C-Suite Vocabulary — Set 1: Meanings flashcards
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The first 100 of the 300 C-Suite words, from considered and husband to albeit and lucid: pronunciation, the sense leaders use and three example sentences set at work, the most common use first.
Learn deck · part of C-Suite Vocabulary · written against: The precise words of senior leadership: board, strategy and negotiation; extends the Willys app's Executive Register list; our own word selection. Updated 2026-10-10.
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considered (adj.) · kuhn-SID-urdreached after careful thought over time, rather than said or decided on the spotJudgment & Prudence
"My considered view is that we should not bid," the CFO said.
The union deserves a considered response, not a reply drafted tonight.
Her memo was short but clearly considered, every claim backed by data. -
premise (n.) · PREM-issomething accepted as true up front, for an argument or plan to rest on; (premises) a site's buildings and landArgument & Evidence
The whole forecast rests on the premise that interest rates will fall.
"I reject the premise of the question," the CEO told the analyst.
Visitors must be escorted while on company premises. -
subtle (adj.) · SUHT-uhleasy to miss, hard to pin down in words; reaching its aim by a clever sideways route, not head-onPrecision & Nuance
The two contracts differ in one subtle but costly way: the renewal date.
Customers noticed the subtle change in packaging within a week.
Her subtle hint about a second supplier softened the other side's terms.
Root: ultimately Latin subtilis, literally "finely textured," from sub- + tela "cloth on a loom." -
self-evident (adj.) · self-EV-uh-duhntplain to anyone from the thing itself, without anybody having to prove, support or explain itCertainty & Doubt
The need for a backup supplier is self-evident after this spring.
What seems self-evident to engineers may not be to customers.
She treated the plan's success as a self-evident truth, which worried the board. -
material (adj.) · muh-TEER-ee-uhlimportant enough to affect a decision or outcome, especially an investor's; of tangible things, not matters of the spiritScale & Consequence
If the loss is material, it belongs in the quarterly filing.
Nothing material has changed since our last forecast.
The award brought her no material reward, only respect.
Watch out: the everyday noun means substance or documents; this adjective means big enough to matter. -
arrest (v.) · uh-RESTto halt or slow something's progress, especially a decline that is under wayChange & Trajectory
Nothing in the turnaround plan has arrested the slide in market share.
The new pricing helped arrest customer losses in the Midwest.
Years of underinvestment arrested the division's growth.
Watch out: in a strategy memo, arrest means to halt a trend, not to take someone into custody. -
qualify (v.) · KWAH-luh-fighto add a condition that limits a statement; to meet the requirements for somethingConcession & Diplomacy
"I'd qualify that slightly: the growth came from one client," Tomás said.
The director qualified his support, saying the plan needed a firmer budget.
Only suppliers with audited accounts qualify for the program. -
half-baked (adj.) · HAF-BAYKTunfinished in its thinking and too undeveloped to workVagueness & Weak Thinking
I won't take a half-baked proposal to the board.
The rollout felt half-baked, with no training and no support line.
"It's a half-baked idea now, but it might become a good one," she said. -
acute (adj.) · uh-KYOOTsevere and at its sharpest now, as a shortage or pressure; (of a sense) sharp and perceptiveForce & Obligation
Two weeks into the port strike, our main plant's parts shortage is acute.
Pressure on margins became acute once shipping costs doubled.
An acute ear for investors' moods has made Mara the CFO's best adviser.
Root: ultimately Latin acūtus "sharpened, pointed," from acuere "to sharpen." -
husband (v.) · HUHZ-buhndto make a limited store last by drawing on it with care, a little at a timeScope & Restraint
We need to husband our cash until the new line turns a profit.
A wise manager husbands goodwill for the moments that need it.
The team husbanded its energy for the final week of the audit.
Watch out: the verb is about thrift, not marriage: leaders husband cash, time and goodwill.
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About these cards
Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.
Checked against:
- Senses, parts of speech and pronunciations checked against Merriam-Webster.com, the American Heritage Dictionary and the Oxford Learner's, Longman and Cambridge learner's dictionaries; all definitions, notes and example sentences are original.
- Includes and extends the Executive Register word list first published with the Willys app; word selection is our own.
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