Advanced Vocabulary: Tier Two Words

One of the secrets to scoring highly on the FSCE 11+ exam is using Tier 2 words — powerful, versatile words that make your writing sound mature and sophisticated. This lesson introduces 100 essential Tier 2 words that will transform your vocabulary.

What Are Tier 2 Words?

Vocabulary researchers divide words into three tiers:

Tier	Description	Examples
Tier 1	Basic, everyday words everyone knows	house, happy, run, dog, eat
Tier 2	High-frequency words used across many subjects; important for academic success	reluctant, significant, analyze, demonstrate
Tier 3	Specialist, subject-specific words	photosynthesis, parliament, isosceles

Tier 2 words are the most important for the FSCE exam because they appear in all kinds of texts — stories, articles, arguments, reports — and using them in your own writing shows examiners that you have a strong, mature vocabulary.

graph TD
    A["All English Vocabulary"] --> B["Tier 1: Basic Words<br/>happy, big, run<br/>Everyday conversation"]
    A --> C["Tier 2: Academic Words<br/>reluctant, significant, demonstrate<br/>Reading & writing across subjects"]
    A --> D["Tier 3: Specialist Words<br/>photosynthesis, algorithm<br/>Specific subjects only"]
    style C fill:#4CAF50,color:#fff

100 Essential Tier 2 Words

Describing People (Character and Behaviour)

Word	Definition	Example Sentence	Synonym
reluctant	unwilling, hesitant	She was reluctant to speak in front of the class.	hesitant
ambitious	having a strong desire to succeed	The ambitious student aimed for the top grade.	driven
compassionate	showing sympathy and concern for others	The compassionate nurse comforted the patient.	caring
resilient	able to recover quickly from difficulties	After failing the test, the resilient boy tried again.	tough
meticulous	showing great attention to detail	Her meticulous handwriting was perfectly neat.	careful
defiant	openly refusing to obey	The defiant child refused to tidy his room.	rebellious
diligent	hardworking and careful	The diligent student always completed her homework on time.	industrious
courageous	brave, willing to face danger	The courageous firefighter entered the burning building.	brave
cunning	clever in a sly or tricky way	The cunning fox tricked the other animals.	crafty
obstinate	stubbornly refusing to change one's mind	The obstinate donkey would not cross the bridge.	stubborn
benevolent	kind and generous	The benevolent king gave food to the poor.	kind-hearted
arrogant	having an exaggerated sense of one's importance	The arrogant boy boasted about his test scores.	conceited
inquisitive	eager to learn or know things	The inquisitive child asked endless questions.	curious
gullible	easily tricked or deceived	The gullible girl believed every word of the story.	naive
tenacious	holding firmly, persistent	The tenacious climber refused to give up.	persistent

Describing Places and Settings

Word	Definition	Example Sentence	Synonym
desolate	empty, bleak, without people	The desolate landscape stretched for miles.	barren
picturesque	visually attractive, like a picture	The picturesque village had thatched cottages and a stream.	scenic
tranquil	calm, peaceful, quiet	The tranquil lake reflected the mountains.	serene
ominous	suggesting something bad is about to happen	Ominous dark clouds gathered overhead.	threatening
bustling	full of activity and energy	The bustling market was crowded with shoppers.	busy
dilapidated	in a state of ruin or disrepair	The dilapidated barn had a sagging roof and broken windows.	crumbling
pristine	in its original, unspoiled condition	The pristine beach had white sand and clear water.	untouched
labyrinthine	like a maze, confusing	The labyrinthine corridors of the old castle confused visitors.	maze-like
imposing	grand and impressive, sometimes intimidating	The imposing castle towered above the village.	grand
bleak	bare, cold, and unwelcoming	The bleak moor offered no shelter from the wind.	stark

Describing Actions and Events

Word	Definition	Example Sentence	Synonym
illuminate	to light up; to make clear	The candles illuminated the dark room.	light up
devastate	to destroy completely; to overwhelm with shock or grief	The earthquake devastated the city.	destroy
flourish	to grow or develop well; to thrive	The plants flourished in the warm sunshine.	thrive
diminish	to make or become smaller or less	The noise gradually diminished as night fell.	decrease
emerge	to come out from; to become visible	The sun emerged from behind the clouds.	appear
conceal	to hide; to keep secret	She tried to conceal her disappointment.	hide
pursue	to follow or chase; to continue an activity	The detective pursued the suspect through the streets.	chase
abandon	to leave completely; to give up	The crew abandoned the sinking ship.	desert
transform	to change completely in form or appearance	The caterpillar transformed into a butterfly.	change
endure	to suffer through; to last	The explorers endured freezing temperatures.	withstand
scrutinise	to examine closely and carefully	The teacher scrutinised the students' work.	inspect
provoke	to deliberately annoy or anger someone	His rude comments provoked an angry response.	irritate
contemplate	to think about something carefully for a long time	She contemplated the difficult decision for days.	consider
accumulate	to gather or collect over time	Dust had accumulated on the shelves.	gather
relinquish	to give up or let go of something	He relinquished his place at the front of the queue.	surrender

Expressing Opinions and Arguments

Word	Definition	Example Sentence	Synonym
significant	important, meaningful	The discovery was significant for science.	important
fundamental	forming the basic, essential foundation	Reading is a fundamental skill for all learning.	essential
controversial	causing disagreement or argument	The new school rule was controversial among parents.	debatable
compelling	very convincing or persuasive	She made a compelling argument for more break time.	persuasive
valid	reasonable, well-founded	His concerns about safety were perfectly valid.	justified
plausible	seeming reasonable or likely to be true	Her explanation was plausible but not proven.	believable
undeniable	impossible to deny or argue against	The evidence was undeniable.	indisputable
predominantly	mainly, for the most part	The audience was predominantly made up of children.	mostly
moreover	in addition, furthermore	The plan is expensive; moreover, it will take too long.	furthermore
nevertheless	in spite of that, however	It was raining; nevertheless, they continued the walk.	however

Academic and Formal Language