26 Advanced English Vocabulary AZ
Vanessa: Hi.
I’m Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com.
Dan: And I’m Dan.
Vanessa: Are you ready to improve your vocabulary
A to Z?
Dan: I am.
Vanessa: Let’s do it.
In today’s special vocabulary lesson, I’m
here with my husband, Dan, and we’re going
to be talking about one important vocabulary
word for each letter of the alphabet, A to
Z, 26 new words.
All of these words have a theme.
Dan: Yes, you can use them to describe your
English-learning journey.
Vanessa: Yes, but you can also use them in
other situations.
So, for each of these words, I’m going to
give an example that you can use to talk about
your English journey, and Dan’s going to give
an example about something else, another topic.
Dan: Something personal.
Vanessa: Yeah, we don’t know yet.
Dan: But not too personal.
Vanessa: We’ll see.
Feel free to check out the description for
a timestamp for each of these words, so that
you can go back and study them later.
I hope that you’ll be able to really remember
them by reviewing them again and again.
Are you ready to get started?
Dan: Yes.
Vanessa: Let’s go.
A, apprehension: A fearful expectation of
something.
I feel some apprehension when I speak English
with a native English speaker or in front
of other people in a crowd.
What about you?
When do you feel apprehensive?
Dan: Well, I used to feel apprehensive giving
speeches, but now I’ve gotten over that a
little bit.
But when I was in college, I wrote on the
calendar D-Day.
This day is coming, and it’s going to be terrible,
and I was so scared.
I was so apprehensive, but now, I’ve gotten
over it.
Vanessa: Yeah, I remember that speech.
You actually did a great job.
So, your nervousness really didn’t lead to
a bad conclusion.
Dan: Maybe it even helped me.
Vanessa: Yeah, you felt apprehensive.
All right, let’s go to the next one.
B, bittersweet: A good feeling with a bit
of sadness.
When I studied abroad in Texas, it was bittersweet
to leave my host family because I had some
really great memories with them, but I was
also looking forward to see my family back
home.
What about you?
Are you going to feel bittersweet anytime
soon?
Dan: Actually, we will feel bittersweet because
we are leaving this house and moving to a
new house.
So, it’s bitter because we have a lot of good
memories here and that’s sad, but it’s sweet
because we’re going to a new house.
It’s bittersweet.
Vanessa: Yes.
C, complacent: Comfortable with no desire
to change or improve.
I don’t want to be complacent about my English
level.
I always want to be improving.
What about you?
What do you do when you feel complacent?
Dan: Well, I usually try something new, and
this word, it actually sounds like it could
be positive, but really it’s a negative thing.
You’re comfortable, and you should change.
When I feel complacent, I try something new
like when I was not exercising in the past,
I decided to play hockey.
So, I joined a league, and I played hockey
on a team, and I got lots of exercise.
Vanessa: Yeah, you didn’t want it to be too
complacent.
Dan: D, diligent: Being committed to a task.
I know that I need to be diligent if I want
to remember all of these vocabulary words.
I should study them every day.
Do you know anyone who’s diligent?
Vanessa: Yes, I do.
Dan: Vanessa is very diligent.
Every single day, she works on the fearless
fluency club, the YouTube channel.
She’s always learning new things in English.
She is diligent.
Vanessa: Thank you.
E, expend: To use up money or energy.
Sometimes, I expend all my energy worrying
about making a mistake, and then I don’t actually
speak.
What about you?
How do you feel at the end of the day?
Dan: Well, lately, I certainly feel expended
at the end of the day because we have a toddler,
so he’s running around all day.
We’re chasing him all day, and when he goes
to sleep at night, we feel expended.
We’re done.
We have to lie down.
Vanessa: We have expended all our energy taking
care of him, and we just want to relax.
F, feasible: To be possible.
Is it feasible to be a fluent English speaker?
Yes, it is.
Is it feasible for you to be an NHL player?
Dan: No, it is not.
It is not feasible for me to play in the NHL
because I haven’t practiced enough to play
professional hockey.
I’m just an amateur.
Vanessa: G, gist: The main idea.
I’d like to understand everything in English
TV shows and movies, but right now I’m struggling
to understand the gist of what they’re saying.
It’s really tough.
What about for you?
What happened before we filmed this lesson?
Dan: Well, Vanessa described this video to
me, and she showed me a script, and she started
going over everything, and I said, “It’s okay.
I get the gist.”
So, I know the main idea, I get it, and I
can do it now.
Vanessa: Yes, and you’re doing great.
Dan: Thank you.
Vanessa: H, hiatus: A gap or break in an event.
I studied English in high school, and after
that, I took a long hiatus for 30 years.
Dan: Wow.
Vanessa: What about for you?
What’s something that goes on hiatus?
Dan: A lot of times TV shows will go on hiatus,
so they’ll shoot a season.
There’ll be season one, and you’re waiting
for season two, but they’re on hiatus, so
you have to wait.
I remember the show, Rick and Morty.
There was season one that…
This is not popular with her, but I like Rick
and Morty.
There was season one, and then they went on
hiatus, and Everybody was waiting for season
two, and it finally came out.
Vanessa: Maybe a couple months later.
Dan: Mm-hmm (affirmative), it was longer than…
I think it was like a year or two.
Vanessa: Oh, okay.
That’s a long hiatus.
I, insatiable: Can’t be satisfied.
I have an insatiable desire to learn English.
My desire to learn English is insatiable.
Dan: Yes, and meanwhile, I have an insatiable
desire to eat Pizza.
I love pizza, so bring me pizza, please.
Vanessa: J, jaded: Cynical or worn out due
to past experience.
I feel so jaded about English classes.
I’ve joined so many of them, and nothing’s
worked for me.
What about you?
Do you feel jaded about anything?
Dan: Yes, I often feel jaded about politics
because every single year, you see somebody
running, and they say the same thing, and
you just get tired of it.
Nowadays, too, you have a social media, so
you’re reading people’s posts, and this side’s
angry, and that side’s angry.
Nothing gets solved.
I’m very jaded about it.
Vanessa: You’re cynical because you’ve got
this past experience built up, so you feel
jaded about politics.
Maybe you feel the same way too, or maybe
you don’t.
K, knack: Something that’s easy for you.
I thought I didn’t have a knack for languages,
but with Vanessa, it’s easy.
What about you?
Do you have a knack for anything?
Dan: Some people might say, “I have a knack
for playing the piano.”
I can hear a song, usually something easy,
maybe a Beatles song, and then I can spend
a few hours and learn it on the piano.
I’ll just teach myself.
Vanessa: Yeah, sometimes it even takes a couple
minutes.
Dan: Yeah, if it’s Mary Had a Little Lamb.
So, I have a knack for playing the piano.
Vanessa: L, lull: A short period of calm or
a break.
I started watching English lessons on YouTube.
But then when I went on vacation, there was
a lull in my English learning.
What about for you?
Was there ever a lull in your life?
Dan: Oh yeah, there have been lulls in my
life.
For example, every Christmas, there is a lull
in my healthy eating.
There is just too much good food around, and
my mom, she puts out chocolate.
So, I walk through the door, and I just grab
a piece of chocolate when I enter the house,
so I’m not eating healthily during Christmas.
There’s a lull in my healthy eating.
Vanessa: M, modest: Humble.
He says that his English isn’t good, but he’s
just being modest.
It’s actually pretty great.
Dan: Yeah, we actually knew a guy who was
the opposite of modest.
He would say things like, “When I was at the
gym the other day, I looked at my muscles,
and I saw the sweat on my arm, and my arms
looked really great.”
Vanessa: That’s not modest.
Dan: Yeah, he wasn’t very modest, but it was
funny.
Vanessa: N, nuance: A subtle difference in
meaning.
Sometimes phrasal verbs have slight nuances
that are important to know.
For example, find out or figure out.
If you want to learn more about these two
phrasal verbs, you can check out my video
about it up here.
What about for you?
Was there ever a time when you needed to learn
some nuances?
Dan: Yes.
When you travel to a different country, you’ll
probably find some cultural nuances.
So, something in their culture is just a little
bit different, and you don’t notice it right
away.
When we lived in South Korea, there were a
lot of cultural nuances.
They wouldn’t speak as directly to you.
They would be a little more subtle.
They would say things indirectly, and you
had to figure out exactly what it meant.
Vanessa: Yeah, so it was important for us
to be sensitive and aware of these cultural
nuances, so that we could get along with other
people and understand each other.
O, obsolete: No longer used, rare.
Vanessa teaches me real conversational English,
things that are not obsolete, things that
are really used in real life.
What’s something that’s obsolete in your life?
Dan: Well, I used to have an iPod, and I would
listen to that thing every single day, but
now it’s obsolete.
Apple doesn’t even make an iPod anymore.
They make iPhones.
So, just a dedicated music player is obsolete.
Vanessa: Sure.
I want to let you know that I got this idea
to go through the alphabet with English vocabulary
from Jacob, from EnglishTVLive.com.
He has a podcast, and on different episodes,
he’s talking about five vocabulary words for
each letter of the alphabet.
So, it’s much more intensive than what we’re
doing today, five words, and he interviewed
me for the letter, O.
We talked about obsolete, oblivious, ominous,
omit, opportunistic, these five words.
So, if you’d like to check out Jacob’s podcast,
and especially the episode that we made together
about the letter O, check out the link in
the description so that you can learn more
English.
P, pragmatic: Practical, useful.
I try to be pragmatic about what I study in
English.
Is it useful?
Is it important?
What about you?
Are you generally a pragmatic spender when
it comes to money?
Dan: Yeah.
When it comes to money, I think I’m generally
pragmatic, but I am less pragmatic than Vanessa.
She only buys things she needs, but I’ll look
around, and I’ll get the nicer things in life.
I’ll spend a little bit more money, but not
too much.
Vanessa: Sure, I think you appreciate beauty
in a way that maybe I don’t always appreciate.
Dan: Sure.
Vanessa: So, I’m very pragmatic sure, and
you’re generally pretty pragmatic when it
comes to spending.
Dan: I’m pretty pragmatic.
Vanessa: Q, quench: To satisfy a thirst or
desire.
My desire to learn English is unquenchable.
I will never be complacent.
Dan: Yes, and we typically use this word for
your thirst, right?
On a hot summer day, a cold beer will really
quench your thirst.
Vanessa: R, rash: Acting without much thought.
When my boss told me that I needed to give
a presentation in English, I immediately quit
my job.
Okay, I admit that was a little rash.
Dan: Just a little rash, yeah.
Some people said that we made a rash decision
when we got married at 22 years old, which
is a little bit young in this country, maybe
a little bit.
Yeah, some people thought it was rash, but
we knew we were right for each other, and
we’d been dating five years, so we knew it
wasn’t rash.
Vanessa: S, sheer: Complete only.
It was sheer luck that I found Vanessa’s YouTube
channel because it has helped my life so much.
I hope that’s true for you.
Dan: Hey, it was also sheer luck for me to
meet Vanessa because I lived eight hours away
from Vanessa, but we went to the same college,
and on the first day we just happened to sit
next to each other.
It was sheer luck.
Vanessa: Yes, and if you’d like to know about
how to use the word “happened to” that Dan
just used, you can click on this card up here
and learn more about it.
T, tentative: Without confidence, hesitant.
I feel tentative when I need to speak English,
but Vanessa’s lessons have helped me so much.
What about you?
Do you know anyone who is tentative in life?
Dan: I don’t know about any one, but I know
a cat who is very tentative.
We have a cat; her name is Luna, and she is
small, and she is very tentative.
So, if you walk up to her, you could have
pet her five times that day.
Every time, she’ll be like, “Huh, who’s touching
me?”
She’s very tentative.
Vanessa: Yes.
U, urge: To encourage or persuade.
I urge you to use English every day.
It will help you so much.
Dan: Yes, when I was young, my parents urged
me to go to bed early, but I didn’t really
go to bed early.
I watched some TV, or I was really into Legos.
I built more Legos, so my parents' urging
didn’t work that well.
Vanessa: V, vital: Urgently necessary.
It’s vital to learn English with material
that you enjoy.
If you learn with something that’s boring,
you’re probably going to quit, and then you’re
not going to reach your goal.
So, it’s vital to find something that you
enjoy.
Hopefully, like this lesson.
Dan: Yes, and I’ve learned over the years
that it’s vital to get at least seven hours
of sleep.
So, it turns out my parents were right in
urging me to sleep, because you need sleep.
It’s vital.
Vanessa: W, wane: To lessen or decrease.
If your interest in English starts to wane,
it’s time to find some new material to rekindle
your interest, so that you don’t become complacent.
Dan: Yes, and sometimes, if you have a boring
class, your attention may start to wane.
I used to have a very boring history teacher
in high school, and I just couldn’t pay attention.
My attention was waning as the hour went by.
Vanessa: X, extrovert: Someone who’s outgoing.
I’m not an extrovert, so I need a lot of courage
to talk with other people.
What about you?
Are you an extrovert?
Dan: Yeah, I think some people think I’m an
extrovert, and I think that’s generally true,
but I actually value my alone time a lot.
Sometimes, Vanessa will say, “Hey, come to
this party,” and I’ll be like, “Oh no, I don’t
really want to.”
Vanessa: You need some alone, quiet time,
which is understandable.
If you want to learn more words to describe
people, you can check out this video I made
up here.
It’s a personality test, so you can see which
answer fits you and learn some wonderful descriptive
words like extrovert to describe the people
in your life.
Y, yap: To talk noisily.
I saw them yapping away in English, and I
wanted to do the same, but I didn’t have the
courage to speak up.
Dan: Yes, and somebody in your family might
be a big yapper, but usually, I think of this
with a dog, right?
The dog is yapping outside.
Stop that yapping.
Vanessa: This could be a negative word if
you say that to someone, “Stop yapping it.”
If you say that to a human.
Dan: Oh, I think it’s a negative, yeah.
Vanessa: But if you say that with a joking
tone, “Oh, they’re just yapping away,” then
it could just be a little bit more of a joke.
Z, zealous: Excited, fanatic.
Never doubt that I’m zealous about English.
Do you know anyone who is zealous?
Dan: Yeah, I know a few people who are a little
overzealous about politics, so you’re just
going over to their house, and you just want
to have a nice chat, but then they turn the
conversation to politics, and now they have
to talk about it, and they want you to change
your mind, and you’re just like, “Dude, I
want to have a beer with you.”
Vanessa: So maybe they’re a little bit pushy.
You can be overly zealous, or you can just
be zealous.
Thanks so much for joining me, Dan, for this
vocabulary video.
Dan: You’re welcome.
It was fun.
Vanessa: I’m glad that it was fun.
I hope it was fun for you all too, and now
I have a question for you.
I want to know which one of these words was
new for you, and if your friend asked you,
“What can I do to improve my English?”
What would you urge them to do?
Dan: Yes, do you have an insatiable desire
to learn English?
Vanessa: If you were complacent before, I
hope you are zealous about English now.
Dan: Yes.
Vanessa: Thanks so much for learning English
with us, and we’ll see you again next Friday
for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel.
Dan: Bye.
Vanessa: Bye.
Are you ready to get started?
Yeah.
Dan: A. It’s for apprehension.
Just make sure you don’t get hypertension.
Who’s Dan?
Don’t be silly.
Vanessa: A fearful expectation of something,
and now there’s a giant truck driving by.
Dan: I’m apprehensive about this truck.
Vanessa: Bittersweet, a good feeling with
a bit of sadness.
Dan: I’m making faces because they won’t see
it anyways.
Vanessa: Do you know anyone who’s diligent?
Dan: I am not diligent.
Vanessa: Do you think a man who wears a pineapple
shirt is the most diligent man you’ve ever
seen?
Dan: I’m diligently wearing pineapple shirts
every day.
I have expended my resources.
That’s my example.
Vanessa: Dan is a robot.
Dan: I am crashing.
Vanessa: I’d like to understand…
Dan: [Makes silly noises]
Vanessa: The next step is to download my free
ebook, 5 Steps To Becoming A Confident English
Speaker.
You’ll learn what you need to do to speak
confidently and fluently.
Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel
for more free lessons.
Thanks so much.
Bye.