Academic word list coxhead

Academic Word List words (Coxhead, 2000)447 words
1.

abandon
forsake, leave behind

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
As people abandon desktop computers for mobile ones, existing tech companies’ business models
are being upended and new companies are blooming.
—New York Times (Jan 7, 2013)

2.

abstract
existing only in the mind; separated from embodiment

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The other group wrote in a more abstract, evaluative way, prompted by questions such as “Why did
the event happen?
—Scientific American (Dec 28, 2012)

3.

access
the right to enter

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
But one reason may be, paradoxically, greater access to health insurance.
—Reuters (Jan 7, 2013)

4.

accommodate
have room for; hold without crowding

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
City clerks' offices around Maine scheduled extra office hours to accommodate same-sex couples
rushing to wed.
—Reuters (Dec 29, 2012)

5.

accompany
go or travel along with

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Mr. Obama demands that any spending cuts be accompanied by revenue increases.
—New York Times (Jan 6, 2013)

6.

accumulate
get or gather together

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Business would still be left with record reserves, much higher than those accumulated in earlier
recessions.
—The Guardian (Jan 2, 2013)

7.

acknowledge
declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Acknowledging differences in work style enables leaders to structure interactions better.
—Washington Post (Jan 5, 2013)


8.

acquire
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Al Jazeera has acquired Current TV, the cable television network founded by former US Vice
President Al Gore.
—BBC (Jan 5, 2013)

9.

adapt
make fit for, or change to suit a new purpose

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Japanese officials said adapting overseas technologies presented a particular challenge.
—New York Times (Jan 7, 2013)

10.

adequate
having the requisite qualities or resources to meet a task

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Better said it had injected significant funds into the business "without adequate returns".
—The Guardian (Jan 4, 2013)

11.

adjust
alter or regulate so as to achieve accuracy or conform to a standard

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:


The managers typically adjust their holdings based on algorithms and charts tracking trends in
global markets.
—Wall Street Journal (Jan 6, 2013)

12.

advocate
speak, plead, or argue in favor of

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He was probably best known for his work on heart disease, advocating prevention through exercise
and diet, particularly foods low in animal fat and sodium.
—New York Times (Jan 6, 2013)

13.

affect
have an effect upon

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Would adding this data to someone's medical record affect health insurance rates?
—Slate (Jan 7, 2013)

14.

aggregate
a sum total of many heterogenous things taken together

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Using data from Twitter covering 60,000 trips, aggregated within a ten mile radius, Fischer created
this map of Europe's transport network.
—The Guardian (Nov 22, 2012)

15.


allocate
distribute according to a plan or set apart for a special purpose

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He said the funds will move money from cash equivalents, allocating it to infrastructure projects as
needed.
—Reuters (Dec 13, 2012)

16.

alter
cause to change; make different; cause a transformation

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Yet scientists have struggled to understand whether climate change is altering that cycle.
—Scientific American (Jan 4, 2013)

17.

ambiguous
having more than one possible meaning

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The fourth is currently classified as probable case and his infection status may remainambiguous.
—Scientific American (Dec 5, 2012)

18.

analogy
drawing a comparison in order to show a similarity in some respect

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
While both air travel and pipelines are safer than their road alternatives, the analogy only extends
so far.
—Scientific American (Nov 16, 2012)


19.

annual
occurring or payable every year

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
What are the annual sales of electric vehicles in India?
—Forbes (Jan 7, 2013)

20.

anticipate
regard something as probable or likely

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
“We anticipate some potential short-term disruption,” Mr. Morton said, “but no significant long-term
implications.”
—New York Times (Jan 6, 2013)

21.

apparent
clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The report of Rain's apparent romance with popular South Korean actress Kim Tae-hee, 32, broke
in local media on Tuesday.
—BBC (Jan 2, 2013)

22.

append

fix to; attach


EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The hashtag has been appended to quite a few approving tweets.
—The Guardian (Jun 20, 2012)

23.

appreciate
be fully aware of; realize fully

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
There are, of course, plenty of things to appreciate about Downton.
—Time (Jan 4, 2013)

24.

approach
ideas or actions intended to deal with a problem or situation

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He said a better understanding of the links between high blood pressure and dementia could be
crucial for developing new treatments or approaches to prevention.
—BBC (Jan 7, 2013)

25.

appropriate
suitable for a particular person or place or condition etc

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Mr. Frederick said “that kind of legal strategy is perfectly appropriate.”
—New York Times (Jan 7, 2013)

26.


approximate
judge tentatively or form an estimate of (quantities or time)

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Food technology means they aren't bad these days, but they're only going to approximate the real
thing.
—The Guardian (Jul 12, 2012)

27.

arbitrary
based on or subject to individual discretion or preference or sometimes impulse or
caprice

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
His works are often intentionally placed in unglamorous, arbitrary surroundings like abandoned
buildings, far from the sleek world of urban galleries.
—New York Times (Dec 5, 2012)

28.

aspect

a characteristic to be considered

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He will oversee all aspects of marketing for the company, including advertising, brand management,
social media, and communications, LivingSocial said on Tuesday.
—Reuters (Jan 8, 2013)

29.

assess
evaluate or estimate the nature, quality, ability, extent, or significance of

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:


Another complexity: most studies assess maternal drinking through interviews, and pregnant
women might lie about or underestimate their consumption out of embarrassment or shame.
—Scientific American (Jan 4, 2013)

30.

assign
select something or someone for a specific purpose

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
A larger staff has been assigned to the school, she said, including mental health professionals.
—New York Times (Jan 3, 2013)

31.

assume
take to be the case or to be true; accept without verification or proof

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The market, it is generally assumed, will eventually drive up wages.
—New York Times (Dec 30, 2012)

32.

attach
be attached; be in contact with

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
“Indonesians are religious people, they are very much attached to their religious teachings, their
religious values,” he said.
—New York Times (Jan 6, 2013)

33.


attain
to gain with effort

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He joined the Army near the end of and attained the rank of staff sergeant, remaining in the United
States.
—New York Times (Oct 12, 2012)

34.

attribute
an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of an entity

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Ms. Ora attributes much of her fashion education to her surroundings.
—New York Times (Jan 9, 2013)

35.

authority
the power or right to give orders or make decisions

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Soccer authorities have been helping those banned with getting back on their feet and finding a
way back into society.
—New York Times (Jan 11, 2013)

36.

behalf
as the agent of or on someone's part (usually expressed as "on behalf of" rather than "in
behalf of")

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:


The husband sits in the dominant, protective role, watching his wife’s efforts on behalf of the family
and taking pride.
—New York Times (Aug 30, 2012)

37.

bias
a partiality that prevents objective consideration of an issue or situation

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
More than 300 political parties contested the last general elections, representing various
concerns,biases, cries for justice and pressure groups.
—New York Times (Jan 2, 2013)

38.

brief
give essential information to someone

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
“Flu vaccines are tough,” Bresee said during a telephone briefing with reporters.
—Washington Post (Jan 11, 2013)

39.

bulk
the property possessed by a large mass

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Across Portugal, supermarkets and hypermarkets, with their inexpensive packaged goods
andbulk items, continued to gain ground.
—New York Times (Nov 17, 2012)

40.

capable
(usually followed by `of') having capacity or ability

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
As John Stuart Mill emphasized many years ago, those who are capable of supporting themselves
should not rely on the habitual aid of others.
—New York Times (Dec 17, 2012)

41.

capacity
capability to perform or produce

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
“The hospitals treating the injured are at maximum capacity.
—Newsweek (Jan 11, 2013)

42.

cease
put an end to a state or an activity

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The company said it was also temporarily ceasing sales of modern sporting rifles nationwide.
—New York Times (Dec 18, 2012)

43.

channel
transmit or serve as the medium for transmission

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Options include channeling more funds to the banking sector to boost lending, buying government
bonds on the secondary market and even reducing foreign currency reserves.
—Reuters (Jan 10, 2013)


44.

chart
a visual display of information

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
In some countries, including the largest developing economies in Asia, the G.D.P. charts show no
indication that bad things ever happened.
—New York Times (Dec 28, 2012)

45.

cite
make reference to

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The ratings agency cited India's high saving and investment rates, relatively competitive private
sector and diverse economy as rationale behind its decision.
—New York Times (Jan 10, 2013)

46.

civil
of or occurring within the state or between or among citizens of the state

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
What followed, officials said, was a remarkable show of international cooperation over
Syria's civilwar.
—New York Times (Jan 8, 2013)

47.

clarify


make clear and (more) comprehensible

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He later clarified his meaning and said the media had his misconstrued his comments.
—Washington Post (Nov 9, 2012)

48.

classic
of recognized authority or excellence

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
“The Blue Angel,” adapted from Heinrich Mann’s novel “Small Town Tyrant,” is a cinema classic that
made Marlene Dietrich a star.
—New York Times (Dec 26, 2012)

49.

code
a set of rules or principles or laws (especially written ones)

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
France's Civil Code says one must have another nationality in order to give up French citizenship
because it is forbidden to be stateless.
—New York Times (Jan 3, 2013)

50.

coherent
marked by an orderly, logical, and aesthetically consistent relation of parts

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
That leadership vacuum, Mr. Bealefeld and others said, has inevitably depleted morale and kept the
agency from developing a coherent agenda.
—New York Times (Dec 26, 2012)


51.

coincide
happen simultaneously

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The cutbacks in education and growing youth unemployment coincide with two demographic crises
facing European governments.
—New York Times (Oct 15, 2012)

52.

collapse
break down, literally or metaphorically

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The collapse of Latvia’s largest bank in 1995 wiped out many people’s savings.
—New York Times (Jan 2, 2013)

53.

commence
set in motion, cause to start

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Training commences with what is known as a “warm welcome.”
—New York Times (Jun 24, 2012)

54.

commission
a special group delegated to consider some matter

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:


The commission collected evidence that showed the authorities discussed covering up killings,
including by quickly burying the bodies of victims.
—New York Times (Jan 3, 2013)

55.

commit
give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
A lawyer for the medical examiner’s office, Mimi Mairs, said the agency had committed to “leaving
no stone unturned in recalling casework she touched.”
—New York Times (Jan 11, 2013)

56.

communicate
be in verbal contact; interchange information or ideas

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
By introducing the rating system to games that rely on digital distribution, Vance said, developers will
be able to better communicate their nature to consumers.

57.

community
(ecology) a group of interdependent organisms inhabiting the same region and
interacting with each other

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
In November, Hurricane Sandy devastated entire communities in coastal New York and New
Jersey and killed over 100 people.
—New York Times (Jan 9, 2013)

58.

compatible
able to exist and perform in harmonious or agreeable combination

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Starting in late June, a system that sends emergency alerts via texts began operating
oncompatible cellphones.
—New York Times (Aug 14, 2012)

59.

compensate
make amends for; pay compensation for

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The German government has already compensated Jews who were forced to work in the ghettos.
—New York Times (Jan 3, 2013)

60.

compile
get or gather together

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Mobile video calling has risen so quickly that industry analysts have not yet compiled exact
numbers.
—New York Times (Dec 10, 2012)

61.

complement
something added to complete or embellish or make perfect


EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Third, in 2008-9, monetary and fiscal policies were complemented by government capital injections
directly into United States and European banks.
—New York Times (Aug 11, 2011)

62.

component
an artifact that is one of the individual parts of which a composite entity is made up;
especially a part that can be separated from or attached to a system

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Avoiding turnovers, hitting the offensive boards and getting to the free throw line are all
keycomponents of an efficient offense.
—New York Times (Nov 29, 2012)

63.

compound
a whole formed by a union of two or more elements or parts

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The New England Compounding Center was shut down, and inspections found extensive

contamination.
—New York Times (Jan 5, 2013)

64.

comprehensive
including all or everything

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
“Comprehensive investigative reports for the four equine fatalities from the inner track meet are
being completed by board staff.”
—New York Times (Jan 12, 2013)


65.

comprise
be composed of

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Peck, though, was surprised to learn the other team nicknames used in his league, which
wascomprised entirely of white men.
—Washington Post (Jun 27, 2012)

66.

conceive
have the idea for

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

This strategy, while not entirely random, was hardly well conceived.
—New York Times (May 21, 2012)

67.

concentrate
make denser, stronger, or purer

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Mostly we were silent, concentrating on our steps, but occasionally we would chat.
—New York Times (Jan 3, 2013)

68.

concept
an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:


There is little technical artistry involved, the focus instead on simple concepts and difficult
execution.
—New York Times (Jan 8, 2013)

69.

conclude
bring to a close

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

Taken together, the reports have led analysts to conclude that after years of being an economic
drag, housing is now contributing to economic growth.
—Washington Post (Dec 27, 2012)

70.

concurrent
occurring or operating at the same time

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Problem solving was concurrent with physical effort, so the brain must have adapted by developing
appropriate regions to enhance neurocognition.
—New York Times (Sep 15, 2010)

71.

conduct
(behavioral attributes) the way a person behaves toward other people

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
For years, lawmakers, urged by the NRA, have placed so-called riders on spending bills that restrict
these and other agencies from conducting such research.
—Washington Post (Jan 13, 2013)


72.

confer
have a conference in order to talk something over

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He especially prefers having a radiologist on-site because he believes that conferring in person
helps prevent mistaken readings and gets quicker results.
—New York Times (Oct 9, 2012)

73.

confine
place limits on (extent or access)

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Is erotic sculpture confined to temples or particular religious cults?
—New York Times (Jan 10, 2013)

74.

confirm
establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The identities have yet to be officially confirmed, he said.
—New York Times (Jan 11, 2013)

75.

conform
be similar, be in line with

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

In other words, they conformed to feminine stereotypes.
—New York Times (Dec 16, 2012)

76.

consent
give an affirmative reply to; respond favorably to

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Companies also must get parental consent before using tracking tools such as cookies that peek
into children’s IP addresses and device identification numbers.
—Washington Post (Dec 20, 2012)

77.

considerable
large or relatively large in number or amount or extent or degree

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
In other words, the trial court wanted to treat the mass media like a public utility, which
carriedconsiderable consequences.
—New York Times (Jan 5, 2013)

78.

consist
have its essential character; be comprised or contained in; be embodied in

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:

They consist of arms, elbows and very long finger bones connected by two layers of thin skin.
—Washington Post (Oct 31, 2012)

79.


constant
uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
False reviews are a constant problem on consumer Web sites.
—New York Times (Nov 13, 2012)

80.

constitute
form or compose

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The FDA said it is also working on proposed safety regulations targeting imported food –
whichconstitutes 15% of what’s eaten in the U.S.
—Chicago Tribune (Jan 5, 2013)

81.

constrain
hold back

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Constrained school budgets are likely to prevent any mass hiring or arming of security officers.

—New York Times (Dec 19, 2012)

82.

construct
make by combining materials and parts

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
He wanted and received some honest feedback to help construct a game plan that would put them
in better positions to succeed.
—Washington Post (Nov 29, 2012)


83.

consult
get or ask advice from

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
She said she had decided to step down after consulting family members and friends.
—New York Times (Jan 10, 2013)

84.

consume
use up (resources or materials)

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The technology in theory allows for thinner screens that consume less power.
—Reuters (Jan 8, 2013)

85.

contact
be in or establish communication with

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Beck made eye contact with me and nodded.
—New York Times (Jan 11, 2013)

86.

contemporary
belonging to the present time

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:


There is, in other words, much to appreciate about contemporary movies this year.
—New York Times (Dec 14, 2012)

87.

context
the set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation or event

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Geological Survey has posted some useful context and interpretation.
—New York Times (Dec 19, 2012)

88.

contract
a binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
Other league business will also resume, including trades and contract signings.
—New York Times (Jan 13, 2013)

89.

contradict
prove negative; show to be false

EXAMPLE SENTENCE:
The C.I.A.’s acting director, Michael Morell, recently contradicted that, saying harsh techniques did
produce some tips that led to Bin Laden.
—New York Times (Jan 3, 2013)

90.