Michigan ECPE Vocabulary: C2 Words with Examples

abhor verbC2

To regard something with disgust and hatred.

The author makes it clear that she abhors the use of animals in cosmetic testing.

accrue verbC2

To accumulate or build up gradually over time.

The benefits of regular reading accrue slowly but steadily over many years.

bear out verbC1

To support or confirm that something, such as a claim or theory, is true.

The latest data bear out our suspicion that demand peaks in the autumn.

bestow verbC2

To give an honour, right or gift to someone.

The university bestowed an honorary degree on the novelist in recognition of her work.

deduce verbC1

To reach a conclusion by reasoning from the available evidence.

From the speaker's tone, you can deduce that she disagrees with the government's policy.

digress verbC2

To move away from the main subject temporarily while speaking or writing.

The lecturer digressed briefly about her fieldwork, so leave that detail out of your summary.

feign verbC2

To pretend to feel or have something that one does not.

The narrator feigns indifference to her rival's success, but her obsessive references to it reveal a deep resentment.

infuse verbC1

To fill something with a particular quality or feeling.

The director infuses the familiar tale with fresh political urgency.

squander verbC1

To waste something such as money, time or an opportunity in a reckless or foolish way.

The author argues that the regime squandered its oil wealth on prestige projects of little lasting value.

subside verbC1

To become less intense, violent or severe.

Once the floodwaters subsided, researchers measured the damage to the riverbank.

ambivalence nounC1

The state of having mixed or contradictory feelings about something or someone.

Her ambivalence about the move showed in the way she kept unpacking and repacking the same box.

charade nounC2

An absurd pretence intended to create a pleasant or respectable appearance.

The board's deliberations were, in the author's view, a charade, since the chairman had already chosen his successor.

decorum nounC1

Behaviour in keeping with good taste and propriety.

Even in defeat he kept a strict decorum.

diction nounC2

A writer's or speaker's choice and use of words.

The formal diction of the opening paragraph contrasts sharply with the slang used later in the story.

elegy nounC2

A poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead.

The collection closes with an elegy for the poet's childhood friend.

hubris nounC1

Excessive pride or self-confidence that invites downfall.

The hubris of the incumbents cost them the election.

oxymoron nounC1

A figure of speech that combines apparently contradictory terms.

To many sceptics, the phrase "military intelligence" seemed an oxymoron after the agency's repeated failures.

personification nounC1

The attribution of human qualities to something non-human, especially in literature.

Through personification, the river in the poem seems to mourn the village it has flooded.

pretence nounC1

An attempt to make something that is not true appear to be true.

She abandoned all pretence of politeness once the guests had left.

progenitor nounC2

An ancestor or originator from whom a line of descent or a movement derives.

The fossil may represent a progenitor of modern birds rather than a dead-end lineage.

propriety nounC1

Conformity to accepted standards of behaviour.

She questioned the propriety of the gift.

tenet nounC2

One of the main principles or beliefs of a theory or system.

The lecturer outlined the central tenets of behavioural economics.

amenable adjectiveC2

Open and responsive to suggestion or persuasion.

The board proved more amenable to the merger once the founders agreed to remain as advisers.

apathetic adjectiveC1

Showing little interest, enthusiasm or concern.

The article claims that young voters are not apathetic but simply distrustful of traditional parties.

audacious adjectiveC2

Showing a bold willingness to take risks or defy convention.

The architect's audacious design, dismissed at first as impractical, eventually became a model for the whole city.

categorical adjectiveC1

Absolutely clear and direct, allowing no doubt or exception.

Far from hedging, the minister issued a categorical denial that left no room for further speculation.

cogent adjectiveC1

Clear, logical and convincing.

She made a cogent case for cutting the project.

colloquial adjectiveC1

Used in ordinary or informal conversation rather than formal writing.

Candidates should avoid colloquial expressions when writing a formal essay.

deft adjectiveC2

Quick, skilful and neat in movement or handling.

The biographer's deft handling of a painful family history earned the book wide praise.

fanciful adjectiveC1

Overimaginative and not based on reason or evidence.

The historian regards claims that the castle was built by giants as purely fanciful.

flagrant adjectiveC2

Conspicuously and offensively obvious, especially of wrongdoing.

The company's dumping of waste into the river was a flagrant breach of environmental law.

heretical adjectiveC2

Holding or expressing opinions profoundly at odds with accepted beliefs.

In its day, the economist's view that growth might be harmful was considered almost heretical.

inadvertent adjectiveC2

Happening without intention, usually through carelessness or oversight.

Closing the branch library could cause inadvertent harm to residents without internet access.

indefensible adjectiveC1

Not able to be justified or excused.

Even sympathetic biographers find the explorer's treatment of his crew indefensible.

malevolent adjectiveC2

Having or showing a wish to do harm to others.

Readers who see the stepmother as simply malevolent miss the novel's subtle account of her own suffering.

malleable adjectiveC2

Capable of being shaped or changed easily, whether physically or in opinion.

Far from fixed, childhood memories proved remarkably malleable when subjects were exposed to suggestive questioning.

meagre adjectiveC1

Lacking in quantity or quality and therefore barely sufficient.

Despite the meagre funding, the researchers produced findings that reshaped the field.

myopic adjectiveC2

Lacking foresight or intellectual insight.

Cutting research budgets to meet quarterly targets struck analysts as a myopic strategy.

quantifiable adjectiveC1

Able to be measured or expressed as a number or amount.

The benefits of the new bus route are quantifiable, whereas those of the mural are harder to measure.

unequivocal adjectiveC1

Leaving no doubt; completely clear and unambiguous.

The panel gave an unequivocal verdict that the vaccine was safe.