Basic Words are frequency lists of the most commonly occurring words in English. They are a good approach to augmenting and building upon vocabulary in English. The English lexicon is very large--even most native speakers of English only know a very small percentage of the total number of English words.

It is presumed that the learner of these words has acquired already a rudimentary vocabulary of basic terms in English. What follows are lists of advanced basic terms, coupled with lists of uncommon and more sophisticated terms. It is thought that learning basic words alone is not enough, but this must be bolstered at the same time with the development of a more advanced terminology in special categories or in general reference.

It is good to teach new words on a regular basis. Ten to twenty new words a week is a fairly rigorous regime to teach. Testing once or twice a week for these words, for spelling and meaning, is a good way of inducing active learning. Using the words orally only, without showing them written down either on handouts or on the blackboard, is a way of challenging students to actively use their dictionaries. It is expected that students have access to a good English dictionary and can use this to freely look up all the words below

Of course, long term retention of terms depends not upon their recall on examinations, but on the recurrent and active use of such terminology in reading, writing and spoken activities.

amend

booth

choir

compass

debate

exceed

foggy

gadget

hiccup

idle

idol

kneel

loam

maize

nutrition

owl

paw

refuge

refugee

spade

tardy

vacant

wring

yawn

bellows

biannual

chandelier

depot

epistle

fibula

gloomy

harpoon

indulge

lavendar

mane

Maine

nylon

octopus

pelican

recognition

scheme

tandem

vicinity

biennial

chassis

despise

equatorial

finite

gnu

billiards

chimpanzee

diameter

eraser

flamingo

gobble

haze

imprint

lawn

manger

oculist

okapi

pendulum

recommendation

scorch

taper

tapir

vulture

wizard

biosphere

chrysanthemum

dictator

errand

flask

goblet

bisquit

chinchilla

dime

eskimo

flicker

goblin

helmet

inevitable

lax

mansion

ooze

opium

pennant

rectangle

scorn

tarantula

wobble

blister

chivalry

dimension

essential

flirt

gong

heptagon

inning

accommodate

bacteria

caffeine

dandelion

ebony

Fahrenheit

gargle

hardware

Idaho

jeep

kernel

lair

maroon

moron

naughty

oblige

pane

pain

racket

salutation

tackle

vapor

waffle

zinc

accustom

badger

calcium

darn

eclipse

fashionable

garment

hammock

ignition

jingle

ketchup

lain

majesty

navel

oboe

pain

radiation

sandstone

tadpole

vault

wager

acknowledgement

banquet

campaign

decade

addendum

barbecue

cancer

decathlon

electromagnet

faucet

grill

hardy

illustration

jabber

kindle

lass

majority

nectar

obstruct

papoose

radish

sandwich

taffy

vegetation

wail

affidavit

barometer

canoe

decay

anticipate

baroque

canyon

decimal

elevation

faun

fawn

giraffe

harlequin

immaculate

jolt

lasso

malnutrition

nibble

parlor

rattle snake

satchel

talent

vengeance

whack

antonym

barrette

cemetery

decoy

ellipse

approximate

bassinet

capillary

Delaware

embroidery

feign

glider

harmonica

imp

juggle

knapsack

lattice

mammal

nickel

ochre

pantheon

raven

satiable

tambourine

Virginia

wharf

audition

bassoon

centipede

delegate

avalanche

batch

centrifugal

denominator

enthusiasm

feline

glimmer

harp

indigo

laundry

manatee

octagon

partridge

reckoning

scepter

tome

vertebra

wither

whither

axiom

begonia

chameleon

derrick

epaulet

ferret

abbreviation

baboon

caboose

dab

ego

fabric

gait

halve

ibis

jaguar

kayak

laboratory

machete

narcotic

oasis

pagan

queer

raccoon

sack

tablet

unique

vaccinate

wade

xerography

yacht

zodiac

absorption

bacon

cafeteria

damp

easel

facility

galvanize

halter

identify

jasmine

keepsake

lading

mace

narrator

obelisk

pageant

quota

rack

sacrifice

taboo

valuation

water

yoke

yolk

zither

Please define the following words in your own terms, give the grammatical case(s) of the word, and use the word in an example sentence of your own construction:

scintillate

compunction

compulsion

adsorption

absorption

oxidize

jeopardize

vitiate

mitigate

militate

mediocre

media

medium

Things to do with the vocabulary terms:

1. Correctly alphabetize the words by numbering them according to their alphabetical order.

2. Draw a slash through each of the syllables of each of the words.

3. Underline the root of each word and put parenthesis around any prefixes or suffixes.

abdicate

abduct

inexorable

ineluctable

concentric

eccentric

centripetal

centrifugal

vacillate

vaccinate

fumigate

procrastinate

jargon

ergot

foible

reconciliation

pontificate

corpus

corporeal