Decisions, Risks & Outcomes — B2 Essential Words
Ten essential B2 words (Business) with the complete apparatus: pronunciation, simple definitions, natural American examples, collocations, family, the common mistake and spoken usage — plus a 15-question practice quiz. Mark your status on every word.
option /ˈɒpʃən/ noun B2 Business
Meaning: Something you can choose from a set of possibilities; a choice itself.
Example: We have two options for the trip.
Another example: Keeping the house is not an option now.
Collocations: an option · options for · the best option
Synonyms: choice, alternative, possibility
Word family: options (n pl) · optional (adj)
⚠ Common mistake: Optional extras (its adjective) cost extra everywhere. Finance adds the stock-option sense — a right to buy later at today's price.
🗣 In spoken American English: 'No option' is the phrase of last resorts and honest budgets.
Register: Neutral — decisions essential.
consequence /ˈkɒnsɪkwəns/ noun B2 Business
Meaning: A result or effect of an action, often a bad or serious one; what naturally follows from a decision.
Example: Every choice has consequences.
Another example: He faced the consequences of lying.
Collocations: the consequences of · face the consequences · serious consequences
Synonyms: result, effect, outcome
Antonyms: cause
Word family: consequences (n pl) · consequently (adv) · consequential (adj)
⚠ Common mistake: Parents and judges wield it; scientists measure it. 'Of no consequence' dismisses something as utterly unimportant — a cold phrase.
🗣 In spoken American English: Its game ('Truth or Consequences') named a whole New Mexico town.
Register: Formal — decisions essential.
drawback /ˈdrɔːbæk/ noun B2 Business
Meaning: A disadvantage or problem that makes something less attractive or useful.
Example: The job's only drawback is the commute.
Another example: Every plan has drawbacks.
Collocations: the main drawback · a drawback of · drawbacks and benefits
Synonyms: disadvantage, downside, problem
Antonyms: advantage, benefit
Word family: drawbacks (n pl)
⚠ Common mistake: Built from 'drawing back' — the thing that pulls you away. Honest salespeople name one early to earn trust for the rest.
🗣 In spoken American English: Reviews that skip it smell like ads.
Register: Formal — decisions essential.
alternative /ɔːlˈtɜːrnətɪv/ noun / adjective B2 Business
Meaning: Something you can choose or do instead of another thing; a different possibility. Also describing non-traditional styles (alternative medicine, alternative music).
Example: Is there an alternative to surgery?
Another example: We took an alternative route.
Collocations: an alternative to · alternative route · the only alternative
Synonyms: option, substitute, choice
Word family: alternatives (n pl) · alternatively (adv)
⚠ Common mistake: Strict grammarians once limited it to exactly two choices; modern English freed it for any number. Alt-rock and alt-medicine wear its adjective proudly.
🗣 In spoken American English: 'No alternative' in politics is TINA — a slogan and an argument-stopper.
Register: Formal — decisions essential.
factor /ˈfæktər/ noun B2 Business
Meaning: One of the things that affects a situation, decision, or result; in mathematics, a number that divides another exactly.
Example: Cost was the main factor in our decision.
Another example: Weather is a factor in farming.
Collocations: a factor in · the main factor · several factors
Synonyms: element, consideration, influence
Word family: factors (n pl) · factor (v — usually 'factor in')
⚠ Common mistake: 'Factor it in' means count it in the decision. Reality shows name winners by hidden X-factors — its pop branch.
🗣 In spoken American English: Every committee list ends with 'other factors' — humility in noun form.
Register: Formal — decisions essential.
outcome /ˈaʊtkʌm/ noun B2 Business
Meaning: The final result of a process, event, or action — how something turns out in the end.
Example: The outcome of the election surprised everyone.
Another example: We hope for a good outcome.
Collocations: the outcome of · a positive outcome · outcome data
Synonyms: result, consequence, verdict (in trials)
Word family: outcomes (n pl)
⚠ Common mistake: Outcome is the neutral scientific cousin of result — studies measure outcomes; stories build to them. Its pair is process: 'judge the process, not just the outcome' is the modern coaching creed.
🗣 In spoken American English: Negotiators 'pre-wire' it before meetings decide it.
Register: Formal — decisions essential.
benefit /ˈbenɪfɪt/ noun / verb B2 Business
Meaning: An advantage or good effect gained from something; also money or help from the government or an employer (health benefits), and to gain an advantage (verb).
Example: Exercise has many benefits.
Another example: The new law benefits small farms.
Collocations: the benefits of · health benefits · benefit from
Synonyms: advantage, gain, perk
Antonyms: drawback, harm
Word family: benefits (n pl) · beneficial (adj) · beneficiary (n)
⚠ Common mistake: Job ads list benefits (insurance, holidays) after salary — the package's second half. 'For your benefit' can soothe or threaten by tone.
🗣 In spoken American English: Its concerts raise money for causes — charity in its party clothes.
Register: Formal — decisions essential.
risk /rɪsk/ noun / verb B2 Business
Meaning: The possibility that something bad will happen; danger of loss or harm. Also to take a chance on something (verb).
Example: There's a risk of rain tomorrow.
Another example: He risked his savings on the business.
Collocations: a risk of · take a risk · at risk
Synonyms: danger, chance, gamble
Antonyms: safety, certainty
Word family: risks (n pl) · risky (adj) · risk (v)
⚠ Common mistake: Insurers price it; entrepreneurs court it; board games named it. 'Calculated risk' is its respectable costume.
🗣 In spoken American English: 'At risk' labels students, species, and investments alike.
Register: Neutral — decisions essential.
impact /ˈɪmpækt/ noun / verb B2 Business
Meaning: A strong effect that something has on a situation or person; also the force when one thing hits another.
Example: The drought had a huge impact on farms.
Another example: Her speech impacted the whole team.
Collocations: impact on · a big impact · have an impact
Synonyms: effect, influence, consequence
Word family: impacts (n pl) · impact (v) · impactful (adj — debated!)
⚠ Common mistake: From physical hits to policy effects, its force traveled far. The adjective 'impactful' is common but still argued about — 'effective' dodges the fight.
🗣 In spoken American English: Teachers are its most-quoted career ('her impact on students').
Register: Formal — decisions essential.
criteria /kraɪˈtɪəriə/ noun B2 Business
Meaning: The standards or rules by which something is judged or chosen (plural of criterion).
Example: The criteria for the prize are strict.
Another example: Which criteria matter most for hiring?
Collocations: criteria for · meet the criteria · the main criteria
Synonyms: standards, requirements, conditions
Word family: criterion (n singular) · criteria (n plural)
⚠ Common mistake: One CRITERION, many CRITERIA — the pair trips essays and exams. Judges of everything (jobs, prizes, loans) publish theirs to look fair.
🗣 In spoken American English: Saying 'a criteria' is its most common public error — avoid joining it.
Register: Formal — decisions essential.
Practice — Decisions, Risks & Outcomes
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