Along your English learning journey, you’ve probably made leaps and bounds in your vocabulary, working your way up to a more advanced level. So why keep going? An expanded vocabulary creates opportunities to communicate in ways that benefit your academic pursuits, career goals, and daily experiences.
In this post, we’ll cover two sets of advanced English vocabulary: words you’re likely to encounter on the TOEFL, and words that will serve you in everyday English communication.
If you need tips on how to learn and remember more advanced words, check out our guide to improving your English vocabulary.
Table of Contents
How to Read and Use This Post
Each of the 20 advanced vocabulary words in this post is presented as a card with four parts:
- The word and its part of speech — This tells you how the word functions in a sentence (noun, verb, adjective, etc.).
- “Hear it pronounced” link — Click this link to visit the word’s page on vocabulary.com. Right below the word on that page, you’ll find audio clips for both American English and British English pronunciation. Just click the play button to hear how native speakers say it.
- Definition — A plain-English explanation of what the word means and how it’s commonly used.
- Example sentence — A real-world example showing the word in context.
For the best results, take your time with each card. Read the definition carefully, then read the example sentence a few times to see how the word functions in a sentence. Finally, try writing a few sentences of your own—this is one of the best ways to truly understand a word and remember it long-term.
Pro tip: Don’t rush. Some students try to memorize hundreds of words at once, but understanding a word fully—including how to use it in different contexts—is far more valuable than a long list of words you’ve only half-learned.
10 Advanced English Vocabulary Words to Know for the TOEFL
The words below come directly from our TOEFL Vocabulary Flashcards, a great tool for building the advanced English vocabulary you’ll need on test day.
Apparent — adjective
Definition: Something that is apparent is obvious, visible, or clear — but not necessarily true or factual. Something can be apparent to one person but not to another.
Example: It was apparent to me that he was a trained dancer, but the others had no idea.
Aspect — noun
Definition: An aspect of something is a part of it that you can consider or observe. Aspects can be tangible (physical) or intangible (abstract). You can love different aspects of being a teacher, or study the different aspects of a historical event.
Example: The movie correctly portrayed the different aspects of living in a large city.
Derive — verb
Definition: Something derived comes from something else. The term is often used when describing an idea or observation that originated from another source, or when describing the components that make up something larger.
Example: Vegans do not eat products derived from animals.
Facilitate — verb
Definition: To facilitate something means to make a process easier. Many careers — such as law, project management, and consulting — are centered around facilitating certain processes for others.
Example: My lawyer facilitated the process of purchasing our home.
Monitor — verb
Definition: To monitor something means to check on its welfare, condition, or status over time. The term is commonly used in reference to people, systems, or situations that need ongoing attention.
Example: I called my mom to help monitor the children while we were painting our home.
Proportion — noun
Definition: Proportion describes the relationship or balance between parts of a whole. If things are in proportion, they are balanced. You can also use proportion to compare different quantities — for example, the proportion of one thing to another.
Example: We tried to give away equal amounts of food to everyone, but our proportions were off.
Pursue — verb
Definition: To pursue something means to follow or proceed toward a goal with the intention of achieving it. You can pursue a career, a dream, a course of study, or even a person.
Example: Doug was set on pursuing his goal of being a world-renowned chef.
Retain — verb
Definition: To retain something means to keep or hold onto it. This can refer to keeping physical possessions in various situations, or to maintaining qualities and characteristics over time.
Example: The play ran for 20 years but always seemed to retain its novelty.
Theory — noun
Definition: A theory is a general idea, belief, or explanation about something — often used when the explanation has not been proven with certainty. A scientist can have a theory about why something happens, just as a detective can have a theory about how a crime was committed.
Example: She said she had a theory that aliens from Mars visited the Earth centuries ago.
Underlying — adjective
Definition: Underlying can describe something that is literally beneath something else. More commonly, it refers to the root or fundamental cause of something. This term is frequently used in medical and academic contexts.
Example: The little girl had a fever, but the tests found no underlying cause for her symptoms.
10 Advanced English Vocabulary Words for Daily Communication
Once you’ve mastered basic conversational English, it’s time to expand into more advanced vocabulary for everyday use. Try learning one or two words from our Very Hard Vocabulary Deck each day, and you’ll be well on your way to a more diverse and expressive vocabulary.
But before you jump into that, here are 10 other words to get you started:
Adapt — verb
Definition: To adapt means to adjust to a new situation or environment. Like a chameleon changing colors to blend in, something that adapts changes in order to fit its circumstances.
Example: Soldiers have the ability to adapt to many different conditions and environments.
Adjacent — adjective
Definition: Adjacent means next to or very near something. Two houses side-by-side are adjacent. A table and a desk in the same room are adjacent to each other.
Example: They bought a house adjacent to the one owned by his grandparents.
Enhance — verb
Definition: To enhance something means to improve it or make it better. The word can be applied to almost anything, but it’s especially common in discussions of technology, appearance, and performance.
Example: The company installed new software to enhance productivity.
Equivalent — adjective
Definition: If something is equivalent to something else, it is equal or nearly equal in value, quality, or purpose. For example, 7Up and Sprite are equivalent — both are citrusy, lime-flavored soft drinks. The term is used to say something is “just as good as” something else.
Example: My husband claims his home-cooked steaks are the equivalent of a fine-dining steakhouse, but I question that statement.
Imply — verb
Definition: To imply something means to suggest it without saying it directly. You can imply something through your words, your tone, or even your body language.
Example: In the meeting, he glanced at his watch to imply it was time to finish quickly.
Innovate — verb
Definition: To innovate means to introduce something new or to make meaningful improvements to existing products, methods, or ideas. Companies constantly innovate in order to stay competitive.
Example: Last year, Microsoft made innovations in their operating system that will put them one step ahead of competitors in the market.
Minimal — adjective
Definition: Minimal describes something that is the least possible — the smallest amount or degree required. It is frequently used in financial, scientific, and design contexts.
Example: The minimal amount required to open an account at my bank is five hundred dollars.
Partially — adverb
Definition: Partially means to an incomplete or limited degree — only part of the way. A door can be partially open. A task can be partially complete. A parent can be only partially involved in their child’s life.
Example: I looked around the corner and could only partially see the car because the street light was out.
Precise — adjective
Definition: Precise means exact, accurate, and leaving no room for error. In science, precise measurements are essential. If you speak of a precise moment, you mean the exact moment — down to the millisecond.
Example: The engineer said he used precise measurements, but alas, the rocket exploded on the launchpad.
Various — adjective
Definition: Various indicates that there are several different kinds of something — too many or too different to describe individually. You might see various animals at a farm, or meet people of various backgrounds at an international university.
Example: We went to the farm and saw various animals roaming about.
Takeaways
Studying vocabulary can be slow, steady work. Don’t give up or get frustrated if you don’t see results right away! The time you spend learning words and understanding how they work in sentences will pay off in your reading comprehension, your writing, and your overall English fluency.
Have you mastered these twenty words and want to explore more? Check out our TOEFL vocabulary app for iOS or Android.
Taking our free TOEFL practice test is also a great way to see how your vocabulary study is paying off in test performance. And consider signing up for a free trial of our TOEFL Premium Plan to get access to world-class TOEFL prep materials today!
