C2 English Nouns: Adversity, Resources & Status
This part of our C2 list focuses on the vocabulary of condition and social standing. These words are essential for analysing societal dynamics, character motivations, and personal circumstances in literature, economics, and social sciences.
The collection covers nouns for describing Hardship, Adversity & Suffering with terms like plight and tribulation. It contrasts this with vocabulary for Abundance, Scarcity & Resources, such as paucity and plethora. Additionally, you will find words for Reputation, Status & Standing like notoriety and kudos, and for Tendency, Inclination & Preference, including penchant and proclivity.
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- Hardship, Adversity & Suffering
- Abundance, Scarcity & Resources
- Reputation, Status & Standing
- Tendency, Inclination & Preference
- Compliance, Procedure & Standards
- Ideologies & Movements
- Appearance, Surface & Perception
- Scale, Degree & Extent
Hardship, Adversity & Suffering
| Word | Example Sentence | IPA (UK) |
|---|---|---|
| adversity | She showed remarkable courage in the face of adversity.
Word Partners: in the face of adversity
|
/ədˈvɜːsəti/ |
| affliction | Deafness is an affliction that he has had to deal with for most of his life. | /əˈflɪkʃn/ |
| bane | Slow broadband is the bane of rural life. | /beɪn/ |
| desolation | After the fire, she stared out at a scene of utter desolation. | /ˌdesəˈleɪʃn/ |
| disillusionment | There was widespread disillusionment with mainstream politics. | /ˌdɪsɪˈluːʒnmənt/ |
| drudgery | She longed to escape the drudgery of her daily routine. | /ˈdrʌdʒəri/ |
| duress | The confession was made under duress and later retracted.
Word Partners: under duress
|
/djuˈres/ |
| futility | He finally accepted the futility of arguing with her. | /fjuːˈtɪləti/ |
| malady | The doctor struggled to diagnose the mysterious malady. | /ˈmælədi/ |
| malaise | A general sense of malaise hung over the department after the redundancies. | /mæˈleɪz/ |
| mire | The peace process has been stuck in a political mire for months. | /maɪə(r)/ |
| peril | Anyone who ignores the safety warnings does so at their peril.
Word Partners: at one's peril
|
/ˈperəl/ |
| perplexity | She stared at the complex equation with a look of utter perplexity. | /pəˈpleksəti/ |
| pessimism | A deep sense of pessimism about the future pervaded the country. | /ˈpesɪmɪzəm/ |
| privation | The refugees endured terrible privation during their long journey. | /praɪˈveɪʃn/ |
| ruination | The new policy could lead to the financial ruination of the company. | /ˌruːɪˈneɪʃn/ |
| servitude | The prisoners were condemned to a lifetime of servitude. | /ˈsɜːvɪtjuːd/ |
| shackle | For centuries, women were held in the shackles of a patriarchal society. | /ˈʃækl/ |
| squalor | The family was living in appalling squalor. | /ˈskwɒlə(r)/ |
| tedium | She stared out of the window to relieve the tedium of the long journey. | /ˈtiːdiəm/ |
| thrall | For years, the region was held in thrall by a brutal dictatorship.
Word Partners: in thrall, in thrall to
|
/θrɔːl/ |
| tribulation | The book recounts the trials and tribulations of his early life. | /ˌtrɪbjuˈleɪʃn/ |
| woe | The economic report was a tale of woe from start to finish. | /wəʊ/ |
| yoke | The people rose up to throw off the yoke of oppression. | /jəʊk/ |
Abundance, Scarcity & Resources
| Word | Example Sentence | IPA (UK) |
|---|---|---|
| boon | The new motorway has been a boon for local businesses. | /buːn/ |
| dearth | There is a dearth of qualified candidates for the position. | /dɜːθ/ |
| famine | The long drought led to a devastating famine in the region. | /ˈfæmɪn/ |
| opulence | The guests were astonished by the sheer opulence of the palace. | /ˈɒpjələns/ |
| paucity | There is a paucity of scientific evidence to support the claim. | /ˈpɔːsəti/ |
| penury | After the business failed, the family was reduced to penury. | /ˈpenjəri/ |
| pittance | The interns were paid a pittance for their long hours of work.
Word Partners: be paid a pittance
|
/ˈpɪtns/ |
| plethora | The report was criticised for providing a plethora of information but no clear conclusions. | /ˈpleθərə/ |
| profusion | Wildflowers grew in profusion along the riverbank.
Word Partners: in profusion
|
/prəˈfjuːʒn/ |
| scarcity | There was a scarcity of fresh water after the drought. | /ˈskeəsəti/ |
| subsistence | Many families in the region survive on subsistence farming.
Word Partners: subsistence farming/level
|
/səbˈsɪstəns/ |
| sufficiency | The country has finally achieved sufficiency in food production. | /səˈfɪʃnsi/ |
| surfeit | There is a surfeit of smartphones on the market. | /ˈsɜːfɪt/ |
| sustenance | The small farm provided sustenance for the entire family. | /ˈsʌstənəns/ |
| wherewithal | He lacked the financial wherewithal to start his own business. | /ˈweəwɪðɔːl/ |
| windfall | She received an unexpected windfall of £10,000 from a distant relative's will.
Word Partners: a windfall of
|
/ˈwɪndfɔːl/ |
Reputation, Status & Standing
| Word | Example Sentence | IPA (UK) |
|---|---|---|
| acclamation | The proposal was approved by acclamation without a formal vote. | /ˌækləˈmeɪʃn/ |
| accolade | The film received numerous accolades at the awards ceremony.
Word Partners: receive accolades
|
/ˈækəleɪd/ |
| disrepute | His actions brought the profession into disrepute.
Word Partners: bring into disrepute, fall into disrepute
|
/ˌdɪsrɪˈpjuːt/ |
| infamy | The date will forever live in infamy.
Word Partners: live in infamy
|
/ˈɪnfəmi/ |
| notoriety | The case gained notoriety after it was featured in a documentary.
Word Partners: gain notoriety
|
/ˌnəʊtəˈraɪəti/ |
| pedigree | The horse has an impressive pedigree, with several champions in its bloodline. | /ˈpedɪɡriː/ |
| rapport | The new manager quickly built a strong rapport with her team.
Word Partners: build/establish rapport
|
/ræˈpɔː(r)/ |
| renown | She is an artist of international renown. | /rɪˈnaʊn/ |
| repute | He is a scientist of considerable repute in his field. | /rɪˈpjuːt/ |
| statesmanship | The role requires not just political skill, but true statesmanship. | /ˈsteɪtsmənʃɪp/ |
| stewardship | The CEO was praised for his careful stewardship of the company during the recession. | /ˈstjuːədʃɪp/ |
| taint | The scandal left a taint on his previously flawless reputation. | /teɪnt/ |
| veneration | The old scholar was treated with great veneration by his students. | /ˌvenəˈreɪʃn/ |
| vindication | The court's decision was a complete vindication of his actions. | /ˌvɪndɪˈkeɪʃn/ |
| virtuosity | The audience was stunned by the pianist's technical virtuosity. | /ˌvɜːtʃuˈɒsəti/ |
Tendency, Inclination & Preference
| Word | Example Sentence | IPA (UK) |
|---|---|---|
| affinity | She felt a natural affinity with the other students on the course. | /əˈfɪnəti/ |
| aversion | She has a strong aversion to public speaking. | /əˈvɜːʃn/ |
| compulsion | She felt a strong compulsion to confess her mistake. | /kəmˈpʌlʃn/ |
| disposition | His cheerful disposition made him popular with colleagues. | /ˌdɪspəˈzɪʃn/ |
| forte | Public speaking was never her forte. | /ˈfɔːteɪ/ |
| penchant | He has a penchant for collecting rare books. | /ˈpɒ̃ʃɒ̃/ |
| predilection | She has a clear predilection for French cinema. | /ˌpriːdɪˈlekʃn/ |
| proclivity | He showed a proclivity for getting into arguments. | /prəˈklɪvəti/ |
| propensity | She has a propensity for making careless mistakes. | /prəˈpensəti/ |
| qualm | She had no qualms about telling him exactly what she thought. | /kwɑːm/ |
| rashness | In a moment of rashness, he resigned from his job without another one to go to. | /ˈræʃnəs/ |
| recklessness | The accident was caused by the recklessness of the driver. | /ˈrekləsnəs/ |
| reluctance | He finally agreed to help, but with considerable reluctance. | /rɪˈlʌktəns/ |
| resilience | The local community showed remarkable resilience in the face of the disaster. | /rɪˈzɪliəns/ |
| reticence | His natural reticence made him a poor public speaker. | /ˈretɪsns/ |
| sloth | The report blamed bureaucratic sloth for the delays. | /sləʊθ/ |
| spontaneity | The performance lacked energy and spontaneity. | /ˌspɒntəˈneɪəti/ |
| spur | He acted on the spur of the moment and regretted it later.
Word Partners: on the spur of the moment
|
/spɜː(r)/ |
| susceptibility | He has a genetic susceptibility to heart disease. | /səˌseptəˈbɪləti/ |
| vacillation | Her constant vacillation between the two options was infuriating. | /ˌvæsɪˈleɪʃn/ |
| vehemence | She argued her case with great vehemence. | /ˈviːəməns/ |
| verve | She performed her routine with verve and enthusiasm.
Word Partners: with verve
|
/vɜːv/ |
| vitality | Despite her age, she was full of energy and vitality. | /vaɪˈtæləti/ |
| vivacity | Her natural vivacity made her the life of the party. | /vɪˈvæsəti/ |
| volition | She left the company of her own volition.
Word Partners: of one's own volition
|
/vəˈlɪʃn/ |
| waywardness | His parents were concerned by his increasing waywardness at school. | /ˈweɪwədnəs/ |
| whimsy | The children's book was full of charm and gentle whimsy. | /ˈwɪmzi/ |
| willfulness | Her stubborn willfulness often got her into trouble. | /ˈwɪlfəlnəs/ |
| zeal | She pursued her work with missionary zeal.
Word Partners: with zeal, missionary zeal
|
/ziːl/ |
