Word Bank

Glossary of difficult words difficult words

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42 of 42 words
  • Abbreviation

    noun Writing /əˌbriː.viˈeɪ.ʃən/

    A short form of a word or phrase.

    e.g. “Dr.” is an abbreviation of “Doctor.”

  • Adjective

    noun Grammar /ˈædʒ.ɪk.tɪv/

    A word that describes a noun (a person, place, or thing).

    e.g. In “a happy child,” happy is an adjective.

  • Adverb

    noun Grammar /ˈæd.vɜːb/

    A word that describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

    e.g. She runs quickly. (quickly is an adverb)

  • Articulate

    adjective Speaking /ɑːˈtɪk.jə.lət/

    Able to speak clearly and well.

    e.g. She is a very articulate speaker.

  • Bilingual

    adjective Speaking /baɪˈlɪŋ.ɡwəl/

    Able to use two languages well.

    e.g. He is bilingual in English and Urdu.

  • Clause

    noun Grammar /klɔːz/

    A group of words with a subject and a verb.

    e.g. “She left early” is a clause.

  • Collocation

    noun Vocabulary /ˌkɒl.əˈkeɪ.ʃən/

    Two or more words that often go together.

    e.g. “Heavy rain” is a common collocation.

  • Comprehension

    noun Reading /ˌkɒm.prɪˈhen.ʃən/

    Understanding what you read or hear.

    e.g. Reading every day improves comprehension.

  • Conjunction

    noun Grammar /kənˈdʒʌŋk.ʃən/

    A word that joins two ideas, like and, but, or because.

    e.g. I was tired, but I finished the book.

  • Context

    noun Reading /ˈkɒn.tekst/

    The other words or situation that help explain a word’s meaning.

    e.g. Guess the meaning from the context.

  • Determiner

    noun Grammar /dɪˈtɜː.mɪ.nər/

    A short word before a noun, like a, the, this, my.

    e.g. The book is on this table.

  • Dialogue

    noun Speaking /ˈdaɪ.ə.lɒɡ/

    A conversation between two or more people.

    e.g. Practice the dialogue with a partner.

  • Diction

    noun Speaking /ˈdɪk.ʃən/

    The way someone pronounces words; word choice in writing.

    e.g. Good actors have very clear diction.

  • Emphasis

    noun Speaking /ˈem.fə.sɪs/

    Extra force or stress on a word or idea.

    e.g. Put the emphasis on the first syllable.

  • Etymology

    noun Vocabulary /ˌet.ɪˈmɒl.ə.dʒi/

    The history of where a word comes from.

    e.g. The etymology of “salary” is the Latin word for salt.

  • Fluent

    adjective Speaking /ˈfluː.ənt/

    Able to speak a language easily and well.

    e.g. She is fluent in three languages.

  • Grammar

    noun Grammar /ˈɡræm.ər/

    The rules for how to put words together.

    e.g. Tenses are part of grammar.

  • Homophone

    noun Vocabulary /ˈhɒm.ə.fəʊn/

    A word that sounds like another word but has a different meaning.

    e.g. “Sea” and “see” are homophones.

  • Idiom

    noun Vocabulary /ˈɪd.i.əm/

    A phrase whose meaning is different from the words in it.

    e.g. “Break a leg” means good luck.

  • Infer

    verb Reading /ɪnˈfɜː/

    To guess something from what you read, hear, or see.

    e.g. I inferred from her smile that she was happy.

  • Intonation

    noun Speaking /ˌɪn.təˈneɪ.ʃən/

    The rise and fall of your voice when you speak.

    e.g. Rising intonation often shows a question.

  • Jargon

    noun Vocabulary /ˈdʒɑː.ɡən/

    Special words used by one job or group.

    e.g. Avoid medical jargon when speaking to patients.

  • Lexicon

    noun Vocabulary /ˈlek.sɪ.kən/

    All the words a person, language, or group knows.

    e.g. A wide lexicon helps you speak naturally.

  • Modifier

    noun Grammar /ˈmɒd.ɪ.faɪ.ər/

    A word that adds detail to another word.

    e.g. In “very tall man,” very is a modifier.

  • Mnemonic

    noun Study /nɪˈmɒn.ɪk/

    A trick or rhyme to help you remember something.

    e.g. “ROYGBIV” is a mnemonic for rainbow colors.

  • Noun

    noun Grammar /naʊn/

    A word for a person, place, thing, or idea.

    e.g. Teacher, school, and freedom are nouns.

  • Obsolete

    adjective Vocabulary /ˈɒb.sə.liːt/

    No longer used, out of date.

    e.g. “Thou” is now obsolete in everyday English.

  • Paragraph

    noun Writing /ˈpær.ə.ɡrɑːf/

    A group of sentences about one main idea.

    e.g. A good essay has clear paragraphs.

  • Paraphrase

    verb Writing /ˈpær.ə.freɪz/

    To say or write something in your own words.

    e.g. Paraphrase the article in two sentences.

  • Phoneme

    noun Speaking /ˈfəʊ.niːm/

    The smallest unit of sound in a word.

    e.g. The word “cat” has three phonemes.

  • Phrasal verb

    noun Vocabulary /ˈfreɪ.zəl ˌvɜːb/

    A verb plus a small word that together has a new meaning.

    e.g. “Give up” means to stop trying.

  • Predicate

    noun Grammar /ˈpred.ɪ.kət/

    The part of a sentence that says what the subject does.

    e.g. In “The cat sleeps,” sleeps is the predicate.

  • Preposition

    noun Grammar /ˌprep.əˈzɪʃ.ən/

    A short word that shows place, time, or direction.

    e.g. on, in, at, before, with — these are prepositions.

  • Pronoun

    noun Grammar /ˈprəʊ.naʊn/

    A word used in place of a noun, like he, she, it, they.

    e.g. Sara called. She is on her way.

  • Pronunciation

    noun Speaking /prəˌnʌn.siˈeɪ.ʃən/

    The way a word is said.

    e.g. Listen to the correct pronunciation.

  • Register

    noun Speaking /ˈredʒ.ɪ.stər/

    How formal or casual your language is.

    e.g. Use a formal register in business emails.

  • Rhetoric

    noun Writing /ˈret.ər.ɪk/

    The art of using language to convince people.

    e.g. Politicians often use clever rhetoric.

  • Synonym

    noun Vocabulary /ˈsɪn.ə.nɪm/

    A word with almost the same meaning as another word.

    e.g. “Big” and “large” are synonyms.

  • Syntax

    noun Grammar /ˈsɪn.tæks/

    The order of words in a sentence.

    e.g. English syntax usually goes subject + verb + object.

  • Tense

    noun Grammar /tens/

    The form of a verb that shows time (past, present, future).

    e.g. “Walked” is the past tense of “walk.”

  • Vocabulary

    noun Vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lər.i/

    All the words you know in a language.

    e.g. Reading is the best way to grow your vocabulary.

  • Verb

    noun Grammar /vɜːb/

    A word that shows an action or a state.

    e.g. Run, eat, and be are verbs.