50 Words To Impress Your English Examiner

When preparing to write an English exam, there are a number of things you should do. We always recommend practising comprehension exercises, familiarising yourself with parts of speech, and levelling up in your creative writing abilities. If you want to impress your English examiner and get more creative with your writing, here is one very simple and practical step you can take: include new and interesting words into your vocabulary. Not only will you stand out from the crowd, but you will improve your ability to write captivating content, and this is a skill you can use beyond your exams.

Not sure where to begin? Take a look at this list of 50 words that will be sure to impress your English examiner. In this list, we will explain the meaning of each word and show you how to use it in an example sentence. This list will include words you might already know and a few words you haven’t heard before. Use this as an exercise to expand your vocabulary and find new ways to use these words in your own writing.

Abhor (verb)

Meaning: to hate or detest.

Example sentence: After being hit in the head one too many times while playing cricket, John began to abhor the sport.

Acquiesce (verb)

Meaning: to agree without protesting.

Example sentence: Even though Aubrey was enjoying his evening outside, when his wife asked him to come in for dinner, he acquiesced to her request.

Amiable (adjective)

Meaning: friendly.

Example sentence: Neil was an amiable fellow who got along with pretty much everybody.

Appease (verb)

Meaning: to calm or satisfy.

Example sentence: When Theo cries, his mother gives him a dummy to appease him.

Avarice (noun)

Meaning: excessive greed.

Example sentence: Tom’s avarice led him to amass an enormous personal fortune.

Brazen (adjective)

Meaning: excessively bold, brash, clear, and obvious.

Example sentence: The readers noticed Chris’s brazen attempt to plagiarise another author’s work.

Brusque (adjective)

Meaning: short, abrupt, dismissive.

Example sentence: Nicola’s brusque manner sometimes causes offence with her work colleagues.

Callous (adjective)

Meaning: harsh, cold, unfeeling.

Example sentence: Jeff’s callous lack of remorse was a shock to the jury.

Candour (noun)

Meaning: honesty or frankness.

Example sentence: Liz is usually quite evasive, so we were surprised by her candour.

Circumspect (adjective)

Meaning: cautious.

Example sentence: I told Jane’s father I would bring her home promptly at midnight, but it would have been more circumspect not to have specified a time.

Clandestine (adjective)

Meaning: secret.

Example sentence: Maria and Markus had arranged to meet in the library for a clandestine liaison.

Coerce (verb)

Meaning: to make somebody do something by force or threat.

Example sentence: The judge decided that Anna did not have to honour the contract because she had been coerced into signing it.

Complacency (noun)

Meaning: self-satisfied ignorance of danger.

Example sentence: Shelly attempted to shock her friends out of their complacency by displaying a frightening picture of what may happen to them.

Confidant (noun)

Meaning: a person entrusted with secrets.

Example sentence: Not long after we met, he became my primary confidant.

Connive (verb)

Meaning: to plot or scheme.

Example sentence: Simona connived to get me to give up my plans to launch my new business.

Cumulative (adjective)

Meaning: increasing or building upon itself.

Example sentence: The cumulative effect of multiple tutor sessions resulted in a vast improvement in Joel’s exam results.

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