For expert learners mastering rare, precise vocabulary from serious tech journalism and policy writing about surveillance, automation, and digital power.
Free Technology & Digital vocabulary flashcards at the C2 level — all 35 words with definitions and examples. Study them with spaced repetition and use these words precisely, including nuance most learners miss.
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obsolescence
the state of no longer being used because something newer has replaced it.
ubiquity
the fact of seeming to be present absolutely everywhere at once.
surveillance
the close, ongoing observation of what someone does, usually without their full knowledge.
proliferation
a sudden, rapid increase in how much of something exists.
asymmetry
a state of significant inequality between two sides of a relationship.
opacity
the quality of being so unclear that understanding it becomes difficult.
entrenchment
the state of being firmly established so that change becomes very difficult.
circumvention
the act of avoiding a rule by using a clever indirect method.
complicity
quiet involvement with others in doing something wrong.
autonomy
the freedom to act and make decisions independently.
paradigm
a typical model that shapes how something is generally understood.
inertia
a strong tendency to keep doing things the same way and resist change.
saturation
the point at which a market becomes so full that it cannot absorb any more.
veneer
a surface appearance that hides what something is really like underneath.
hegemony
the dominant control that one group holds over others in a particular field.
subterfuge
a deceptive strategy used to hide someone's true purpose.
duplicity
deliberate deceptiveness in behaviour, especially by saying one thing and doing another.
externality
an effect of an activity that falls on people who were not involved in it.
permeate
to spread through something and become present in every part of it.
exacerbate
to make an already bad situation even worse.
mitigate
to make the harmful effect of something less severe.
subvert
to work secretly to undermine an established system of power.
supplant
to gradually take the place of something older.
galvanize
to suddenly encourage a group of people to take strong action.
disseminate
to spread information widely to many people.
encroach
to gradually intrude into territory that belongs to someone else.
entail
to involve something as an unavoidable consequence.
insidious
spreading gradually and causing harm in a way that is hard to notice.
pervasive
present and noticeable in every part of something.
surreptitious
done secretly so that others do not notice.
inexorable
impossible to stop once it has begun.
nebulous
vague and lacking any clear definition.
inscrutable
so unclear that its true meaning cannot be worked out.
precarious
dangerously unstable and likely to collapse at any moment.
myriad
consisting of a very great number of things.