words college students need to know

Cynthia R.
Learning these words will help you comprehend what you read and help you write well.
220 words 13 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. accommodation
    making or becoming suitable; adjusting to circumstances
  2. adamant
    very hard native crystalline carbon valued as a gem
  3. addendum
    textual matter that is appended to the end of a publication
  4. adhere
    stick to firmly
  5. adherent
    someone who believes and helps to spread a doctrine
  6. adversity
    a state of misfortune or affliction
  7. advice
    a proposal for an appropriate course of action
  8. advise
    give advice to
  9. advocate
    a person who pleads for a person, cause, or idea
  10. affect
    have an influence upon
  11. affirm
    declare solemnly and formally as true
  12. ambiguous
    having more than one possible meaning
  13. amicable
    characterized by friendship and good will
  14. anecdote
    short account of an incident
  15. annotation
    the act of adding notes
  16. anomaly
    deviation from the normal or common order, form, or rule
  17. antagonism
    an actively expressed feeling of dislike and hostility
  18. array
    an impressive display or assortment
  19. ascertain
    learn or discover with confidence
  20. assiduous
    marked by care and persistent effort
  21. assimilate
    make alike
  22. assure
    inform positively and with certainty and confidence
  23. autonomy
    political independence
  24. candor
    the quality of being honest and straightforward
  25. causation
    the act of making something happen
  26. cerebral
    of or relating to the brain
  27. chastise
    scold or criticize severely
  28. citation
    an official award usually given as formal public statement
  29. cite
    make reference to
  30. codify
    organize into a system, such as a body of law
  31. cognizant
    having or showing knowledge or understanding or realization
  32. coherent
    marked by an orderly and consistent relation of parts
  33. complementary
    serving to fill out, enhance, or supply what is lacking
  34. compliance
    the act of submitting, usually surrendering power to another
  35. conceive
    have the idea for
  36. conceptualise
    have the idea for
  37. condense
    cause a gas or vapor to change into a liquid
  38. confirm
    strengthen
  39. conjecture
    believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds
  40. connotation
    an idea that is implied or suggested
  41. conscientious
    characterized by extreme care and great effort
  42. conscious
    having awareness of surroundings and sensations and thoughts
  43. consciousness
    an alert cognitive state in which you are aware of yourself
  44. consecutive
    one after the other
  45. constituted
    brought about or set up or accepted
  46. constraint
    the state of being physically limited
  47. contend
    compete for something
  48. context
    the set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation
  49. continual
    occurring without interruption
  50. continuous
    moving in time or space without interruption
  51. contraindicate
    suggest that something (e.g., a treatment) is inadvisable
  52. conventional
    following accepted customs and proprieties
  53. correlation
    a reciprocal connection between two or more things
  54. corroborate
    give evidence for
  55. covert
    secret or hidden
  56. credible
    capable of being believed
  57. credulous
    showing a lack of judgment or experience
  58. cultivate
    adapt something wild to the environment
  59. delegate
    a person appointed or elected to represent others
  60. deliberate
    carefully thought out in advance
  61. demographic
    a statistic characterizing human populations
  62. dense
    having high compaction or concentration
  63. derive
    come from
  64. designate
    design or destine
  65. determine
    find out or learn with certainty, as by making an inquiry
  66. determinism
    (philosophy) a philosophical theory holding that all events are inevitable consequences of antecedent sufficient causes; often understood as denying the possibility of free will
  67. diligent
    quietly and steadily persevering in detail or exactness
  68. discretion
    power of making choices unconstrained by external agencies
  69. disparage
    express a negative opinion of
  70. disposition
    your usual mood
  71. disproportionate
    out of proper balance
  72. dogma
    a doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative
  73. eclectic
    selecting what seems best of various styles or ideas
  74. edification
    uplifting enlightenment
  75. effect
    a phenomenon that is caused by some previous phenomenon
  76. egalitarian
    favoring social equality
  77. embed
    fix or set securely or deeply
  78. emergence
    the act of coming out into view
  79. empirical
    derived from experiment and observation rather than theory
  80. emulate
    strive to equal or match, especially by imitating
  81. enmity
    a state of deep-seated ill-will
  82. ensconce
    fix firmly
  83. ensure
    make certain of
  84. entrenched
    dug in
  85. epitome
    a standard or typical example
  86. equivocal
    open to two or more interpretations
  87. escalate
    increase in extent or intensity
  88. espouse
    choose and follow a theory, idea, policy, etc.
  89. established
    brought about or set up or accepted
  90. estranged
    caused to be unloved
  91. ethos
    the distinctive spirit of a culture or an era
  92. euphemism
    an inoffensive expression substituted for an offensive one
  93. exclusive
    admitting or accepting only a particular group
  94. exemplary
    worthy of imitation
  95. exemplify
    be characteristic of
  96. existential
    relating to or dealing with the state of being
  97. experiential
    of or relating to direct observation or participation
  98. explicate
    elaborate, as of theories and hypotheses
  99. explicit
    precisely and clearly expressed or readily observable
  100. extrapolation
    an inference about the future based on known facts
  101. fallacy
    a misconception resulting from incorrect reasoning
  102. figurative
    not literal
  103. formal
    in accord with established conventions and requirements
  104. formulate
    prepare according to instructions
  105. fractious
    easily irritated or annoyed
  106. heuristic
    a commonsense rule to help solve some problem
  107. homogeneous
    all of the same or similar kind or nature
  108. hypothesis
    a tentative insight that is not yet verified or tested
  109. hypothetical
    a conjectural possibility or circumstance
  110. illusive
    based on or having the nature of a fantasy
  111. imminent
    close in time; about to occur
  112. impartial
    free from undue bias or preconceived opinions
  113. impede
    be a hindrance or obstacle to
  114. impenetrable
    not admitting of passage into or through
  115. imperil
    pose a threat to; present a danger to
  116. implement
    a piece of equipment or a tool used for a specific purpose
  117. implicit
    suggested though not directly expressed
  118. incremental
    increasing gradually by regular degrees or additions
  119. indicate
    designate a place, direction, person, or thing
  120. inevitable
    incapable of being avoided or prevented
  121. inference
    a conclusion you can draw based on known evidence
  122. influence
    a power to affect persons or events
  123. infuse
    fill, as with a certain quality
  124. ingenuous
    lacking in sophistication or worldliness
  125. ingrained
    deeply rooted; firmly fixed or held
  126. inimical
    tending to obstruct or cause harm
  127. initiative
    readiness to embark on bold new ventures
  128. innate
    present at birth but not necessarily hereditary
  129. innocuous
    not injurious to physical or mental health
  130. innovation
    the act of starting something for the first time
  131. inquisitive
    given to questioning
  132. insidious
    working or spreading in a hidden and usually injurious way
  133. instigate
    provoke or stir up
  134. instinctive
    unthinking
  135. insure
    protect by a contract of reimbursement in case of loss
  136. intrinsic
    belonging to a thing by its very nature
  137. invariably
    without change, in every case
  138. lateral thinking
    a heuristic for solving problems
  139. literal
    limited to the explicit meaning of a word or text
  140. literate
    able to read and write
  141. logical fallacy
    an error in reasoning that undermines an argument
  142. mandate
    a formal statement of a command to do something
  143. manifest
    clearly revealed to the mind or the senses or judgment
  144. manifesto
    a public declaration of intentions
  145. maven
    one who is very skilled in or knowledgeable about a field
  146. mediocre
    moderate to inferior in quality
  147. meme
    an amusing image that spreads rapidly through social media
  148. menial
    relating to unskilled work, especially domestic work
  149. mitigation
    the action of lessening in severity or intensity
  150. naive
    marked by or showing unaffected simplicity
  151. notation
    a comment or instruction (usually added)
  152. nuance
    a subtle difference in meaning or opinion or attitude
  153. objective
    the goal intended to be attained
  154. obstinate
    refusing to change one's mind or ways; difficult to convince
  155. paradigm
    a standard or typical example
  156. paradox
    a statement that contradicts itself
  157. partial
    being or affecting only a segment
  158. pedantic
    marked by a narrow focus on or display of learning
  159. periodical
    happening or recurring at regular intervals
  160. pernicious
    exceedingly harmful
  161. persuade
    cause somebody to adopt a certain position or belief
  162. plausible
    apparently reasonable, valid, or truthful
  163. precipitate
    bring about abruptly
  164. preconceive
    conceive beforehand
  165. presumption
    a premise that is taken for granted
  166. primeval
    having existed from the beginning
  167. primordial
    having existed from the beginning
  168. proclivity
    a natural inclination
  169. propaganda
    information that is spread to promote some cause
  170. propensity
    a natural inclination
  171. propose
    present for consideration, examination, or criticism
  172. protocol
    forms of ceremony and etiquette observed by officials
  173. proximity
    the property of being close together
  174. proxy
    a person authorized to act for another
  175. rational
    consistent with or based on or using reason
  176. rationale
    an explanation of the fundamental reasons
  177. reasoning
    thinking that is organized and logical
  178. rebuke
    an act or expression of criticism and censure
  179. recalcitrant
    stubbornly resistant to authority or control
  180. receptive
    able to absorb liquid (not repellent)
  181. reconcile
    come to terms
  182. reiterate
    say, state, or perform again
  183. replicate
    reproduce or make an exact copy of
  184. reprimand
    an act or expression of criticism and censure
  185. resilient
    recovering readily from adversity, depression, or the like
  186. retain
    secure and keep for possible future use or application
  187. retention
    the act of keeping something
  188. rhetoric
    study of the technique for using language effectively
  189. rhetorical
    relating to using language effectively
  190. salient
    conspicuous, prominent, or important
  191. sanction
    official permission or approval
  192. savvy
    marked by practical hardheaded intelligence
  193. self-effacing
    reluctant to draw attention to yourself
  194. seminal
    influential and providing a basis for later development
  195. sequential
    in regular succession without gaps
  196. serial
    pertaining to or occurring in or producing a series
  197. serial publication
    a periodical that appears at scheduled times
  198. signify
    denote or connote
  199. socioeconomic
    involving social as well as economic factors
  200. speculative
    not based on fact or investigation
  201. status quo
    the existing state of affairs
  202. stimulus
    any information or event that acts to arouse action
  203. subjective
    taking place within the mind and modified by individual bias
  204. substantiate
    establish or strengthen as with new evidence or facts
  205. subtlety
    the quality of being difficult to detect or analyze
  206. subversive
    in opposition to an established system or government
  207. sufficient
    of a quantity that can fulfill a need or requirement
  208. sustain
    lengthen or extend in duration or space
  209. sustainable
    capable of being prolonged
  210. synopsis
    a sketchy summary of the main points of an argument
  211. tactile
    of or relating to or proceeding from the sense of touch
  212. tangible
    perceptible by the senses, especially the sense of touch
  213. tenacious
    stubbornly unyielding
  214. tenacity
    persistent determination
  215. terminate
    bring to an end or halt
  216. theory
    a belief that can guide behavior
  217. unequivocal
    admitting of no doubt or misunderstanding
  218. utopian
    pertaining to or resembling an ideally perfect state
  219. verify
    confirm the truth of
  220. vouch
    give personal assurance; guarantee
Created on Wed Aug 17 18:26:59 EDT 2011 (updated Sun Aug 21 01:41:33 EDT 2011)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.