Comprehensive Glossary of Advanced English Terms

Essential Vocabulary List

• Uncanny: Extraordinary; unimaginable; seemingly supernatural.
• Underlying: Basic; fundamental; only noticeable under scrutiny.
• Undermine: To impair; to subvert; to weaken by excavating underneath.
• Underpinning: A system of supports beneath; a foundation or basis.
• Underscore: To underline; to emphasize.
• Underwrite: To sponsor; to subsidize; to insure.
• Unilateral: Involving one side only; done on behalf of one side only; one-sided; not mutual.
• Usury: Lending money at an extremely high rate of interest.
• Vacuous: Empty of content; lacking in ideas or intelligence.
• Vagary: Whim; unpredictable action; wild notion.
• Vanquish: To conquer; to overpower.
• Veneer: Facade; coating; outward appearance.
• Verdant: Covered with green plants; leafy; inexperienced.
• Verge: Border; brink; edge.
• Verity: The quality of being true; something true.
• Vie: To compete; to contest; to struggle.
• Vigilant: Constantly alert; watchful; wary.
• Vignette: A small, decorative design or drawing; a short literary sketch; a brief but expressive scene in a play or movie.
• Viscous: Thick; gluey; sticky.
• Vivacious: Lively; animated; full of pep.
• Synopsis: A brief summary or general survey of something.
• Seminary: A college that prepares students to be priests, ministers, or rabbis.
• Placate: To make someone less angry or hostile.
• Proclaim: To announce officially or publicly.
• Savor: To taste and enjoy completely; to have a suggestion or trace of; a characteristic taste.
• Distant: Unfriendly.
• Quandary: A state of perplexity or uncertainty over what to do in a difficult situation.
• Miser: A person who hoards wealth and spends as little money as possible.
• Resplendent: Attractive and impressive through being richly colorful or sumptuous.
• Lure: To tempt to do something or to go somewhere; something that tempts or is used to tempt a person or animal.
• Obstinate: Stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or chosen course of action, despite attempts to persuade.
• Ascendancy: Occupation of a position of dominant power or influence.
• Sobriety (Sober): The state of being sober; not affected by alcohol; not drunk.
• Erroneous: Wrong; incorrect.
• Threadbare: Becoming thin and tattered with age; poor or shabby in appearance.
• Unsung: Not celebrated or praised.
• Rectify: To put right; to correct; to convert to direct current.
• Vulgarian: An unrefined person, especially one with newly acquired power or wealth.
• Wake: To emerge or cause to emerge; the track left when something moves, especially a boat.
• Anxiety (Anxious): A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.