Primary 3 Vocabulary List: 200 Advanced Extension Words

Primary 3 Vocabulary Expansion: 200 Useful Words Beyond the Core Lists

This page is the breadth and extension bank for the Primary 3 vocabulary suite. It is not another version of the Advanced Top 100. The 200 words below are all unique within this page and deliberately do not duplicate the current Primary 3 Intermediate 100 or Advanced 100.

That means the coordinated Intermediate 100 + Advanced 100 + this 200-word Expansion Bank provide 400 distinct Primary 3 vocabulary entries. The point is breadth with structure—not trying to memorise 400 definitions at once.

Primary 3 suite route: Coverage & Diagnostic Map → Intermediate 100 → Advanced 100 → Advanced Vocabulary in Use → 200-Word Expansion Bank.

Use this bank when the learner already controls the basic meaning of many core words and needs more breadth for reading, conversation, composition, comprehension and world knowledge. Select small networks of related words; do not teach the page from #1 to #200 as a race.

The Complete 200-Word Expansion Bank

1–25: Feelings, Character & Social Awareness

#	Word	Gateway meaning
1	Affectionate	showing warm love or fondness
2	Alert	watchful and ready to notice
3	Ashamed	feeling bad about something wrong or embarrassing
4	Calm	peaceful and not excited or worried
5	Content	satisfied with what you have
6	Courageous	brave when facing difficulty or fear
7	Discouraged	less confident or hopeful after difficulty
8	Earnest	serious and sincere
9	Excited	very enthusiastic and eager
10	Fearful	feeling afraid
11	Forgiving	willing to stop feeling angry about a wrong
12	Gentle	kind, calm and not rough
13	Impatient	unwilling to wait calmly
14	Jealous	unhappy because someone has something you want
15	Joyful	full of happiness
16	Lonely	sad because of lacking company or connection
17	Nervous	worried or tense about what may happen
18	Proud	pleased about an achievement or quality
19	Satisfied	pleased because something is good enough
20	Shy	uncomfortable or quiet around others
21	Sympathetic	showing understanding of another person’s difficulty
22	Thankful	feeling grateful
23	Trustworthy	deserving trust
24	Wary	careful because there may be danger or trouble
25	Willing	ready to do something without being forced

26–50: Movement, Direction & Physical Action

#	Word	Gateway meaning
26	Advance	move forward
27	Retreat	move back from danger or difficulty
28	Crawl	move slowly close to the ground
29	Dart	move suddenly and quickly
30	Descend	move downward
31	Escape	get away from danger or confinement
32	Flee	run away from danger
33	Glide	move smoothly and quietly
34	Leap	jump a long or high distance
35	March	walk with regular strong steps
36	Pause	stop briefly
37	Pursue	follow or chase
38	Race	move very quickly in competition or urgency
39	Roam	move around a wide area without a fixed route
40	Slide	move smoothly across a surface
41	Slip	lose footing or move unexpectedly
42	Sneak	move secretly and quietly
43	Sprint	run very fast for a short distance
44	Step	move one foot forward
45	Sway	move slowly from side to side
46	Tumble	fall or roll suddenly
47	Twist	turn into a bent or winding shape
48	Vanish	disappear suddenly or completely
49	Climb	move upward using hands, feet or steps
50	Hover	remain in nearly the same place in the air

51–75: Sensory & Descriptive Vocabulary

#	Word	Gateway meaning
51	Bitter	having a sharp unpleasant taste
52	Bland	lacking strong taste or interest
53	Brittle	hard but easily broken
54	Chilly	uncomfortably cool
55	Coarse	rough in texture
56	Delicate	easily damaged or finely made
57	Dense	closely packed or thick
58	Faint	weak, slight or hard to notice
59	Glossy	smooth and shiny
60	Gloomy	dark, dull or depressing
61	Graceful	moving or shaped in an elegant way
62	Harsh	rough, severe or unpleasant
63	Hollow	empty inside
64	Humid	containing a lot of moisture in the air
65	Magnificent	extremely impressive or beautiful
66	Misty	filled or covered with light fog
67	Pale	light in colour or lacking strong colour
68	Polished	made smooth and shiny
69	Pungent	having a very strong smell or taste
70	Shallow	not deep
71	Slippery	difficult to hold or stand on because it is smooth or wet
72	Sturdy	strong and solid
73	Tender	soft, gentle or easily hurt
74	Transparent	allowing light through so objects can be seen
75	Wrinkled	covered with small folds or lines

76–100: Thinking, Learning & Inquiry

#	Word	Gateway meaning
76	Assess	judge by examining information
77	Calculate	work out using numbers
78	Decide	make a choice after thinking
79	Discover	find something previously unknown
80	Experiment	test an idea by trying something
81	Focus	give close attention
82	Imagine	form a picture or idea in the mind
83	Inquire	ask for information
84	Memorise	learn so it can be recalled
85	Question	ask or examine because something is uncertain
86	Recall	bring information back to mind
87	Reflect	think carefully about something
88	Recognise	identify something known from before
89	Research	gather and study information
90	Review	look at again to check or learn
91	Solve	find an answer to a problem
92	Study	learn about something carefully
93	Test	check knowledge, quality or a prediction
94	Understand	grasp the meaning
95	Wonder	feel curious or think about a question
96	Interpret	explain the meaning of information or language
97	Distinguish	recognise an important difference
98	Connect	link ideas or things together
99	Construct	build or form something
100	Revise	review and improve

101–125: Communication, Discussion & Cooperation

#	Word	Gateway meaning
101	Agree	have the same opinion
102	Disagree	have a different opinion
103	Advise	give a recommendation about what to do
104	Apologise	say sorry for a wrong or mistake
105	Argue	give reasons for a view or quarrel
106	Compliment	say something positive about someone
107	Convince	cause someone to believe something
108	Discuss	talk about a topic together
109	Express	communicate a thought or feeling
110	Greet	welcome or acknowledge someone
111	Invite	ask someone to join or attend
112	Mention	refer to something briefly
113	Negotiate	discuss to reach an agreement
114	Promise	say firmly that you will do something
115	Recommend	suggest something as suitable or good
116	Reply	answer in speech or writing
117	Request	ask politely or formally
118	Share	give part of something or communicate with others
119	Suggest	put forward an idea
120	Thank	express gratitude
121	Warn	tell someone about possible danger or trouble
122	Debate	discuss opposing views using reasons
123	Inform	give someone facts or knowledge
124	Announce	make information publicly known
125	Collaborate	work together toward a shared result

126–150: Building, Change & Processes

#	Word	Gateway meaning
126	Arrange	put things in a useful order
127	Balance	keep different parts in suitable proportion
128	Build	make by joining parts
129	Collect	bring things together
130	Complete	finish all required parts
131	Continue	keep going
132	Create	make something new
133	Develop	grow or improve over time
134	Divide	separate into parts
135	Gather	bring people or things together
136	Grow	increase or develop
137	Join	connect things or become part of a group
138	Manage	organise and control successfully
139	Measure	find size, amount or degree
140	Prepare	make ready
141	Produce	make or create
142	Recycle	process used materials so they can be used again
143	Repair	fix damage
144	Replace	put something new in place of another
145	Save	keep from waste, loss or danger
146	Strengthen	make stronger
147	Weaken	make less strong
148	Sustain	keep something going over time
149	Vary	change or differ
150	Operate	work or control how something works

151–175: Nature, Environment & World Knowledge

#	Word	Gateway meaning
151	Climate	usual weather patterns of a place
152	Coast	land beside the sea
153	Creature	a living animal or being
154	Debris	scattered broken pieces or waste
155	Ecosystem	living things and their environment interacting
156	Energy	ability to do work or cause change
157	Erosion	gradual wearing away of land or material
158	Habitat	natural home of an organism
159	Island	land surrounded by water
160	Landscape	visible features of an area of land
161	Moisture	small amount of water in air or material
162	Organism	an individual living thing
163	Population	group of the same kind living in an area
164	Region	a large area with shared features
165	Shelter	place or structure providing protection
166	Species	group of similar living things
167	Temperature	measure of how hot or cold something is
168	Terrain	type and shape of land
169	Tide	regular rise and fall of sea level
170	Weather	day-to-day conditions of the air
171	Wildlife	animals and plants living naturally
172	Agriculture	growing crops and raising animals for food or materials
173	Conservation	protection and careful use of nature or resources
174	Pollution	harmful substances or waste entering the environment
175	Rainfall	amount of rain received

176–200: Narrative, Literature & Text Vocabulary

#	Word	Gateway meaning
176	Adventure	an unusual or exciting experience
177	Atmosphere	feeling or mood created by a place or text
178	Audience	people who watch, read or listen
179	Chapter	main section of a book
180	Character	person or figure in a story
181	Conflict	serious disagreement or struggle
182	Dialogue	spoken conversation written in a text
183	Fiction	writing based on imagined events
184	Journey	travel from one place to another
185	Mystery	something difficult to explain or discover
186	Narrator	voice or person telling a story
187	Plot	main sequence of events in a story
188	Poem	piece of writing using carefully shaped language and rhythm
189	Scene	part of a story happening at a particular time and place
190	Setting	time and place in which a story happens
191	Stanza	group of lines in a poem
192	Theme	central idea explored by a text
193	Title	name of a text or work
194	Tone	attitude or feeling expressed by the writer or speaker
195	Voice	distinctive way a speaker or narrator sounds
196	Climax	most intense or important turning point
197	Resolution	part where the main problem is settled
198	Suspense	feeling of uncertainty about what will happen next
199	Imagery	language that creates sensory pictures
200	Event	something that happens

How to Use a 200-Word Expansion Bank Without Turning It into Rote Memorisation

Choose a small semantic network and deepen it. Ten connected words learned through contrast, context and retrieval are more useful than fifty definitions copied once.

Network	Useful fence	Transfer task
Fear & readiness	nervous → fearful → wary → alert	Describe how a character’s state changes as evidence appears.
Movement	crawl / glide / sprint / flee / retreat	Rewrite the same event with different speed and motive.
Texture & condition	coarse ↔ polished; brittle ↔ sturdy; shallow ↔ deep	Describe an object precisely without using “nice” or “bad”.
Learning	recognise → recall → understand → interpret → assess	Explain what each stage demands from the learner.
Communication	mention → inform → advise → convince → negotiate	Choose the verb that matches the speaker’s purpose.
Making & changing	build → repair → replace; strengthen ↔ weaken; sustain	Explain how a simple system changes over time.
Environment	weather ≠ climate; organism → species → population → ecosystem	Use the words to explain one local or global environmental example.
Story language	setting → atmosphere; conflict → climax → resolution	Map a short story using the vocabulary of narrative structure.

A Breadth-to-Depth Routine

Select 6–10 words from one network.
Check the gateway meanings above.
Fence at least two near-neighbours or opposites.
Build useful word families where they exist.
Meet the words in reading, conversation or a short information text.
Close the list and retrieve the words from situations.
Transfer them into a different topic a few days later.

Legacy Printable Top 200 PDF

The original printable PDF is preserved as an archive/practice resource. It predates the current coordinated suite and therefore contains a different word selection from the live 200-word expansion bank above.

Primary 3 Top 200 Vocabulary — Legacy Printable PDF Download

Continue the Primary 3 Vocabulary Suite

Use the 200 to widen the learner’s world. Use Fencing, retrieval and transfer to make selected words truly usable.

Connected Routes: Use the 200-Word Bank for Breadth, Not as a New Starting Point

If the core P3 vocabulary is not yet secure: return to the Intermediate 100 or Advanced 100.
If the learner can recognise many words but cannot retrieve them: use Receptive vs Productive Vocabulary.
If breadth is strong but application is weak: use Primary 3 Advanced Vocabulary in Use.
If you want a mixed diagnostic/practice test: use the Primary 3 Advanced Vocabulary Practice Lab.
If the learner is using international Grade 3 materials: use the Grade 3 Vocabulary Crosswalk.
When this breadth transfers reliably: continue to Primary 4 Advanced Vocabulary.

eduKate Singapore

Primary 3 Vocabulary Expansion: 200 Useful Extension Words