Essential Vocabulary for Advanced English: Education and Society

Posted on Oct 29, 2025 in Business Administration and Management (BAM)

Essential Vocabulary: Units 4 & 5 Glossary

Unit 4: Education and Academic Terms

Compulsory

Something that you have to do because it is required by a law or a rule.

Pupil

A student.

Fee-paying

Requiring payment of money.

Assessment

Evaluation.

Beyond

More than (something).

Qualifications

Academic marks or achievements.

To date from

To originate from that year or period; having existed since.

Hierarchy

An organization in which, in this case, universities are ranked.

Syllabus

An outline of the subjects that are studied.

To last

To continue for a specified period of time.

Eligible

Qualified or suitable.

Contingent

Dependent on or determined by something else.

Student loans

Money that is borrowed in order to study.

To all appearances

Apparently; based on what can be seen or observed.

Gather

To bring or get together; to collect.

Not any more

No longer.

Cater for

To provide for.

An awful waste

A terrible waste; una mierda (a complete failure or disappointment).

Over–/Under–

Prefixes meaning above or below (e.g., overworked, undergraduates).

Get a kick out of

To enjoy.

Ahead of

Before (in time or position).

Upside/Downside

The positive aspect of something / the negative aspect of something. Also referred to as advantages and disadvantages.

Hassle

Irritating inconvenience or arguments.

Commuter

A person who travels long distances to work or study.

Scramble

A chaotic rush or struggle.

It’s… who/which/that…

A grammatical structure used for emphasis (a relative clause construction).

Prefer not to

Would like not to.

Blame

To consider guilty.

Up against

Contrary to something; facing opposition or difficulty.

Get left behind

To fall behind; to be delayed or neglected (rezagado).

I hate to think

I really do not like to think (about something negative).

Strict about

Severe or rigorous about something.

Sooner or later

Before or after some time; eventually.

Unit 5: Social and Economic Terminology

Ubiquitous

Omnipresent; present everywhere at the same time, simultaneously.

Take on

To acquire or assume.

Dwellers

Residents or inhabitants.

Cramped

Small and uncomfortable; restricted or crowded.

Sweatshop

A shop or factory where employees work long hours at low wages under poor conditions.

To encompass

To include.

To stand for

To be an abbreviation of or symbol for; to represent or symbolize.

Trendy

Very fashionable; up to date.

The ruling…

Exercising power over a nation (e.g., the ruling party).

The minimum wage

The lowest payment permitted for work.

To afford

To have money to pay for something.

Bizarre

Strange, unusual, or weird.

Subsidised

Partially paid for, usually by the government, to reduce its price.

Benefits

The profit or advantage gained from something.

Investments

The act of investing money to gain a financial return.

On average

Usually or typically.

…has been halved

Divided into two; reduced by half.

To boycott

To abstain from using, buying, or dealing with as an expression of protest.

To aim at

To direct toward or intend for a particular goal.

To play a role

To have a function or influence; to represent.

Percentage

Proportion or rate per hundred parts.

To account for

To supply or make up (a specified amount or proportion).

To seek

To attempt to find.

To ripen

To become or make fully mature.

Soaked

Made or become thoroughly wet by immersion in liquid.

Overnight

During the course of a night.

Like-minded friends

Friends having similar tastes or opinions.

To avow

To assert or confess openly.

To pool

To share for the benefit of all.

To gaze

To look steadily and intently.

Batch(es)

A quantity or consignment of goods produced at one time.

Pellet(s)

A small, rounded, compressed mass of a substance.

Hay

Grass that has been mown and dried for use as fodder.

Increasing

Getting bigger; making or becoming greater in size or extent.

Evidence

Information or proof.

Policy

A plan or course of action; a procedure.

Issues

An important topic for debate; problems or matters to discuss.

Unevenly

Not equally or uniformly distributed.

To shape

To give a particular form; to determine the nature of; to influence; to develop in a way.

Reliance

Dependence on or trust in someone or something.

Disadvantaged

In an unfavorable condition.

Governance

The action or manner of governing; the system by which a country or organization is controlled.

Awareness

Having knowledge or perception of something.