Vocabulary
English vocabulary test
Read the definition, pick the right word. The clues are in English — working out meaning without a translation makes a word stick.
Read the definition, pick the right word. 12 words per level, no sign-up. The words come from TalkSmart's levelled vocabulary pool and the clues are in English — working out the meaning without a translation is the fastest way to make a word stick.
Not sure which level you are — take the level test
Which word matches this definition?
Word list by level
The words used in the test, with their definitions. The test of really knowing a word is not recognising it from a definition — it is using it in a sentence of your own.
A1
- job
- work you do to make money
- brown
- A dark color like wood or chocolate
- hear
- to listen to sounds with your ears
- angry
- A feeling when you are not pleased or upset
- live
- to have your home in a place
- kind
- nice and good to others
- hungry
- wanting to eat
- scared
- A feeling when you are afraid of something
- kiss
- To touch someone with your lips to show love
- nose
- the part of your face that you smell with
- dad
- your male parent
- bus
- a big vehicle that many people sit in
A2
- bread
- a food made from flour and baked in an oven
- lion
- a large wild cat with a big mane, lives in Africa
- table
- a flat piece of furniture with four legs for eating
- jacket
- a piece of clothing you wear over your shirt
- coffee
- a hot brown drink that adults often have in the morning
- finger
- you have five of these on your hand
- friend
- a person you like and spend time with
- party
- a celebration where friends and family eat, drink and have fun
- picture
- a painting or photograph on paper or a wall
- ice
- frozen water that is very cold and hard
- quick
- very fast, not slow
- fork
- a thing with sharp points that you use to eat food
B1
- shallow
- Not deep; having only a small distance from top to bottom
- ardent
- Enthusiastic and passionate about something.
- challenge
- A difficult task that tests your ability.
- defense
- Protection against attack or criticism.
- community
- A group of people living in the same area.
- transparent
- Clear enough to see through; not blocking your view
- catalyst
- Something that causes an important change or event to happen
- jeans
- Blue cotton trousers that are very popular and casual
- jovial
- Very happy, cheerful, and friendly in manner
- appreciate
- To recognize the value or quality of something.
- arrangement
- A plan or preparation for something to happen.
- diverse
- Of many different kinds or types.
B2
- adjacent
- Located next to or beside something else.
- vindicate
- To show or prove that someone is right or innocent.
- congruent
- In agreement or harmony; matching or fitting together.
- annex
- To add territory to a country; or an addition to a building.
- opulent
- Rich and luxurious in style and appearance; very wealthy.
- bracket
- A support for something attached to a wall, or a range of values.
- garish
- Unpleasantly bright or gaudy in color or appearance.
- biased
- Showing unfair support for one side rather than another.
- contrived
- Deliberately created or arranged; seeming artificial.
- sagacious
- Having keen mental perception and understanding; wise.
- abrupt
- Sudden and unexpected, without warning or gradual change.
- contradict
- to state the opposite of what someone has said
C1
- aphoristic
- Expressed in concise, pithy statements or maxims.
- verisimilitude
- The appearance of being true or real; plausibility.
- ephemeral
- Lasting for a very short time; transitory and fleeting.
- pelleted
- Formed into small, compact balls or pellets.
- catachresis
- The misuse of a word or phrase in a way that changes its meaning.
- mordant
- sharply witty or critical in a biting manner
- vituperative
- Harshly critical or abusive in language and tone.
- pellicle
- A thin skin or membrane covering a surface or structure.
- propinquity
- nearness in space or time; proximity or kinship
- insouciant
- Carefree and unconcerned; lacking appropriate seriousness
- deleterious
- Causing harm or having a negative effect on something.
- anfractuous
- Winding, circuitous, or full of twists and turns
C2
- concatenate
- To link things together in a chain or series
- anfractuosity
- The quality of being intricate and tortuous; complexity arising from many twists.
- temerity
- Excessive confidence or boldness; audacity
- fecund
- Fertile and productive; capable of producing offspring abundantly
- phlegmatic
- Slow-moving, calm, and showing little emotion
- susurration
- A whispering or rustling sound, especially of leaves or fabric.
- emollient
- Softening or soothing in effect, especially to the skin
- apposite
- Strikingly appropriate or relevant to what is being discussed
- pettifoggery
- quibbling over insignificant details; mean or petty behavior
- pellicular
- Of or relating to a thin skin or membrane
- pellucid
- transparently clear in style or meaning; easy to understand
- perspiration
- the process of sweating, especially as a response to heat or exertion
How vocabulary sticks
The trouble with memorising word lists is that you end up recognising words without being able to use them. You read one and think "I know that", then it never arrives when you are speaking. These are two different memories.
- Learn a word in a sentence, not on its own. A word by itself is a label with no context.
- Spaced repetition is not optional. You do not learn a word by meeting it once; you need to meet it again after a day, a week, a month.
- Active use beats passive recognition. Build a sentence with the new word the same day you meet it.
Frequently asked questions
Which levels does the vocabulary test cover?
All six CEFR levels from A1 to C2. Each level has its own words with English definitions.
Why are the clues in English?
Because learning a word through a translation does not teach you to use it. Working out the meaning from an English definition is harder, but it is what makes the word available to you while speaking.
How many words do I need to know?
Roughly 2,000 words covers everyday conversation, 5,000 lets you read a newspaper, and around 8,000 handles academic texts. What matters more than the count is being able to use the words you have.
Want to practise this out loud?
TalkSmart gives you a live AI examiner — cue cards, timing and band scores included.