C2 English Verbs: Mental, Emotional & Personal Actions

The final section of our C2 verb collection focuses on the sophisticated vocabulary used to describe the internal world of thought and the external manifestation of emotion and behaviour. These words are pivotal for high-level literary analysis, psychological description, and expressing profound personal states.

This list provides a rich lexicon for Mental & Personal Action, featuring introspective verbs like ruminate and eschew. It also includes a wide array of words to articulate Emotional Response & Personal Behaviour, from expressing sorrow with lament to describing submission with grovel.

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Verbs of Mental & Personal Action

Word	Example Sentence	IPA (UK)
to accost	As she left the courthouse, she was accosted by a crowd of reporters shouting questions.	/əˈkɒst/
to beguile	He beguiled the investors with false promises of extraordinary returns.	/bɪˈɡaɪl/
to bequeath	She bequeathed her entire estate to charity in her will.	/bɪˈkwiːð/
to beset	The project was beset by delays from the outset.	/bɪˈset/
to bestow	The Queen bestowed a knighthood upon the celebrated actor for his services to drama. Word Partners: bestow an honour/title upon	/bɪˈstəʊ/
to brandish	The protester was arrested for brandishing a weapon in a public place. Word Partners: brandish a weapon	/ˈbrændɪʃ/
to condone	The school does not condone violence of any kind. Word Partners: condone violence/behaviour	/kənˈdəʊn/
to confound	The results of the study confounded the experts' predictions.	/kənˈfaʊnd/
to conjure	The scent of cinnamon can conjure up memories of Christmas. Word Partners: conjure up an image/a memory	/ˈkʌndʒə(r)/
to dehort	I tried to dehort him from making such a risky investment.	/dɪˈhɔːt/
to deign	The superstar did not deign to reply to her fans' letters.	/deɪn/
to dispel	The report was intended to dispel rumours about the company's finances. Word Partners: dispel fears/rumours/myths	/dɪˈspel/
to dispense	The charity aims to dispense advice to those in need. Word Partners: dispense with, dispense medicine/advice	/dɪˈspens/
to emanate	A strange smell was emanating from the laboratory.	/ˈeməneɪt/
to emancipate	The legislation was intended to emancipate those who had been held in servitude.	/ɪˈmænsɪpeɪt/
to embezzle	The accountant was caught trying to embezzle company funds. Word Partners: embezzle funds/money	/ɪmˈbezl/
to embroil	I don't want to become embroiled in their bitter dispute.	/ɪmˈbrɔɪl/
to endow	The wealthy philanthropist endowed the university with a new library. Word Partners: endow with	/ɪnˈdaʊ/
to enthrall	The audience was enthralled by her captivating performance.	/ɪnˈθrɔːl/
to entreat	I entreat you to reconsider your decision before it's too late.	/ɪnˈtriːt/
to eradicate	The campaign aims to completely eradicate the disease. Word Partners: eradicate poverty/disease	/ɪˈrædɪkeɪt/
to exalt	The regime's propaganda exalted the leader to godlike status.	/ɪɡˈzɔːlt/
to extricate	It took firefighters several hours to extricate the driver from the wreckage. Word Partners: extricate from	/ˈekstrɪkeɪt/
to exude	She seems to exude confidence in everything she does. Word Partners: exude confidence/charm	/ɪɡˈzjuːd/
to flaunt	She likes to flaunt her wealth by driving expensive cars. Word Partners: flaunt wealth/success	/flɔːnt/
to genuflect	Visitors must genuflect before entering the shrine.	/ˈdʒenjuflekt/
to harness	We must harness the power of renewable energy. Word Partners: harness the power of	/ˈhɑːnɪs/
to hasten	I must hasten to add that this information is not yet confirmed.	/ˈheɪsn/
to hoard	During the crisis, some people began to hoard essential supplies.	/hɔːd/
to impair	Lack of sleep can seriously impair your judgement. Word Partners: impair one's ability/judgement	/ɪmˈpeə(r)/
to liquidate	The company was forced to liquidate its assets. Word Partners: liquidate assets	/ˈlɪkwɪdeɪt/
to muffle	She used a pillow to muffle the sound. Word Partners: muffle the sound/noise	/ˈmʌfl/
to obfuscate	The report seems designed to obfuscate the truth. Word Partners: obfuscate the truth/issue	/ˈɒbfʌskeɪt/
to persecute	They were persecuted for their political beliefs.	/ˈpɜːsɪkjuːt/
to peruse	He sat in the library, perusing an old manuscript.	/pəˈruːz/
to pervert	He was accused of attempting to pervert the course of justice. Word Partners: pervert the course of justice	/pəˈvɜːt/
to preempt	The government's announcement was designed to preempt any criticism.	/ˌpriːˈempt/
to prevaricate	Stop prevaricating and give me a straight answer to the question.	/prɪˈværɪkeɪt/
to profess	He professed his innocence throughout the lengthy trial. Word Partners: profess innocence/ignorance	/prəˈfes/
to protract	We cannot afford to have these negotiations unduly protracted. Word Partners: unduly protract	/prəˈtrækt/
to purport	The document purports to be a genuine letter from the 16th century.	/pəˈpɔːt/
to reciprocate	We invited them for dinner, but they have not yet reciprocated.	/rɪˈsɪprəkeɪt/
to relegate	The issue was relegated to a minor footnote in the report.	/ˈrelɪɡeɪt/
to replenish	After the long hike, it was important to replenish our water supplies. Word Partners: replenish stocks/supplies	/rɪˈplenɪʃ/
to retract	The newspaper was forced to retract the statement. Word Partners: retract a statement/claim	/rɪˈtrækt/
to safeguard	New measures will safeguard patient data. Word Partners: safeguard rights/interests/data	/ˈseɪfɡɑːd/
to satiate	A simple soup was enough to satiate his hunger.	/ˈseɪʃieɪt/
to squander	He was accused of squandering public money on vanity projects. Word Partners: squander money/an opportunity	/ˈskwɒndə(r)/
to stifle	The new regulations were criticised for their potential to stifle innovation. Word Partners: stifle creativity/innovation/debate	/ˈstaɪfl/
to subdue	Security forces managed to subdue the attacker. Word Partners: forcibly subdue, subdue an attacker	/səbˈdjuː/
to succumb	After a long illness, he finally succumbed to his injuries. Word Partners: succumb to pressure/injuries	/səˈkʌm/
to supplant	Automated systems have largely supplanted the need for manual data entry.	/səˈplɑːnt/
to surmount	The team had to surmount considerable obstacles to achieve success. Word Partners: surmount an obstacle/difficulty	/səˈmaʊnt/
to surpass	Sales have surpassed all expectations. Word Partners: surpass expectations	/səˈpɑːs/
to tarnish	The scandal has done little to tarnish his reputation. Word Partners: tarnish one's reputation/image	/ˈtɑːnɪʃ/
to wager	I would wager a significant amount that he won't come.	/ˈweɪdʒə(r)/

Verbs of Emotional Response & Personal Behaviour

Word	Example Sentence	IPA (UK)
to bemoan	Academics frequently bemoan the lack of funding for the arts. Word Partners: bemoan the lack of	/bɪˈməʊn/
to commiserate	I went to commiserate with my friend after she lost her job.	/kəˈmɪzəreɪt/
to covet	He coveted his neighbour's worldly success.	/ˈkʌvət/
to dawdle	Stop dawdling and hurry up, or we'll be late.	/ˈdɔːdl/
to demean	He felt that the trivial tasks he was given demeaned his position.	/dɪˈmiːn/
to demur	When the controversial plan was proposed, several board members demurred.	/dɪˈmɜː(r)/
to dismay	The committee was dismayed by the lack of progress.	/dɪsˈmeɪ/
to eschew	He eschewed all forms of publicity throughout his career.	/ɪsˈtʃuː/
to feign	He would often feign ignorance to avoid answering difficult questions. Word Partners: feign ignorance/illness	/feɪn/
to forgo	Due to the high cost, we have decided to forgo our annual holiday this year.	/fɔːˈɡəʊ/
to forsake	He made the difficult decision to forsake his lucrative career in favour of a simpler life.	/fəˈseɪk/
to grovel	There is no need to grovel; a simple apology will suffice.	/ˈɡrɒvl/
to incense	The committee was incensed by the minister's dismissive response.	/ɪnˈsens/
to irk	It irked the professor that his research was so frequently misinterpreted.	/ɜːk/
to lament	She lamented the loss of traditional values in modern society.	/ləˈment/
to loathe	I absolutely loathe hypocrisy in all its forms.	/ləʊð/
to nag	Stop nagging me about tidying my room!	/næɡ/
to procrastinate	I tend to procrastinate when I have to complete difficult tasks.	/prəʊˈkræstɪneɪt/
to relish	She seemed to relish the challenge of managing the difficult project. Word Partners: relish the prospect/challenge	/ˈrelɪʃ/
to revere	He is a writer who is widely revered for his clarity and insight. Word Partners: widely revere	/rɪˈvɪə(r)/
to shirk	It is unacceptable to shirk your responsibilities in this way. Word Partners: shirk one's duty/responsibilities	/ʃɜːk/
to shun	After the incident, he was shunned by his former friends and colleagues.	/ʃʌn/
to torment	He was tormented by feelings of guilt.	/tɔːˈment/
to vacillate	The committee continues to vacillate between the two options.	/ˈvæsɪleɪt/
to waver	He never wavered in his commitment to the cause.	/ˈweɪvə(r)/

C2 English Verbs: Mental, Emotional & Personal Actions

Verbs of Mental & Personal Action

Verbs of Emotional Response & Personal Behaviour

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