English paper 2 - vocab list

Question 1

Advocate (noun)

Answer 1

A person who publicly supports someone or something.

(For years, he had been an advocate for the vulnerable members of society.)

Question 2

Defeatist (noun)

Answer 2

A person (or tone) who expects or is excessively ready to accept failure.

(They will never be beaten if every one of their opponents adopts such a defeatist attitude.)

Question 3

Demeaning (adjective)

Answer 3

To damage or lower the character or status of reputation of someone or something.

(It was demeaning to be criticised in front of my peers.)

Question 4

Derisive (adjective)

Answer 4

Expressing contempt or ridicule.

(The politician’s attempt to answer the question drew derisive laughter.)

Question 5

Desensitised (adjective)

Answer 5

To cause someone to experience something, usually an emotion or a pain, less strongly than before.

(Having been surrounded by insensitive people for so long, he had become desensitised to unfeeling comments.)

Question 6

Despondent (adjective)

Answer 6

In low spirits from loss of hope or courage.

(She grew more and more despondent about about her ability to pass her Chemistry exam.)

Question 7

Detrimental (adjective)

Answer 7

To cause harm or damage.

(A lack of sleep can be detrimental to your well-being.)

Question 8

Divisive (adjective)

Answer 8

Something that tends to cause a disagreement between people.

(Who you vote for can often be a very divisive issue.)

Question 9

Facetious (adjective)

Answer 9

Treating serious issues with deliberately inappropriate humor.

(She kept interrupting the teacher with facetious remarks.)

Question 10

Farcical (adjective)

Answer 10

Very silly, unlikely, or unreasonable, often in a way that is humorous.

(The public refused to believe the politician’s farcical excuses.)

Question 11

Futile (adjective)

Answer 11

Something that produces no end result; useless and pointless.

(All my attempts to cheer her up proved futile.)

Question 12

Idealistic (adjective)

Answer 12

Characterised by idealism; unrealistically aiming for perfection; someone who believes that very good things can be achieved, often when this does not seem likely to others.

(Perhaps he was being idealistic, but his dream was to build a better future for all concerned.)

Question 13

Impassioned (adjective)

Answer 13

Filled with or showing great emotion.

(He looked at her and was struck by the impassioned expression on her face.)

Question 14

Inevitable (adjective)

Answer 14

Something that is certain to happen / unavoidable.

(Despite their ambitious plan to avoid their detention, failure was inevitable.)

Question 15

Marginalised (adjective)

Answer 15

A group within a society who are not given the same opportunities or power as others.

(Marginalised groups in society should have fairer representation in the government.)

Question 16

Marginalised (verb)

Answer 16

To treat someone or something as if they are not important.

(When will the poorer members of society stop being marginalised?)

Question 17

Obnoxious (adjective)

Answer 17

Very unpleasant or rude.

(At best, he was tactless: at worst, he was obnoxious.)

Question 18

Paramount (adjective)

Answer 18

More important than anything else.

(Everyone should surely agree that improving the NHS is the paramount issue facing today’s society.)

Question 19

Perpetuate (verb)

Answer 19

To cause something to continue; to spread opinions or beliefs among a lot of people.

(Sexist jokes only perpetuate gender inequality.)

Question 20

Poignant (adjective)

Answer 20

Evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret.

(It was poignant portrayal of the effects of a war that touched every aspect of society.)

Question 21

Problematic (adjective)

Answer 21

Something that is controversial or presents an issue.

(The careless remarks made by the politician were problematic.)

Question 22

Reverent (adjective)

Answer 22

Feeling or showing deep and solemn respect.

(The school bowed their heads in reverent silence.)

Question 23

Sensationalise (verb)

Answer 23

Present information about something in a sensational way.

(There is no doubt that reality television tends to sensationalise minor arguments and disagreements.)

Question 24

Sobering (adjective)

Answer 24

Making you feel serious or think about serious matters.

(Experiencing a car accident is a sobering experience.)

Question 25

Unequivocal (adjective)

Answer 25

Total, or expressed in a clear and certain way.

(The Prime Minister, he said, had the party’s unequivocal support.)