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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
ecclesiastic
C2
/ɪˌkliːziˈæstɪk/
a member of the clergy, especially in a Christian church; formal
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oarsman
C2
/ˈɔɹzmən/
a male rower, especially a member of a boat's racing or working crew
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niggard
C2
/ˈnɪɡɚd/
archaic: a person who is extremely unwilling to spend or give; a miser
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cocotte
C2
/kɔˈkɔt/
a small covered casserole or Dutch oven, especially one used to cook and serve an individual portion
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reticule
C2
/ˈrɛtɪˌkjuːl/
historical: a small woman's handbag, often closed with a drawstring
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ratcatcher
C2
/ˈrætˌkætʃɚ/
a person employed to catch or destroy rats and other vermin
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cutpurse
C2
/ˈkʌtˌpɝs/
historical: a thief who steals purses or valuables from people in public, especially by cutting a purse from its fastening
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protectress
C2
/prəˈtɛktrɪs/
a woman who protects, guards, or acts as a patron; now uncommon
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simulacrum
C2
/ˌsɪmjəˈleɪkɹəm/
A physical image or representation of a deity, person, or thing.
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almshouse
C2
/ˈɑmzˌhaʊs/
a residence provided by a charity for poor, elderly, or disabled people, often in a historically endowed building
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laggard
C2
/ˈlæɡɚd/
a person or thing that is slow or falls behind others
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vestment
C2
/ˈvɛstmənt/
a ceremonial garment worn by a member of the clergy during worship
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legatee
C2
/ˌlɛɡəˈti/
law: a person or organization that receives a legacy under a will
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anglophile
C2
/ˈæŋɡləˌfaɪl/
a person who strongly admires England or British culture and customs
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litigant
C2
/ˈlɪtɪɡənt/
a person or organization that is a party to a lawsuit
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polymath
C2
/ˈpɑliˌmæθ/
A person with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge.
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starveling
C2
/ˈstɑɹvlɪŋ/
literary: a person, animal, or plant made thin and weak by lack of food
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obstructionist
C2
/əbˈstrʌkʃənəst/
Someone who systematically obstructs the actions of others.
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committeeman
C2
/kəˈmɪtimən/
dated: a man who serves on a committee
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servility
C2
/sɝˈvɪləti/
excessive eagerness to obey or please someone, shown through degrading submissiveness
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vignette
C2
/vɪˈnjɛt/
a brief, vivid description, scene, or episode that captures a person, place, or situation
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malefactor
C2
/ˈmæl.əˌfæk.tɚ/
a person who commits a crime or other wrongful act; a criminal or evildoer
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clothier
C2
/ˈkloʊðiər/
a person or company that makes or sells clothes
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logician
C2
/ləˈd͡ʒɪʃən/
A person who studies or teaches logic.
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sunshade
C2
/ˈsʌnˌʃeɪd/
a parasol carried to protect a person from sunlight
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virago
C2
/vɪˈɹɑːɡəʊ/
a large, strong, and aggressivly dominating woman
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inamorata
C2
/ɪnˌæməˈrɑːtə/
literary or humorous: a woman with whom someone is in love; a female lover
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ecotourism
C2
/ˌɛkoʊˈtʊɹɪzəm/
Responsible travel to natural areas that protects the environment and supports local people.
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debauchee
C2
/ˌdɛbəˈtʃiː/
a person who habitually pursues excessive sensual pleasure and behaves without moral restraint
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coauthor
C2
/ˌkoʊˈɔːθɚ/
a person who writes a book, article, or other work jointly with another author
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determinist
C2
/dɪˈtɝmənɪst/
a person who holds that events, including human actions, are determined by prior causes or conditions
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knower
C2
/ˈnoʊɚ/
a person who knows something, especially the conscious subject in a theory of knowledge
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housebreaker
C2
/ˈhaʊsˌbreɪ.kɚ/
a person who illegally enters a house, usually by force, in order to steal or commit another crime
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sojourner
C2
/ˈsoʊd͡ʒɚnɚ/
a person who stays temporarily in a place rather than settling there permanently
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tocsin
C2
/ˈtɑksɪn/
a bell or bell signal sounded to warn people of danger
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disaffection
C2
/ˌdɪsəˈfɛkʃən/
a loss of affection or loyalty toward a person, group, or way of life; alienation
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distiller
C2
/dɪˈstɪlər/
a person who makes distilled spirits or purifies liquids by distillation
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usufruct
C2
/ˈjuzəˌfɹəkt/
the legal right to use another person's property and receive its benefits or profits without destroying or substantially damaging it
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roué
C2
/ruˈeɪ/
old-fashioned: a fashionable man devoted to pleasure and known for immoral, drunken, or sexually promiscuous behavior
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pieman
C2
/ˈpaɪˌmæn/
a man who makes or sells pies, especially a street vendor
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evolutionist
C2
/ˌɛvəˈluʃənɪst/
a person who accepts, studies, or advocates the theory of biological evolution
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footpad
C2
/ˈfʊtˌpæd/
historical: a robber who traveled and attacked people on foot rather than on horseback
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supernumerary
C2
/ˌsupɚˈn(j)uməˌɹɛɹi/
A person who works in a group, association, or public office without forming part of the regular staff (the numerary).
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measurer
C2
/ˈmɛʒ.ɚ.ɚ/
a person who measures something or determines its dimensions, amount, or degree
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papuan
C2
/ˈpæpjuən/
a native or inhabitant of Papua; more broadly, especially historically, an Indigenous person of New Guinea or adjacent parts of Melanesia
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pederasty
C2
/ˈpɛd.ə.ɹæs.ti/
sexual relations between an adult man and an adolescent boy
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denigration
C2
/ˌdɛnəˈɡɹeɪʃən/
unfair criticism that belittles someone or damages their reputation
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doyen
C2
/ˈdɔɪ.ən/
a man who is the senior member of a group
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musher
C2
/ˈmʌʃɚ/
a person who drives or travels with a team of sled dogs, especially in a dogsled race
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corrector
C2
/kəˈrɛktɚ/
a person, device, or process that identifies and corrects errors, faults, or improper behavior
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citizeness
C2
/ˈsɪtəzənəs/
a woman who is a citizen; now rare except in historical contexts
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Melanesian
C2
/ˌmɛləˈniːʒən/
a person from Melanesia, the southwestern Pacific region that includes New Guinea and several neighboring island groups
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nabob
C2
/ˈneɪbɑːb/
dated, often disparaging: a very wealthy, powerful, or self-important person
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woodchopper
C2
/ˈwʊdˌtʃɑpɚ/
a person whose work is cutting trees or chopping wood
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sophist
C2
/ˈsoʊfɪst/
a person who uses clever but fallacious or misleading arguments
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monasticism
C2
/məˈnæstɪsɪzəm/
a religious way of life in which people withdraw from ordinary society and live under spiritual discipline, often in a community
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strapper
C2
/ˈstræpɚ/
dated or informal: an unusually large, strong, robust person
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vivisectionist
C2
/ˌvɪv.ɪˈsek.ʃən.ɪst/
a person who practices, advocates, or defends vivisection
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cynosure
C2
/ˈsaɪnəʃʊɹ/
a person or thing that is the center of attention or admiration
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costumier
C2
/kɑːsˈtuːmieɪ/
a person or company that designs, makes, supplies, or hires out costumes, especially for theatre
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lanugo
C2
/ləˈnuːɡoʊ/
the fine, soft hair that temporarily covers a human fetus and may still be present on a newborn
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survivorship
C2
/sərˈvaɪvərˌʃɪp/
law and finance: the right of a surviving joint owner or beneficiary to receive property or benefits after another person's death
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demoralization
C2
/dɪˌmɔrələˈzeɪʃən/
the destruction or serious weakening of a person's or group's confidence, discipline, or morale
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dayak
C2
/ˈdaɪæk/
a member of any of numerous Indigenous peoples of Borneo collectively known as the Dayak
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ambassadress
C2
/æmˈbæsədrəs/
dated: a female ambassador or a woman acting as an emissary
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outlawry
C2
/ˈaʊtˌlɔri/
historical law: the formal placing of a person outside the law and its protection
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absolutist
C2
/ˈæb.səˌlu.tɪst/
a person who supports absolute political authority or treats a principle as allowing no exceptions
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toper
C2
/ˈtoʊ.pɚ/
dated: a person who drinks alcohol heavily or habitually
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dicer
C2
/ˈdaɪsɚ/
a person who gambles with dice
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hauteur
C2
/oʊˈtɝ/
proud, distant behavior that shows a sense of superiority toward other people
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bondman
C2
/ˈbɑːnd.mən/
historical: an enslaved man held in personal bondage
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landholder
C2
/ˈlændˌhoʊldɝ/
a person or organization that owns or legally holds land, especially an agricultural estate
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transcendentalism
C2
/ˌtrænsenˈdentəlˌɪzəm/
a nineteenth-century American philosophical and literary movement that emphasized spiritual intuition, individual conscience, and the inherent goodness of people and nature
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prattler
C2
/ˈpɹætəlɚ/
a person who talks at length in a foolish, trivial, or childlike way
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monomaniac
C2
/ˌmɑː.noʊˈmeɪ.ni.æk/
a person obsessively preoccupied with one subject, idea, or goal to the exclusion of other concerns
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recapitulation
C2
/ɹiː.kəˌpɪ.t͡ʃəˈleɪ.ʃ(ə)n/
The symmetry provided by Christ's life to the teachings of the Old Testament; the summation of human experience in Jesus Christ.
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repeller
C2
/rɪˈpɛlər/
a person, substance, device, or force that repels something or drives it away
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ploughboy
C2
/ˈplaʊˌbɔɪ/
historical: a boy employed to guide draught animals pulling a plough or to assist a ploughman
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newsvendor
C2
/ˈnuːzˌvɛndɚ/
a person who sells newspapers and often magazines, especially at a street stand
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trull
C2
/trʌl/
archaic and disparaging: a woman who sells sex, or a woman insultingly characterized as sexually immoral
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bashaw
C2
/bəˈʃɔ/
historical spelling of pasha: a man of high rank or authority in the Ottoman Empire
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sectary
C2
/ˈsɛktəri/
a member or adherent of a particular religious sect, school of thought, or party; now rare
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whipsaw
C2
/ˈwɪpˌsɔ/
a long narrow saw, commonly worked by two people using a handle at each end
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dissembler
C2
/dɪˈsɛmblɚ/
a person who conceals true feelings or intentions by pretending to have different ones
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arriviste
C2
/ˌæ.ɹɪˈviːst/
An upstart or newcomer; nouveau riche; parvenu; an ambitious, brash or arrogant person who has yet to integrate with his or her new social group.
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pilferer
C2
/ˈpɪlfəɹə(ɹ)/
a person who steals small items or small amounts
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karyotype
C2
/ˈker.i.oʊ.taɪp/
the complete chromosome set of an individual or species, considered by number and visible structure
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raftsman
C2
/ˈræftsmən/
dated: a person who operates, travels on, or works aboard a raft
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theosophist
C2
/θiˈɑːsəfɪst/
a follower or advocate of theosophy, especially a member of the modern Theosophical movement
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remembrancer
C2
/rɪˈmembrənsɚ/
literary or historical: a person or thing that reminds, commemorates, or preserves a memory
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shorthorn
C2
/ˈʃɔːɹtˌhɔːɹn/
a member of a British breed of cattle developed in northeastern England and raised in dairy and beef varieties
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surtout
C2
/sɝˈtuː/
historical: a man's close-fitting overcoat, often cut like a frock coat
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dairymaid
C2
/ˈdɛriˌmeɪd/
historical: a woman or girl employed to milk cows and perform other dairy work
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manikin
C2
/ˈmæn.ɪ.kɪn/
a small model or articulated figure representing the human body, especially for medical or artistic study
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compromiser
C2
/ˈkɑːmprəmaɪzər/
a person willing or able to settle a disagreement through mutual concessions
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aeronaut
C2
/ˈɛr.əˌnɔːt/
a person who travels through the air in a balloon or airship; historically, an aviator
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