C1 · Advanced

Language & Words — C1 English Vocabulary

This C1 vocabulary list gathers 60 advanced English words about language & words — how language itself works. Every word comes with its British-English pronunciation and a natural example sentence, so you learn each one in real context. When you are ready, open the flashcards to practise and remember them for good.

  1. etymology/ˌet.ɪˈmɒl.ə.dʒi/

    “The etymology of the word is Greek.”

  2. semantics/sɪˈmæn.tɪks/

    “It is a question of semantics.”

  3. syntax/ˈsɪn.tæks/

    “English syntax can be tricky.”

  4. morphology/mɔːˈfɒl.ə.dʒi/

    “Morphology studies word forms.”

  5. phonetics/fəˈnet.ɪks/

    “Phonetics describes speech sounds.”

  6. phoneme/ˈfəʊ.niːm/

    “A phoneme is a unit of sound.”

  7. lexicon/ˈlek.sɪ.kən/

    “The word entered the lexicon.”

  8. vernacular/vəˈnæk.jə.lə/

    “He wrote in the local vernacular.”

  9. colloquial/kəˈləʊ.kwi.əl/

    “It is a colloquial phrase.”

  10. idiomatic/ˌɪd.i.əˈmæt.ɪk/

    “Her English is very idiomatic.”

  11. dialectal/ˌdaɪ.əˈlek.təl/

    “There are dialectal differences.”

  12. linguistic/lɪŋˈɡwɪs.tɪk/

    “It is a linguistic puzzle.”

  13. bilingualism/baɪˈlɪŋ.ɡwə.lɪ.zəm/

    “Bilingualism is common here.”

  14. cognate/ˈkɒɡ.neɪt/

    “‘Mother’ has many a cognate.”

  15. loanword/ˈləʊn.wɜːd/

    “‘Café’ is a French loanword.”

  16. neologism/niˈɒl.ə.dʒɪ.zəm/

    “‘Selfie’ is a recent neologism.”

  17. archaic/ɑːˈkeɪ.ɪk/

    “‘Thou’ is an archaic word.”

  18. antiquated/ˈæn.tɪ.kweɪ.tɪd/

    “The term is rather antiquated.”

  19. denotation/ˌdiː.nəʊˈteɪ.ʃən/

    “The denotation is neutral.”

  20. homonym/ˈhɒm.ə.nɪm/

    “‘Bat’ is a homonym.”

  21. synonym/ˈsɪn.ə.nɪm/

    “Find a synonym for ‘happy’.”

  22. antonym/ˈæn.tə.nɪm/

    “‘Hot’ is an antonym of ‘cold’.”

  23. prefix/ˈpriː.fɪks/

    “Add the prefix ‘un’.”

  24. suffix/ˈsʌf.ɪks/

    “The suffix ‘ness’ makes a noun.”

  25. inflection/ɪnˈflek.ʃən/

    “English has little inflection.”

  26. conjugation/ˌkɒn.dʒəˈɡeɪ.ʃən/

    “Verb conjugation is hard.”

  27. transliteration/trænzˌlɪt.əˈreɪ.ʃən/

    “The name needs transliteration.”

  28. orthography/ɔːˈθɒɡ.rə.fi/

    “English orthography is irregular.”

  29. articulation/ɑːˌtɪk.jəˈleɪ.ʃən/

    “Clear articulation aids understanding.”

  30. intonation/ˌɪn.təˈneɪ.ʃən/

    “Her intonation rose at the end.”

  31. enunciate/ɪˈnʌn.si.eɪt/

    “Please enunciate each word.”

  32. mispronounce/ˌmɪs.prəˈnaʊns/

    “Tourists often mispronounce it.”

  33. lexical/ˈlek.sɪ.kəl/

    “It is a lexical error.”

  34. grammatical/ɡrəˈmæt.ɪ.kəl/

    “The sentence is grammatical.”

  35. syntactic/sɪnˈtæk.tɪk/

    “There is a syntactic ambiguity.”

  36. register/ˈredʒ.ɪ.stə/

    “Choose the right register.”

  37. parlance/ˈpɑː.ləns/

    “In legal parlance, it means this.”

  38. jargon/ˈdʒɑː.ɡən/

    “Avoid technical jargon.”

  39. slang/slæŋ/

    “Teenagers use a lot of slang.”

  40. accent/ˈæk.sənt/

    “She has a soft accent.”

  41. articulacy/ɑːˈtɪk.jə.lə.si/

    “His articulacy impressed the panel.”

  42. monolingual/ˌmɒn.əˈlɪŋ.ɡwəl/

    “Many countries are monolingual.”

  43. linguist/ˈlɪŋ.ɡwɪst/

    “She is a gifted linguist.”

  44. polyglot/ˈpɒl.i.ɡlɒt/

    “He is a true polyglot.”

  45. wordplay/ˈwɜːd.pleɪ/

    “The poem is full of wordplay.”

  46. acronym/ˈæk.rə.nɪm/

    “‘NASA’ is an acronym.”

  47. abbreviation/əˌbriː.viˈeɪ.ʃən/

    “‘Dr’ is an abbreviation.”

  48. punctuation/ˌpʌŋk.tʃuˈeɪ.ʃən/

    “Punctuation aids meaning.”

  49. syllable/ˈsɪl.ə.bəl/

    “Stress the first syllable.”

  50. derivation/ˌder.ɪˈveɪ.ʃən/

    “The word’s derivation is unclear.”

  51. usage/ˈjuː.sɪdʒ/

    “Modern usage allows it.”

  52. coinage/ˈkɔɪ.nɪdʒ/

    “It is a recent coinage.”

  53. phrasing/ˈfreɪ.zɪŋ/

    “The phrasing is awkward.”

  54. semantic/sɪˈmæn.tɪk/

    “It is a semantic distinction.”

  55. decode/diːˈkəʊd/

    “Babies learn to decode speech.”

  56. diction/ˈdɪk.ʃən/

    “Her diction is very precise.”

  57. elliptical/ɪˈlɪp.tɪ.kəl/

    “His reply was elliptical.”

  58. garbled/ˈɡɑː.bəld/

    “The message was garbled.”

  59. rendering/ˈren.dər.ɪŋ/

    “It is a fine rendering of the poem.”

  60. tongue/tʌŋ/

    “English is her native tongue.”