20 Advanced Verbs (C1) to Build Your Vocabulary | TOTAL English Fluency + FREE pdf

Hi there, this is Harry and welcome back to  advanced English lessons with Harry, where I try  

to help you to get a better understanding of the  English language. Helping you with every aspect of  

the English language, whether you're preparing for  proficiency exams, job interviews, or perhaps you  

just want to improve your general conversational  skills, we're here to help any problems you have,  

let us know. So in this advanced English lesson,  we're going to look at vocabulary, we want to look  

at 20 verbs that will help you with your speaking  and your writing. So really here to improve your  

vocabulary to broaden your vocabulary. As you  know, I'm a great advocate and having one to one  

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So in this advanced English lesson, we're looking  at verbs 20 advanced English verbs that will  

expand your vocabulary. And when you use them  and you get to know them, they will improve your  

speaking and your writing skills. So I'm going to  give you each of the verbs a brief description as  

to what the verb means. And then a couple of  examples as to how you can use them. Okay,  

so let's get started. As I said, there are 20 of  them in total. So the first one we've got going  

to them in alphabetical order, the first one we've  got is to abolish, okay to abolish, and it's quite  

a formal verb abolish, okay? And what abolish  means is to cancel something okay to cancel. So  

usually when we talk about abolish, we're talking  about laws or acts of Parliament or something that  

have been abolished, okay. So it's quite a formal  word. And usually we are cancelling or abolishing  

something that has been in place or in situ, as  they might see, say, in legal documents in situ  

for a long period of time. So often, if a law was  very punitive, then in the 100 years later or 60  

years later, they may abolish that particular law  because it was regarded as too punitive. Okay. So,  

for example, in 100 years, 200 years ago,  they abolished slavery in America, okay. So  

they abolished slavery, where people couldn't use  people as slaves. So, they abolished slavery or  

indeed in many, many countries and states, across  America, they have abolished the death penalty.  

So, if people commit a capital crime, they can no  longer be executed, they can be put in prison for  

life of course, but they will not suffer the death  penalty. So the death penalty has been abolished.  

So two examples, slavery was abolished many  many years ago. The death penalty in many many  

countries was also abolished. Okay, so cancelled,  but abolished being a much more formal word.

Next verb to allege okay to allege and when  we allege something we indicate or give the  

belief that someone is guilty of a crime before  it has been proven. Okay, so We alleged that  

somebody broke into the supermarket and stole  the contents of the safe. We allege it because  

there's no proof as yet or it hasn't been proven  in the law courts. He was or is the alleged robber  

and the police are collecting evidence so that  they can decide whether he is guilty or not.  

It is alleged that he killed a man in a crime  of passion, okay. So somebody was found dead,  

and the neighbour or friend is alleged to  have killed him as a crime of passion. Okay,  

so the robber is alleged to have broken into the  supermarket and stolen the contents of the safe.  

And the neighbour is alleged to have killed  his other neighbour in a crime of passion.

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Arouse. Well, when we arouse it means to  evoke or to awaken passion for example,  

in somebody or interest in somebody so something  makes you feel more passionate or something  

makes you feel more interested in something to  evoke. So smells can evoke certain senses Okay,  

so he his odd behaviour aroused the suspicions  of his neighbours, his odd behaviour aroused the  

suspicions of his neighbours. A visit to the Greek  islands aroused his interest in international  

travel, okay. So arouse means to evoke, or awaken  a passion or an interest. So, whatever he was  

doing his neighbour's curiosity or suspicions were  aroused when he was digging holes in the garden,  

perhaps he was burying his wife in the garden. Or  a visit to the Greek islands aroused his interest  

in travel, because he really enjoyed enjoyed  the warm waters and the beautiful Greek food.

To boast. When we boast, we talk excessively about  what we own, or what we have, or what we've got,  

or indeed what we've achieved. So we're not just  telling people, I have a nice job, I have a nice  

house. Oh,you should see my car, oh, you should  see my house. Oh, it's got a beautiful garden.  

So we talk excessively, we boast about the things  that we have. He boasted for weeks about the big  

bonus his boss gave him and everybody was really  jealous. Children in the playground always boast  

about whose father has the best or the biggest  car. Okay, so boasting, talking up something,  

or annoying everybody else, when you talk  it up, in this case, in the examples,  

talking continuously, about his big bonus  that he got, or the kids in the schoolyard  

arguing with each other and boasting as to whose  father had or drove the best or the biggest car.

Next to clench. Now we can clench our fists,  or we can clench our teeth. Like that. Okay,  

so, when we make a fist, we clench our fists. So  to make a fist with your hand as if you're going  

to punch somebody, or to clench your teeth  tight, so you can't open your mouth. Okay,  

so when I took my young son to the dentist for  the first time, he clenched his teeth so tightly,  

we couldn't get his mouth open, and the dentist  couldn't examine his teeth. I'm sure you've all  

experienced that. And he clenched his  fist in anger, and was going to hit his  

opponent. He clenched his fist in anger, and  was going to hit his opponent. So to clench,  

clench the fist trench, clench the teeth,  he spoke through clenched teeth. Okay, good.

Next is to clutch Okay, clutch, and when we clutch  something, we grab it very tightly. Okay. So if  

you want to clutch something, you hold something  tight in your hand. If you're standing in a bus,  

and it's moving around, you might clutch the  support rail or the handrail so you don't fall  

over. He clutched the young girl's hand so that  she wouldn't run onto the road and get knocked  

over by a car. So he clutched her hand tightly.  Or the fire man ran out from the burning building,  

clutching the dog in his arm. So he  ran out from the burning building,  

clutching the dog in his arms. Okay,  so to clutch to hold on tightly.

To cram Well, we've all experienced this when  we're gone on holidays, and we want to get  

the last piece of a towel or a shirt or shoes or  suntan lotion into the bag. So we cram everything  

in very tightly, we squash it into the bag. So  when you cram a bag, you pack it very tightly,  

okay, so you get as much as you can as much as  possible into a very small space when there's  

really no room left. So he crammed as many clothes  as possible into the bag, so that he could bring  

it on the plane as hand luggage. So he didn't want  to pay any extra charge to the airline company.  

So he crammed as much as possible into his small  bag, so that he could carry it on as hand luggage.  

He crammed three chocolates into his  mouth so that no one else could get  

one Rra-rra.. He crammed three chocolates into  his mouth so that no one else could get one.

The next verb is to devise and not just be  careful here with the spelling DEVISE and  

the pronunciation to devise. And when we  devise something, we come up with a plan  

or some something innovative Yeah, so to devise  a plan would be good a good expression to use.  

He devised a clever way to increase sales  in the company. He devised a clever way to  

increase sales in the company. Who is going to  devise a plan for the launch of a new product?  

Who is going to put forward themselves or to  volunteer to devise a plan for the launch of  

a new product. So to devise is to come up with  a plan or to come up with something innovative.

To dwell. Next one to dwell. Now, this can have  a couple of meanings, okay. So we can dwell when  

we're talking about living somewhere. But we can  also dwell when we're thinking about something,  

when we're thinking for a long time. Okay, so to  dwell in the countryside. He likes to dwell in the  

countryside away from the big city. Yeah. Okay.  So it's quite a formal way to, to say to live,  

right? Or he's been dwelling on the past too  long to dwell on the past means to think about  

what happened in the past, perhaps he misses the  old way of his life, okay. So we can dwell in  

the countryside means to, to live there to enjoy  the peace and quiet, okay? Or we can dwell on the  

past, where we think about something that happened  in the past, and perhaps our present life isn't  

so interesting or isn't so enjoyable, okay? So to  dwell on the past, or to dwell in the countryside.

Next to eradicate. Now when we say eradicate is  a very formal word, and it means to wipe out,  

to wipe out completely okay, so we often use it  in say when we're talking about wars, okay, so the  

enemies were eradicated after days of fighting  to be eradicated to be completely wiped out.  

The Health Organisation in many countries work  really hard to eradicate some key diseases for  

example, like measles. So there's a campaign  carried out in many countries to warn and make  

parents aware of the dangers of measles. So  they carry out inoculations and vaccinations  

to eradicate those countries from the  effects of measles. So we can eradicate  

an army through fighting and bombing, or we  can eradicate some really serious diseases  

like measles or TB, through some programme of  vaccinations and inoculations. To eradicate.

Next to evolve, evolve, okay? And evolve  means to change gradually. Okay? So it's  

not a suddenly, overnight, it's to  change gradually or to develop Okay,  

so lots of things evolve. He has  evolved into a handsome young man. He  

has evolved into a handsome young man. The  business has evolved over 20 years and is  

now the leading provider of those services.  So the business has evolved over a period of  

20 years, and is now the leading provider of  financial services or Consultancy Services.

Next verb we have is to fumble, fumble. It's  quite informal to fumble, and it means to handle  

something in a clumsy way. So maybe you're  just dropping things or breaking things or  

you fumble around trying to find something  that you cannot locate. So while trying to  

use the new mouse on his laptop, he fumbled  around and made many mistakes in his emails  

or his presentation. Okay, so he fumbled around  with the mouse trying to get work it correctly.  

She fumbled in her handbag, trying to find her  car keys. She fumbled in her handbag, trying to  

locate her car keys. Okay, so to fumble to handle  something in a clumsy fashion or in a clumsy way.

To intimidate is the next verb to intimidate.  Well, when we intimidate somebody, we usually  

frighten them into doing something that we want  them to do okay to intimidate somebody. His boss,  

always intimidated him. He used to stand over him  until he finished the work. So he intimidated him  

by standing over him watching and waiting for  him to finish the work that he had given him.  

Don't be intimidated by his voice. He's  really a kind, gentle person. Don't be  

intimidated by his voice. He's really  a kind, generous or gentle person. So  

somebody with a big deep voice might sound very  intimidating. What are you doing? But in fact,  

he's really a nice guy when you get to know him.  So to be intimidated by the sound of his voice,  

or intimidated by the fact that somebody stands  over your shoulder watching every move you make.

Jettison, okay, this is an interesting word and  is really more associated with modes of travel  

like ships, and aeroplanes. Okay? So ships and  aeroplanes. And it means to get rid of something,  

okay to get rid of something is to jettison  something okay to get rid of or to throw  

away. Okay. But as I said, it's usually  used when we're referring to planes and  

ships. The plane had to fly around in  circles over the airport and jettison  

some excess fuel before it made an emergency  landing to jettison some excess fuel before  

it made an emergency landing. So perhaps there  was a problem with the plane and had to return  

to the airport. But before it could land,  it had to jettison some fuel in case there  

was an accident. So it flew around for an hour  overhead and then made its emergency landing.  

The cruise ship jettisons wastewater into the  oceans as it's travelling from one continent to  

another. So the cruise ship jettisons or dumps  or throws away wastewater into the oceans from  

showers and toilets and everything else.  Like so it jettisons all the dirty water.

Next to ponder, to ponder, and to ponder  means to think about a decision before you  

come up with some action or before you reach your  decision. So you're thinking about the decision  

carefully. Before you reach whatever decision  you want to make. And we we refer to ponder.  

He pondered his future over a long, slow glass  of wine. Okay, he pondered his future over slow  

or long, slow glass of wine. So he was thinking  about what he had to do or what he wanted to do,  

or what he was going to say to his boss, or  perhaps he was thinking of handing in his  

resignation, or he perhaps has already handed  it in. So he is thinking about the next step  

in his career over a long slow glass of wine.  She pondered his proposal over the weekend. She  

was not sure whether he was Mr. Right. So  he had proposed marriage on the Friday. So  

she pondered his proposal of marriage over the  weekend, not knowing whether he was Mr. Right?  

Perhaps he was Mr. Wrong. Yep.  Okay. So she pondered his proposal.

To prompt somebody. To prompt is the  next verb. And when we prompt somebody,  

we give them a clue or a little bit of a push,  or a little gentle reminder of something. Okay,  

so he prompted me that the meeting was  going to take place in an hour's time,  

just in case I had forgotten. So he prompted  me, he reminded me that the meeting was going  

to take place in an hour's time, in case I had  forgotten just because I forgot the last one.  

Okay. I struggled to find the correct answer, but  the teacher was able to prompt me and I worked it  

out in the end. So the I was struggling to  find the answer to the mathematics problem,  

but the teacher prompted me, I was able to  prompt me and I worked out the answer in the  

end. So to prompt give a gentle little push or  a little reminder or a little bit of help. Okay.  

So if you were going to a pub quiz, for example,  the quizmaster whoever set the questions might  

make an announcement that there was no prompts  to be given to anyone when he was asking the  

questions that there was no prompts to be given to  anybody while he was asking the questions, okay.

So the next verb is to repeal. Repeal. Now,  

earlier on, we spoke about laws that might be  abolished. So we can also repeal certain laws,  

okay? And it always refers to legal matters when a  law is no longer necessary or no longer required,  

it is often repealed or indeed revoked is another  word we can use. So the law relating to the public  

allowing them to graze their cattle on the  city square was repealed as it was outdated.  

Nobody keeps cattle in the city anymore. So  it was repealed because it was out of date.  

The government have been approached by  the citizens' representatives to repeal  

many outdated laws relating to women. Okay, so  the government has been approached by citizens  

groups or representatives to repeal outdated  laws relating to women and females, okay,  

so this again about laws and outdated activities.  So we either repeal the law or we revoke them.

And in fact, revoke is our next verb. So revoke  and repeal are synonyms of each other. But there  

are other things we can revoke. For example, we  can revoke a will. So if somebody writes his will,  

and then a month or two months or six months  before he dies, he revokes his previous will,  

and makes a new will, okay, so to revoke means to  a null, cancel, or to take back so in this case,  

he revoked his previous will, in favour of  a new will. Or if you continuously break the  

speeding limits, and you're continuously getting  fined, a judge might revoke your driving licence.  

Okay. So if your driving licence is revoked,  it means it's cancelled. And you have to take  

the test again. So if you're repeatedly break  the rules or the or the speeding laws, then  

you might run the risk of getting your driving  driving licence revoked, cancelled, okay or not.

Next verb to quibble. To quibble is an  unusual word quibble, okay? And it's quite  

informal. And it means to argue or disagree  about very trivial, very small matters.  

My only quibble was the distance that they  had to walk to the restaurant. So I went to  

this wonderful hotel for a holiday and it was  absolutely beautiful. The rooms were fantastic,  

but my only quibble was the fact of the distance  they had to walk to each of the restaurants. Okay,  

so not a very important complaint. Okay. And the  other example would be, they are always quibbling  

about the smallest detail on the bill. So when  they go out for a meal together, they're always  

quibbling over the last two cents or 10 cents or  20 cents, and it doesn't really matter at all,  

but they're trivial matters. But they're always  quibbling or arguing about them. To quibble.

And then to startle. To startle means to surprise  someone unexpectedly. To startle. When the bird  

flew and hit my window I was startled as I was  sleeping in the chair. So I was having a quick  

forty winks in the chair and heard a bang against  the window. So I was startled by the noise because  

a bird had hit the window while I was sleeping.  Okay. All when I returned home early from work,  

I started a burglar trying to break into my  house. So I came home early, and there was  

somebody trying to get in through the front or the  back window, and they started am I surprised him,  

and he ran off and I called the police trying  to, to catch it. Okay, so to startle somebody.

Okay, so there you have 20 Yep, 20 verbs. They're  interesting verbs. Some of them are a little bit  

unusual, some of them are formal. So these are  going to help you to improve your vocabulary.  

Try and pick some of them out, try to practice  them, try to put them into your own sentences.  

And as always, if you need some extra help,  some extra examples or additional information,  

just come back to me. And if you do like this  particular lesson, then please like the video,  

and if you can subscribe to this channel,  because it does, it really, really helps. Okay,  

so hopefully you can practice those particular  verbs and get ready for the next lesson. So this  

is Harry saying thank you for watching this lesson  and joining me and I'll see you the next time.