English Vocabulary
Pick a CEFR level (A1–C2) — 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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529 words
nilgai
C2
/ˈnɪlɡaɪ/
a large antelope, Boselaphus tragocamelus, native to the Indian subcontinent, the adult male of which is bluish gray
whitethroat
C2
/ˈwaɪtθroʊt/
an Old World warbler with a conspicuously pale throat, especially the common whitethroat, Curruca communis
natatory
C2
/nəˈteɪ.tə.ɹi/
relating to swimming or adapted for movement through water
seafowl
C2
/ˈsiːˌfaʊəl/
a bird that lives or feeds at sea or along the coast; a seabird
marsupium
C2
/mɑrˈsuːpiəm/
the external abdominal pouch in which a female marsupial carries and nurses its undeveloped young
goosander
C2
/ɡuːˈsændər/
the common merganser, Mergus merganser, a large fish-eating diving duck of northern rivers and lakes
anopheline
C2
/əˈnɑfəˌlaɪn/
a mosquito of the genus Anopheles or a closely related genus, including species that transmit malaria
deerhound
C2
/ˈdɪɹhaʊnd/
a very large, rough-coated sighthound originally bred in Scotland to hunt deer
stonechat
C2
/ˈstoʊntʃæt/
any of several small Old World insect-eating birds of the genus Saxicola, especially the European stonechat
suctorial
C2
/sʌkˈtɔɹiəl/
adapted for drawing in food or liquid by sucking
huia
C2
/ˈhuːjə/
an extinct glossy-black New Zealand wattlebird, Heteralocha acutirostris, whose male and female had strikingly different bill shapes
coleopterous
C2
Of or pertaining to beetles of the order Coleoptera.
cirripede
C2
/ˈsɪrəˌpiːd/
a marine crustacean such as a barnacle, with feathery appendages for catching food
stridulation
C2
/ˌstrɪdʒəˈleɪʃən/
the production of a shrill sound by rubbing body parts together, especially in insects
nidification
C2
/ˌnɪdəfəˈkeɪʃən/
nest-building by birds or other animals
anthropomorphous
C2
/ˌænθrəpəˈmɔrfəs/
having human form or humanlike characteristics
elytron
C2
/ˈɛl.ɪˌtrɑːn/
one of the hardened front wings of a beetle or similar insect that covers and protects the flight wings
nervure
C2
/ˈnɝvjʊr/
one of the rigid veins that support an insect's wing
zoophyte
C2
/ˈzoʊəfaɪt/
in older zoology, a plantlike invertebrate such as a coral, sponge, or sea anemone
water ouzel
C2
/ˈwɑː.t̬ɚ ˌuː.zəl/
a dipper: any of the small aquatic songbirds of the genus Cinclus (family Cinclidae) that wade and dive in swift streams, especially the white-throated dipper in Eurasia or the American dipper in North America
mistle thrush
C2
/ˈmɪs.əl ˌθrʌʃ/
a large thrush (Turdus viscivorus) of Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia, with pale, boldly spotted underparts, noted for eating and vigorously defending berry-bearing trees, including mistletoe
swim bladder
C2
/ˈswɪm ˌblæd.ɚ/
a gas-filled internal sac present in many bony fishes, used chiefly to regulate buoyancy and maintain depth and, in some species, also involved in respiration, hearing, or sound production
tyrant flycatcher
C2
/ˈtaɪ.rənt ˌflaɪˌkætʃ.ɚ/
any bird of the large New World family Tyrannidae, whose members typically have a broad, flattened bill and feed mainly on insects
willow wren
C2
/ˈwɪl.oʊ ˌrɛn/
a traditional British name for the willow warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus), also formerly applied to the closely related chiffchaff
ganoid
C2
/ˈɡænɔɪd/
having hard, shiny, enamel-like scales of the type found on gars and some other fishes
fallfish
C2
/ˈfɔːlˌfɪʃ/
a large silvery freshwater minnow (Semotilus corporalis) native to streams of northeastern North America
exuvia
C2
/ɪɡˈzuːviə/
a skin, shell, exoskeleton, or other outer covering shed by an animal during molting
neuration
C2
/nuˈreɪʃən/
the pattern or arrangement of veins, especially in an insect's wing and sometimes in a leaf
teleostean
C2
/ˌtɛliˈɑstiən/
relating to the teleosts, the large group containing most living bony fishes
pachydermatous
C2
/ˌpækɪˈdɝmətəs/
of, relating to, or characteristic of pachyderms
fossorial
C2
/fɑˈsɔriəl/
adapted for digging or for living chiefly underground
palpus
C2
/ˈpælpəs/
a segmented sensory appendage attached to a mouthpart of an arthropod and used chiefly for touch or taste
dragonet
C2
/ˈdræɡənɛt/
any small, often brightly colored, scaleless bottom-dwelling marine fish of the family Callionymidae
elater
C2
/ˈɛlətɚ/
a click beetle of the family Elateridae, able to spring into the air with a clicking movement when placed on its back
gallinazo
C2
/ˌɡɑːliˈnɑːzoʊ/
any of several American vultures, especially the black vulture or turkey vulture
amphioxus
C2
/ˌæmfiˈɑːksəs/
a lancelet: a small, translucent, fishlike marine chordate that burrows in sand and retains a notochord throughout life
phalanger
C2
/fəˈlændʒɚ/
an Australasian arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae, including the cuscuses and brushtail possums
univalve
C2
/ˈjuːnɪˌvælv/
having a shell formed from one piece or valve, especially as opposed to a bivalve shell
wigeon
C2
/ˈwɪdʒən/
any of several medium-sized dabbling ducks of the genus Mareca, especially the Eurasian or American wigeon
catarrhine
C2
/ˈkætəˌraɪn/
a primate of the group Catarrhini, comprising Old World monkeys, apes, and humans
clypeus
C2
/ˈklɪpiəs/
a shieldlike plate on the front of an insect's head, between the frons and the upper lip
platyrrhine
C2
/ˈplætɪˌraɪn/
a New World monkey of the primate group Platyrrhini, including capuchins, marmosets, howler monkeys, and their relatives
pygidium
C2
/paɪˈdʒɪdiəm/
the terminal dorsal plate or last exposed abdominal segment of certain insects
vibrissa
C2
/vɪˈbɹɪsə/
one of the long, stiff, highly sensitive hairs on the snout or face of many mammals; a whisker
barbule
C2
/ˈbɑɹ.bjuːl/
one of the minute branches growing from a feather barb, often bearing hooks that interlock with neighboring branches
cephalothorax
C2
/ˌsɛfələˈθɔˌræks/
the fused head and thorax forming the front body region of spiders, crustaceans, and some other arthropods
mesothorax
C2
/ˌmɛzəˈθɔˌræks/
the middle of the three segments of an insect's thorax, bearing the second pair of legs and, when present, the forewings
metasternum
C2
/ˌmɛtəˈstɝnəm/
entomology: the ventral exoskeletal plate of an insect's metathorax
cachalot
C2
/ˈkæʃəˌlɑt/
a sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, especially in older natural-history or whaling writing