Essential English Vocabulary for Professional and Personal Success

Decision Making and Career Development

• Decision Making: A wise decision, be faced with, feel uncertain about, give priority to, have the freedom to, lose out, reach a decision, settle on, struggle, take advice, think over, weigh up.
• Professional Terms: Account, current, hands-on, invest, get a foot in the door, on the lookout, result in, suit.
• Career Path: Growing industry, pension plan, reference letter, starting salary, vacant position, be made redundant, be self-employed, get a promotion, health insurance, perks of the job, work overtime, be fired, board, lead, set, fold, point.

Financial Literacy and Time Management

• Finance: Allowance, balance, blessing, debit card, donate, fortune, income, live on, repay debt, savings, small change, wealthy.
• Payment Verbs: Pay with, pay by, pay in, pay a bill, pay for.
• Financial Phrasal Verbs: Break into, come into, get by, put aside, run up, take out.
• Time and Stress: Astonishment, bizarre, call out, calm down, come up, heated, hold back, incredulous, overwhelmed, pull yourself together, bad timing, buy something, deadline, get down to, held up, on hold, on schedule, overdue, put off, queuing.

Social Change and Modern Living

• Impact and Change: Influence, inspire, take action, make improvements, make a world of difference, overcome difficulties, remarkable achievements, seek ways to improve, transform, turning point, considerable change, dramatic change, far-reaching change, subtle change, unexpected change, refreshing change.
• Urban Life: City-dwelling, doorstep, complex, thrive, trace into, go through, surroundings, turn into, take over, under the radar, come up against, get on with, downfall, drop off, setback, upbringing, changeover, look back on, miss out on, keep up with, stand up for.
• Societal Issues: Ageing population, a tiny minority, become homeless, end poverty, individual privacy, own your own property, population growth, protect your identity, senior citizens.
• Lifestyle Idioms: Live and learn, live for the moment, live on, live the dream, live it up, live in the past, date back to, essential, infinite, instantly, join in, joy, line up, remote, truly, unfamiliar, affordable, appealing, convenient, efficient, effortless, first-rate, standard, unbeatable, well-established, worthwhile.

Creativity, Innovation, and Scientific Inquiry

• Creativity: Boost, daydream, dream up, emerge, explore, follow through, get inspiration, get stuck, stick with, stimulate, auction, bang about, bring up, check out, intrigued, on a par, portrait, sophisticated, species, a flash of inspiration, capture people’s imagination, follow a train of thought, think on your feet, think out loud, think outside the box.
• Authenticity: Actual, counterfeit, pretend, resemble, genuine, original, replica, similarity.
• Scientific Research: Adopt an approach, analyse, conduct, demonstrate the possibility that, field of study, major breakthrough, observe, procedure, process data, provide evidence, test a theory, variety of sources, guinea pig, side effects, wish ahead, quantum leap, rocket science, trial and error.
• Health and Phrasal Verbs: Come about, come to light, discomfort, distinguish, make out, mutation, personal hygiene, pick up, treatment, widespread, bring up, go over, hook up, look at, plug in, rely on, show off, take after, take away, take in.