The 2,000-word list for Age 13
A reference for teenagers exploring words independently or with support. The 2,000 entries are choices for reading and conversation, not a requirement for Age 13. Advanced entries are optional specialist extensions. Age guidance.
Beginner 1–153 · Intermediate 154–809 · Advanced 810–2000 · How to use the bank · Vocabulary growth: why, what and how
Words run alphabetically within each band. Use the letter links or your browser’s Find in Page to locate a word. Every entry is visible below.
Move through this 24-age collection: All 2,000-word lists by age (1–24) · Previous: Age 12 · Next: Age 14 · How to use this bank. These are reference choices, not age-based word quotas.
Beginner: words 1–153
C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · L · M · N · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · Y · Z
| Sequence and initial | Words, in sequence |
|---|---|
| 0001–0017 · C | chubby, chump, chunk, class, clueless, clump, clunk, collide, contact, cookout, corny, crawly, creaky, crummy, curse, curvy, custom |
| 0018–0024 · D | doable, douse, downright, drudge, dupe, dwell, dwindle |
| 0025–0028 · E | eve, exist, eyesore, eyewash |
| 0029–0038 · F | fleshy, floaty, folksy, forename, foretell, forewarn, forgo, formless, freshen, fume |
| 0039–0050 · G | garner, gawk, gawp, ghoul, girlish, grotty, grunge, guff, guise, gunge, gunk, guzzle |
| 0051–0052 · H | heft, hulk |
| 0053–0053 · I | icky |
| 0054–0054 · J | jerky |
| 0055–0056 · L | liven, lug |
| 0057–0062 · M | meld, mew, mewl, miff, moony, mousy |
| 0063–0065 · N | nil, norm, nosh |
| 0066–0077 · P | pang, panto, peaky, peeve, pelt, plonk, ploy, pogo, poky, prank, prim, prom |
| 0078–0080 · Q | quality, quash, quell |
| 0081–0094 · R | rapt, ratty, rave, recap, reek, reminder, remix, rid, rile, rouse, ruddy, rue, rule, rumour |
| 0095–0114 · S | savvy, scant, scope, scram, scuff, shirk, shoo, shun, slog, slumber, snob, softy, soul, spat, spew, spurn, stark, stash, stay, stout |
| 0115–0124 · S | struggle, stun, stunt, super, surrender, suspect, suspicious, swank, swig, swoon |
| 0125–0132 · T | tardy, terror, terse, testy, thunk, tinge, tiredness, tongue-twister |
| 0133–0139 · U | uncut, undue, unfamiliar, unify, unrest, upend, usage |
| 0140–0143 · V | verve, vile, vim, vouch |
| 0144–0150 · W | wane, wile, woo, workaday, wrath, wreckage, wry |
| 0151–0151 · Y | yip |
| 0152–0153 · Z | zeal, zilch |
Intermediate: words 154–809
A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · L · M · N · O · P · R · S · T · U · V · W · Y · Z
| Sequence and initial | Words, in sequence |
|---|---|
| 0154–0173 · A | acceptant, acquaintanceship, adamance, addled, affectless, affiliative, alienating, ambiversion, ambivert, amenability, amenable, amoral, angst, angst-ridden, antipathy, aphorism, aplomb, apocryphal, apprehensiveness, approbation |
| 0174–0191 · A | apropos, arcane, ardency, ardour, arguable, arguably, ascendancy, ascendant, asperity, aspersion, assiduous, assuage, augur, avarice, averse, aversion, avow, awe-inspiring |
| 0192–0205 · B | backslapping, befuddlement, beguilement, bestie, blitheness, bloodthirsty, bosom, broodiness, brotherhood, brunt, burly, busywork, buzzword, bygone |
| 0206–0225 · C | cantankerous, carping, catcalling, chaperonage, chariness, circumspection, clean-living, co-parent, coarse-grained, coddle, companionless, compatriot, confrère, conscienceless, consolatory, consort, contemporaneous, conundrum, conversant, cordial |
| 0226–0231 · C | cosset, coterie, countenance, crony, cronyism, cursory |
| 0232–0251 · D | dandified, defenceless, desolation, despicable, diabolical, disadvantageous, disbeliever, discerning, discomposure, discourteous, disembodied, disenchantment, disfigurement, disheartenment, disobliging, disorientation, disreputable, disunited, doff, doggedness |
| 0252–0252 · D | dysphoria |
| 0253–0272 · E | egocentric, egoist, egoistic, egotistical, embezzler, embodiment, empathic, encampment, endlessly, endlessness, engrossment, engulf, enrich, enslavement, ensnarement, entail, entertainingly, entitle, entomb, entrap |
| 0273–0292 · E | entrapment, entreat, entreaty, envelop, envisage, ephemera, ephemeral, epigram, epistle, err, erudite, escapism, esoteric, essay, estrange, estranged, estrangement, etymology, euphemism, euphonious |
| 0293–0312 · E | euphoria, euphoric, evasive, evict, eviction, exalt, exasperate, excellently, exceptionally, excessively, exhort, expatriation, expeditious, expendable, extortion, extravagance, extravagant, extremity, extroversion, extrovert |
| 0313–0313 · E | exuberance |
| 0314–0326 · F | fatherless, fellow-traveller, femme, flibbertigibbet, foolhardiness, fractious, fraternal, fraternise, frenemy, friendless, frighteningly, frustratingly, fundamentally |
| 0327–0345 · G | gadabout, gadfly, garrulous, gentlemanly, gentlewoman, genuinely, gloating, goddaughter, gossipmonger, grandnephew, grandniece, gratis, great-aunt, great-nephew, great-niece, great-uncle, gregariousness, groomsman, groupie |
| 0346–0362 · H | half-brother, half-sister, hang-up, hanger-on, hardhearted, heartbreaker, henpeck, henpecked, homily, houseguest, hubris, humbleness, hurtfulness, hyperbole, hypersensitivity, hypervigilance, hypocrite |
| 0363–0379 · I | identically, in-law, inaccurately, inappropriately, inconveniently, incorrectly, indifference, indifferently, ineffectively, infrequently, insecurely, intellectually, interdependency, introversion, inventively, ironically, irresponsibly |
| 0380–0383 · J | jadedness, jape, jealously, jubilance |
| 0384–0403 · L | largesse, laud, laureate, lexical, liaison, lieu, linchpin, lionise, litany, literati, litotes, loanword, logically, lonesomeness, longhand, loquacious, lordly, lovesick, lowly, luckless |
| 0404–0405 · L | ludicrous, luminary |
| 0406–0424 · M | manhood, mannerless, matriarchal, matrimony, maven, mercifully, mercilessly, mercurial, methodically, meticulously, miraculously, misanthropy, misgender, monogamous, monogamy, moodiness, morn, motherless, mutuality |
| 0425–0432 · N | narcissistic, neighbourliness, no-show, noiseless, nosiness, notably, notoriously, nurturer |
| 0433–0445 · O | objectively, offish, opulence, opus, oration, orator, oratory, ostracise, otherness, overfamiliarity, overwhelmingly, overwrought, oxymoron |
| 0446–0465 · P | palmy, parentage, parenthood, passively, patriarchal, patroness, perceptibly, perceptively, personhood, philanthropic, platonic, playfellow, poetically, pointless, proactively, problematically, proficiently, progeny, prominently, protege |
| 0466–0485 · R | rangy, rapprochement, rapture, realistically, recalcitrant, redolent, regretfully, regrettably, relegate, reminiscent, remorseless, remotely, repercussion, repetitively, reportedly, reprisal, repudiate, respite, resplendence, reticent |
| 0486–0496 · R | retribution, retrospectively, reveller, revile, rhetoric, rhetorical, rivalrous, roughneck, routinely, rudeness, rumination |
| 0497–0516 · S | sagacity, salve, satirical, scapegoating, schadenfreude, schoolfellow, schoolfriend, schoolmate, scruple, scrupulous, selectively, self-actualisation, self-aggrandisement, self-compassion, self-deprecation, self-disclosure, self-doubt, self-identification, self-image, self-regard |
| 0517–0536 · S | self-worth, sentimentally, serendipity, servile, servility, shiftless, shockingly, shrewish, siblinghood, simply, sinless, sisterhood, sleepless, sobriety, socialisation, socialite, sociocultural, socioeconomic, soliloquy, soulfulness |
| 0537–0556 · S | soulmate, spiel, spiritless, spiritually, spouse, spurious, stepbrother, stepchild, stepdaughter, stepparent, stepsister, stepson, stoic, stratagem, stylishly, subjectively, sublime, subservient, substantially, subtext |
| 0557–0564 · S | suggestively, sullen, sumptuous, supplant, surmise, sweetheart, sycophantic, symbolically |
| 0565–0582 · T | taciturn, tearless, temerity, tempestuous, tetchy, timorous, tirade, titular, togetherness, tomboy, townsfolk, transgression, travesty, trivially, truculent, tumultuous, twinship, typify |
| 0583–0602 · U | umbrage, unabashedly, unaccommodating, unaccountably, unaccustomed, unacquainted, unadorned, unadulterated, unadventurous, unambitious, unamused, unanimous, unanswerable, unapproachable, unashamedly, unattractive, unbecoming, unbeknown, unbidden, unblemished |
| 0603–0622 · U | unblinking, unbridgeable, uncanniness, unchivalrous, unchristian, uncivil, uncluttered, uncomfortably, uncommunicative, uncomprehending, unconcerned, uncongenial, unconsciously, uncontrived, uncontrollably, uncritical, undecipherable, undemonstrative, undeniably, underhanded |
| 0623–0642 · U | undignified, undiluted, undisciplined, undiscriminating, undistinguished, undivided, unenlightened, unequivocal, unexampled, unfaithfully, unfaltering, unfeelingly, unflagging, unforced, unforgeable, unforgettably, unforgiving, unforthcoming, unfortunately, unfriend |
| 0643–0662 · U | unfulfilling, ungraciously, ungrammatical, unhampered, unhappiness, unheeding, unheroic, unhesitatingly, unhurriedly, unifier, uniformly, unimaginative, unimaginatively, unimpeachable, unimpressed, uninitiated, uninspiring, unintentionally, unintimidated, uninvited |
| 0663–0682 · U | uninviting, unjudgemental, unkindness, unknowingly, unlovable, unlovely, unloving, unmannerly, unmistakably, unnatural, unnaturally, unobjectionable, unobservant, unobtrusive, unoriginal, unorthodox, unperceptive, unperturbed, unpleasantness, unpolished |
| 0683–0702 · U | unprecedented, unpremeditated, unprofessionally, unpromising, unpropitious, unprovoked, unpunctual, unquenchable, unquestionably, unreasonably, unreasoning, unreciprocated, unrefined, unrelenting, unremarkable, unrequited, unreservedly, unsatisfactory, unscrupulous, unseemly |
| 0703–0722 · U | unselfishly, unsightly, unsmiling, unsophisticated, unspoilt, unstated, unsteadily, unstimulating, unstructured, unsubtle, unsuccessful, unsuccessfully, unsupportive, unsurprised, unsurprisingly, unsympathetic, untenable, unthinkable, unthinking, untiring |
| 0723–0742 · U | untrammelled, untreatable, untrusting, untruth, untutored, unvarnished, unwavering, unwaveringly, unwelcome, unwholesome, unwillingness, unwisdom, unwisely, unwittingly, unwonted, unwritten, urbane, uselessly, utopian, utterly |
| 0743–0762 · V | vacillate, vagrant, vaguely, valiantly, vastly, vaunt, vehemently, veracity, verbally, vexation, vicarious, viciously, victoriously, vigorously, villager, violently, virtually, visibly, vitriol, vividly |
| 0763–0768 · V | vociferous, volition, voluntarily, voracious, voraciously, vulnerably |
| 0769–0788 · W | wannabe, warmly, washy, watchfully, weakly, wearily, wearisomely, weirdly, well-wisher, wend, whimsically, wickedly, widely, wildly, wilfully, willingly, wingman, wisely, wittily, wizened |
| 0789–0801 · W | woebegone, woefully, womanhood, womanly, wonderfully, wordlessly, wordsmith, worldly, worriedly, wraith, wretched, wrongly, wryly |
| 0802–0805 · Y | yearningly, yielding, yokel, yonder |
| 0806–0809 · Z | zealous, zealously, zestfully, zestfulness |
Advanced — optional supported reading: words 810–2000
A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W
| Sequence and initial | Words, in sequence |
|---|---|
| 0810–0829 · A | abecedarian, abominate, abridger, adeptness, adynaton, affinal, affricate, agglutinate, agglutination, agnate, agnatic, alexandrine, allegiant, allomorph, allomorphic, allomorphy, allophone, allophonic, allophony, alterity |
| 0830–0849 · A | amorality, anacoluthon, anadiplosis, anagnorisis, anagrammatist, anapaest, anaphor, anastrophe, anathema, animadversion, animadvert, anodyne, antanaclasis, antediluvian, antimetabole, antinovel, antiphonal, antiphrasis, antipoetry, antistrophe |
| 0850–0869 · A | antithetic, antitype, apocope, apodosis, apologia, apophasis, apophthegm, aporia, aposiopesis, apostrophise, apposite, appositive, approbatory, archaism, archness, arrant, arsis, articulacy, asperse, asseveration |
| 0870–0882 · A | assiduousness, assonant, assuagement, asyndetic, asyndeton, auspice, autoethnography, autofiction, autonym, autotelic, aver, avidity, avouch |
| 0883–0902 · B | back-formation, backchannelling, bahuvrihi, baneful, bereave, bestial, betoken, bibliographical, bibliomania, bibliomanic, bibliotherapy, bilabial, bilingualism, bisyllabic, blason, blighted, bloviate, bloviation, bluffness, boisterousness |
| 0903–0906 · B | bookishness, boorishness, brachylogy, bromide |
| 0907–0926 · C | calumny, canonise, carper, castigation, catachresis, cataphora, cataphoric, causeless, cavil, caviller, chirography, choric, chronogram, chronotope, circumfix, cliched, clitic, cliticisation, co-occurrence, coarticulation |
| 0927–0946 · C | coeditor, coeval, cognacy, cohyponym, collectedness, collocational, columnist, commentariat, commodious, commonplaceness, complementation, complementiser, complicit, comport, comportment, concordancer, concordant, condign, confutation, confute |
| 0947–0966 · C | conjugal, conjugality, connoisseurship, consanguine, consanguineous, consanguinity, conspectus, contrafactum, contriteness, contumacious, contumelious, converb, convulse, copula, copular, copydesk, corrector, correlative, coruscate, counterstatement |
| 0967–0973 · C | cravenness, creolisation, cretic, crux, cumbrous, cupidity, cynosure |
| 0974–0993 · D | dactyl, dactylic, debonairness, declaim, declension, defamiliarisation, degeneracy, deictic, deixis, delectation, demurral, denigratory, denotational, denunciatory, depravity, deprecatory, depreciatory, dereliction, derivational, descriptiveness |
| 0994–1013 · D | descriptivism, descriptivist, descry, despondency, despondent, destitution, detestation, detraction, detrimental, deverbal, diachronic, diachrony, dialectal, dialectology, dialogic, dialogical, dialogism, dicker, diegesis, diegetic |
| 1014–1033 · D | diffidence, diglossia, diglossic, dilatory, dilettante, dimeter, diminution, diphthongal, diphthongisation, disabuse, disaffection, disapprobation, disarmament, discomfiture, discommode, disconcertment, discordant, discourse, discredit, discreditable |
| 1034–1053 · D | discriminating, discursiveness, disdainful, disenthral, disesteem, disfluency, dishabituation, disinclination, disingenuous, disinterestedness, disoblige, disown, disownment, dispensation, dispirit, dispossess, dispossession, disquietude, disquisition, disrelish |
| 1054–1073 · D | dissemble, dissembler, dissimilation, dissimulation, dissimulator, dissipation, dissolute, dissuasion, dissuasive, distend, distich, disyllabic, dither, dithyramb, dithyrambic, ditransitive, docility, dolor, dolorous, donnish |
| 1074–1083 · D | doppelganger, doughty, dourness, dramaturgical, dreamscape, dubiousness, dubitation, dullard, duplicitous, dysprosody |
| 1084–1103 · E | ebullience, ebullition, echolalia, edacious, edification, edify, editorialist, efface, effacement, effeminacy, effeteness, effrontery, effusively, effusiveness, egocentrism, egoism, egomania, egomaniac, egotistically, eisegesis |
| 1104–1123 · E | elegiac, elegist, elicitation, elide, elision, elitism, elitist, elocutionist, elysian, emaciate, emanation, embroilment, emend, emendation, eminence, eminently, emotivity, empathetically, enamour, enclitic |
| 1124–1143 · E | encomium, encumbrance, endocentric, endonym, enervate, enervation, enfeeblement, enforcer, enigmatically, enjambment, enjoin, enmesh, ennoblement, ennui, enormity, enounce, enquiringly, ensconce, enshrinement, enterprisingly |
| 1144–1163 · E | enthralment, enthronement, entity, entombment, entrancement, entrench, entrenchment, envenom, environs, epenthesis, epenthetic, epicedium, epigone, epigrammatic, epigrammatist, epigraphic, epimone, epiphany, episodic, epistolary |
| 1164–1183 · E | epistrophe, epitext, epithalamium, epithet, epitome, epitomise, epitomist, epizeuxis, epode, equanimity, equanimous, eradication, ergative, ergativity, eroteme, ersatz, erstwhile, eruditely, erudition, eschew |
| 1184–1203 · E | esoterically, espionage, espousal, espouse, esprit, espy, essayist, essayistic, esurient, ethereal, ethnocentric, ethos, etymological, eudaimonia, eulogise, eulogy, euphemise, euphemistic, euphemistically, euphonic |
| 1204–1223 · E | euphony, euphorically, euphuism, euphuistic, evanesce, evanescent, evasively, evasiveness, evince, evocation, evocative, evocatively, exaltation, exasperatingly, exclamative, exclamatory, excoriate, excoriation, excruciating, exculpation |
| 1224–1243 · E | execrable, execrate, execration, exegesis, exegete, exegetical, exemplum, exhortation, exigency, exigent, exiguous, existential, exocentric, exonym, exorbitant, exorcise, expansively, expatiate, expeditiously, experiential |
| 1244–1263 · E | expiate, expiation, explicatory, exploitative, exposition, expository, expostulate, expostulation, expostulatory, expressively, expulsion, expunge, expurgate, exquisitely, extempore, extenuating, extermination, extol, extortionate, extraordinarily |
| 1264–1269 · E | extravaganza, extricate, extrication, exude, exult, exultant |
| 1270–1289 · F | fabliau, fabulation, fabulism, facetiously, factitious, factotum, faint-heartedly, familism, fanfiction, fantastically, farcically, fastidiously, fastidiousness, fatalistic, fatally, fatuity, fatuously, fatuousness, ferociously, fervency |
| 1290–1309 · F | fervently, fervid, fervidly, feuilleton, first-person, flagitious, flash-forward, flightiness, flippantly, floridly, florilegium, foible, fop, foppish, forebode, foregrounding, forfend, forlornness, formulaic, forthrightly |
| 1310–1316 · F | fortuitously, fractiously, fraternisation, frenetically, fricative, frippery, froward |
| 1317–1336 · G | gainsay, galling, garishness, garrulity, gasconade, geminate, gemination, genially, genteelly, georgic, gerundial, gestural, ghoulish, gibe, glossarist, glossography, glossolalia, glottal, glottalisation, gnomic |
| 1337–1350 · G | gormless, gracelessness, grammarian, grammatology, grandiloquent, graphemic, graphemics, graphically, graphology, gratuitously, grievously, grotesquely, gruellingly, guileful |
| 1351–1370 · H | hackneyed, hagiographic, hamartia, haplology, harrumph, hauntingly, headnote, headword, heedlessly, heroicomic, heterodiegetic, heteroglossia, heteronym, hexameter, hideously, high-flown, high-handedly, high-minded, highfalutin, histrionic |
| 1371–1390 · H | histrionics, hoary, hollowly, homiletic, homiletics, homodiegetic, homophily, honorific, honourably, hortatory, hubristic, humaneness, humourist, hypallage, hyperbaton, hypercatalectic, hypercritical, hypernym, hypernymy, hypertextual |
| 1391–1394 · H | hyponymy, hypotactic, hypotaxis, hypotext |
| 1395–1414 · I | iamb, iambic, iconoclast, idiolect, idiolectal, ill-starred, illimitable, illustrational, illustriously, imagism, imbrication, imbroglio, immaculately, immanent, immemorial, immodestly, impartially, impassively, impertinence, impertinently |
| 1415–1434 · I | impetuously, implausibly, importunate, impotently, impractically, imprecate, imprecation, imprecatory, improbably, improvident, imprudently, impudently, impute, in-group, inadvertently, inamorata, inamorato, inarticulacy, inaudibly, incautiously |
| 1435–1454 · I | inchoate, incipit, incisively, incommodious, incongruence, incongruously, inconsequentially, inconspicuously, inculcate, inculcation, incunabulum, indefatigable, indelicately, indirection, indiscreetly, individualism, indulgently, inefficacious, inelegantly, ineloquently |
| 1455–1474 · I | ineluctable, ineptly, ineradicable, inertly, inexorably, infamously, infantilise, infelicity, infix, ingenuous, ingenuously, inglorious, ingressive, inimical, inimitably, injudiciously, inordinately, insatiably, inscrutably, insensate |
| 1475–1494 · I | insidiously, insolently, insouciance, insouciant, inspirationally, inspirit, instil, instructional, insufferably, interjectional, interlanguage, interlocution, interpretant, intertext, intertextual, intertextuality, intervocalic, intonational, intradiegetic, intransitivity |
| 1495–1505 · I | intricately, intrinsically, introducer, introjection, invective, inveigh, invocation, ironical, irresistibly, isocolon, isogloss |
| 1506–1515 · J | jargonise, jauntiness, jocularity, jocularly, jocund, journalistic, joviality, joylessness, judiciousness, juxtapositional |
| 1516–1518 · K | keen-eyed, kenning, keyboarder |
| 1519–1538 · L | labial, labiodental, laboriously, lackadaisically, lacklustre, laconically, lamentation, languorous, lassitude, laudable, laudatory, lavishly, legatee, lemmatisation, leniency, leniently, leonine, lethargically, lexicality, lexicographer |
| 1539–1558 · L | lexicographic, lexicography, lexicological, lexicology, lexicostatistics, lexis, libellous, limpidly, limpness, lingual, literalism, literalist, literariness, loathsomeness, locution, loftiness, logline, logocentric, logocentrism, logographic |
| 1559–1569 · L | logomachy, logophile, long-form, loquaciousness, loquacity, lucidity, ludic, ludicrously, ludicrousness, lugubrious, lyrically |
| 1570–1589 · M | macaronic, magnanimity, malaprop, malevolence, malevolent, matter-of-factly, maunder, mawkishness, meditatively, melancholia, mellifluous, mendacious, mendacity, meritorious, mesmerism, metacritical, metacriticism, metafiction, metafictional, metalanguage |
| 1590–1609 · M | metalepsis, metalinguistic, metanarrative, metapoetry, metatext, metatextual, metathesis, metonymic, metonymy, mightily, mimesis, mimetic, mirthful, mirthless, misandry, misanthrope, misanthropic, misogynist, misogyny, mollycoddle |
| 1610–1629 · M | monody, monographic, monolingualism, monologise, monologist, monophthong, monophthongal, monorhyme, monostich, monosyllabic, monosyllabism, monotonously, moralistic, moroseness, morph, morphemic, morphophonemic, morphophonology, mortally, mortification |
| 1630–1637 · M | mulish, mulishness, mundanely, mutely, mythmaker, mythmaking, mythologise, mythopoeia |
| 1638–1657 · N | narratee, narrational, narratological, narratology, nasalisation, neologise, neologism, neoteric, nettlesome, nobly, nomenclator, nominalisation, nominalise, nonchalance, nondiegetic, nonfinite, nonliteral, nonplussed, nonverbal, nostalgically |
| 1658–1663 · N | note-taker, notionally, notwithstanding, novelisation, novelistic, nurturance |
| 1664–1683 · O | obduracy, obeisance, obfuscate, obfuscation, obfuscatory, obliquely, obliqueness, obliviousness, obloquy, obnoxiousness, obscurely, obscurity, obsequiousness, obstinacy, obstinately, obstruent, obtuseness, odium, offence, offhanded |
| 1684–1701 · O | officiousness, ominousness, onomastics, onomatopoeic, opportune, opportunism, opprobrium, oracular, oratorical, ostensible, ostensibly, ostentation, ostentatiously, outgroup, outmanoeuvre, outtalk, overweening, oxytone |
| 1702–1721 · P | pacification, palatal, palatalisation, palindromic, palter, panegyric, paradoxically, paragrapher, paralinguistic, paralinguistics, paralipsis, paraliterature, paraphrastic, paratactic, parataxis, paratextual, paremiology, parenthetic, parodic, parodist |
| 1722–1741 · P | paronomasia, parsimonious, parsimony, participial, pasquinade, passivity, pastiche, patronymic, peevishness, pensiveness, peremptorily, perfidious, perfidy, peripeteia, periphrasis, periphrastic, peroration, perpetually, persiflage, persona |
| 1742–1761 · P | perspicuity, perspicuous, pertinacity, perturbation, perversely, perversity, petulance, philippic, philological, philologist, philology, philosophically, phlegmatic, phonation, phonemic, phonemics, phonestheme, phonetic, phonetics, phonography |
| 1762–1781 · P | phonologist, phonology, phrasebook, phraseology, phrasing, picaresque, pithiness, placidity, placidly, plaintiveness, plausibly, pleasantry, ploce, plotline, poetaster, poetical, poetics, poignancy, poignantly, polyglossia |
| 1782–1801 · P | polyptoton, polysyndeton, pomposity, pompously, pragmatically, precariously, precariousness, precipitous, precipitously, predilection, predisposition, prefatory, preposterously, prepublication, prescriptivism, prescriptivist, presumption, presumptuously, presumptuousness, pretentiously |
| 1802–1821 · P | pretentiousness, prevaricate, prevarication, primacy, probity, prodigality, profoundly, profundity, profusely, pronounceable, propitiate, propitious, proportionately, prosaically, prosaist, prosimetrum, prosodist, prosopography, prosopopoeia, protestation |
| 1822–1830 · P | providentially, provocation, provocative, provocatively, prudishness, psychodynamics, pugnacity, punctiliousness, punster |
| 1831–1837 · Q | quatrain, querulously, querulousness, questionably, quibble, quick-witted, quiescence |
| 1838–1857 · R | raconteur, raconteuse, radiantly, rancorous, rapturous, rapturously, ratiocination, rationality, raucously, readerly, realisation, reasonableness, recalcitrance, recapitulate, recapitulation, receptiveness, recontextualise, recriminate, recrimination, rectitude |
| 1858–1877 · R | redactional, referent, reflectively, reflectiveness, reflexively, reinterpretation, remonstrance, remorselessly, renunciation, repartee, reprehend, reprehensible, reprehensibly, reproachful, reproachfulness, reproof, reprove, repugnance, rescript, resignedly |
| 1878–1897 · R | resoundingly, restiveness, reticence, reticently, retort, reverentially, revisionism, revisionist, revulsion, rhapsodic, rhapsody, rhetor, ribaldry, rodomontade, romanisation, romanticisation, rondeau, rondelet, ruminative, rumourmonger |
| 1898–1917 · S | sardonic, sardonically, satirically, satirise, satirist, saturnine, scandalously, scansion, sceptically, scholarly, scrupulously, scrupulousness, scurrility, scurrilous, sedately, self-abnegation, self-effacing, self-possessed, self-sufficiency, sermonise |
| 1918–1937 · S | sestet, sestina, shamefacedly, shibboleth, signification, single-mindedness, slanderous, slovenliness, slur, sociometry, solemnity, solicitous, solicitude, sonneteer, soul-searching, speciousness, splendour, spondaic, spondee, stanzaic |
| 1938–1956 · S | stichomythia, stint, stipulation, stoicism, stridency, strophe, strophic, stutterer, subaudition, subgenre, subjoin, sublimity, subservience, sumptuousness, superciliousness, surliness, susceptibility, synecdoche, synonymic |
| 1957–1976 · T | taciturnity, tantalising, tautological, tautologous, tautology, tendentious, tetrameter, threnody, tmesis, toadyism, topos, traduce, traducer, tragicomedy, transience, trepidation, trimeter, trochaic, trochee, trope |
| 1977–1979 · T | trouvère, truculence, tut-tut |
| 1980–1989 · U | unarticulated, unasked, unavailing, unconquerable, unctuous, unfathomable, unsparing, unspoken, unstinting, untoward |
| 1990–1998 · V | ventriloquise, ventriloquism, verbiage, verboseness, vituperation, vociferate, vociferation, volta, volubility |
| 1999–2000 · W | whisperer, wordage |
Using this bank
Choose language that says what you mean, and read what another person actually wrote.
The complete list is above. Go to age guidance, the practical method, definitions and examples, common problems, frequent questions or all published age banks.
A short message can leave a long question behind: was that friendly, impatient or simply brief? A story can create the same uncertainty. This bank helps you name useful distinctions, ask a better question and explain why one reading fits the words on the page.
Start with something you want to understand or say. Find one useful entry, check its meaning and try it in a sentence you might actually use. If an ordinary word makes the point more clearly, keep the ordinary word. A larger vocabulary should give you choices.
Many everyday entries already belong to earlier volumes, so this bank includes substantial literary and linguistic extension material. Those terms are available when an interest calls for them. Nobody needs to master this list to belong in a conversation, enjoy a book or be ready for a birthday.
What Age 13 means here
EEF’s secondary literacy guidance connects reading, writing, talk and vocabulary across subjects. Its attention to subject-specific language helps explain why a familiar word can acquire a precise sense in literary discussion. The guidance concerns school practice; it does not validate this collection or assign its words to thirteen-year-olds. EEF: Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools · EEF: Secondary literacy recommendations.
Age 13 identifies a volume in this reference series. Children/Teen describes the broad readership, including young people browsing independently and adults helping them. Beginner, intermediate and advanced are editorial routes within this bank, not diagnoses, examination grades or estimates of anyone’s ability. Choose by interest and usefulness.
| Band | What it means here | How to choose |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | A starting route within this collection | Choose an entry that fits something you already notice, discuss or enjoy. |
| Intermediate | More detail, description and relationships | Choose a word that makes an existing idea more precise or adds a useful distinction. |
| Advanced | Optional supported reading extension | Use a term only when a suitable text, interest or question gives it a meaningful context. |
Back to the word list · Guide and examples
Read the words, consider the tone, check the interpretation
1. Keep the actual sentence
Read the whole sentence and enough surrounding text to know who is speaking. If you are discussing a message, quote its wording accurately. Separate the observable words from your first impression of the person who wrote them.
2. Explain one useful distinction
Choose a word that clarifies the situation. Reticence names a reluctance to speak or reveal something; it does not tell you why. Give a plain explanation, then check a dictionary when the meaning, spelling or usual context is uncertain.
3. Try more than one reading
Ask what else the sentence could reasonably mean. A brief reply may reflect hurry, distraction or annoyance. A vocabulary label does not prove which explanation is correct. Look for context or ask a straightforward question.
4. Change one expression
Compare two versions: a direct request and one softened by an explanation, or a lively description and a neutral description. Say what changed in tone. Keep the version that suits your purpose and treats the reader fairly.
5. Use the word again when it helps
Return to the word in another conversation, review or story. Explain what fits this new situation and what does not. You can understand an expression without adopting it as part of your everyday speech.
EEF’s Vocabulary in Action resource recommends familiar explanations, purposeful examples and repeated encounters in different contexts. The situations here are original applications of those broad ideas. The resource does not endorse the list, its band labels or a daily word target. EEF: Vocabulary in Action.
Back to the word list · Guide and examples
Useful meanings and examples from ordinary life
Examples use familiar words from across the series, including earlier volumes. The no-repeat rule applies only to the numbered bank entries. The short meanings below explain the intended sense in each example; they are not exhaustive dictionary entries.
1. Calm confidence when a plan changes
aplomb — calm confidence when handling a demanding situation
“When the microphone failed, Noor continued with aplomb and invited everyone to move closer.”
The sentence points to how Noor handled the interruption. It does not mean that Noor never felt nervous.
2. An exaggeration understood as exaggeration
hyperbole — a deliberately striking exaggeration used for effect
“I have opened this cupboard a thousand times today,” Jay said after looking for the missing mug again.
The large number expresses frustration. Decide from the situation whether the speaker is exaggerating or making a literal numerical claim.
Meaning reference: Poetry Foundation: Hyperbole.
3. What remains beneath the spoken words
subtext — an underlying meaning suggested without being stated directly
“The characters discuss the weather, but the pauses suggest that their disagreement remains unresolved.”
A proposed subtext needs support from the scene. Explain the clues and allow for another interpretation; this is not a method for reading someone’s mind.
4. A reluctance to discuss something
reticence — a reluctance to speak openly or reveal information
“Mina’s reticence about the rehearsal left the group unsure whether she wanted to describe it.”
Do not turn a description of silence into a claim about dishonesty, dislike or personality. Ask respectfully, and leave room for privacy.
Meaning reference: Cambridge Dictionary: Reticence.
5. A quick, witty exchange
repartee — quick, witty replies exchanged in conversation
“Their playful repartee kept the interview lively without preventing either guest from answering.”
The quick replies are part of an exchange. Wit can still land badly, so consider whether everyone involved appears comfortable with the joke.
6. A softer way to refer to something uncomfortable
euphemism — a milder or indirect expression used for something unpleasant, embarrassing or sensitive
“The speaker called the broken chair ‘past its best’, softening a much less flattering description.”
Ask what the expression refers to. A softer phrase can show tact, but a reader may still need the concrete facts.
Meaning reference: Cambridge Dictionary: Euphemism.
7. A detail that recalls another time
redolent — strongly suggestive or reminiscent of something; also used of a noticeable smell
“The handwritten labels were redolent of the little shop her grandfather once ran.”
Here the word describes an association. In a sentence about a room redolent of cinnamon, it would refer more directly to smell.
Meaning reference: Cambridge Dictionary: Redolent.
8. Avoiding attention for one’s achievements
self-effacing — tending to avoid drawing attention to yourself or your achievements
“In her self-effacing introduction, the designer credited the team before mentioning her own contribution.”
This describes a manner of presenting oneself. It does not establish whether someone is confident, anxious, sincere or seeking reassurance.
Precision helps most when it leaves room for the person
Words such as reticent, evasive and secretive carry different implications. A reader may use them to discuss how a narrator presents a character. Applying the strongest label to a real person after one short reply can add an accusation that the evidence does not support. Describe the action first, then ask whether the label earns its place.
Distinguish a word’s basic meaning from its tone and setting. A literary expression may fit a book review but make an everyday request sound distant. Some entries are formal, old-fashioned, strongly critical or specialised. Consult the usage label in a reliable dictionary when the social effect matters, and avoid using an unfamiliar insult as a joke.
Reading can remain enjoyable while a word is uncertain. If it does not block the passage, continue and return later. If it changes the action or a speaker’s intention, pause for a brief explanation. The aim is to understand the work and one another; finishing a vocabulary page is optional.
Back to the word list · Guide and examples
Five possible occasions to return to a useful word
Choose occasions that fit naturally. These are not five compulsory days, and there is no daily quota or completion deadline. Repeat, change or stop an activity according to your interest and purpose.
| Occasion | What to try |
|---|---|
| A message you are about to send | Read it once from the recipient’s position. Make the request or question clear without adding a formal word you would not normally use. |
| A scene from a book or film | Choose one description of tone. Identify the words or actions that support it, then consider a second plausible reading. |
| A conversation about a disagreement | Describe what happened before naming a motive. Use a clarifying question when the intention remains uncertain. |
| A review or recommendation | Replace a vague judgement with one precise detail. Keep the explanation understandable to someone unfamiliar with the work. |
| A later encounter with the same word | Compare its setting, tone and meaning with the earlier example. Notice whether the new context changes which sense applies. |
Reading and languages at home
Let the topic guide your reading. A story, information book, picture, recipe, sign or instruction can give a word a useful context. Read with someone when you want support, or discuss an unfamiliar passage afterwards. Pause for a necessary explanation and return to the meaning of the passage.
Use the languages you are comfortable using, and welcome connections between them. The Communication Health Support Association encourages families to give children opportunities to use their languages. This English bank cannot represent everything a multilingual reader knows. CHSA: Learning More Than One Language.
When something is not working
| What you notice | A useful adjustment |
|---|---|
| An impressive word makes the sentence harder to understand | Try the plainest accurate expression first. Keep the longer word only if it adds a distinction the reader needs. |
| A tone label is being treated as proof of someone’s intention | Return to the actual words and actions. Mark the label as an interpretation and consider what further context would help. |
| Every unfamiliar entry seems urgent | Choose the word that affects the current passage. Leave the rest available for another occasion. |
| The dictionary gives several senses | Match the word’s grammar and surrounding sentence to the relevant sense. Read an additional example before deciding. |
| A word has become a label used to tease someone | Stop using it that way. Discuss the behaviour or situation in clear language without turning a vocabulary exercise into a judgement of a person. |
Back to the word list · Guide and examples
Frequently asked questions
Is this a required vocabulary list for Age 13?
No. It is a reference bank with accessible and advanced routes. It has no completion deadline or required score. Many entries belong to specialised reading and will be irrelevant to a particular reader’s current interests.
Can teenagers use it independently?
Yes. Start with a real question, use the band and letter links, and check a reliable dictionary when needed. A teacher, librarian, parent or other helpful adult can explain an unfamiliar context.
Why are there technical terms about language?
They support optional interests in literature, writing and how language works. You can enjoy stories and communicate well without knowing every name for a grammatical or poetic feature.
Should I use new words in every message?
Use them when they help your reader. A clear familiar expression is often the best choice. Understanding a word and choosing to use it are different decisions.
Why can a familiar word appear in the examples but not this bank?
The non-repeat rule applies to numbered entries across the collection. Examples use whatever familiar language makes the meaning clear. There is no reason to avoid useful words in ordinary conversation.
The sequence and word audit
Age 13: 2,000 distinct listed entries. This volume occupies series positions 24,001–26,000. The published collection currently contains Ages 1–24, with 48,000 distinct listed entries across twenty-four banks.
The audit checks the numbered list entries, rather than every word in the article. Case, spacing, hyphens, apostrophes, accents and recorded spelling variants are normalised to catch duplicates. Established single words and conventional hyphenated headwords count as entries. Different meanings of the same spelling do not receive extra entries. Some useful derived forms are separate entries; the total is not a count of unrelated word families.
“Top” means an editorial selection for this reference project. It does not mean the most frequent words in a measured language corpus or the best 2,000 words for every reader. Sequence numbers locate entries in the collection; they are not importance scores or developmental measures.
Keep repeating useful words in real life. The non-repeating lists offer additional choices. They do not recommend withholding familiar language or learning 2,000 new words at each birthday.
Age 1: 2,000-word bank · Age 2: 2,000-word bank · Age 3: 2,000-word bank · Age 4: 2,000-word bank · Age 5: 2,000-word bank · Age 6: 2,000-word bank · Age 7: 2,000-word bank · Age 8: 2,000-word bank · Age 9: 2,000-word bank · Age 10: 2,000-word bank · Age 11: 2,000-word bank · Age 12: 2,000-word bank · Age 13: 2,000-word bank · Age 14: 2,000-word bank · Age 15: 2,000-word bank · Age 16: 2,000-word bank · Age 17: 2,000-word bank · Age 18: 2,000-word bank · Age 19: 2,000-word bank · Age 20: 2,000-word bank · Age 21: 2,000-word bank · Age 22: 2,000-word bank · Age 23: 2,000-word bank · Age 24: 2,000-word bank
| Published volume | Series positions |
|---|---|
| Age 1 | 1–2,000 |
| Age 2 | 2,001–4,000 |
| Age 3 | 4,001–6,000 |
| Age 4 | 6,001–8,000 |
| Age 5 | 8,001–10,000 |
| Age 6 | 10,001–12,000 |
| Age 7 | 12,001–14,000 |
| Age 8 | 14,001–16,000 |
| Age 9 | 16,001–18,000 |
| Age 10 | 18,001–20,000 |
| Age 11 | 20,001–22,000 |
| Age 12 | 22,001–24,000 |
| Age 13 | 24,001–26,000 |
| Age 14 | 26,001–28,000 |
| Age 15 | 28,001–30,000 |
| Age 16 | 30,001–32,000 |
| Age 17 | 32,001–34,000 |
| Age 18 | 34,001–36,000 |
| Age 19 | 36,001–38,000 |
| Age 20 | 38,001–40,000 |
| Age 21 | 40,001–42,000 |
| Age 22 | 42,001–44,000 |
| Age 23 | 44,001–46,000 |
| Age 24 | 46,001–48,000 |
Entry counts and cross-age allocation checked on 3 November 2026 (Asia/Singapore). The selection is an original editorial resource. The sources below support the attributed communication, observation and reading guidance; they do not endorse or validate this particular word bank.
A useful next step
Choose one sentence from something you are reading or writing. Explain its meaning plainly, identify one useful distinction and decide whether a new word would make the sentence clearer.
Back to the word list · Guide and examples
Sources and editorial note
EEF: Improving Literacy in Secondary Schools
CHSA: Learning More Than One Language
Cambridge Dictionary: Reticence
Cambridge Dictionary: Euphemism
Cambridge Dictionary: Redolent
EEF: Secondary literacy recommendations
The guides, definitions and examples are original eduKate editorial explanations. The cited organisations do not endorse this page. “Top” describes the editorial selection; no search ranking, measured word-frequency order or learning outcome is promised.
edu|Kate Singapore · Clear words for useful conversations, reading and everyday understanding.
Vocabulary Growth Guide for Age 13: Why, What and How
A growing vocabulary should give you more control over meaning, not make every sentence longer. You might know what happened in a story but be unsure how strongly to describe a character’s motive. You might recognise a word in a book yet hesitate to use it in your own explanation. Those are useful starting points: the next step is a better connection, not simply another difficult word.
Choose a word that makes an important distinction, learn how it works in a sentence, compare a near miss and return to it in a new situation. This guide develops that process for teenagers and the adults supporting them. The specialist bank above offers choices; it is not a checklist of what every thirteen-year-old should know.
Why depth matters · What knowing a word involves · Research and its limits · A worked example · A practical routine · Recognising progress
Why depth is more useful than a display of difficult words
Compare “The character is unfriendly” with “The character gives a terse reply”. The first judges a person broadly. The second describes a particular reply as brief and abrupt. Neither sentence is automatically right. You need the scene to decide which description is justified, and you may discover that neither is fair.
That is a useful job for vocabulary: separating the event from the interpretation. It can help you discuss a story, explain a disagreement or revise a message before sending it. The benefit comes from using the distinction accurately. Adding a rare label to an unsupported guess does not make the guess more reliable.
The Age 13 analytical-writing and academic-vocabulary guide offers a related route. Here, the focus is on moving from recognising a word to understanding its boundaries and choosing it deliberately.
What knowing a word involves
For a useful word, ask several separate questions. What does it mean in this passage? What part of the sentence does it describe? What other words does it naturally occur with? Does it sound neutral, formal, affectionate or critical here? You do not need to answer every question immediately, but a copied definition may leave several of them unresolved.
Take reticent and reticence. “He is reticent about the rehearsal” describes his reluctance to discuss it. “His reticence left the question unanswered” names that reluctance. The forms are related, but they occupy different positions in the sentences. Try replacing one with the other and notice what else must change.
Keep familiar family members available even when their numbered entries occur in an earlier volume. The no-repeat rule organises the reference collection; it is not a learning rule. You should repeat useful words in speech, reading and explanation. Nor should you treat words sharing a few letters as a family without checking their actual relationship.
What research supports, and what it does not promise
Spencer and colleagues’ 2017 intervention study worked with 35 adolescents aged 12–14 who were at risk of educational underachievement. Small groups explored ten cross-curriculum words over ten weeks, including their sounds, meanings and use in different contexts. There were improvements on targeted words, but not on matched untaught words; some definition gains depended on the intervention group. The result supports careful work on selected meanings, not a promise that one set of lessons improves every word a learner encounters.
Crosson and Moore’s morphology study compared academic-vocabulary instruction with and without work on bound Latin roots among 82 English learners across Grades 6–12. Positive effects appeared across the grade bands, with the largest effects among the oldest students. Those findings concern a particular teaching approach and population. They do not establish that every similar-looking word can be decoded from its parts or that this age-labelled bank is a validated programme.
The practical suggestions below are original applications: explain a meaning, inspect its use and test it in another example. The studies do not set a daily quota, prove that unusual words increase intelligence or require a teenager to learn the whole collection. Keep the claim about the method as careful as the language you are teaching.
A worked example: three descriptions of one reply
Begin with a short fictional exchange. A club organiser asks, “Can you send the rehearsal notes?” The reply is, “Tomorrow.” Before naming a tone, record what is actually present: a one-word reply referring to a time. The exercise supplies no facial expression, voice recording or explanation of the writer’s circumstances.
Compare three proposed descriptions. “The reply is brief” concerns its length. “The reply is terse” adds a sense of abruptness. “The writer is evasive” suggests an attempt to avoid a straightforward response. The last two require more interpretation than counting the words. Explain which features would help justify them rather than choosing the most sophisticated label.
Change the surrounding evidence. In one version, the writer is boarding a bus and later sends a friendly explanation. In another, the writer repeatedly avoids saying whether the notes exist. These invented additions can change how a reader interprets the first reply. A fair account distinguishes what the original message established from what the later context adds.
Choose a better response. “Thanks. Do you mean tomorrow morning or afternoon?” seeks the missing information without treating a guessed motive as a fact. Vocabulary has helped you identify the uncertainty, but the most useful message uses ordinary words. Understanding a formal term does not oblige you to put it in your reply.
Move the distinction into a story. Write two lines of dialogue in which a character answers briefly because they are distracted, then two in which they are deliberately avoiding a question. Add enough context for a reader to distinguish the situations. The exercise is about making the evidence visible, not about portraying real classmates or labelling their personalities.
Explain your choice afterwards. A useful answer might be, “I described the second reply as evasive because it changes the topic each time the question is asked.” That gives the word a reason to be there. “It sounds advanced” does not explain the scene.
How to make a small set of words usable
Choose from a real need. Use a passage you are already reading or an explanation you want to improve. Select the word that changes your understanding, not every unfamiliar entry. For a book discussion, that might be subtext. For a short review, it might be arguably. For a conversation, the useful discovery may be that no additional term is needed.
Keep the original sentence. Put the checked meaning beside the sentence that prompted the question. Note the relevant sense rather than copying every dictionary definition. Add a short usage note when it matters: “describes a reply here” or “sounds critical in this example”. This gives you something concrete to inspect when your later sentence feels wrong.
Compare a fitting example with a near miss. A quiet person is not necessarily reticent about every topic. A brief answer is not automatically evasive. Explain what is missing from the near miss. You are learning the boundary of the word, which is more useful than collecting several loosely related synonyms.
Give the word a communication task. Use it to explain a passage to a friend, revise a review or describe a fictional scene. Ask whether the reader understands the distinction. When writing gets in the way, explain it aloud first. Work separately on spelling or sentence construction when those are the actual obstacles.
Return later and check. After another activity or on another day, try explaining the meaning without immediately looking at your note. Then compare with the checked version and correct any drift. Choose a new setting as well as a new sentence; simply replacing a character’s name may leave the same misunderstanding untouched.
Adults supporting this work can use the Age 13 home guide to analytical language and independent thinking. Offer an explanation before asking for a performance, and allow the teenager to choose a topic that matters to them. A small, accurate exchange is a useful outcome.
What useful progress looks like
Look for a more accurate choice: noticing that a word adds an accusation, keeping uncertainty visible or selecting a form that fits the sentence. A teenager who replaces “evasive” with “brief” because the evidence is insufficient has improved the account, even though the replacement is more familiar.
When the definition is remembered but the example is wrong, revisit the contrast. When the meaning is understood but the word will not come during conversation, offer a sentence frame or an ordinary paraphrase. When both are clear but the passage remains confusing, examine its events and background knowledge. More word-list copying is not the answer to every difficulty.
Keep observations specific: “Explained the difference between brief and evasive using the scene” tells you more than “good vocabulary”. Home-language explanations can reveal understanding that an English-only answer does not yet express. Persistent concerns about reading or communication deserve appropriate teacher or professional support; the bank is not an assessment instrument.
From recognising a word to choosing it well
The Age 12 growth guide develops careful summaries and attention to conditions. The Age 14 bank applies precision to scientific and technical reading. These are connected resources, not stages that must be completed on a fixed timetable.
The growth goal is control over meaning. You can increasingly explain what a word contributes, identify when it goes too far and choose language that helps another person understand. That is a stronger reason to learn vocabulary than making a sentence sound impressive.
Research-informed guide added on 3 November 2026 by edu|Kate Singapore. Practical examples are original editorial suggestions, not a validated intervention. Return to the 2,000-word list · Return to this growth guide.