B2 English Verbs: Communication, Mind & Physical Actions

This section of our B2 Verbs list covers nuanced actions. It includes verbs for Communication & Expression like clarify and whisper, words for Mental Processes & Cognition such as analyse and assume, and verbs describing Physical Movement & Actions like drag and lean.

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Communication & Expression

Word	Example Sentence	IPA (UK)
to accuse	The opposition accused the government of mishandling the economic crisis. Word Partners: accuse someone of something	/əˈkjuːz/
to acknowledge	The minister acknowledged that mistakes had been made.	/əkˈnɒlɪdʒ/
to address	The committee needs to address the underlying issues urgently.	/əˈdres/
to appeal	The proposal appealed to both progressive and conservative voters.	/əˈpiːl/
to approve	The committee approved the budget unanimously.	/əˈpruːv/
to assure	Officials assured investors that their deposits were secure.	/əˈʃʊə(r)/
to beg	Charities begged the government for additional funding.	/beɡ/
to bid	The company bid for the lucrative government contract.	/bɪd/
to blame	Analysts blamed the recession on poor fiscal policy. Word Partners: blame someone for, blame something on	/bleɪm/
to broadcast	The documentary will be broadcast live across multiple platforms. Word Partners: broadcast live	/ˈbrɔːdkɑːst/
to cheer	Supporters cheered loudly when the results were announced.	/tʃɪə(r)/
to cite	The researcher cited numerous studies supporting her hypothesis. Word Partners: cite a source/example	/saɪt/
to clarify	The spokesperson clarified the government's position on immigration.	/ˈklærəfaɪ/
to command	The general commands respect from subordinates and peers alike. Word Partners: command respect	/kəˈmɑːnd/
to confess	The suspect eventually confessed to multiple offences.	/kənˈfes/
to consult	The government must consult stakeholders before proceeding.	/kənˈsʌlt/
to convey	The ambassador struggled to convey the urgency of the situation.	/kənˈveɪ/
to criticise	Opposition MPs criticised the proposed legislation.	/ˈkrɪtɪsaɪz/
to dare	Few politicians dare to challenge the consensus.	/deə(r)/
to debate	Parliamentarians debated the bill for three days.	/dɪˈbeɪt/
to declare	The president declared a state of emergency following the disaster. Word Partners: declare a state of emergency, declare war	/dɪˈkleə(r)/
to demand	Trade unions demanded an immediate pay rise.	/dɪˈmɑːnd/
to demonstrate	The data demonstrates a correlation between variables.	/ˈdemənstreɪt/
to deny	The company denied all allegations of wrongdoing. Word Partners: deny an allegation/accusation	/dɪˈnaɪ/
to emphasise	The director emphasised the importance of meeting deadlines. Word Partners: emphasise the importance of	/ˈemfəsaɪz/
to excuse	The minister's absence was excused due to illness.	/ɪkˈskjuːz/
to forbid	The regulations strictly forbid such practices. Word Partners: strictly forbid	/fəˈbɪd/
to forgive	The bank agreed to forgive part of the debt.	/fəˈɡɪv/
to illustrate	This case study illustrates the effectiveness of the approach.	/ˈɪləstreɪt/
to imply	The minister's comments implied that reforms were imminent.	/ɪmˈplaɪ/
to inform	Management must inform employees of any changes to contracts.	/ɪnˈfɔːm/
to insist	The delegation insisted on meeting the foreign minister directly.	/ɪnˈsɪst/
to interrupt	The chairman asked delegates not to interrupt the proceedings.	/ˌɪntəˈrʌpt/
to justify	Officials struggled to justify the decision to increase taxes. Word Partners: justify a decision	/ˈdʒʌstɪfaɪ/
to object	Several councillors objected to the planning application.	/əbˈdʒekt/
to outline	The minister outlined the proposals for healthcare reform. Word Partners: outline a proposal/plan	/ˈaʊtlaɪn/
to permit	Regulations do not permit such practices.	/pəˈmɪt/
to pose	Climate change poses serious threats to coastal regions. Word Partners: pose a threat/risk	/pəʊz/
to praise	Critics praised the director's innovative approach.	/preɪz/
to prohibit	The law strictly prohibits discrimination in employment. Word Partners: strictly prohibit	/prəˈhɪbɪt/
to prompt	Rising costs prompted a review of the entire programme. Word Partners: prompt a review/response	/prɒmpt/
to propose	The committee proposed radical changes to the system.	/prəˈpəʊz/
to question	Experts questioned the validity of the methodology.	/ˈkwestʃən/
to regard	The professor is highly regarded within academic circles.	/rɪˈɡɑːd/
to remark	The ambassador remarked that relations had improved significantly.	/rɪˈmɑːk/
to reveal	The investigation revealed widespread corruption within the organisation.	/rɪˈviːl/
to specify	The contract must specify all terms and conditions.	/ˈspesɪfaɪ/
to speculate	Commentators speculated about the prime minister's motives.	/ˈspekjuleɪt/
to swear	The witness was asked to swear an oath before testifying. Word Partners: swear an oath	/sweə(r)/
to threaten	Climate change threatens coastal communities worldwide.	/ˈθretn/
to urge	Environmental groups urged the government to take action.	/ɜːdʒ/
to whisper	She whispered the secret into his ear.	/ˈwɪspə(r)/
to witness	Historians witnessed unprecedented political changes during this period.	/ˈwɪtnəs/

Mental Processes & Cognition

Word	Example Sentence	IPA (UK)
to analyse	Scientists analyse the data and report their findings. Word Partners: analyse data	/ˈænəlaɪz/
to anticipate	Economists anticipate that inflation will continue rising.	/ænˈtɪsɪpeɪt/
to assess	Experts need to assess the long-term impact of climate policies. Word Partners: assess the impact/situation	/əˈses/
to assume	Analysts assume that interest rates will remain stable.	/əˈsjuːm/
to attempt	Negotiators attempted to broker a ceasefire agreement.	/əˈtempt/
to calculate	Engineers must calculate the structural load precisely.	/ˈkælkjuleɪt/
to classify	The documents were classified as confidential.	/ˈklæsɪfaɪ/
to define	It is hard to define the exact meaning of this word. Word Partners: define the meaning, define a word	/dɪˈfaɪn/
to derive	Many modern pharmaceuticals are derived from plant compounds.	/dɪˈraɪv/
to detect	Sensors can detect minute changes in atmospheric pressure.	/dɪˈtekt/
to determine	We must determine the cause of the train accident. Word Partners: determine the cause	/dɪˈtɜːmɪn/
to differ	Expert opinions widely differ on the effectiveness of the policy. Word Partners: widely differ	/ˈdɪfə(r)/
to distinguish	Researchers struggled to distinguish between genuine and fraudulent claims.	/dɪˈstɪŋɡwɪʃ/
to document	Researchers documented the changes in behaviour over time.	/ˈdɒkjument/
to evaluate	The committee will evaluate all proposals before deciding.	/ɪˈvæljueɪt/
to forecast	Economists forecast continued growth in the technology sector.	/ˈfɔːkɑːst/
to hesitate	Authorities must not hesitate to take decisive action.	/ˈhezɪteɪt/
to infer	From the data, researchers inferred that the treatment was effective.	/ɪnˈfɜː(r)/
to interpret	Analysts interpreted the data in conflicting ways.	/ɪnˈtɜːprət/
to monitor	Inspectors will monitor compliance with regulations.	/ˈmɒnɪtə(r)/
to observe	Researchers observed behavioural patterns over several months.	/əbˈzɜːv/
to perceive	The policy was perceived as unfair to younger workers.	/pəˈsiːv/
to rank	The university ranks among the top ten in the country.	/ræŋk/
to recall	The ambassador couldn't recall details of the conversation.	/rɪˈkɔːl/
to reckon	Analysts reckon that unemployment will peak next quarter.	/ˈrekən/
to research	I need to research this topic and write a report. Word Partners: research a topic	/rɪˈsɜːtʃ/
to resolve	Negotiators worked to resolve the dispute peacefully. Word Partners: resolve a dispute/problem	/rɪˈzɒlv/
to suspect	Officials suspect that the outbreak originated overseas.	/səˈspekt/
to trace	Investigators worked to trace the source of the leak.	/treɪs/

Physical Movement & Actions

Word	Example Sentence	IPA (UK)
to abandon	The government was forced to abandon its reform plans. Word Partners: abandon a plan/idea	/əˈbændən/
to absorb	The material absorbs shock from impacts.	/əbˈzɔːb/
to chase	Police chased the suspects through residential streets.	/tʃeɪs/
to chop	The editor decided to chop several sections from the report.	/tʃɒp/
to collapse	The financial system collapsed under mounting pressure. Word Partners: collapse under	/kəˈlæps/
to crack	Investigators worked to crack the encryption code. Word Partners: crack a code	/kræk/
to crash	Stock markets crashed following the announcement.	/kræʃ/
to curve	The road curves sharply to the left.	/kɜːv/
to depart	The delegation will depart from Brussels tomorrow morning.	/dɪˈpɑːt/
to dig	Archaeologists dug trenches to expose ancient foundations.	/dɪɡ/
to dive	Economists predict profits will dive this quarter.	/daɪv/
to drag	The scandal continues to drag the party's reputation down. Word Partners: drag down	/dræɡ/
to dump	Companies were accused of illegally dumping toxic waste.	/dʌmp/
to erupt	Violence erupted following the disputed election.	/ɪˈrʌpt/
to extract	Miners extract valuable minerals from underground deposits.	/ɪkˈstrækt/
to flash	Warning lights flashed as the system detected an error.	/flæʃ/
to float	Grab onto that piece of wood, it will help you to float.	/fləʊt/
to grab	Investors moved to grab market share from competitors. Word Partners: grab market share	/ɡræb/
to handle	The crisis team must handle the situation carefully.	/ˈhændl/
to lean	The government leans towards stricter regulation.	/liːn/
to load	Workers loaded containers onto the cargo ship.	/ləʊd/
to lower	The bank decided to lower interest rates by 0.5%.	/ˈləʊə(r)/
to mount	Campaigners mounted a legal challenge to the decision. Word Partners: mount a challenge/campaign	/maʊnt/
to pace	The CEO paced nervously during the board meeting.	/peɪs/
to pause	Negotiators agreed to pause discussions temporarily.	/pɔːz/
to pile	Evidence continues to pile up against the defendant. Word Partners: pile up	/paɪl/
to rush	Parliament rushed through emergency legislation. Word Partners: rush through	/rʌʃ/
to scratch	The report merely scratched the surface of the problem. Word Partners: scratch the surface	/skrætʃ/
to scream	Witnesses reported hearing people screaming in terror. Word Partners: scream in terror/pain	/skriːm/
to settle	Both parties agreed to settle the dispute out of court. Word Partners: settle a dispute	/ˈsetl/
to slide	The economy continues to slide into recession. Word Partners: slide into	/slaɪd/
to slip	Standards must not be allowed to slip.	/slɪp/
to spill	The conflict threatens to spill over into neighbouring regions. Word Partners: spill over	/spɪl/
to split	The issue split the party along ideological lines. Word Partners: split the party	/splɪt/
to stare	The journalist stared at the minister in disbelief.	/steə(r)/
to starve	Sanctions threaten to starve the regime of revenue. Word Partners: starve of	/stɑːv/
to stretch	Resources are stretched to breaking point. Word Partners: stretch to breaking point	/stretʃ/
to strike	Transport workers voted to strike over pay conditions.	/straɪk/
to struggle	The administration is struggling to contain inflation.	/ˈstrʌɡl/
to swallow	Voters found the explanation hard to swallow. Word Partners: hard to swallow	/ˈswɒləʊ/
to sweep	Reforms swept through the organisation. Word Partners: sweep through	/swiːp/
to tap	The government seeks to tap into new revenue sources.	/tæp/
to tear	Civil war tore the nation apart. Word Partners: tear apart	/teə(r)/
to track	Analysts track economic indicators closely.	/træk/
to trap	Residents felt trapped by rising housing costs.	/træp/
to wander	The discussion wandered off topic.	/ˈwɒndə(r)/
to withdraw	The opposition withdrew support for the legislation. Word Partners: withdraw support	/wɪðˈdrɔː/
to wrap	Officials decided to wrap up negotiations. Word Partners: wrap up	/ræp/

B2 English Verbs: Communication, Mind & Physical Actions

Communication & Expression

Mental Processes & Cognition

Physical Movement & Actions

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