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Word
English Vocabulary
Pick a CEFR level (A1–C2, plus C2+ for rare words beyond the CEFR scale) — A1 is the friendliest place to start — and browse its words grouped by topic: travel, food, the body, emotions, and more. Each word shows its meaning, example sentences, and US/UK pronunciation.
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View all levelsC2+ is beyond the official CEFR scale: rare, specialist, and literary words kept for reference.
585 words
windbag
C2
/ˈwɪnd.bæɡ/
a person who talks at excessive length, often pompously, while saying little of value
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throwback
C2
/ˈθɹoʊ.bæk/
a reappearance of an ancestral trait or a person or thing resembling an earlier type
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strumpet
C2
/ˈstrʌmpɪt/
old-fashioned and disparaging: a woman who sells sex
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workday
C2
/ˈwɝːkdeɪ/
a day on which a person normally works rather than taking time off
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mulatto
C2
/mʊˈlɑː.t̬oʊ/
offensive and dated: a historical racial label for a person of mixed Black and white ancestry, especially someone with one Black and one white parent
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wile
C2
/waɪl/
a clever trick or persuasive stratagem intended to deceive or manipulate someone, often used in the plural
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undersigned
C2
/ˌʌndɚˈsaɪnd/
the person or people whose signatures appear at the end of a document
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bodice
C2
/ˈbɑːdɪs/
the fitted upper part of a woman's dress, above the waist
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orc
C2
/ɔrk/
in fantasy literature and games, a member of a race of aggressive, often monstrous humanoid creatures
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fishmonger
C2
/ˈfɪʃmʌŋɡər/
a person whose trade is selling fish and seafood
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fathead
C2
/ˈfæthɛd/
informal and insulting: a stupid or foolish person
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agitator
C2
/ˈædʒ.əˌteɪ.tɚ/
a person who vigorously stirs others into political or social action, often a disapproving label for a protest organizer
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caddie
C2
/ˈkædi/
a person who carries a golfer's clubs and may give advice during play
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impresario
C2
/ˌɪmpɹɪˈsɑːɹɪəʊ/
A person who organizes and finances concerts, plays, or other entertainment.
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yokel
C2
/ˈjoʊ.kəl/
a person who is not very intelligent or interested in culture
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foundling
C2
/ˈfaʊndlɪŋ/
an abandoned infant or child whose parents are unknown
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biographer
C2
/baɪˈɑːɡɹəfɚ/
a person who writes an account of someone else's life, especially as a profession
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backboard
C2
/ˈbækˌbɔrd/
a rigid board used to support or straighten a person's back, historically as a posture-training device
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toady
C2
/ˈtoʊ.di/
a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage
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levitation
C2
/ˌlɛvɪˈteɪʃən/
the phenomenon of a person or thing rising into the air by apparently supernatural means
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milieu
C2
/mɪlˈju/
The social setting or surroundings in which someone lives or works.
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archetype
C2
/ˈɑɹkɪtaɪp/
A perfect or typical example of a kind of person or thing.
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faun
C2
/fɔn/
in Roman mythology and later art, a rustic nature spirit represented as partly human and partly goat
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satyr
C2
/ˈseɪ.tɚ/
a male woodland spirit in ancient Greek mythology, associated with Dionysus and represented with both human and animal features
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ringmaster
C2
/ˈrɪŋˌmæstər/
the person who directs and announces the acts in a circus ring
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retinue
C2
/ˈɹɛ.tɪ.n(j)uː/
A group of attendants or servants, especially of someone considered important.
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dervish
C2
/ˈdɝvɪʃ/
a member of a Sufi Muslim religious order, traditionally committed to poverty and devotional discipline
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necromancer
C2
/ˈnɛkrəˌmænsɚ/
a person believed to communicate with the dead for divination or to summon or control the dead by magic
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instigator
C2
/ˈɪnstəˌɡeɪtɚ/
someone who deliberately foments trouble
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trespasser
C2
/ˈtres.pæs.ɚ/
a person who enters or remains on another person's land or property without permission or legal right
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braggart
C2
/ˈbræɡɚt/
a person who boasts loudly or habitually
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megalomaniac
C2
/ˌmɛɡəloʊˈmeɪniæk/
a person obsessed with power or convinced of their own exceptional greatness and importance
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angler
C2
/ˈæŋ.ɡlɚ/
a person who catches fish with a rod, hook, and line, especially for recreation
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ethos
C2
/ˈiθɑs/
The set of values, beliefs, and character that define a person, group, or culture.
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hairball
C2
/ˈhɛrˌbɔl/
a compact mass of swallowed hair or fur formed in the digestive tract of a person or animal; a trichobezoar
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homunculus
C2
/həˈmʌŋk.jə.ləs/
A miniature man, once imagined by spermists to be present in human sperm.
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courtier
C2
/ˈkɔːr.ti.ɚ/
a person who attends or serves a monarch at a royal court
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Berber
C2
/ˈbɝ.bɚ/
a member of one of the Indigenous peoples of North Africa; many people prefer the self-designation Amazigh, plural Imazighen
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baronet
C2
/ˈber.ə.nət/
a man holding a hereditary British title below a baron but above most knights
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cattleman
C2
/ˈkætəlmən/
a person who owns, raises, or manages cattle, especially on a ranch
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bromide
C2
/ˈbɹoʊ.maɪd/
A dull person with conventional thoughts.
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individualism
C2
/ˌɪndɪvɪˈduːəˌlɪzəm/
The belief that the freedom and self-reliance of each person matter more than the group or the state.
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boyar
C2
/boʊˈjɑr/
a member of the high hereditary aristocracy of medieval and early modern Russia or another Eastern European state
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tobacconist
C2
/təˈbæk.ə.nɪst/
a person who sells tobacco, cigarettes, cigars, pipes, and related goods
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solver
C2
/ˈsɑːl.vɚ/
a person or thing that finds the answer to a problem, puzzle, or equation
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anathema
C2
/əˈnæθəmə/
something or someone intensely disliked, rejected, or regarded as wholly unacceptable
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microcosm
C2
/ˈmaɪ.kɹəˌkɑz.əm/
The human body; a person.
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fingertip
C2
/ˈfɪŋɡɚˌtɪp/
The tip of the human finger.
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prig
C2
/prɪɡ/
a smug, self-righteous person who is excessively proper or disapproving
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linchpin
C2
/ˈlɪnt͡ʃˌpɪn/
a person or thing essential to the stability or success of a system or plan
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taskmaster
C2
/ˈtæskˌmæstɚ/
a person who imposes hard, continuous, or exacting work on others
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sibyl
C2
/ˈsɪbəl/
in the ancient world, a woman believed to deliver divine prophecies or oracles
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bigamist
C2
/ˈbɪɡ.ə.mɪst/
a person who marries someone while still legally married to another person
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drudge
C2
/dɹʌdʒ/
a person made to do hard, dull, or menial work
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codger
C2
/ˈkɑd͡ʒəɹ/
An amusingly eccentric or grumpy and usually elderly man.
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drover
C2
/ˈdroʊvər/
a person who drives cattle, sheep, or other livestock, especially over a long distance
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inducement
C2
/ɪnˈdusmənt/
Something that encourages or persuades someone to do something; an incentive.
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skinflint
C2
/ˈskɪnˌflɪnt/
a person who is excessively unwilling to spend or give money
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shipmate
C2
/ˈʃɪpˌmeɪt/
a fellow member of a ship's crew or a person traveling on the same ship
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laundress
C2
/ˈlɔːndrəs/
a woman employed to wash and iron clothes; now dated
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waif
C2
/weɪf/
especially historical: a homeless, abandoned, or neglected person, especially a child
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artifice
C2
/ˈɑː(ɹ)tɪfɪs/
Clever but dishonest behaviour used to trick or deceive someone.
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raiser
C2
/ˈɹeɪzɚ/
a person or thing that raises, increases, or brings something up
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triumvirate
C2
/traɪˈʌmvɝət/
a group of three people who share authority or responsibility
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milkmaid
C2
/ˈmɪlkmeɪd/
a woman who works in a dairy
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snobbery
C2
/ˈsnɑːbɝi/
The attitude of looking down on people you think are of lower class, taste, or status.
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enabler
C2
/ɛˈneɪbəlɝ/
A person or thing that makes something possible or helps it happen.
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coquette
C2
/koʊˈkɛt/
dated: a woman who deliberately flirts without intending a serious relationship
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flapper
C2
/ˈflæpɚ/
a fashionable young woman of the 1920s who rejected older social conventions in her dress and behavior
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dichotomy
C2
/daɪˈkɑtəmi/
The division of a class into two disjoint subclasses that are together comprehensive, as the division of human into female and male.
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spittoon
C2
/spɪˈtuːn/
A receptacle for spit (saliva); especially, one used by people using chewing tobacco or snuff.
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abolitionist
C2
/ˌæbəˈlɪʃənɪst/
historical: a person who campaigned to end slavery, especially in the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Atlantic world
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lunkhead
C2
/ˈlʌnk.hɛd/
informal and insulting: a stupid, clumsy, or slow-witted person
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polygamist
C2
/pəˈlɪɡəmɪst/
someone who is married to two or more people at the same time
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tactician
C2
/tækˈtɪʃən/
a person who is skilled at planning tactics
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bushman
C2
/ˈbʊʃmən/
dated, often capitalized: a member of one of the San peoples of southern Africa; San or a specific community name is generally preferred
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houseful
C2
/ˈhaʊsfəl/
as many people or things as fill or can be accommodated in a house
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furrier
C2
/ˈfɝː.i.ɚ/
a person who prepares, makes, repairs, or sells garments and other goods made of fur
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muggins
C2
/ˈmʌɡɪnz/
chiefly British, informal and insulting: a foolish or easily deceived person
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gentlewoman
C2
/ˈdʒɛntəlˌwʊmən/
a woman of high social standing or good family, or one regarded as cultured and well-mannered; old-fashioned
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pragmatist
C2
/ˈpræɡmətɪst/
a person who deals with problems practically and judges actions mainly by workable results
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footstool
C2
/ˈfʊtˌstuːl/
a low stool on which a seated person rests the feet
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marchesa
C2
/mɑːrˈkeɪ.zə/
an Italian marchioness; a woman who holds or is married to the holder of the rank of marquis
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ragamuffin
C2
/ˈɹæɡəˌmʌfɪn/
A dirty, shabbily-clothed child; an urchin.
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procurer
C2
/prəˈkjʊr.ɚ/
a person who obtains or supplies someone or something for another, often through effort or special arrangements
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washerwoman
C2
/ˈwɑʃɚˌwʊmən/
historical: a woman employed to wash other people's clothes and household linen
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wordsmith
C2
/ˈwɝdˌsmɪθ/
A person who uses words skilfully, especially a writer.
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mien
C2
/miːn/
A person's appearance, manner, or facial expression, especially as a sign of mood or character.
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conscript¹
C2
/ˈkɑnskɹɪpt/
a person compulsorily enrolled in military or other public service
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conscript²
C2
/kənˈskɹɪpt/
to compel someone to enter military or other public service
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fraternization
C2
/ˌfrætərnəˈzeɪʃən/
friendly or brotherly association with other people
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mainstay
C2
/ˈmeɪn.steɪ/
a person or thing on which something chiefly depends for support or stability
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Ainu
C2
/ˈaɪnuː/
a member of the Indigenous people native chiefly to Hokkaido and historically also to Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands
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teamster
C2
/ˈtiːm.stɚ/
a person who drives a team of draft animals, especially while hauling a wagon or freight
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intercession
C2
/ˌɪntɚˈsɛʃən/
the act of intervening on another person's behalf, especially to plead for help, mercy, or agreement
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sceptic
C2
/ˈskɛp.tɪk/
someone who habitually doubts accepted beliefs
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