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.
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All 27,899 wordsC2+ is beyond the official CEFR scale: rare, specialist, and literary words kept for reference.
2191 words
hagiography
C2
/ˌhæɡiˈɒɡrəfi/
a biography of a saint or venerated person, often idealized or exaggerated
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infatuation
C1
/ɪnˌfætʃuˈeɪʃən/
an intense but short-lived passion or admiration for someone or something
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lunatic
B2
/ˈluːnətɪk/
a person with severe mental illness
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physiognomy
C2
/ˌfɪziˈɑːɡnəmi/
a person's facial features or expression, especially when regarded as indicative of character
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seer
C1
/ˈsiːɚ/
a person who is able to predict the future or has insight into future events
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sycophancy
C2
/ˈsɪkəfənsi/
excessive flattery, servile compliance, or obsequious behavior intended to gain favor or advantage from someone in power
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ma'am
C2+
/mæm/
A form of address for a woman: contraction of madam.
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cultivator
C1
/ˈkʌltəˌveɪtər/
a person or tool that cultivates land, plants, or crops
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moralist
C1
/ˈmɔrəlɪst/
a person who teaches, studies, or emphasizes moral principles
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mender
B2
/ˈmɛndər/
a person who repairs something
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so-and-so
B2
/ˈsoʊənˌsoʊ/
an unspecified or unnamed person or thing
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congener
C2
/ˈkɒnd͡ʒɪnə/
a person or thing of the same kind or class as another
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maltster
C2
/ˈmɔːl(t)stər/
a person or business that makes malt from grain, especially barley
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book-body
C2+
/ˈbʊkˌbɑː.di/
a learned or book-educated person, in northern English dialect
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halflin
C2+
/ˈhæf.lɪn/
Scottish and northern English dialect: a half-grown or adolescent person, historically especially a boy employed on a farm
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vivisector
C2
/ˈvɪvəˌsɛktər/
a person who performs vivisection or experiments involving operations on living animals
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choregus
C2+
/kəˈɹiː.ɡəs/
in ancient Greece, a wealthy citizen who financed and supervised a chorus for a public dramatic or musical performance
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prytanis
C2+
/ˈprɪt.ə.nɪs/
a member of the prytany, the section of the Athenian council serving for a fixed period as its presiding executive committee
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polyandrist
C2
/ˌpɑliˈændrɪst/
a person who practices polyandry; in its marital sense, a woman who has more than one husband at the same time
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scytheman
C2
/ˈsaɪðmən/
a person who cuts grass or grain with a scythe; a mower
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cowardy-cat
C2+
/ˈkaʊ.ɚ.diˌkæt/
informal, chiefly childish or dialectal: a timid or cowardly person, especially as a taunting form of address
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eugenist
C2
/juːˈdʒen.ɪst/
historical: an advocate or practitioner of eugenics, the discredited program of attempting to control human reproduction according to supposed hereditary quality
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young'un
C2+
/ˈjʌŋən/
a child or young person, in informal or regional speech
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impugner
C2+
/ɪmˈpjuː.nɚ/
a person who challenges the truth, validity, integrity, or reputation of someone or something
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fire-worshiper
C2
/ˈfaɪr ˌwɝː.ʃɪ.pɚ/
a person who worships or religiously venerates fire
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unadept
C2
/ˌʌnəˈdɛpt/
a person who lacks skill or proficiency; rare
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gold seeker
C1
/ˈɡoʊld ˌsiː.kɚ/
a person who searches or prospects for gold, especially someone drawn to a gold-rush region
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scissors-grinder
C2
/ˈsɪz.ɚz ˌɡraɪn.dɚ/
historical: a person, often an itinerant craft worker, who sharpens scissors and other cutting tools on a grinding wheel
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cabful
C2+
/ˈkæb.fʊl/
as many people or as much material as a cab can hold
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assentation
C2
/ˌæsɛnˈteɪʃən/
rare: ready, servile, or insincere agreement offered to flatter or please someone
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fish curer
C2
/ˈfɪʃ ˌkjʊrɚ/
a person or business that preserves fish by salting, drying, smoking, pickling, or another curing process
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engrosser
C2
/ɪnˈɡroʊsɚ/
historical commerce: a person who buys up a commodity in bulk in order to control its supply or raise its price
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fellow creature
C2+
/ˌfɛl.oʊ ˈkɹiː.tʃɚ/
another person or living being regarded as sharing one's nature, condition, or claim to humane treatment
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disapprover
C2+
/ˌdɪsəˈpruːvər/
a person who regards something as wrong, undesirable, or unacceptable
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neatherd
C2+
/ˈniːtˌhɝːd/
archaic: a person who tends cattle or oxen; a cowherd
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querist
C2
/ˈkwɪrɪst/
formal or archaic: a person who asks a question or makes an inquiry
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presentee
C2
/ˌprɛzənˈtiː/
a person formally presented or nominated for an office, benefice, award, or other position
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saltmaker
C2
/ˈsɔltˌmeɪkər/
a person or business that produces salt, especially by evaporating brine or seawater
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knife grinder
C2+
/ˈnaɪf ˌɡraɪndɚ/
a person whose trade is sharpening knives and other edged tools, traditionally while traveling from place to place
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panegyrist
C2
/ˌpænəˈdʒɪrɪst/
a person who composes or delivers a panegyric, praising someone or something formally and often extravagantly
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averter
C2
/əˈvɝtɚ/
a person, power, or thing that prevents or turns away danger, harm, or another unwanted event
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banqueter
C2+
/ˈbænkwɪtɚ/
a person who attends or takes part in a banquet or elaborate feast
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encomiast
C2+
/ɛnˈkoʊmiˌæst/
a person who composes or delivers an encomium or other formal expression of high praise
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provisor
C2
/prəˈvaɪzər/
historical church law: a person appointed by papal provision to a benefice, sometimes before the office became vacant
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kittly-benders
C2+
/ˈkɪtliˌbɛndɚz/
thin ice that bends under a person's weight
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gainsayer
C2
/ˈɡeɪnˌseɪɚ/
a person who contradicts, denies, or opposes a claim
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asserter
C2
/əˈsɝtɚ/
a person who states or maintains a claim firmly and positively
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conformer
C2
/kənˈfɔrmɚ/
a person who follows prevailing rules, customs, or opinions rather than acting independently
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controversialist
C2
/ˌkɑntrəˈvɝʃəlɪst/
a person who regularly engages in public controversy or polemical debate
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roturier
C2
/roʊˈtʊriˌeɪ/
historical: a commoner, especially a person who belonged to neither the nobility nor the clergy in pre-Revolutionary France
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caviler
C2+
/ˈkævəlɚ/
a person who raises trivial, captious, or unreasonable objections
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cosmogonist
C2+
/kɑːzˈmɑːɡənɪst/
a person who studies the origin and development of the universe or proposes a theory about it
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arriero
C2
/ˌɑːriˈeroʊ/
a muleteer or other person who transports goods using pack animals, especially in Spanish-speaking regions
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wassailer
C2+
/ˈwɑsələr/
a person who carouses or drinks and celebrates noisily
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old maid
C2+
/ˌoʊld ˈmeɪd/
dated and often derogatory: an older unmarried woman
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astigmat
C2+
/əˈstɪɡmæt/
rare or technical: a person who has astigmatism
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coenobite
C2+
/ˈsiːnəbaɪt/
a monk or other member of a religious community who lives under a common rule, as distinct from a solitary hermit
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mystagogue
C2
/ˈmɪstəˌɡɑɡ/
historical religion: a person who guides an initiate into the rites and doctrines of a mystery cult
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polygenist
C2+
/pəˈlɪdʒənɪst/
historical: an advocate of polygenism, the now-discredited doctrine that human populations or supposed races had separate origins and could constitute different species
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monogenist
C2+
/məˈnɑːdʒənɪst/
historical: an advocate of monogenism, the view that all human populations share a single origin and belong to one species
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love-philter
C2+
/ˈlʌvˌfɪltɚ/
a potion or charm believed to make a person fall in love
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Lotuko
C2+
/ləˈtuːkoʊ/
a member of the Otuho, a Nilotic people whose traditional homeland is in Eastern Equatoria, South Sudan
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Vedda
C2
/ˈvɛdə/
a member of an Indigenous minority people of Sri Lanka, also known by the self-designation Wanniyalaeto
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taxer
C1
/ˈtæksɝ/
a person or authority that imposes or assesses taxes
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varletry
C2+
/ˈvɑɹlɪtri/
a disorderly crowd of common people, viewed with contempt
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insomniast
C2+
/ɪnˈsɑmniˌæst/
a person who suffers from insomnia; a rare term for an insomniac
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congratulator
C2+
/kənˈɡrætʃ.əˌleɪ.tɚ/
A person who congratulates
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ephebus
C2+
/ɪˈfiː.bəs/
a young man of ancient Greece, especially one undergoing civic or military training
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expurgator
C2+
/ˈɛk.spɚˌɡeɪ.tɚ/
a person who edits a text by removing obscene or offensive words or passages
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inflicter
C2+
/ɪnˈflɪktəɹ/
a person or thing that causes something painful, harmful, or unwelcome
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ragtag
C1
/ˈræɡˌtæɡ/
Made up of a mixed, poorly organized, or shabby collection of people or things.
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entourage
B2
/ˈɑn.tə.ɹɑʒ/
A group of people who travel with and support an important person.
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belong to
A2
to be owned by someone or to be part of a group
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sidle up to
C2
to seek someone's favor through sly or insincere friendliness
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sit on
A1
to be a member of an official body such as a committee, board, or jury
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step forward
A2
to volunteer or take action when help or responsibility is needed
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tide over
B1
to help someone manage until a difficult period ends or more support arrives
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watch over
A1
to keep someone or something under attentive observation
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astroturf
C1
/ˈæstɹoʊˌtɝf/
to manufacture apparent public support for a cause or product while disguising its organized sponsorship
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