30 Tough but Very Important Advanced Verbs for Daily Use Learn English Vocabulary
(upbeat music)
- Hello everyone.
And welcome back to English with Lucy.
Today, I am going to teach you 30 tough
but very important advanced verbs
that you can use to
expand your vocabulary.
I’m going to teach you
how to pronounce them.
I’m going to teach you their meaning,
and I’m going to give you an example
so you can learn them in context.
To help you even further, I
have also created a free PDF
which you can download, and it has a quiz.
I know you love the quizzes.
If you would like to
download your free PDF,
all you’ve got to do is click
on the link in the description box.
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Before we get started,
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Right.
Let’s get started with the verbs.
Number one, to accomplish.
To accomplish.
This means to succeed in
doing or completing something.
An example.
I think that we’ve accomplished
a lot this morning.
Number two, to accumulate.
To accumulate.
That one’s nice to say, accumulate.
This means
to gradually get more and
more of something over time.
An example.
I seem to have accumulated
lots of expensive hardly-used
university textbooks.
Did anyone else fall for that
scam where you go university,
they say you need loads of
expensive books and it turns out
that your university
professor wrote them all.
(laughs)
Number three is to beware.
To beware.
Note that this is only used in infinitives
and in orders, partitives.
If you tell somebody to
beware, you are warning them
that there is something
or somebody dangerous
and they need to be careful.
A common sign that you
see on gates in the UK
and many other English speaking
countries, I imagine, is
beware of the dog.
Be careful, this dog is dangerous.
Beware of the dog.
And then you see a little Chihuahua.
(laughs)
But be careful.
An example.
Beware of the roads tonight,
it’s been snowing all day.
Number four is to brainstorm.
To brainstorm.
We use this to talk
about a group of people
and it means to all think
together about the same thing
to solve a problem or
come up with good ideas.
An example.
We need to get together
and brainstorm as many ideas as possible.
Number five is to characterise.
To characterise.
You will also see this
spelt with -ize at the end.
That’s absolutely fine.
In British English, we
use both -ize and -ise.
And in American English
and lots of other dialects,
they like to focus on -ize,
which actually makes a lot of sense.
It’s -ize, isn’t it?
- ize.
This means to be typical
of a person place or thing.
For example.
The village is characterised
by honey-colored stone houses.
Number six is devise.
Devise.
And this is to invent something new
or a new way of doing things.
We often talk about devising a plan.
I need to devise a plan.
An example.
The IT team have devised a
new email organisation system.
Oh, I can’t think of anything
that’s interesting than that.
Number seven is to dispute.
To dispute.
And this means to question
whether something is true
or whether it’s legally
acceptable or official.
An example.
We disputed the figures
and they corrected them.
I disputed some figures the other day.
I phoned up my supermarket and I told them
that they have priced…
Ah, this has made me realise how sad I am.
I told them that they have
overpriced their coffee by 75p,
and they corrected it.
One for the team.
Number eight is to downsize.
To downsize.
This means to reduce the number
of people working somewhere
to reduce costs.
We unfortunately had to downsize
from 40 employees to 23.
We also use to downsize
to talk about moving
to a smaller property.
It’s something people tend
to do when they get older.
When they want less space.
Young people seem to want more space.
I want more space, infinite space.
But my parents one day,
I imagine, will downsize.
They’ll move to a smaller property.
Number nine is to embrace.
To embrace.
This means to accept an idea,
a proposal or a set of beliefs
especially when done with enthusiasm.
An example.
The CEO fully embraced
the equal pay proposal.
Yes, go, CEO.
Number 10 is to endorse.
To endorse.
And this means to publicly
say that you support a person,
a statement, or a course of action.
An example.
I fully endorse his research paper.
I completely support it.
Number 11 is to fiddle.
To fiddle.
This means to change the
details or figures of something
in order to get money
or to gain an advantage.
An example.
We thought we were in profit
but it turns out that somebody
had fiddled the accounts.
Number 12 is to idolise.
To idolise.
This is another one that
can also end in -ize.
This means to love and admire
somebody very much possibly,
in some contexts, too much.
An example.
When I was younger I
idolised my science teacher.
In that context, it doesn’t mean too much.
I didn’t like them too much.
I just really liked them.
Number 13 is to implement.
To implement.
This means to make something
that has been officially decided
start or begin to be used.
For example, a new apprenticeship scheme
has been implemented to
encourage youth employment.
Number 14 is to instigate.
To instigate.
And this means to cause something,
usually something bad to happen.
Cause something to happen.
An example.
She was accused of instigating
violence at the protest.
Number 15 is to melt.
To melt.
And this is to become
or make something liquid
as a result of heating.
An example.
Eat your ice cream before it melts.
16 is to moan.
To moan.
It’s a good word because it
expresses what it means, moan.
It means to complain in a way
that people find annoying.
An example.
I cannot stand listening
to him moan any longer.
17 is to negotiate.
To negotiate.
This means to try to meet an
agreement by formal discussion.
An example.
We are attempting to negotiate a pay rise.
18 is to outweigh.
To outweigh.
This means to be greater or
more important than something.
An example.
The advantages massively
outweigh the disadvantages.
19 is to overtake.
To overtake.
This means to become
greater in number, amount
or importance than something.
An example.
We hope that renewable
energy will overtake oil
as the main energy source.
We also use to overtake
to talk about cars.
It’s when one car speeds up
and goes in front of the other.
That car is overtaking the other car.
Number 20 is to perceive.
To perceive.
This means to understand
or to think of somebody or
something in a particular way.
An example.
I don’t perceive her to be
a very argumentative person.
Number 21 is to plummet.
To plummet.
What a great word.
It means to fall quickly and suddenly
from a high level or position.
An example.
Share prices plummeted
after Reddit’s campaign.
Number 22 is to praise.
To praise.
And this is to say that
you approve of and admire
somebody or something.
An example.
His boss praised his enthusiasm
but didn’t offer him the promotion.
Number 23 is to prosper.
To prosper.
This means to develop in a successful way.
It’s often used to talk about children.
We hope they prosper at this school.
They develop in a successful way.
It also means to be successful
especially when talking about money.
She has been prospering
since leaving university.
She’s been very successful,
especially financially.
Number 24 is to rectify.
To rectify.
This means to correct
or to put something right that is wrong.
An example.
Please take the right steps
to rectify the problem.
So much nicer than just correct.
Please rectify it.
Don’t just correct it.
Number 25 is to redeem.
To redeem.
This is to exchange something
such as vouchers or shares
for money or goods.
An example.
You can’t redeem this
voucher because it’s expired.
Number 26 is to retain.
To retain.
This is to keep something or
to continue to have something.
She retained her title
of employee of the month
for the third month running.
Number 27 is to sacrifice.
To sacrifice.
This is the fact of giving up something
that is important to
you or valuable to you
in order to get or do something
that seems more important.
An example.
We sacrificed our social lives
to pay for our children’s education.
Number 28 is to season.
To season.
This means to add salt,
pepper or spices to food
in order to make it taste better.
Season the sauce before
stirring in the cream.
29 is to sip.
To sip.
This is to drink something,
taking in a very small amount at a time.
You sip a drink.
An example.
You’ve been sipping
that cocktail for ages.
Hurry up.
And number 30 is to withdraw.
To withdraw.
This is to stop taking part
in activity or being a member
of an organisation.
Due to the recent negative press,
I have decided to
withdraw from the company.
Right, you made it.
Those were the 30
advanced vocabulary words.
They were all at C1 level.
So you’ve done really well
if you’ve got this far.
Now, it’s time to take that quiz
and don’t forget to share your results
in the comment section.
All you’ve got to do to
download the free PDF and quiz
is click on the link
in the description box.
You enter your name and email address.
You sign up to my mailing list.
I send it directly to your inbox.
And then every week after
that, you will get the PDF
as soon as it becomes available,
as soon as I’ve finished making it.
If you’d like to practise
your listening skills
and improve your vocabulary,
then I also have my vlogging channel.
I vlog my life here on a farm
in the English countryside.
And every vlog is completely subtitled
for your understanding.
Another thank you to Skillshare,
the sponsor of today’s video.
The first 1,000 of my
students to click on the link
in the description box
will get a free trial
of premium Skillshare membership.
And don’t forget to connect
with me on social media.
I’ve got my Instagram, which is @Lucy
and I have my website,
EnglishwithLucy.co.uk
where I have a really
cool pronunciation tool
where you can hear me
pronounce each phoneme.
I’m very proud of it.
/i:/, no, /ea/
I will see you soon for another lesson.
(blows kisses)
Hello everyone.
Have I done everything I meant to?
Oh, no, I haven’t.
(giggles)
So you can follow wherever
you’re clear to run.
For example, I think that we’ve
achieved a lot this morning.
I just didn’t say it, did I?
I said achieved, right?
Okay.
Legally a further course of action.
An example.
Oh my God, I thought
you were the cat there.
You can say hello, though.
Oh, no.
It shows how yellow I am.
How grey I am.
You look fine.
With a lack of a point here.
You have.
Yeah.
(upbeat music)