A free C1 English vocabulary course covering about 1,100 advanced words. C1 is the level where you can use English for almost anything, and what remains is range: the less common word that says exactly what you mean, and the phrasal verbs that make English sound natural. Everything here is at CEFR level C1, in British English, and none of it needs an account.
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The course does one thing. It is not a grammar course and it does not teach conversation. It gives you the words, with enough context to use them correctly, so that the grammar you already know has more to work with.
C1 vocabulary by topic
The words are split into 32 units. Each unit is built around a topic, so the words in each unit are ones you would naturally use together:
- People — family and groups; character and appearance; feelings, wants and needs
- Attitudes and relationships — beliefs, experience and reactions
- Communication and thinking — speaking, agreement and disagreement, and mental processes
- The body — movement, health and illness
- Places and daily life — the home; cities and buildings; food and cooking; sport, leisure and travel
- Work and money — careers and skills; business, commerce and services; personal finance
- Education, science and technology
- Society — art, media and entertainment; social and political life; religion; crime, punishment and the law
- Events and change — accidents, conflicts and problems; success and failure
- Nature and the environment
- Describing the world — objects, materials and conditions; positive and negative qualities; size, quantity and measurement; time, distance and numbers
- Phrasal verbs, and verbs for actions and processes
Because the units are grouped by topic, you do not have to work through them in order. Start with the topic you need most and come back to the rest later.
How the words were chosen
The word list is based on an analysis of spoken and written English, so the course concentrates on the words that come up most often. It is aligned with the Oxford 5000™, the expanded core word list published by Oxford University Press, and was put together with input from English teachers on what learners need at this level.
EnglishLeo is not affiliated with Oxford University Press.
What changes from B2
At B2, the aim is to say exactly what you mean. At C1, the aim is to say it the way a fluent speaker would. A full unit on phrasal verbs covers the everyday verbs that learners often avoid, and many entries are less common words that say in one word what would otherwise take several.
Some topics are new at this level, such as attitudes and beliefs, social and religious life, and personal finance. Others come back in more depth: business now includes commerce and services, crime includes punishment, and the body includes movement as well as illness.
Word lists with definitions, audio and quizzes
Every entry gives the word, its part of speech, a short definition in plain English, and an example sentence showing how the word is used in context.
Each word has audio, so you can hear how it is pronounced. Each unit also has a recording of the whole list, which you can play from start to finish.
Each unit ends with a Test Yourself quiz on that unit’s words. Answers are shown straight away, so you can see what you missed while it is still fresh.
A flashcard module with spaced repetition is being added. It will bring back each word at increasing intervals, just before you are likely to forget it, which is one of the most reliable ways to remember new words in the long term. Like the rest of the course, it will work without an account.
On the translated versions of this site, you can show a translation of each definition and example in your own language, or hide it to test yourself.
Who this C1 course is for
- Learners who have finished B2 and want to reach advanced level
- Learners working towards C1, or keeping their English at that level
- Teachers who need ready-made advanced word lists for class
- Professionals and students who use English every day and want a wider, more natural vocabulary
- Learners preparing for an exam at C1 level who want a general vocabulary base
If many B2 words are still unfamiliar, start with the B2 vocabulary course instead.
What you need
- About fifteen to twenty minutes per unit. At one unit a day the course takes just over a month, though there is no schedule to keep to.
- Nothing to buy, install or sign up for.
After C1
C1 is the last level in this series. If you are preparing for IELTS, TOEFL or PTE, the exam vocabulary course covers the B2 to C1 words those exams test, in American English. All 1,100 of its words are also available as a free PDF download. If you use English at work, the Business English Verbs course covers verbs for business and professional use.
Curriculum
- 32 Sections
- 64 Lessons
- Lifetime
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- People, Family and GroupsI know these words: administrator, adolescent, adoption, alien, audience, beloved, community, councillor, counterpart, creator, delegate, feminist, foreigner, funeral, gathering, generation, landlord, mature, mob, noble, notorious, outsider, parental, separation, solicitor, solidarity, successor, vulnerable, widow, widower2
- Character and AppearanceI know these words: conceal, conscientious, cooperative, cynical, decisive, dedicated, dedication, doting, dynamic, embody, empathetic, engaging, graceful, humble, inappropriate, inherent, inner strength, integrity, personal charm, rational, selective, self-esteem, striking, temperament, vicious, virtue, wit, youthful2
- Feelings, Wants and NeedsI know these words: appealing, aspiration, cognitive, content, curiosity, dependence, eager, ego, empirical, encouraging, evoke, frustration, glorious, grief, haunt, heighten, intensity, intent, logic, loom, loyalty, manipulation, optimism, overwhelm, sceptical, sentiment, strain, vulnerability, willingness2
- Experience and ReactionsI know these words: absence, absurd, congratulate, contend, disclose, distress, ease, echo, echo, embarrassment, escalate, exaggerate, frustrated, glance, grave, hint, hint, hopeful, invisible, manifest, misery, obsession, optical, outrage, persist, pledge, pledge, prominent, provoke, recount, shortcoming, stark2
- Attitudes, Relationships and BeliefsI know these words: appreciate, appreciation, assertive, attitude, charm, compromise, concept, contempt, contention, courtesy, dignity, empower, encouragement, foster, impartial, infamous, influential, insight, insult, just, mercy, morality, neglect, neglect, objective, prejudice, privilege, revelation, stance, standpoint, subjective2
- Speaking, Agreement and DisagreementI know these words: adhere, articulate, assertion, authorize, concede, confer, consensus, contradict, contradiction, contradictory, controversial, declaration, delicate, discourse, discretion, enquire, explicitly, hail, justification, justify, misleading, nonsense, opt, plea, plead, proclaim, proposition, query, refusal, reluctant, resistance, retreat, rhetoric, yell2
- Thinking and Mental ProcessesI know these words: attribute, attribute, capability, characterize, conceive, contrary, correspond, deem, desirable, distinction, distinguish, embed, formulate, inability, induce, integral, integrated, invoke, manipulate, motive, presumably, presume, projection, pronounced, reasoning, reminder, reverse, skip, solely, stem, tactic, undoubtedly, utilize, verify, viable, wholly, worthy2
- Body and MovementI know these words: abdomen, agony, bare, bleed, cling, coordination, faint, fluid, grasp, grin, grip, instinct, kidney, leap, limb, liver, rip, shrug, slap, slash, snap, spine, stagger, toss, tremble, twist, vein2
- Health and IllnessI know these words: adverse, alert, alert, chronic, circulation, clinical, consultation, contagious, counselling, diagnose, discharge, disorder, donor, fracture, infect, inject, insertion, lethal, life expectancy, mask, outbreak, physician, pregnancy, prescribe, prescription, prevention, rehabilitation, remedy, spectacles, stabilize, supplement, surgical, terminal, toll, trace, trauma, ward2
- Sport, Leisure and TravelI know these words: bounce, carriage, carve, divert, embark, excel, fleet, gear, getaway, immerse, itinerary, lap, meaningful, medieval, meditation, memorial, mobility, motorist, naval, outing, pathway, province, pump, remains, scenic, stamina, well-being2
- Food, Cooking and EatingI know these words: ambience, appetising; appetite, batter, blend, blend, cuisine, devour, dip, dust, exquisite, hearty, intake, intolerance, knead, leftovers, mince, nibble, nourishing, overcooked, pastry, savoury, seasoned, simmer, sponge, stew, substitute, teetotaller, tender, undercooked2
- House and HomeI know these words: basement, bespoke, closure, clutter, clutter-free, conversion, cramped, debris, declutter, evict, eviction, exterior, fixture, furnished, handy, immaculate, interior, lawn, layout, makeover, mortgage, pipeline, plug, rear, rental, residence, residential, shed, shortage, storage, tenant, tiles, unfurnished, utility bills, wipe2
- Cities, Places and BuildingsI know these words: adjacent, affluent, amenities, bench, brewery, bustling, cemetery, city skyline, cul-de-sac, dilapidated, embassy, eyesore, heritage, high-rise, inn, landmark, monastery, municipal, noise pollution, panorama, pedestrian zone, pit, provincial, quay, residential area, restoration, run-down, settlement, tourist hotspot, traffic congestion, urban sprawl, venue, vibrant2
- Art, Media and EntertainmentI know these words: amateur, archive, collaboration, commentary, commentator, copyright, credible, critique, debut, directory, high-profile, intriguing, magical, melody, nomination, notable, novel, premier, renowned, reproduction, sensation, solo, solo, subscriber, subscription, theatrical, transcript, verse2
- Education and ScienceI know these words: attendance, conduct, conduct, conductive, contaminant, contaminate, contamination, correction, diligent, dilute, distinction, domain, educator, emergence, enrol, equation, faculty, feedback, formula, generic, grant, instruct, intellectual, intensive, methodology, philosophical, plagiarism, preliminary, principal, scholarship, specialized, spectrum, submission, submit, synthesis, theoretical, thesis, undergraduate2
- Work, Careers and SkillsI know these words: accountability, amend, appraisal, collaborate, competence, complacent, coordinate, coordination, delegate, encompass, expertise, harassment, implement, inspect, internship, maximize, minimize, overwhelmed, productive, productivity, recruit, recruitment, renew, resign, resignation, sack, streamline, supervise, supervision, workload2
- Personal FinanceI know these words: affordable, allocate, bankrupt, bargain, benefit, bonus, budget, burden, cash-strapped, compensate, compensation, confirmation, costly, cut down, debt, deposit, fine, fine, frugal, hard up, incur, maintenance, means, pay off, premium, prosperity, prosperous, recurring, save up, spare, subsidy, taxpayer, transaction, yield2
- Business, Commerce and ServicesI know these words: accessible, acquisition, appoint, asset, audit, cash flow, commerce, commodity, commute, contractor, deputy, disposal, documentation, enterprise, establishment, expenditure, harvest, implementation, indicator, merge, organizational, personnel, portfolio, profit margin, profitable, recession, shareholder, shipping, supervisor, taxation, trademark, utility, venture, venture, warehouse2
- Accidents, Conflicts and ProblemsI know these words: abuse, atrocity, await, backfire, backtrack, burst, catastrophic, chaos, collision, damaging, dispute, disruption, drown, ensue, flawed, handling, hazard, inhibit, interfere, interference, irreparable, negligence, negligent, obstacle, obstruction, outbreak, problematic, punch, slam, spark, tackle, trigger, violate, violation2
- Rise and Fall, Success and FailureI know these words: accomplishment, aggravate, breakdown, breakthrough, constraint, counteract, deteriorate, diminish, dominance, efficiency, erode, evolve, excellence, flaw, flourish, humble, inflate, intensify, merit, plunge, prevail, prevalence, reliability, remedy, resolve, shed, soar, strive, surge, surge, thrive, transformation, triumph, undermine, weaken, worthwhile2
- Objects, Materials and ConditionsI know these words: acid, alignment, chunk, cluster, complexity, consistency, copper, crystal, destructive, distinctive, essence, explosive, extract, fade, leak, magnetic, operational, pop, replacement, screw, seal, seal, simulate, sound, strand, strip, structural, substitute, superb, supreme, thread, timber, toxic, underlying, vague2
- Nature and the EnvironmentI know these words: breed, cattle, combat, conserve, currents, dawn, deplete, depletion, disastrous, ecological, erosion, evacuate, evaporate, extinct, extinction, geology, gravity, habitat, marine, mudslide, predator, prey, renewable, solar, stem, sustain, sustainable, tide, vacuum, vanish, volcanic2
- Technology and CommunicationI know these words: algorithm, configuration, correspondence, cybersecurity, default, deploy, encryption, facilitate, filter, footage, grid, hardware, integrate, integration, interactive, interface, maintenance, modification, notify, processor, prompt, radar, spam, specification, transmission2
- Actions and ProcessesI know these words: abolish, accelerate, acquire, compile, constrain, crush, determine, devise, disperse, dispose, dominate, emerge, endure, enforce, exacerbate, exemplify, exert, exhaust, expose, forge, impose, march, obtain, permeate, proceed, reinforce, replicate, restrain, retrieve, suppress, tighten2
- Positive and Negative QualitiesI know these words: abnormal, accurate, ambiguous, authentic, biased, challenging, coherent, compelling, detrimental, dominant, erratic, exceptional, favourable, feasible, hostile, inadequate, incoherent, inferior, insightful, meticulous, monotonous, pivotal, rigorous, robust, secure, succinct, terrific, unambiguous, unethical, volatile2
- Size, Quantity and MeasurementI know these words: abundant, capacity, comparable, correlate, correlation, corresponding, countless, deduct, deficiency, deficit, descend, equivalent, excess, excessive, handful, immense, linger, marginal, moderate, negligible, parameter, profound, proportional, respective, sheer, sole, substantial, sufficient, surplus, total, tremendous, trio, underestimate, variable, varied, widen, width2
- Time, Distance and NumbersI know these words: coincide, commence, consecutive, continually, defer, eternal, forthcoming, halfway, imminent, interim, intermediate, latter, lengthy, long-standing, momentum, net, occasional, peak, postpone, precision, predominantly, prolong, ratio, respectively, serial, simultaneously, span, span, spell, successive, timely, upcoming2
- Crime, Punishment and LawI know these words: allegation, assault, assault, blackmail, blast, comply, convict, detection, detention, enforcement, execute, fraudulent, imprison, injustice, inmate, kidnap, lawsuit, legislative, litigate, plea, preside, probation, prosecutor, rape, restraint, spy, sue, surveillance, suspicion, suspicious, testify, testimony, torture, torture, warrant2
- Social and Political IssuesI know these words: beneficiary, bureaucracy, capitalism, capitalist, civilian, colonial, corruption, coup, deprive, discrimination, displace, enact, equality, exploitation, extremist, fairness, flee, hostage, humanitarian, ideology, legislature, migration, militant, mobilize, rebel, rebellion, refuge, reign, sanction, seize, slavery, stability, surrender, treaty, warfare2
- Social and Political LifeI know these words: aide, autonomy, ballot, charter, commissioner, constituency, constitution, constitutional, corrupt, diplomatic, electoral, elite, governance, indictment, jurisdiction, legitimate, liberal, liberal, liberty, lobby, parliamentary, poll, presidency, presidential, radical, rally, rally, referendum, reform, reform, republic, run for, sovereignty, transparency2
- Social and Religious LifeI know these words: acceptance, blessing, commemorate, compassion, confess, congregation, cult, devout, engagement, exclusion, inclusive, indigenous, monk, observe, preach, revival, ritual, sacred, sacrifice, sacrifice, saint, sin, spiritual, theology, tolerance, tribal, worship, worship2
- Phrasal VerbsI know these words: back up, bring about, call off, carry out, come across, come up with, cut back, draw up, drop off, figure out, get across, get along, get over, give in, go over, hold back, keep up, make up, point out, put off, put up with, run out, set up, show up, sort out, take on, turn down, work out2
FAQs
No. The word lists, audio and quizzes are free to use without one. An optional account will be added later for extra features, and the core material stays free and open.
CEFR C1, advanced. It follows on from B2 and covers about 1,100 words, including a unit on phrasal verbs, grouped by topic. If many B2 words are still unfamiliar, start at B2.
British English. If you need American English for an exam, the IELTS, TOEFL and PTE vocabulary course uses American English.
It covers general vocabulary at C1 level, which is the level of C1 Advanced. It is not an exam course and does not follow a C1 Advanced word list.
This course is general English at C1, in British English, with words grouped by topic. The exam vocabulary course covers B2 to C1 words for IELTS, TOEFL and PTE, in American English, in 44 units. Many learners use both.
Instructor
