Quick Read: This 2017 Primary 2 vocabulary list is a learning bank, not an official MOE prescribed word list. The strongest use is not to memorise all seventy words at once. It is to select small groups, connect meaning to context, retrieve the word after a delay and use it naturally in reading, speaking and writing.

The title and URL remain unchanged. The rebuilt library edition serves search intent around Primary 2 vocabulary list, P2 English vocabulary, vocabulary words for Primary 2, English vocabulary with meanings, Primary school vocabulary, word meanings and vocabulary practice.

Primary 2 Vocabulary Should Build Access, Not Pressure

At Primary 2, vocabulary learning should widen what a child can understand and say. It should not turn every week into a contest to memorise the longest list. Children need common words, but they also benefit from richer words when those words are attached to stories, Science topics, places, actions and everyday situations.

A useful target is usable depth: the child can explain the word simply, recognise it in a new sentence and produce it later without seeing the answer.

The 70-Word Vocabulary Bank

Word	Class	Core meaning	Example
adopt	verb	take something on as one’s own; legally take a child into a family	The class adopted a new reading routine.
ambition	noun	a strong desire to achieve something	Her ambition is to become an engineer.
advice	noun	guidance about what to do	My teacher gave me useful advice.
advantage	noun	a condition that makes success easier	Starting early gave us an advantage.
attitude	noun	a way of thinking or feeling	A positive attitude helped him keep trying.
attract	verb	draw attention, interest or movement towards something	Flowers attract bees.
average	noun / adjective	a typical amount; in maths, a calculated central value	The average score increased this term.
belief	noun	an idea accepted as true	Her belief changed after she saw the evidence.
beware	verb	be cautious about danger	Beware of the slippery floor.
brilliant	adjective	very bright, clever or excellent	The scientist proposed a brilliant solution.
chill	noun / verb	a feeling of coldness; make or become cold	A chill ran through the room when the air-conditioning started.
climate	noun	usual weather conditions of a place over a long period	Singapore has a tropical climate.
clog	noun / verb	block a passage	Leaves can clog a drain.
cling	verb	hold tightly or stay very close	The wet shirt clung to his back.
confess	verb	admit a wrongdoing or secret	He confessed that he had broken the model.
convince	verb	make someone believe or accept something	The evidence convinced her to change her answer.
continent	noun	one of Earth’s major land areas	Asia is the largest continent.
crumple	verb	crush or fold into wrinkles	She crumpled the paper by mistake.
custom	noun	a traditional way of behaving or doing something	The festival includes an old local custom.
defeat	noun / verb	loss in a contest; overcome an opponent	The team accepted defeat calmly.
defend	verb	protect from attack, criticism or harm	The goalkeeper defended the goal.
delay	noun / verb	a period of waiting; make something happen later	Heavy rain caused a delay.
diagram	noun	a drawing that explains arrangement or function	The diagram shows the parts of the plant.
distant	adjective	far away in place, time or relationship	We could see a distant mountain.
dissolve	verb	mix into a liquid until no longer separately visible; formally end	Sugar dissolves in water.
enable	verb	make something possible	The ramp enables easier access.
examine	verb	inspect or study carefully	We examined the leaf with a magnifying glass.
excel	verb	do extremely well	She excels in music.
explore	verb	investigate, travel through or study	The students explored the park.
fatal	adjective	causing death	The article explained why the disease can be fatal.
fierce	adjective	powerful, intense or aggressive	A fierce storm reached the coast.
fortunate	adjective	lucky or favoured by circumstances	We were fortunate to find shelter quickly.
flutter	noun / verb	move lightly and quickly, especially with wings	Butterflies fluttered above the flowers.
glide	verb	move smoothly and quietly	The swan glided across the pond.
gradual	adjective	happening slowly over time	The temperature showed a gradual rise.
grasp	noun / verb	hold firmly; understand an idea	She grasped the handle tightly.
habit	noun	a behaviour repeated regularly	Reading before bed became a habit.
harsh	adjective	rough, severe or unpleasant	The harsh sunlight made him squint.
imitate	verb	copy an action, sound or behaviour	The child imitated the bird’s call.
intelligent	adjective	able to learn, understand and reason well	The dolphin is an intelligent animal.
intention	noun	what someone plans or means to do	Her intention was to return the book.
launch	noun / verb	start or send something into motion	The team launched its model rocket.
locate	verb	find or identify the position of something	Can you locate Peru on the map?
loyal	adjective	faithful and supportive	The loyal dog stayed beside its owner.
method	noun	a particular way of doing something	We used a different method to solve the problem.
misery	noun	great unhappiness or suffering	The long illness caused great misery.
nectar	noun	sweet liquid produced by flowers	Bees collect nectar from flowers.
nursery	noun	a place for young children or young plants	The seedlings were grown in a nursery.
observe	verb	watch carefully or notice	Observe how the shadow changes.
opponent	noun	a person or team competing against another	She shook hands with her opponent.
permit	noun / verb	official permission; allow something	The sign does not permit cycling here.
portion	noun	a part or share of a whole	He ate only a small portion.
precious	adjective	very valuable or deeply important	The family protected the precious photograph.
proceed	verb	continue or move forward	Please proceed to the next station.
recent	adjective	having happened not long ago	A recent storm damaged the trees.
recognise	verb	identify something previously known	I recognised the tune immediately.
request	noun / verb	an act of asking politely or formally	She requested more time.
resist	verb	oppose, withstand or refuse to give in	The material can resist heat.
respond	verb	reply or react	He responded to the question clearly.
reveal	verb	make something known or visible	The test results revealed a pattern.
routine	noun / adjective	a regular sequence of actions; usual	Packing his bag became part of his routine.
route	noun	a path or way from one place to another	We chose the shortest route home.
source	noun	the place, person or thing from which something comes	The river is a source of water.
survive	verb	remain alive or continue to exist	Some plants survive in very dry places.
threat	noun	a sign or possibility of harm or danger	Flooding is a threat to low-lying areas.
tragic	adjective	causing or involving great sadness or disaster	The story ended with a tragic accident.
typical	adjective	having the usual features of a group or kind	This is a typical tropical afternoon.
vacant	adjective	empty or available for use	The seat beside me was vacant.
vast	adjective	extremely large	The desert covers a vast area.
venture	noun / verb	a risky or uncertain undertaking; go somewhere despite risk	They ventured further along the trail.

How to Break a Long List Into Small Learning Sets

Seventy words are too many for one sitting. Divide them into semantic or functional groups. This gives the child more memory connections.

Thinking, learning and communication

• advice
• belief
• convince
• diagram
• examine
• grasp
• imitate
• intention
• method
• observe
• recognise
• respond
• reveal
• source

Character, behaviour and social life

• ambition
• attitude
• confess
• loyal
• opponent
• request
• resist
• custom
• habit

Movement and action

• attract
• cling
• crumple
• defend
• delay
• enable
• explore
• flutter
• glide
• launch
• locate
• proceed
• venture

World and Science

• climate
• continent
• dissolve
• nectar
• nursery
• survive
• threat
• vast

Description and judgement

• brilliant
• distant
• fatal
• fierce
• fortunate
• gradual
• harsh
• intelligent
• precious
• recent
• tragic
• typical
• vacant

Words With Multiple Meanings Need Extra Attention

Word	Meaning 1	Meaning 2
average	a typical level	a calculated mathematical value
chill	a feeling of coldness	to cool something
clog	to block a passage	an object causing blockage; also a type of shoe in another context
defeat	a loss	to overcome an opponent
dissolve	mix into a liquid until no longer separately visible	formally bring something to an end
grasp	hold firmly	understand an idea
launch	send something into motion	start a project, product or event
permit	official permission	to allow
request	an act of asking	to ask
venture	a risky undertaking	to go somewhere despite risk

Near-Neighbour Comparisons

Words	Difference
route / routine	A route is a path; a routine is a repeated sequence of actions.
custom / habit	A custom is a shared traditional practice; a habit is a repeated individual behaviour.
observe / examine	Observe means watch or notice carefully; examine suggests closer inspection or study.
belief / advice	A belief is something accepted as true; advice suggests what someone should do.
fierce / harsh	Fierce suggests intensity or aggression; harsh suggests severity, roughness or unpleasantness.
fortunate / brilliant	Fortunate concerns luck; brilliant can mean very bright, clever or excellent.
respond / request	Respond means reply or react; request means ask.
source / route	A source is where something comes from; a route is the path it takes.

Vocabulary in Science

Primary vocabulary becomes stronger when it crosses subjects. Climate, dissolve, nectar, observe, source, survive and diagram can all appear naturally in Science. A child who sees the same word in several contexts builds a more durable meaning network.

Example: “Observe how the sugar dissolves.” One sentence connects two target words with a real process.

Vocabulary in Stories

Words such as confess, loyal, threat, misery, fierce, fortunate and intention become memorable when attached to characters. Instead of asking a child to write a random sentence with loyal, ask for a moment where a character proves loyalty through action.

Vocabulary in Everyday Life

• request extra time
• choose a route home
• follow a routine
• beware of danger
• locate an item
• examine a broken toy
• respond to a message
• give advice
• develop a habit

Words become easier to retrieve when they are linked to real routines and objects.

A Five-Word Learning Cycle

1. Choose five words.
2. Explain each in child-friendly language.
3. Read one example aloud.
4. Ask the child to create a different example.
5. Hide the words and give meaning clues.
6. Return two or three days later and retrieve again.
7. Use one or two target words during normal conversation or reading.

Do Not Force Adult-Level Abstract Meanings Too Early

Some words in this historical list are challenging for Primary 2. That does not make them forbidden, but the teaching should match the learner. Ambition, belief and intention are abstract. Teach them through stories and situations rather than dictionary language alone.

The page is therefore best used as a reference bank from which adults select appropriate words, not as a one-week spelling test.

Mini Practice: Choose the Best Word

1. The butterfly began to ______ above the flowers.
2. Please ______ the diagram carefully before answering.
3. The signs helped us ______ the correct entrance.
4. The heavy leaves may ______ the drain.
5. The climbers chose a safer ______ down the mountain.
6. The warm ______ allows many tropical plants to grow.
7. She had no ______ of hurting anyone.
8. The puppy remained ______ to its owner.
9. The sugar began to ______ in the warm water.
10. He finally decided to ______ that he had taken the pen.

Suggested answers: flutter, examine, locate, clog, route, climate, intention, loyal, dissolve, confess.

Mini Practice: Explain the Difference

1. route and routine
2. habit and custom
3. observe and examine
4. fierce and harsh
5. respond and request
6. fortunate and brilliant

The child does not need dictionary-perfect definitions. A clear contrast in simple language is enough.

A Parent-Friendly Weekly Plan

Day	Task
Monday	Introduce five words through stories or examples.
Tuesday	Match words to meanings and pictures where possible.
Wednesday	Use three words in speech.
Thursday	Retrieve all five from clues without the list.
Friday	Read a short paragraph containing the words.
Weekend	Use two words in writing or a drawing-and-caption activity.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this an official Primary 2 vocabulary list?

No. It is an eduKate learning resource preserved from 2017.

Are some of these words too hard for Primary 2?

Some are advanced. Use the list selectively. The right word is one the child can understand in context and revisit repeatedly.

How many words should a Primary 2 child learn at once?

Small sets are usually more manageable. Five to eight words can work well, depending on the child and the difficulty of the words.

Should spelling be learned together with meaning?

Yes, but meaning and use should come first. A correctly spelled word that the child does not understand is shallow knowledge.

Library Routes

• Vocabulary Article Directory
• eduKate Vocabulary Learning System
• Primary 5 Vocabulary List
• Singapore Learning Library

Library note: The original 2017 page was a weekly Primary 2 word list. The 2026 edition preserves the title and URL while rebuilding it as a seventy-word reference bank with meanings, examples, semantic groups, multiple meanings, contrasts, practice and a low-pressure learning routine.