The Oxford Phrasal Academic Lexicon™

The Oxford Phrasal Academic Lexicon (OPAL) is a set of four word lists that together provide
an essential guide to the most important words and phrases to know in the field of English for
Academic Purposes (EAP). This list gives the 600 most important words in academic speaking,
divided into six sublists of 100 words each, with the most important words in Sublist 1.

Spoken single words

measure n., v. behaviour n. reading n.
Sublist 1 method n. body n. real adj.
action n. model n. cause n., v. reason n.
also adv. movement n. certain adj. recognize v.
analysis n. natural adj. change n., v. related adj.
approach n. nature n. class n. relation n.
argue v. observe v. column n. relatively adv.
argument n. occur v. common adj. represent v.
assumption n. OK exclam, adj., adv. compare v. result n., v.
basically adv. particular adj. complex adj. role n.
become linking v. particularly adv. concept n. science n.
between prep. per prep. concern v. seminar n.
case n. period n. condition n. series n.
context n. phase n. course n. shape n., v.
control n., v. population n. create v. slide n.
country n. principle n. degree n. so conj.
culture n. probability n. describe v. sort n., v.
data n. process n. detail n. specific adj.
define v. produce v., n. development n. stage n.
definition n. product n. final adj. strategy n.
demand n. production n. element n. talk v., n.
design n., v. rate n. environment n. technology n.
develop v. relationship n. evidence n. tend v.
diagram n. research n., v. exchange n. term n.
difference n. response n. explain v. terms n.
different adj. sense n. explanation n. test n., v.
direction n. set v., n. fact n. therefore adv.
economic adj. simple adj. flow n., v. thought n.
effect n. simply adv. force n., v. treatment n.
equal adj., n., v. social adj. generate v. understand v.
error n. society n. identity n. use v., n.
essentially adv. solution n. image n. useful adj.
example n. source n. influence n., v. various adj.
experiment n. state n., v. information n. volume n.
factor n. structure n., v. interesting adj. whole adj., n.
failure n. student n. issue n. within prep.
focus n., v. study n., v. law n. write v.
form n., v. system n. learn v.
function n., v. text n. less det/pron, adv. Sublist 3
general adj. theory n. may modal v.
according to prep.
group n., v. topic n. means n.
account n., v.
handout n. type n. modern adj.
aim n., v.
history n. value n. notion n.
almost adv.
human adj., n. variable n., adj. object n.
amount n., v.
hypothesis n. word n. often adv.
aspect n.
idea n. world n. output n.
associated adj.
important adj. possible adj.
attempt n., v.
individual n., adj. Sublist 2 power n.
attitude n.
international adj. practice n.
academic adj., n. barrier n.
kind n. pressure n.
actually adv. beginning n.
knowledge n. primary adj.
analyse v. call v.
language n. problem n.
assume v. characteristic n., adj.
learning n. question n., v.
based adj. classic adj., n.
lecture n. random adj.
basic adj. classical adj.
level n. range n.
begin v. clearly adv.
material n. rather adv.

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combination n. suppose v. main adj. discuss v.
completely adv. survival n. major adj. discussion n.
component n. target n., v. mention v. distinct adj.
conflict n., v. teach v. might modal v. emerge v.
consequence n. technique n. necessarily adv. emphasis n.
cultural adj. textbook n. new adj. emphasize v.
derive v. together adv. note n., v. environmental adj.
directly adv. true adj. objective n., adj. equivalent adj., n.
distinction n. university n. operation n. experimental adj.
divide v. variation n. order n., v. extent n.
enter v. variety n. per cent n., adj. external adj.
entry n. very adv. phenomenon n. familiar adj.
establish v. way n. physical adj. feature n.
exist v. whereas conj. picture n. female adj., n.
famous adj. possibility n. generation n.
foreign adj. Sublist 4 powerful adj. illustrate v.
framework n. practical adj., n. interact v.
ability n.
free adj. predict v. interaction n.
again adv.
gain n., v. previous adj. intermediate adj.
although conj.
gender n. procedure n. internal adj.
apply v.
given adj. professional adj., n. interpretation n.
area n.
growth n. quantity n. invent v.
because conj.
happen v. quickly adv. involve v.
briefly adv.
here adv. rational adj. journal n.
care n.
highly adv. reduce v. largely adv.
central adj.
huge adj. rule n. lead v.
choice n.
impact n. scientific adj. lecturer n.
choose v.
instance n. session n. likely adj.
communication n.
interest n. similar adj. limit n., v.
conclusion n.
interested adj. skill n. look v.
construct v.
judgement n. sometimes adv. male adj., n.
contain v.
key adj., n. story n. maximum adj., n.
contrast n., v.
large adj. straightforward adj. memory n.
critical adj.
later adj., adv. stress v., n. middle n.
crucial adj.
line n. subject n., adj. need v.
decision n.
list n, v. such det/pron observation n.
depend v.
literature n. suggest v. operate v.
determine v.
loss n. supply n., v. origin n.
difficult adj.
mechanism n. task n. outcome n.
direct adj., v.
module n. technical adj. parallel n.
distinguish v.
move v. thing n. pattern n.
draw v.
national adj. title n. perceive v.
duty n.
negative adj., n. underlying adj. perfectly adv.
early adj.
normal adj. understanding n. potential adj., n.
effective adj.
number n. unit n. potentially adv.
effectively adv.
obvious adj. version n. presence n.
event n.
obviously adv. view n., v. prevent v.
existence n.
part n. proportion n.
experience n., v.
perspective n.
expert n., adj.
Sublist 5 quality n.
point n., v. rapidly adv.
expression n. absolute adj.
position n. react v.
extreme adj., n. access n.
positive adj., n. reality n.
extremely adv. active adj.
publish v. refer v.
fairly adv. activity n.
purpose n. reference n.
finally adv. advantage n.
ratio n. reflection n.
following adj., prep. appear v.
reaction n. rely v.
formal adj. average n., adj.
read v. representation n.
generally adv. background n.
reflect v. require v.
global adj. basis n.
reject v. respond v.
guess v., n. can modal v.
resource n. sheet n.
hence adv. capacity n.
risk n. shift n., v.
high adj. category n.
same adj., pron. significance n.
however adv. chain n.
scale n. single adj.
importance n. claim n., v.
sequence n. somehow adv.
increase n., v. community n.
show v. spread n., v.
input n. contemporary adj., n.
significant adj. structural adj.
introduce v. correspond v.
slightly adv. sum n., v.
introduction n. cycle n.
small adj. summary n.
low adj. developed adj.
so-called adj. tendency n.
lower adj. dimension n.
standard adj., n. theme n.

© Oxford University Press The Oxford Phrasal Academic Lexicon™ 2/3

theoretical adj. beyond prep., adv. fundamental adj. progress n.
throughout prep., adv. broad adj. grow v. pure adj.
total adj., n. centre n. hopefully adv. quote v., n.
transfer n., v. circumstance n. identify v. reach v.
try v. clear adj. imply v. recognition n.
tutor n. closely adv. increasingly adv. relevant adj.
typical adj. code n. indeed adv. roughly adv.
typically adv. combine v. initial adj. sample n.
used adj. concentrate v. interpret v. secondly adv.
welfare n. conclude v. involved adj. section n.
consider v. label v., n. sexual adj.
Sublist 6 content n. limited adj. sign n., v.
deal v. link v., n. situation n.
acquire v.
decline n., v. maintain v. space n.
adapt v.
department n. majority n. split v.
add v.
description n. many det./pron. stable adj.
adult n., adj.
destroy v. mental adj. strength n.
affect v.
differ v. moment n. style n.
already adv.
discover v. motivation n. symbol n.
answer n., v.
easily adv. nevertheless adv. teacher n.
arise v.
end n., v. option n. trace n.
article n.
entirely adv. organization n. traditional adj.
attack v., n.
essential adj. partly adv. treat v.
attention n.
exactly adv. perform v. trend n.
author n.
exam n. perhaps adv. trust n., v.
avoid v.
explore v. popular adj. upper adj.
balance n.
fail v. precisely adv. vary v.
behave v.
find v. prefer v. whatever det./pron.
benefit n.

OPAL has been created with reference to the following corpora: the Oxford Corpus of Academic English (OCAE),
the fiction subcorpus of the Oxford English Corpus (OEC), the spoken element of the British National Corpus (BNC)
and a subset of the British Academic Spoken English (BASE) corpus, developed within the University of Warwick
and for which relevant permissions have been obtained. BASE was developed at the Universities of Warwick and
Reading under the directorship of Hilary Nesi and Paul Thompson. Corpus development of BASE was assisted by
funding from BALEAP, EURALEX, the British Academy and the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

© Oxford University Press The Oxford Phrasal Academic Lexicon™ 3/3