C2 English Verbs: Power, Communication & Change

This section of our C2 verbs list delves into the dynamic language of influence, expression, and transformation. These verbs are essential for discussing institutional power, conveying complex ideas, and describing processes of growth or decline with academic and professional precision.

Here you will explore the vocabulary of Power, Control & Formal Action, including potent words like subjugate and usurp. The list also provides a nuanced selection for Communication & Representation, such as elucidate and pontificate, and verbs that describe processes of Change, Development & Decline, like burgeon and dwindle.

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Verbs of Power, Control & Formal Action

Word	Example Sentence	IPA (UK)
to abet	He was charged with aiding and abetting the suspect in his escape. Word Partners: aid and abet	/əˈbet/
to antagonise	His comments only served to antagonise several members of the committee.	/ænˈtæɡənaɪz/
to balk	The board of directors balked at the sheer scale of the proposed investment.	/bɔːk/
to beleaguer	The government was beleaguered by a series of political scandals. Word Partners: be beleaguered by	/bɪˈliːɡə(r)/
to capitulate	After weeks of negotiation, the union was forced to capitulate to the company's demands. Word Partners: capitulate to demands	/kəˈpɪtʃuleɪt/
to circumvent	They found a clever way to circumvent the regulations. Word Partners: circumvent the rules/regulations	/ˌsɜːkəmˈvent/
to coerce	They tried to coerce him into signing the document.	/kəʊˈɜːs/
to collude	The investigation revealed that the companies had been colluding to fix prices. Word Partners: collude to do something	/kəˈluːd/
to connive	Officials were accused of conniving with criminals to defraud the state.	/kəˈnaɪv/
to contravene	The company's actions were found to contravene international law. Word Partners: contravene a law/rule	/ˌkɒntrəˈviːn/
to countenance	The committee will not countenance any departure from the official procedures.	/ˈkaʊntənəns/
to deter	The high price of the product is intended to deter potential buyers. Word Partners: deter crime/an attack	/dɪˈtɜː(r)/
to encroach	The new housing development began to encroach upon the protected woodland.	/ɪnˈkrəʊtʃ/
to flout	The company was accused of openly flouting the rules. Word Partners: flout the law/rules	/flaʊt/
to foment	He was accused of fomenting rebellion among the workers. Word Partners: foment rebellion/unrest	/fəʊˈment/
to forestall	The government acted quickly to forestall a banking crisis.	/fɔːˈstɔːl/
to hamper	The rescue operation was severely hampered by the adverse weather conditions. Word Partners: hamper progress/efforts	/ˈhæmpə(r)/
to impede	Bad weather continues to impede progress on the construction project. Word Partners: impede progress/development	/ɪmˈpiːd/
to imperil	Such reckless actions could imperil the fragile peace talks.	/ɪmˈperəl/
to impugn	I do not mean to impugn his integrity, but I question his recent decisions. Word Partners: impugn someone's motives/integrity	/ɪmˈpjuːn/
to incite	He was accused of inciting violence. Word Partners: incite violence/hatred	/ɪnˈsaɪt/
to instigate	The government has instigated an inquiry into the matter. Word Partners: instigate an inquiry/a review	/ˈɪnstɪɡeɪt/
to jeopardise	This mistake could jeopardise his career. Word Partners: jeopardise chances/a career	/ˈdʒepədaɪz/
to ostracise	He was ostracised by his colleagues for reporting the safety violation.	/ˈɒstrəsaɪz/
to oust	The CEO was forcibly ousted from his position by the board. Word Partners: oust from power/a position	/aʊst/
to outweigh	The potential benefits of the project far outweigh the risks. Word Partners: outweigh the benefits/risks	/ˌaʊtˈweɪ/
to pillage	The invading army began to pillage the undefended towns.	/ˈpɪlɪdʒ/
to plunder	The country's natural resources were plundered for centuries.	/ˈplʌndə(r)/
to preclude	His criminal record may preclude him from obtaining the visa.	/prɪˈkluːd/
to quash	The High Court later quashed the conviction. Word Partners: quash a verdict/conviction	/kwɒʃ/
to quell	The police moved in to quell the riots. Word Partners: quell violence/riots/unrest	/kwel/
to repudiate	The government firmly repudiated the allegations of corruption.	/rɪˈpjuːdieɪt/
to retaliate	The army began to retaliate against the attacks.	/rɪˈtælieɪt/
to rupture	The scandal threatened to rupture the fragile coalition.	/ˈrʌptʃə(r)/
to subjugate	The empire sought to subjugate all the surrounding tribes.	/ˈsʌbdʒəɡeɪt/
to subvert	They were accused of attempting to subvert democracy. Word Partners: subvert democracy/authority	/səbˈvɜːt/
to supersede	The new digital system will eventually supersede all the old paper records.	/ˌsuːpəˈsiːd/
to thwart	Their ambitious plans were thwarted by a lack of funding. Word Partners: thwart an attempt/a plan	/θwɔːt/
to transgress	The committee found that he had transgressed the accepted rules of conduct.	/trænzˈɡres/
to usurp	The dictator's son attempted to usurp power after his father's death. Word Partners: usurp power/the throne	/juːˈzɜːp/
to vanquish	In the final battle, the hero finally vanquished his foe.	/ˈvæŋkwɪʃ/
to veto	The president is expected to veto the bill. Word Partners: veto a bill/decision	/ˈviːtəʊ/
to wield	The report showed that the committee wields considerable power. Word Partners: wield power/influence	/wiːld/
to withstand	The company managed to withstand the pressure from its competitors. Word Partners: withstand pressure/scrutiny	/wɪðˈstænd/

Verbs of Communication & Representation

Word	Example Sentence	IPA (UK)
to cajole	He managed to cajole his reluctant colleague into helping with the project.	/kəˈdʒəʊl/
to delineate	The report clearly delineates the responsibilities of each department. Word Partners: clearly delineate	/dɪˈlɪnieɪt/
to disseminate	The organisation works to disseminate information about public health risks. Word Partners: disseminate information/knowledge	/dɪˈsemɪneɪt/
to divulge	The company refused to divulge the details of the agreement. Word Partners: divulge information/details/a source	/daɪˈvʌldʒ/
to elicit	The question was designed to elicit a strong response. Word Partners: elicit a response/reaction	/ɪˈlɪsɪt/
to enumerate	He enumerated the various reasons for his opposition to the plan.	/ɪˈnjuːməreɪt/
to exhort	The party leader exhorted her supporters to continue the fight.	/ɪɡˈzɔːt/
to expound	The professor will expound on his theory in the upcoming lecture. Word Partners: expound on a theory	/ɪkˈspaʊnd/
to extol	The article extolled the virtues of a healthy diet. Word Partners: extol the virtues of	/ɪkˈstəʊl/
to harangue	She harangued the staff about their perceived lack of commitment.	/həˈræŋ/
to herald	The early blossom is said to herald the arrival of spring. Word Partners: herald a new era, herald the arrival of	/ˈherəld/
to juxtapose	The exhibition juxtaposes ancient artefacts with modern art.	/ˌdʒʌkstəˈpəʊz/
to laud	Critics widely lauded the performance as a masterpiece. Word Partners: widely/highly laud	/lɔːd/
to pontificate	We had to listen to him pontificate about the state of modern art.	/pɒnˈtɪfɪkeɪt/
to portend	The dark clouds seemed to portend a coming storm.	/pɔːˈtend/
to proffer	He proffered an apology for his earlier outburst.	/ˈprɒfə(r)/
to rebuff	Her offer of help was politely but firmly rebuffed.	/rɪˈbʌf/
to recant	Under pressure, he was forced to recant his statement. Word Partners: recant a statement/testimony	/rɪˈkænt/
to transcribe	Can you transcribe this audio recording for the court records?	/trænˈskraɪb/

Verbs of Change, Development & Decline

Word	Example Sentence	IPA (UK)
to accentuate	The report accentuated the positive outcomes of the study.	/əkˈsentʃueɪt/
to accrue	Interest will accrue on the account monthly.	/əˈkruː/
to augment	She took on freelance work to augment her income. Word Partners: augment one's income	/ɔːɡˈment/
to billow	Smoke billowed from the burning building.	/ˈbɪləʊ/
to burgeon	The city's tech scene is burgeoning, attracting talent from all over the world.	/ˈbɜːdʒən/
to buttress	The lawyer used new evidence to buttress his argument. Word Partners: buttress an argument/claim	/ˈbʌtrəs/
to cleave	Despite the pressure to modernise, he continued to cleave to his principles. Word Partners: cleave to a principle/belief	/kliːv/
to coalesce	The various protest groups began to coalesce into a single movement.	/ˌkəʊəˈles/
to culminate	The year-long negotiations will culminate in a final peace treaty.	/ˈkʌlmɪneɪt/
to embellish	He tends to embellish the truth to make his stories more interesting. Word Partners: embellish the truth/a story	/ɪmˈbelɪʃ/
to emulate	He tried to emulate his hero's signature style.	/ˈemjuleɪt/
to engender	The new policy has engendered widespread support. Word Partners: engender support/confidence	/ɪnˈdʒendə(r)/
to ensue	A period of chaos ensued after the government collapsed.	/ɪnˈsjuː/
to entail	The project will entail considerable expense and effort.	/ɪnˈteɪl/
to exacerbate	His intervention only served to exacerbate the problem. Word Partners: exacerbate the problem/situation/tensions	/ɪɡˈzæsəbeɪt/
to expedite	We need to take measures to expedite the process. Word Partners: expedite the process/delivery	/ˈekspɪdaɪt/
to fabricate	The witness was found to have fabricated evidence. Word Partners: fabricate evidence/a story	/ˈfæbrɪkeɪt/
to founder	The peace talks foundered on the issue of territorial disputes.	/ˈfaʊndə(r)/
to galvanise	The tragedy galvanised the community into action.	/ˈɡælvənaɪz/
to garner	The campaign garnered widespread support. Word Partners: garner support/attention	/ˈɡɑːnə(r)/
to glean	From her report, I was able to glean some useful information about the project's progress. Word Partners: glean information/facts	/ɡliːn/
to hone	She moved to Paris to hone her skills as a pastry chef. Word Partners: hone one's skills	/həʊn/
to imbue	His work is imbued with a deep sense of history and tradition.	/ɪmˈbjuː/
to inundate	After the broadcast, we were inundated with requests for information.	/ˈɪnʌndeɪt/
to kindle	The speech kindled hope in the community after a long period of despair. Word Partners: kindle hope/interest	/ˈkɪndl/
to languish	The prisoner was left to languish in jail for another year.	/ˈlæŋɡwɪʃ/
to permeate	A sense of optimism permeated the entire organisation.	/ˈpɜːmieɪt/
to perpetuate	The film was criticised for perpetuating stereotypes about the country. Word Partners: perpetuate a myth/stereotype	/pəˈpetʃueɪt/
to pervade	The smell of damp pervaded the old house.	/pəˈveɪd/
to precipitate	The incident precipitated a major international crisis. Word Partners: precipitate a crisis/collapse	/prɪˈsɪpɪteɪt/
to procure	He was responsible for procuring the necessary equipment for the expedition. Word Partners: procure supplies/equipment	/prəˈkjʊə(r)/
to rectify	We must take immediate steps to rectify the situation. Word Partners: rectify a mistake/an error/a situation	/ˈrektɪfaɪ/
to sow	His inflammatory comments sowed seeds of doubt among the team. Word Partners: sow seeds of doubt/discord	/səʊ/
to spawn	The new technology spawned a whole new industry. Word Partners: spawn a new generation/industry	/spɔːn/
to transcend	The best art has the power to transcend cultural boundaries. Word Partners: transcend boundaries	/trænˈsend/

C2 English Verbs: Power, Communication & Change

Verbs of Power, Control & Formal Action

Verbs of Communication & Representation

Verbs of Change, Development & Decline

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