Academic Word List (AWL)

A sign or object representing an idea or concept

Special importance or attention given to something

To explain with examples; to add pictures to a text

A computer screen; a person or device that watches over something; to keep track of

To focus attention or effort; a condensed substance

To change or differ; to make something more diverse

Official authority to act; a percentage-based fee; to officially authorize

Unchanging or persistent (adj.); a fixed value in mathematics (n.)

Having the ability or skill needed to do something; competent

Extremely important or decisive for an outcome

A goal or target; not influenced by personal bias; based on facts

A measurable extent such as length or width; an aspect of a situation

To go with someone; to occur alongside; to play musical accompaniment

The act of publishing; a printed work made available to the public

An observable event or fact; something extraordinary

To help someone; a helpful action or sports assist

To build or assemble something (v.); something constructed or a concept (n.)

To make safe or obtain; free from danger or risk

Clearly obvious; seeming true but not necessarily so

A passage for water; a TV or radio frequency; a means of communication; to direct along a course

To bring back to a former condition; to return something to its owner

To tell someone confidently that something is true; to guarantee

Standards or rules used to judge or evaluate something

By way of; passing through; by means of

In spite of that; however

To include or blend something as part of a whole; to form or unite into one body

Final, greatest, or most extreme; the fundamental extreme

Lesser in importance or seriousness; a person below the legal age of adulthood

To give someone a task or role; to designate for a purpose

A work of lasting excellence; of the highest and most typical quality

A substance used in chemistry; relating to chemistry

A tag giving information; to attach a label; to categorize

An alphabetical list with references; a number used to measure or compare

To publicly support a cause; a person who supports or pleads for others

To write a preliminary version; a preliminary document; served from a tap

A play for stage or screen; an exciting or emotional situation

To establish or set up an organization; past tense of 'find'

To respond to something; to undergo a chemical reaction

To share information or ideas with others; to convey a message

A system of parts that work together; a process by which something operates

To move forward or continue with an action or course

To take up space or time; to live in or seize a place

To meet unexpectedly; an unplanned or hostile meeting

To keep or continue to have something

Something that motivates or encourages action, often a reward

Correct, exact, and free from errors

In contrast to the fact that; while on the contrary

Strange or unusual; not divisible by two; unmatched