The top 1,000 vocabulary words have been carefully chosen to represent difficult but common words that appear in everyday academic and business writing. These words are also the most likely to appear on the SAT, ACT, GRE, and ToEFL.
To create this list, we started with the words that give our users the most trouble and then ranked them by how frequently they appear in our corpus of billions of words from edited sources. If you only have time to study one list of words, this is the list.
corpulent, benighted, sententious, cabal, paraphernalia, vitiate, adulation, quaff, unassuming, libertine, maul, adage, expostulation, tawdry, trite, hireling, ensconce, egregious, cogent, incisive, errant, sedulous, incandescent, derelict, entomology, execrable, sluice, moot, evanescent, vat, dapper, asperity, flair, mote, circumspect, inimical, apropos, gruel, gentility, disapprobation, cameo, gouge, oratorio, inclement, scintilla, confluence, squalor, stricture, emblazon, augury, abut, banal, congeal, pilfer, malcontent, sublimate, eugenic, lineament, firebrand, fiasco, foolhardy, retrench, ulterior, equable, inured, invidious, unmitigated, concomitant, cozen, phlegmatic, dormer, pontifical, disport, apologist, abeyance, enclave, improvident, disquisition, categorical, placate, redolent, felicitous, gusty, natty, pacifist, buxom, heyday, herculean, burgeon, crone, prognosticate, lout, simper, iniquitous, rile, sentient, garish, readjustment, erstwhile, aquiline
excessively fat
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Obesity is very common, but chiefly among the women, who while still quite young often become enormously corpulent.
—D'Anvers, N.
lacking enlightenment or knowledge or culture
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: I alone was magnificently and absurdly aware—everyone else was benightedly out of it.
—James, Henry
abounding in or given to pompous or aphoristic moralizing
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: He is the village wise man; very sententious; and full of profound remarks on shallow subjects.
—Irving, Washington
a clique (often secret) that seeks power usually through intrigue
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Supposedly, see, there's this global cabal of scientists conspiring to bring about socialist oneworld government.
—Salon (Jul 7, 2010)
equipment consisting of miscellaneous articles needed for a particular operation or sport etc.
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: It's outfitted with cricket bats and other antique sports paraphernalia.
—Seattle Times (Sep 27, 2011)
make imperfect
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: His talent in writing is vitiated by his affectation and other faults.
—Blair, Emma Helen
servile flattery; exaggerated and hypocritical praise
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: And celebrities get all this adulation for something that is not about character, it's about talent.
—Salon (Jan 10, 2011)
to swallow hurriedly or greedily or in one draught
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Meanwhile the officers under the tree had got served, and, cups in hand, were quaffing joyously.
—Reid, Mayne
not arrogant or presuming
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Parr's conduct after his most heroic actions was thoroughly modest and unassuming.
—Greely, Adolphus W.
a dissolute person; usually a man who is morally unrestrained
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Still, Mr. Awlaki was neither among the most conservative Muslim students nor among the libertines who tossed aside religious restrictions on drinking and sex.
—New York Times (May 8, 2010)
injure badly by beating
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Hundreds of concert goers were mauled as they left by what The New York Times called “bands of roving youths.”
—New York Times (Aug 17, 2011)
a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: So he focuses on the fans and embraces the adage, “Living well is the best revenge.”
—New York Times (Mar 25, 2011)
the act of expressing earnest opposition or protest
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: He even believed he saw visions with his own bodily eyes, and no expostulations of his friends could drive this belief out of his head.
—Hoffmann, E. T. A. (Ernst Theodor Amadeus)
tastelessly showy
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: It was a tawdry affair, all Cupids and cornucopias, like a third-rate wedding cake.
—Wilde, Oscar
repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: The subject—a deathbed scene—might seem at first sight to be a trite and common one.
—Lancey, Magdalene de
a person who works only for money
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Why should I?—a mere police detective, who had been hired to do a service and paid for it like any other hireling.
—Hanshew, Thomas W.
fix firmly
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Though she is firmly ensconced in a writing career, Ms. Freud, 48, said that in the early days she missed acting terribly.
—New York Times (Oct 30, 2011)
conspicuously and outrageously bad or reprehensible
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: “These offenses are very serious, even egregious,” the judge said.
—Washington Post (Sep 12, 2011)
powerfully persuasive
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: His thesis was too cogent, and appealed too powerfully to all classes of the Upper Canada community, to be anything but irresistible.
—Morison, J. L. (John Lyle)
having or demonstrating ability to recognize or draw fine distinctions
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: A half-hour of informed and incisive questioning by Mr. Russert would have demolished Mr. Trump.
—New York Times (May 1, 2011)
straying from the right course or from accepted standards
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: As the crowd voiced its displeasure, the referees made sure Wisconsin got the ball, but pass was errant and rolled out of bounds at midcourt.
—Seattle Times (Feb 28, 2012)
marked by care and persistent effort
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Sedulous attention and painstaking industry always mark the true worker.
—Calhoon, Major A.R.
characterized by ardent emotion or intensity or brilliance
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Kirkwood's anger cooled apace; at worst it had been a flare of passion—incandescent.
—Vance, Louis Joseph
in deplorable condition
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Others are clustered under a tin awning by a derelict railway station or in similarly run-down school buildings.
—Time (Jan 5, 2011)
the branch of zoology that studies insects
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: From the department of entomology you expect to learn something about the troublesome insects, which are so universal an annoyance.
—Latham, A. W.
unequivocally detestable
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: But minds were so overexcited at the time that the parties mutually accused each other, on all occasions, of the most execrable crimes.
—Imbert de Saint-Amand, Arthur Léon, baron
pour as if from a sluice
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: At 4:15 p.m., as the rain was sluicing off roofs in sheets, the firemen moved the trucks to higher ground.
—New York Times (Aug 31, 2011)
of no legal significance (as having been previously decided)
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: The statement from Hermitage said even in the Soviet period no defendant had been tried after death, when charges were generally considered moot.
—New York Times (Feb 7, 2012)
tending to vanish like vapor
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Time seems stopped but it is moving on, and every glimmer of light is evanescent, flitting.
—The Guardian (Apr 15, 2010)
a large open vessel for holding or storing liquids
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: The cream remains in the large vat about twenty-four hours before it is churned.
—Chamberlain, James Franklin
marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Thoroughly dapper, he took off his black -and-white pinstriped suit jacket — with its pocket-square flair — and weaved in and out among them, his voice ever rising.
—New York Times (Jan 22, 2011)
harshness of manner
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: All this proceeds from the old man, whose proper character it is to be angry and bitter, and to exhibit rancor and asperity.
—Arndt, Johann
a natural talent
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: In fact, while Lamarr qualified as an inventive genius for her artistic flair, she fell somewhat short on her scientific acumen.
—Slate (Nov 28, 2011)
(nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: He took his discharge out of his pocket, brushed every mote of dust from the table, and spread the document before their eyes.
—Auerbach, Berthold
heedful of potential consequences
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Obama administration officials argue that new regulations are forcing insurers to be more circumspect about raising rates.
—New York Times (Sep 27, 2011)
not friendly
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: The Hindu idea is that so long as justice and equity characterise a king’s rule, even beasts naturally inimical are disposed to live in friendship.
—Kingscote, Mrs. Howard
of an appropriate or pertinent nature
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: I found myself thinking vaguely about things that were not at all apropos to the situation.
—Stockley, Cynthia
a thin porridge (usually oatmeal or cornmeal)
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: He says, keep them on just two pints of Indian-meal gruel—by which he appears to mean thin hasty pudding—a day, and no more.
—Alcott, William A. (William Andrus)
elegance by virtue of fineness of manner and expression
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: This was no rough bully of the seas; Carew's bearing and dandified apparel bespoke gentility.
—Springer, Norman
an expression of strong disapproval; pronouncing as wrong or morally culpable
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Mr Ruthven shook his head and declared that he regarded the conduct of her persecutors with grave moral disapprobation.
—Wheeler, E.J.
engraving or carving in low relief on a stone (as in a brooch or ring)
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: The trinket was a small round cameo cut out of mother-of-pearl and set in gold; it represented St. George and the dragon.
—JKai, Mr
obtain by coercion or intimidation
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Shortages also have raised concerns about higher prices and gouging by wholesale drug companies that obtain supplies of hard-to-get drugs and jack up the costs.
—Seattle Times (Jan 20, 2012)
a musical composition for voices and orchestra based on a religious text
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Mendelssohn had no sooner completed his first oratorio, "St. Paul," than he began to think about setting another Bible story to music.
—Edwards, Frederick George
(of weather or climate) severe
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Be prepared for inclement weather and possible ice and snow on park roads.
—Seattle Times (Oct 16, 2011)
a tiny or scarcely detectable amount
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Gardner "never expressed one scintilla of remorse for his attack upon the victim" despite overwhelming evidence, prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo.
—Salon (Mar 3, 2010)
a flowing together
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: And indeed, before the 13th century, there was an extraordinary confluence of genius and innovation, particularly around Baghdad.
—New York Times (Dec 28, 2010)
sordid dirtiness
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: What can be expected of human beings, crowded in such miserable habitations, living in filth and squalor, and often pinched with hunger?
—Field, Henry M. (Henry Martyn)
severe criticism
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: While gratefully accepting the generous praises of our friends, we must briefly reply to some strictures by our critics.
—Stanton, Elizabeth Cady
decorate with heraldic arms
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: His coat of arms was emblazoned on the cover.
—Mason, A. E. W. (Alfred Edward Woodley)
an event that is experienced as indicating important things to come
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: This is always an encouraging sign, and an augury of success.
—Alger, Horatio
lie adjacent to another or share a boundary
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: It depicts a mountain landscape near Kingston, a historic town abutting the Hudson River.
—New York Times (Jan 8, 2010)
repeated too often; overfamiliar through overuse
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Highly dramatic incidents are juxtaposed with comparatively banal ones; particular attention is given to tales of doomed love affairs.
—New York Times (Dec 4, 2011)
become gelatinous
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Boil down the syrup to half its original quantity, but take care that it does not boil long enough to congeal or become thick .
—Baru?, Sulpice
make off with belongings of others
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Many young people scavenge for reusable garbage, living on proceeds from pilfered construction material and other recyclables.
—Seattle Times (Feb 8, 2012)
a person who is discontented or disgusted
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Now, unfortunately, some malcontents among the hands here have spread their ideas, and a strike has been called.
—Maitland, Robert
direct energy or urges into useful activities
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: They might instead have passionate friendships, or sublimate their urges into other pursuits.
—New York Times (Jun 4, 2010)
pertaining to or causing improvement in the offspring produced
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Eugenics was aimed at creating a better society by filtering out people considered undesirable, ranging from criminals to those imprecisely designated as “feeble-minded.”
—Washington Post (Aug 1, 2011)
the characteristic parts of a person's face: eyes and nose and mouth and chin
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: The tears stood in Muriel's eyes, and her face was very pale, but serenity marked every lineament.
—Davidson, John
someone who deliberately foments trouble
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: But Hassan is not some teenage firebrand hurling rocks; he’s a slight, graying scholar committed to peace.
—New York Times (Jun 9, 2011)
a sudden and violent collapse
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: The Stuttgart protests became a national fiasco in late September, when protesters clashed with police wielding batons and water cannons.
—Newsweek (Dec 14, 2010)
marked by defiant disregard for danger or consequences
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Many mistakes—extravagant purchases, foolhardy investments—are made in the first months after a windfall.
—Wall Street Journal (Feb 24, 2012)
tighten one's belt; use resources carefully
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: But there was only one way open to me at present—and that was to retrench my expenses.
—Caine, Hall, Sir
lying beyond what is openly revealed or avowed (especially being kept in the background or deliberately concealed)
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Shop window displays may help prettify shopping thoroughfares, but any savvy retailer has the ulterior motive of self promotion.
—BBC (Feb 3, 2010)
not varying
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: His must have been that calm, equable temperament not easily ruffled, which goes with the selfrespecting nature.
—Hurll, Estelle M. (Estelle May)
made tough by habitual exposure
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: But he had become inured to the rush and whirr of missiles, and now paid no heed whatever to them.
—Mitford, Bertram
containing or implying a slight or showing prejudice
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: "After an old-fashioned, all-round team performance … it might seem invidious to single out one player," admits the paper before singling out one player.
—The Guardian (Jun 24, 2010)
not diminished or moderated in intensity or severity; sometimes used as an intensifier
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: In order to be well directed, sympathy must consider all men, and not the individual alone; only then is it an unmitigated good.
—Williams, C. M.
an event or situation that happens at the same time as or in connection with another
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: The conclusion must be drawn that every epidemic of bubonic plague is caused by the concomitant rat plague.
—Scientific American (Jan 21, 2011)
cheat or trick
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Dicing-houses, where cheaters meet, and cozen young men out of their money.
—Various
showing little emotion
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Humanity, when surfeited with emotion, becomes calm, almost phlegmatic.
—Tracy, Louis
a gabled extension built out from a sloping roof to accommodate a vertical window
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Other features, such as the front French doors and two roof dormers with curved-top windows and operable shutters, give this home a pleasing, well-balanced presence.
—Southern Living (Apr 14, 2010)
denoting or governed by or relating to a bishop or bishops
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: The high priest made no resistance, but went forth in his pontifical robes, followed by the people in white garments, to meet the mighty warrior.
—Lord, John
occupy in an agreeable, entertaining or pleasant fashion
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Straightway the glade in which they sat was filled with knights, ladies, maidens, and esquires, who danced and disported themselves right joyously.
—Spence, Lewis
a person who argues to defend or justify some policy or institution
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Tories, and apologists for Great Britain, have written much about a justification for this action, but there is no real justification.
—Barce, Elmore
temporary cessation or suspension
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: My feelings of home-sickness had returned with redoubled strength after being long in abeyance.
—Boldrewood, Rolf
an enclosed territory that is culturally distinct from the foreign territory that surrounds it
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: And its suburban schools, rather than being exclusive enclaves, include children whose parents can't afford a house in the neighborhood.
—Washington Post (Jan 11, 2011)
not provident; not providing for the future
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: He was industrious but improvident; he made money and he lost it.
—Hubbard, Elbert
an elaborate analytical or explanatory essay or discussion
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Cumulatively, what emerges from To Kill a Mockingbird is a thoughtful disquisition that encompasses – and goes beyond – the question of racial bias at its worst.
—The Guardian (Jul 9, 2010)
not modified or restricted by reservations
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: "European leaders were united, categorical and crystal clear: Gaddafi must go," British Prime Minister David Cameron said.
—Time (Mar 12, 2011)
cause to be more favorably inclined; gain the good will of
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: The East India Company was placated by the concession of further exemptions in its favour.
—Smith, A. D.
serving to bring to mind
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Here, however, are congregated a vast number of curious and interesting objects, while the place is redolent of vivid historical associations.
—Ballou, Maturin Murray
exhibiting an agreeably appropriate manner or style
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: The first book is the finest, sparkling with felicitous expressions and rising frequently to true poetry.
—Dennis, John
blowing in puffs or short intermittent blasts
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Winds could get gusty, occasionally blowing at more than 30 miles per hour.
—Reuters (Mar 29, 2011)
marked by up-to-dateness in dress and manners
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: He wore a checked suit, very natty, and was more than usually tall and fine-looking.
—Green, Anna Katharine
opposed to war
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: He was, furthermore, a real pacifist, believing that war is debasing morally and disastrous economically.
—Seymour, Charles
(of a female body) healthily plump and vigorous
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Mrs. Connelly—a round, rosy, buxom Irishwoman, with a mellow voice, laughing eye, and artist-red hair—was very much taken with their plan.
—Douglas, Amanda Minnie
the period of greatest prosperity or productivity
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Playboy's most popular years are well behind it - the magazine enjoyed its heyday in the 1970s.
—Washington Post (Jan 10, 2011)
displaying superhuman strength or power
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: He made herculean efforts to get on terms with his examination subjects, and worked harder than he had ever done in his life before.
—Marshall, Archibald
grow and flourish
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Brooklyn's burgeoning dining scene has even developed a following among Manhattan food lovers.
—Reuters (Oct 4, 2011)
an ugly evil-looking old woman
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: The aged crone wrinkled her forehead and lifted her grizzled eyebrows, still without looking at him.
—Myrick , Frank
make a prediction about; tell in advance
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: How strange it is that our dreams often prognosticate coming events!
—Huth, Alexander
an awkward stupid person
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: But this question was beyond the poor lout's intelligence; he could only blubber and fend off possible chastisement.
—Williams, J. Scott (John Scott)
smile affectedly or derisively
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Mrs. Barnett's mouth simpered at the implied flattery; but her eyes, always looking calculatingly for substantial results, were studying Reedy Jenkins.
—Hamby, William H. (William Henry)
characterized by iniquity; wicked because it is believed to be a sin
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: This was some piece of wickedness concocted by the venomous brain of the iniquitous Vicar, more abominable than all his other wickednesses.
—Trollope, Anthony
cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: The prospect of seeing Ms. Palin tour Alaska’s wild habitats may rile some people who oppose her opinions about climate change.
—New York Times (Mar 25, 2010)
endowed with feeling and unstructured consciousness
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: The money fluttered from his hand to the floor, where it lay like a sentient thing, staring back as if mocking him.
—Hitchcock , Lucius W.
tastelessly showy
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: With its opulently garish sets and knee-jerk realism, the production dwarfed the cast, no matter what stars were singing.
—New York Times (Jan 2, 2011)
the act of adjusting again (to changed circumstances)
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: While earpieces are not uncomfortable, they do sometimes come loose, requiring readjustment.
—Slate (Apr 17, 2012)
belonging to some prior time
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: Sony, whose erstwhile dominance in consumer electronics has been eroded by the likes of Samsung, could beat rivals to a potentially new generation of devices.
—Reuters (May 20, 2010)
curved down like an eagle's beak
EXAMPLE SENTENCE: The nose slightly aquiline, curving at the nostril; while luxuriant hair, in broad plaits, fell far below her waist.
—Various