The Ultimate vocabulary lists for english Bank: Categorized & Explained

Category 1: The Essentials (Daily Fluency) 🏠

• Adhere: To stick firmly to a surface or follow a set of rules - The staff must strictly adhere to the new safety protocols.
• Ambiguous: Open to more than one interpretation; unclear - The manager’s ambiguous instructions led to several errors in the report.
• Apprehensive: Anxious or fearful that something bad or unpleasant will happen - She felt apprehensive about giving the presentation in front of the CEO.
• Collaborate: To work jointly on an activity or project - Our teams need to collaborate more effectively to meet the deadline.
• Concise: Giving a lot of information clearly and in a few words - Please keep your email concise so the client can read it quickly on their phone.
• Contrast: The state of being strikingly different from something else in juxtaposition - There is a sharp contrast between last year’s profits and this year’s losses.
• Credible: Able to be believed; convincing - Without credible evidence, the board will not approve the budget increase.
• Diligence: Careful and persistent work or effort - Your diligence in researching this market has finally paid off.
• Efficient: Achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort - The new software made our invoicing process much more efficient.
• Feasible: Possible to do easily or conveniently - Is it feasible to complete the renovation before the store launch?
• Hinder: To provide resistance or delay to something - Heavy rain might hinder our progress on the construction site today.
• Implement: To put a decision or plan into effect - We plan to implement the new remote work policy starting next month.
• Incentive: Something that motivates or encourages someone to do something - The company offered a bonus as an incentive for hitting sales targets.
• Objective: Not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering facts - We need an objective third party to review the dispute.
• Perceive: To become aware of or interpret something in a particular way - How do you think our customers will perceive the price change?
• Precedent: An earlier event or action that serves as an example or guide - This decision sets a dangerous precedent for future negotiations.
• Relevant: Closely connected or appropriate to what is being done - Please only include relevant experience in your two-page resume.
• Resilient: Able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions - The local economy proved resilient despite the global downturn.
• Strategy: A plan of action designed to achieve a long-term goal - Our marketing strategy focuses on digital engagement for younger users.
• Tangible: Perceptible by touch; clear and definite - The training program produced tangible results within just three months.

Category 2: Advanced & Professional (The Corporate Edge) 💼

• Acquisition: The act of gaining control of a company or asset - The acquisition of the startup gave us access to proprietary AI technology.
• Benchmark: A standard or point of reference for comparison - We use last year's performance as a benchmark for this quarter's goals.
• Compliance: The act of obeying a law, rule, or request - Our legal team ensures full compliance with all international trade regulations.
• Consolidate: To combine a number of things into a single more effective whole - We need to consolidate our various databases into one central system.
• Disruptive: Innovative in a way that creates a new market and displaces established ones - The new app is a disruptive force in the traditional taxi industry.
• Empowerment: Giving autonomy or authority to someone to do something - Employee empowerment leads to higher job satisfaction and better problem-solving.
• Incur: To become subject to something unwelcome as a result of one's own behavior - The project will incur additional costs if the timeline is extended.
• Leverage: To use something to its maximum advantage - We can leverage our existing client base to launch the new service.
• Mitigate: To make something less severe, serious, or painful - We must take steps to mitigate the risks associated with the new investment.
• Negotiation: Discussion aimed at reaching an agreement - The contract is currently in the final stages of negotiation.
• Onboarding: The process of integrating a new employee into an organization - Our onboarding process takes two weeks to ensure every hire is fully prepared.
• Outsource: To obtain goods or a service from an outside or foreign supplier - Many firms outsource their customer support to specialized call centers.
• Paradigm: A typical example or pattern of something; a model - There has been a paradigm shift in how we approach consumer privacy.
• Proficiency: A high degree of competence or skill - The job requires high proficiency in both English and Mandarin.
• Revenue: Total income generated from normal business operations - Despite lower sales volume, our revenue increased due to higher margins.
• Scalable: Able to be changed in size or scale to handle growth - We need a scalable solution that can grow as our user base expands.
• Stagnate: To cease to flow or move; to stop developing - If we don't innovate, our market share will likely stagnate.
• Synergy: The interaction of two or more agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects - The merger created a synergy that allowed both companies to cut costs.
• Transparency: The quality of being done in an open way without secrets - Stakeholders are demanding more transparency regarding the company’s carbon footprint.
• Venture: A risky or daring journey or undertaking - The two companies decided to embark on a joint venture in the renewable energy sector.

Category 3: Exam & Academic Specific (The A1 Path) 🎓

• Abstain: To restrain oneself from doing or enjoying something - Members of the committee chose to abstain from voting on the controversial bill.
• Admonish: To warn or reprimand someone firmly - The teacher had to admonish the student for consistently arriving late to class.
• Ambivalent: Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something - The public remains ambivalent about the proposed changes to the healthcare law.
• Assiduous: Showing great care and perseverance - Through assiduous study, she managed to top the national examinations.
• Cacophony: A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds - The morning market was a cacophony of shouting vendors and honking horns.
• Castigate: To reprimand someone severely - The coach castigate the players for their lack of discipline during the match.
• Cohesive: Characterized by or forming a whole - A strong essay requires a cohesive argument that links all paragraphs together.
• Dearth: A scarcity or lack of something - There is a dearth of reliable information regarding the long-term effects of the drug.
• Elucidate: To make something clear; to explain - Could you elucidate the main points of your theory for the benefit of the audience?
• Enigmatic: Difficult to interpret or understand; mysterious - The Mona Lisa is famous for her enigmatic smile.
• Ephemeral: Lasting for a very short time - Fame in the age of social media is often ephemeral and fleeting.
• Exonerate: To absolve someone from blame for a fault or wrongdoing - New DNA evidence was used to exonerate the man after ten years in prison.
• Gregarious: Fond of company; sociable - As a gregarious person, he found the isolation of the lockdown particularly difficult.
• Innocuous: Not harmful or offensive - What seemed like an innocuous comment actually caused a great deal of offense.
• Meticulous: Showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise - The scientist kept meticulous records of every stage of the experiment.
• Pragmatic: Dealing with things sensibly and realistically - We need a pragmatic solution to the traffic problem rather than an idealistic one.
• Recapitulate: To summarize and state again the main points of - To conclude, let me briefly recapitulate the three main arguments I have presented.
• Spurious: Not being what it purports to be; false or fake - The politician’s claims were dismissed as spurious by independent fact-checkers.
• Ubiquitous: Present, appearing, or found everywhere - Smartphones have become ubiquitous in modern society.
• Venerate: To regard with great respect; to revere - Many cultures venerate their ancestors through annual festivals and rituals.

The Deep Dive: Contextual Nuance 🧐

How to Practice: Your Weekly Mastery Routine 📅

• Monday (Input): Choose 5 words from the list. Write them on a sticky note and place it on your laptop or fridge.

• Tuesday (Context): Write one sentence for each word that relates only to your current job or school project.

• Wednesday (Speech): Use at least 2 of the words in a real conversation. If you are shy, record yourself saying them in a 1-minute voice note.

• Thursday (Visual): Find a news article (The Straits Times or CNA) that uses one of your words. Note how the professional journalist used it.

• Friday (The Test): Write a 200-word "Mini-Story" or "Work Update" using all 5 words. Check for Sentence Structure flow.

Need the Full Printable PDF?