypotenuse – the longest side of a right-angled triangle
- impeach – to accuse a government official of a crime
- incognito – hiding your identity
- incontrovertible – impossible to question or doubt; certain
- inculcate – to teach an idea or habit by repeating it often
- infrastructure – basic systems and structures like roads and bridges
- interpolate – to add something between other things
- irony – saying the opposite of what you mean, often for humor
- jejune – boring; not interesting
- kinetic – relating to movement
- kowtow – to act in a very obedient way
- laissez faire – the idea that government should not control business
- lexicon – all the words used in a language or by a person
- loquacious – very talkative
- lugubrious – very sad or gloomy
- metamorphosis – a big change in form or nature
- mitosis – cell division; when one cell becomes two cells
- moiety – one of two equal parts
- nanotechnology – technology that works with very small things like atoms
- nihilism – the belief that nothing has meaning or value
- nomenclature – a system of names for things
- nonsectarian – not related to a specific religious group
- notarize – to have a document officially certified by a notary
- obsequious – too eager to please or obey someone
- oligarchy – a government run by a small group of people
- omnipotent – having unlimited power
- orthography – the way words are spelled
- oxidize – to combine with oxygen
- parabola – a special U-shaped curve in math
- paradigm – a model or example
- parameter – a limit or rule that controls what something is or how it works
- pecuniary – relating to money
- photosynthesis – how plants make food using sunlight
- plagiarize – to copy someone else’s work and say it is yours
- plasma – a state of matter like gas, or the liquid part of blood
- polymer – a substance made of many small parts joined together
- precipitous – very steep or sudden
- quasar – a very bright and distant object in space
- quotidian – happening every day; ordinary
- recapitulate – to repeat the main points
- reciprocal – given and received in return
- reparation – payment or action to fix a wrong or damage
- respiration – breathing
- sanguine – cheerful; hopeful
- soliloquy – a speech in a play where a character speaks their thoughts
- subjugate – to bring under control; to conquer
- suffragist – a person who works for the right to vote
- supercilious – acting as if you are better than others
- tautology – saying the same thing twice in different words
- taxonomy – the science of classifying things
- tectonic – relating to the structure of the earth’s surface
- tempestuous – full of strong emotions or stormy
- thermodynamics – the science of heat and energy
- totalitarian – a government with total control over people
- unctuous – too friendly in a way that is not sincere
- usurp – to take power or position without the right to do so
- vacuous – lacking ideas or intelligence
- vehement – showing strong feeling
- vortex – a spinning flow of air or liquid
- winnow – to remove the unwanted parts from something
- wrought – made or shaped by hand
- xenophobe – a person who dislikes foreigners
- yeoman – a farmer who owns his land; a loyal worker
- ziggurat – an ancient, step-shaped building (temple) in Mesopotamia