To do well in the 11+ exam, children need more than basic vocabulary. Many GL-style questions use challenging words in context, especially in comprehension and verbal reasoning.

This list contains more advanced words that often appear in higher-difficulty papers.

Why harder vocabulary matters

In the 11+ exam, children are often expected to:

• Understand complex texts quickly
• Work out meanings from context
• Identify subtle differences between similar words
• Choose the best synonym or explanation

Stronger vocabulary improves:

• Speed in comprehension
• Accuracy in reasoning questions
• Confidence with unfamiliar texts

Advanced GL 11+ Vocabulary List

A – C

• Absurd – completely unreasonable or ridiculous
• Ambiguous – unclear or having more than one meaning
• Arrogant – thinking you are better than others
• Astonishing – extremely surprising
• Authenticate – prove something is real
• Bewildered – very confused
• Brutal – very harsh or violent
• Cautious – careful to avoid danger
• Clarify – make something clear
• Coherent – logical and easy to understand

D – F

• Deceptive – likely to trick or mislead
• Defiant – openly resisting rules or authority
• Deteriorate – become worse
• Devour – eat quickly and greedily
• Disrupt – interrupt or disturb
• Dreadful – very bad or unpleasant
• Efficient – working well without wasting time
• Elaborate – detailed and complex
• Emerge – come out or become visible
• Exaggerate – make something seem bigger or worse than it is

G – I

• Gallant – brave and noble
• Grim – serious or gloomy
• Hesitant – unsure or slow to act
• Hostile – unfriendly or aggressive
• Hypothesis – an idea to be tested
• Imply – suggest without saying
• Intrepid– Brave
• Inhibit – hold back or prevent
• Intense – very strong or extreme
• Irrelevant – not important to the subject
• Isolated – alone or separated

J – L

• Jeopardy – danger or risk
• Judicious – showing good judgement
• Labyrinth – a complex maze
• Lethargic – very tired or sluggish
• Loathsome – extremely unpleasant
• Lucid – clear and easy to understand
• Malicious – intentionally harmful
• Meticulous – very careful and precise
• Misleading – giving the wrong idea
• Morbid – focused on unpleasant subjects
• Notorious -Famous for being bad

O-P

• Obsolete – no longer used or outdated
• Obscure – unclear or not well known
• Optimistic – expecting good things
• Ominous – suggesting something bad will happen
• Oppressive – harsh or unfair control
• Palpable – able to be felt or noticed
• Perceive – become aware of something
• Plausible – believable or reasonable
• Precarious – unstable or unsafe

P – S

• Reluctant – unwilling to do something
• Resilient – able to recover quickly
• Savage – wild or fierce
• Scarce – very limited or rare
• Sceptical – not easily convinced
• Subtle – not obvious
• Superficial – only on the surface
• Suspicious – feeling doubt or mistrust
• Tolerate – accept something unpleasant
• Tremendous – very large or great

T – Z

• Tyranny – cruel and unfair rule
• Unpredictable – cannot be guessed in advance
• Urgent – needing immediate attention
• Vacant – empty
• Vague – unclear or not specific
• Validate – confirm as correct
• Vicious – violent or cruel
• Vulnerable – easily harmed
• Wary – cautious about danger

How to learn these words effectively

Instead of memorising everything at once:

Daily method (10–15 minutes)

• Learn 5 new words
• Say them aloud
• Write your own sentence for each
• Test yourself the next day

Example:

“The instructions were ambiguous, so I wasn’t sure what to do.”

“She gave a lucid explanation of the problem.”

Exam tip

In the 11+ exam, if you don’t know a word:

• Look at the sentence around it
• Look for positive or negative meaning
• Eliminate clearly wrong answers

Often you can still get the answer without knowing the exact definition.

Summary

These advanced words often appear in:

• GL comprehension passages
• Verbal reasoning synonym/antonym questions
• Challenging inference questions

Learning them gradually will help children:

• Understand harder texts
• Answer faster
• Gain confidence in exam conditions