This week on The Missing Workbook
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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.
Choose your level
All 27,899 wordsC2+ is beyond the official CEFR scale: rare, specialist, and literary words kept for reference.
2191 words
hawker
C1
/ˈhɔkɚ/
someone who travels about selling his wares (as on the streets or at carnivals)
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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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deary
C1
/ˈdɪri/
an affectionate, old-fashioned, or sometimes patronizing form of address, especially to a woman or child
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settler
B1
/ˈsɛt.lɚ/
A person who moves to live in a new area or country, especially one that few people have lived in before.
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idiom
B1
/ˈɪdiəm/
A fixed expression whose meaning can't be guessed from its individual words.
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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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preserver
C1
/prɪˈzɝː.vɚ/
a person or thing that protects someone or keeps something safe from harm or destruction
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mountaineer
C1
/ˌmaʊn.tɪnˈɪɹ/
A person who climbs mountains for sport or pleasure.
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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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humanist
B2
/ˈhjuːmənɪst/
A person who believes in human values and reason rather than in religion.
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innovator
B1
/ˈɪnəˌveɪtəɹ/
A person who creates or introduces new ideas, methods, or products.
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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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woodcutter
B2
/ˈwʊdˌkʌtər/
a person whose work is cutting down trees or cutting timber into firewood
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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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settee
C1
/sɛˈtiː/
A long padded seat with a back and arms for two or more people; a sofa.
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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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rescuer
B2
/ˈres.kjuː.ɚ/
a person who saves someone or something from danger, harm, or captivity
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searcher
B1
/ˈsɝtʃɚ/
a person who searches for, investigates, or carefully examines something
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petitioner
C1
/pəˈtɪʃənɚ/
Someone who presents a petition to some person in authority.
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worldview
B2
The overall way a person or group sees and understands life and the world.
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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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protester
B2
/pɹəˈtɛstəɹ/
A person who publicly shows strong disagreement with something, often as part of a group.
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exhibitionist
C1
/ˌɛksəˈbɪʃənɪst/
someone who behaves in a way designed to attract attention to themselves
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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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dependant
A2
/dɪˈpɛndənt/
a person who relies on another person for support (especially financial support)
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egoist
C1
/ˈiːɡoʊɪst/
a person who is chiefly concerned with their own interests and gives little regard to others
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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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whaler
C1
/ˈweɪlɚ/
a person who hunts whales or works in the whaling industry
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inhabitant
B1
/ɪnˈhæb.ɪ.tənt/
A person or animal that lives in a particular place.
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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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bookseller
B2
/ˈbʊkˌsɛlɚ/
a person whose business is selling books
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stargazer
C1
/ˈstɑːɹˌɡeɪzɚ/
a person who observes the stars, especially an amateur astronomer
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reformer
B2
/rɪˈfɔːrmɚ/
a person who works to improve or change an institution, law, religion, or society
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microcosm
C2
/ˈmaɪ.kɹəˌkɑz.əm/
The human body; a person.
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wigwam
C2+
/ˈwɪɡwɑːm/
Any more or less similar dwelling used by indigenous people in other parts of the world.
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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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personage
C1
/ˈpɝsənɪd͡ʒ/
A person, especially one who is famous or important.
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dignitary
C1
/ˈdɪɡ.nəˌter.i/
a person who holds a high rank or important public office
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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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possessor
C1
/pəˈzɛsɝ/
A person who owns or holds something.
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triumvirate
C2
/traɪˈʌmvɝət/
a group of three people who share authority or responsibility
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passer
B2
/ˈpæs.ɚ/
a person who passes by a place, especially in the compound passer-by
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milkmaid
C2
/ˈmɪlkmeɪd/
a woman who works in a dairy
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deliverer
B2
/dɪˈlɪv.ɚ.ɚ/
a person who rescues or frees others from danger, captivity, or oppression
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deckhand
C1
/ˈdɛkˌhænd/
a member of a ship or boat crew who performs manual work on deck
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legislator
B2
/ˈlɛd͡ʒɪˌsleɪtɚ/
A person who makes or votes on laws, especially a member of a parliament or congress.
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populist
C2+
/ˈpɑ.pjə.lɪst/
A person who advocates populism (a movement against ruling elites who are presumed not to act in the interests of the ordinary citizen).
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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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proponent
B2
/pɹəˈpoʊnənt/
A person who supports an idea, plan, or cause; an advocate.
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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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mourner
B1
/ˈmɔrnɚ/
a person who feels or expresses grief, especially after someone's death
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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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islander
B2
/ˈaɪləndɚ/
A person who lives on an island
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lunkhead
C2
/ˈlʌnk.hɛd/
informal and insulting: a stupid, clumsy, or slow-witted person
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intonation
B2
/ˌɪntəˈneɪʃən/
the pattern of rising and falling pitch in a person's speech
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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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profiteer
B2
/ˌprɑfəˈtɪr/
a person who makes excessive or unfair profit, especially from scarcity or an emergency
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comradeship
C1
/ˈkɑːmreɪdʃɪp/
friendship, trust, and solidarity among people who live, work, or face difficulty together
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heigh
C2+
/heɪ/
an exclamation used to attract attention, urge someone on, or express surprise
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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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discoverer
C1
/dɪˈskʌvəɹəɹ/
One who discovers: a person who has discovered something.
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