Top 100 Secondary 3 SEC G2 Vocabulary List: Essential

Here are 100 essential vocabulary words for Secondary 3 students studying English at SEC G2 level. This stage develops vocabulary for interpretation, evidence, viewpoints and clear judgement.

Abstract
Acknowledge
Advocate
Allocate
Ambiguous
Argument
Articulate
Aspiration
Attribute
Autonomy
Bias
Claim
Coherent
Compelling
Concept
Concession
Consensus
Controversy
Credible
Criterion
Deduce
Detrimental
Dignity
Dilemma
Diverse
Elaborate
Emerge
Emphasise
Equitable
Establish
Ethical
Exclude
Facilitate
Formulate
Framework
Fundamental
Hypothesis
Impartial
Implement
Incentive
Inclusive
Integrate
Integrity
Intervene
Investigate
Justify
Limitation
Neutral
Nuance
Paradox
Perception
Plausible
Pragmatic
Preserve
Principle
Proportion
Qualify
Reconcile
Reinforce
Restraint
Robust
Scenario
Sceptical
Scrutiny
Selective
Simulate
Solidarity
Stakeholder
Substantial
Substitute
Tension
Transform
Transparent
Undermine
Viable
Warrant
Connotation
Constrain
Contend
Converge
Counterproductive
Discourse
Dissent
Efficacy
Elusive
Endorse
Entail
Empirical
Extrapolate
Fallacious
Gauge
Impetus
Manifest
Paradigm
Parameter
Preliminary
Representative
Threshold
Trajectory
Underlying

Top 100 Secondary 3 SEC G2 Essential Vocabulary Words with Meanings and Examples

Word	Meaning	Example (Singapore Context)
1. Abstract	concerned with ideas rather than physical objects	The abstract idea of fairness became clearer after the class discussed a real example.
2. Acknowledge	to recognise or admit that something is true or important	The writer acknowledged that the opposing view had one reasonable point.
3. Advocate	to support or recommend an idea publicly	The class representatives advocated a quieter study area.
4. Allocate	to assign time, money or resources for a purpose	The group allocated fifteen minutes to checking the final presentation.
5. Ambiguous	open to more than one reasonable interpretation	The ambiguous instruction did not say whether one answer or two was required.
6. Argument	a set of reasons supporting or opposing an idea	Her argument became stronger after she added relevant evidence.
7. Articulate	able to express ideas clearly and effectively	The articulate speaker explained the difficult issue in clear language.
8. Aspiration	a strong hope or ambition for the future	Her aspiration to become a confident writer encouraged regular practice.
9. Attribute	to regard something as being caused by a particular factor	The group attributed the delay to unclear instructions.
10. Autonomy	freedom to make decisions independently	Students had some autonomy in choosing how to present their findings.
11. Bias	a tendency to favour one side unfairly	The survey risked bias because only one class was questioned.
12. Claim	a statement that something is true	The writer supported the claim with evidence from the passage.
13. Coherent	logical, connected and easy to understand	The revised essay was coherent because every paragraph developed the main idea.
14. Compelling	very convincing or strongly interesting	The student gave a compelling reason for testing the idea first.
15. Concept	a general idea used to understand something	The example helped the class understand the concept of shared responsibility.
16. Concession	an admission that another side has a valid point	The essay made a concession that the cheaper plan would be easier to organise.
17. Consensus	general agreement within a group	After discussion, the group reached a consensus on the final design.
18. Controversy	strong disagreement about an issue	The proposed rule caused controversy because students disagreed about its fairness.
19. Credible	believable and worthy of trust	The report became more credible when the writer identified the source.
20. Criterion	a standard used for judgement	Accessibility was an important criterion when the class selected a venue.
21. Deduce	to reach a conclusion by reasoning from information	From the empty chairs, Mei deduced that the event had ended.
22. Detrimental	causing harm or damage	Constant interruptions were detrimental to the group’s concentration.
23. Dignity	a person’s sense of worth and right to respectful treatment	The teacher protected the student’s dignity by discussing the mistake privately.
24. Dilemma	a difficult choice between competing options	The captain faced a dilemma between finishing quickly and hearing everyone.
25. Diverse	including a variety of different people or ideas	The discussion improved when the class considered diverse viewpoints.
26. Elaborate	to explain an idea in greater detail	The teacher asked Faris to elaborate on his final reason.
27. Emerge	to become visible, known or apparent	A clear pattern began to emerge after the survey results were compared.
28. Emphasise	to give special importance to something	The speaker emphasised that safety should come before convenience.
29. Equitable	fair while taking different needs into account	The class wanted an equitable arrangement that considered different needs.
30. Establish	to create firmly or show something is true	The group established a simple procedure for borrowing materials.
31. Ethical	consistent with accepted principles of right and wrong	The students discussed whether publishing a private message was ethical.
32. Exclude	to leave someone or something out	An online-only response could exclude someone without access at that moment.
33. Facilitate	to make a process easier	A clear agenda helped facilitate the meeting.
34. Formulate	to develop and express an idea or plan carefully	The group formulated a question that did not assume the answer.
35. Framework	a basic structure used to organise ideas	The teacher provided a framework for organising the essay.
36. Fundamental	basic and extremely important	Clear communication is fundamental to effective teamwork.
37. Hypothesis	a proposed explanation that can be tested	The students tested the hypothesis that clearer signs would reduce confusion.
38. Impartial	not unfairly favouring either side	The chairperson remained impartial and gave both sides equal time.
39. Implement	to put a plan or decision into action	The committee implemented the revised booking system after a trial.
40. Incentive	something that encourages a person to act	The chance to display their work gave students an incentive to revise.
41. Inclusive	designed to allow different people to participate	The organisers planned an inclusive activity with several ways to participate.
42. Integrate	to combine parts so they work together as a whole	The writer integrated the evidence into the paragraph naturally.
43. Integrity	the quality of being honest and guided by strong principles	She showed integrity by reporting the error even though nobody noticed it.
44. Intervene	to become involved to change a situation	The teacher intervened when the disagreement became personal.
45. Investigate	to examine something carefully to discover facts	The class investigated why visitors were missing the second display.
46. Justify	to give reasons showing something is reasonable	The group had to justify its recommendation with clear reasons.
47. Limitation	a weakness or restriction affecting what can be concluded	The small sample was an important limitation of the survey.
48. Neutral	not supporting either side in a disagreement	The moderator used neutral language when introducing the two positions.
49. Nuance	a small but important difference in meaning or feeling	The word ‘almost’ added nuance by showing the change was incomplete.
50. Paradox	a situation that seems contradictory but may contain a truth	The story presents a paradox: asking for help makes the character more independent.
51. Perception	the way someone understands or regards something	The second account changed the class’s perception of the disagreement.
52. Plausible	seeming reasonable or likely to be true	A timetable clash was a plausible explanation for the low attendance.
53. Pragmatic	dealing with problems in a practical and realistic way	The group took a pragmatic approach and simplified the event.
54. Preserve	to keep something safe or unchanged from harm	The editor shortened the interview while preserving the speaker’s main point.
55. Principle	a basic rule or belief that guides actions	The team followed the principle that everyone should have a chance to speak.
56. Proportion	a part or amount considered in relation to the whole	A large proportion of the class preferred the later session.
57. Qualify	to make a statement more precise by adding a limitation	The writer qualified the claim by limiting it to the students surveyed.
58. Reconcile	to bring conflicting ideas or needs into agreement	The committee tried to reconcile the need for discussion with limited time.
59. Reinforce	to strengthen an idea, feeling or behaviour	The final example reinforced the writer’s main point.
60. Restraint	control over one’s emotions or actions	He showed restraint by responding calmly to the unfair accusation.
61. Robust	strong and able to withstand careful testing	A robust conclusion considered evidence from both sides.
62. Scenario	a possible or imagined situation used for planning	The team rehearsed a scenario in which the projector stopped working.
63. Sceptical	not easily convinced and wanting stronger evidence	The reader was sceptical because the claim had no evidence.
64. Scrutiny	close and careful examination	Under scrutiny, the broad conclusion became difficult to defend.
65. Selective	choosing only some things from a larger group	The summary was selective because it kept main reasons and removed repetition.
66. Simulate	to imitate a real situation for practice or study	The students simulated a visitor’s journey to test the signs.
67. Solidarity	unity and mutual support within a group	The classmates showed solidarity by sharing extra work after a teammate fell ill.
68. Stakeholder	a person or group affected by a decision	The committee consulted each stakeholder before changing the activity.
69. Substantial	large or important enough to matter	The revision made a substantial improvement to the explanation.
70. Substitute	to use one thing in place of another	The writer substituted a specific example for the vague phrase ‘many things’.
71. Tension	a feeling of strain or conflict	The passage creates tension between loyalty and the wish to tell the truth.
72. Transform	to change something greatly	The second interview transformed the student’s understanding of the issue.
73. Transparent	open and clear about information or decisions	A transparent selection process explained the criteria before choosing the team.
74. Undermine	to weaken confidence in or effectiveness	The contradiction undermined the reader’s trust in the report.
75. Viable	capable of working successfully	The plan was viable only if enough volunteers could maintain it.
76. Warrant	to provide enough reason for an action or conclusion	One complaint warranted investigation but not cancellation of the whole event.
77. Connotation	an idea or feeling suggested by a word beyond its basic meaning	The word ‘home’ can carry a warmer connotation than ‘building’.
78. Constrain	to limit actions or development	A short deadline constrained the number of changes the team could make.
79. Contend	to argue or state that something is true	The writer contended that the new arrangement would improve access.
80. Converge	to move towards the same point or become more similar	After reviewing the evidence, the groups began to converge on a shared conclusion.
81. Counterproductive	having the opposite effect from the one intended	Rushing the explanation was counterproductive because it created more questions.
82. Discourse	serious spoken or written discussion about a subject	The article contributed to the wider discourse about responsible technology use.
83. Dissent	disagreement with a commonly held or official view	One student expressed dissent and explained why the majority proposal might fail.
84. Efficacy	the ability to produce the intended result	The trial tested the efficacy of the new revision method.
85. Elusive	difficult to find, achieve or understand	A simple solution remained elusive because the groups had different needs.
86. Endorse	to publicly express support or approval	The student council endorsed the proposal after reviewing the changes.
87. Entail	to involve something as a necessary part or consequence	Running the larger event would entail more preparation and supervision.
88. Empirical	based on observation, experience or experiment	The timed trial provided empirical evidence about how long the task took.
89. Extrapolate	to infer beyond the available information	It would be risky to extrapolate the whole cohort’s views from ten responses.
90. Fallacious	based on mistaken or invalid reasoning	The claim was fallacious because popularity alone did not prove effectiveness.
91. Gauge	to estimate or judge an amount or level	The teacher used a quick poll to gauge whether the class understood.
92. Impetus	a force or reason that encourages action	The failed rehearsal provided the impetus for a complete review.
93. Manifest	to show or become visible through actions or signs	Her anxiety began to manifest in repeated checks of the same paragraph.
94. Paradigm	a model or pattern that shapes understanding	The project introduced a paradigm in which students taught one another.
95. Parameter	a limit or condition defining what is allowed	The teacher set one parameter: each response had to stay under three minutes.
96. Preliminary	coming before the main or final stage	Preliminary results suggested a pattern, but more responses were needed.
97. Representative	typical enough to stand for a wider group	The group wanted a representative sample from several classes.
98. Threshold	a point or level at which something begins or changes	Attendance crossed the threshold needed for the activity to proceed.
99. Trajectory	the path or direction in which something develops	The character’s trajectory moves from uncertainty to confidence.
100. Underlying	existing beneath the visible surface or serving as a basic cause	The discussion revealed an underlying concern about fairness.

What Changes in Secondary 3?

Students increasingly need to infer, qualify claims, compare viewpoints and justify conclusions. The vocabulary remains useful beyond examinations because it supports clearer thinking and communication.

Secondary 3 G2 Essential Practice — Round 1

meaning

Choose four words and practise meaning. Explain each word in plain English, use it in a fresh sentence and compare it with a nearby word. State exactly what changes in meaning or strength.