Words with similar meanings

Group 1 (need, require, want, demand, call for)

Need A1 and require B1 have similar meanings when referring to something which is necessary or essential, but the second option is more formal and may sometimes imply an order, or when something is officially necessary (e.g., We’re required to check your identification before letting you in/Health and safety regulations require all staff to wear protective clothing). Want A1 is more related to wishes and desires that we consider important or essential and is never used to make polite requests. In the UK, want and need may be used interchangeably in colloquial expressions (e.g., Do you think this soup wants (needs) a bit of salt?). As a phrasal noun, a want for something means ‘lacking something you need’ (e.g., The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want - psalm 23). Demand B1 generally means ‘to ask for something forcefully’ (e.g., I demanded an explanation), but it also has a sense of needing time, effort or any other of particular quality (in this case, it is typified as a B2 expression), as in This is a very difficult piece of music to play - it demands a lot of concentration. Call for means ‘to need or deserve a particular action, remark, or quality’ (e.g., This calls for a celebration!). However, with the sense of demanding that something happens (e.g., Members have called for his resignation), it is considered a C2 expression.

Group 2 (advocate, promote, counsel, suggest, tip, guide)

Advocate C2 and promote B2 are similar in the sense of supporting someone or something (e.g., The government advocated against the return of capital punishment/The government promoted awareness of the dangers of capital punishment), but while the former gives off the idea of defending an ideal, the latter implies encouragement to support something. Advocate and counsel C2 can be confusing when referring to legal matters, but their meanings are quite distinguishable, as the second one means ‘to give advice’ (e.g., My attorney counselled me not to take my boss to court), in which way advocate still means ‘defending’ or ‘supporting’. Counsel, suggest B1, and tip C2 can be confusing as they can all mean ‘to give advice or an idea that can be useful’ (e.g., I suggest (that) we wait a while before we make any firm decisions/They were accused of gross misconduct for tipping shares that they owned). However, counsel is more common in contexts where someone with knowledge offers guidance to less experienced people and tip is mostly found in financial contexts and business jargon, it is highly localised and considered rare in other situations. Guide B1 can be paired with counsel as they both involve giving advice or influence other people to behave in a certain way (e.g., Trust your own judgment and don't be guided by what anyone else thinks), but while counsel is more metaphorical, guide implies a direction (whether figurative or literal) or a path you must follow.

Group 3 (steal, rob, burgle, pinch, extort, nick, take, lift, shoplift, embezzle, poach, defraud)

What they all have in common is the idea of taking or subtracting something that does not belong to you or deceiving others to get what you want. Therefore, they all carry negative connotations. So, the reason why is the only thing to consider. Some may be more informal or localised than others, but in general, it is not the most salient feature. It will be better to see them in this table.

steal	A2	It is the general verb to refer to taking something that does not belong to you. NB: you steal things, not people.
rob	B1	Stealing something (usually money) from a place by means of violence. You can also rob someone of something (C2) when you take away something from people. (e.g., The criminals robbed a bank)
burgle	B2	(US burglarize) is to break into a place (usually homes) to steal things. (e.g., The mansion was burgled yesterday, a painting was stolen)
pinch	C2	(US mostly) highly colloquial equivalent of stealing things of little value. (e.g., My bike was pinched yesterday morning)
extort	C2	It is to obtain something, not usually yours, by means of threats. (e.g., He had been extorting money from the old lady for years)
nick	C2	(UK) highly colloquial equivalent of stealing things of little value. (e.g., My bike was nicked yesterday morning)
take	B1	When it has the meaning of steal, it is mostly used as a euphemism. (e.g., My money was taken from my wallet)
lift	C2	It can also mean ‘steal’, but it is more related to stealing ideas, writing or music (i.e. plagiarise) (e.g., He'd lifted whole passages from a website)
shoplift	C1	To steal from a shop (e.g., He was caught shoplifting by a store detective)
embezzle	C2	Formal expression used to refer to the misappropriation of money under your care. Commonly used in politics and political journalism (e.g., She embezzled thousands of dollars from the charity)
poach	C2	Specific term to refer to the illegal activity of capturing (taking illegally) or killing animals (e.g., Elephants are usually poached for their tusks). More informally, it is used disapprovingly in Human Resources and Commerce when a company steals personnel from another company (e.g., They were furious when one of their best managers was poached by another company).
defraud	C1	Formal expression that means to ‘illegally take something (money or assets) form a person, company, or government, esp. something that belongs them’. However, this is done by deceiving others (e.g., He was found guilty of defrauding the Internal Revenue Service)

Group 4 (luck, coincidence, fortune, fate, destiny, providence)

Luck A1 and fortune B1 are quite similar, depending on the context in which they are used, especially when they both refer to the chance of (good) things happening in your life (e.g., He seems to have had a lot of luck in his life/He had the fortune to train with some of the world's top athletes). However, the first one is used more with random situations (whether good or bad) while the second one seems to be preferred when referring to a series of events that produce a desired event (i.e., it is normally used with positive connotations). Coincidence B2 may also mean ‘a chance or luck’ but it is preferred as a more neutral option to luck or fortune, especially when two or more things occur at the same time without an apparent connection. Fate B2 and destiny C1 are also closely connected, and many speakers use them interchangeably, especially as the force that controls people’s futures. However, fate is sometimes used with negative connotations (e.g., a fate worse than death) in situations that usually escape people’s control. Destiny, on the other hand, normally allows for a certain degree of control, as if people’s choices in life will have an effect in their future. Bear in mind that it is closely related to destination. Fortune can also refer to destiny or fate, but it is usually used when referring to the divination arts (e.g., to have your fortune told). Lastly, providence C2 is synonymous to destiny or fate but it is almost exclusively used in religious or supernatural contexts, as if a nonhuman force were the giver of good things. A good example comes from the film The Matrix Reloaded (2003), when Morpheus (played by Lawrence Fishburne) says: “All of our lives, we have fought this war. Tonight I believe we can end it. Tonight is not an accident. There are no accidents. We have not come here by chance. I do not believe in chance. When I see three objectives, three captains, three ships. I do not see coincidence, I see providence. I see purpose. I believe it our fate to be here. It is our destiny. I believe this night holds for each and every one of us, the very meaning of our lives”.

Group 5 (small, tiny, minute, minuscule, microscopic)

What these words have in common is size. Small A1 is the most frequent (e.g., a small dog/house/country) and it is the preferred choice, as it has neutral connotations. Tiny B1 is the (informal) extreme equivalent of small. Its formal counterpart is minute C2 (pronounced /maɪˈnjuːt/), so the difference comes down to register (e.g., a tiny flower/minute amounts or quantities). Minuscule C2 may be used interchangeably with minute when referring to size (e.g., All she gave him to eat was two minuscule/minute pieces of toast), however, the latter is often used to refer to the intricate details of something (e.g., she examined the operation in minute detail). While microscopic C1 is also an extreme adjective, as the previous ones, it is used to refer to things that can only be seen with a microscope, therefore, it is quite common in scientific contexts.

Group 6 (dirty, filthy, grubby, mucky, grimy, dusty, yucky)

These words refer to someone or something which is not clean. Therefore, they are all used disapprovingly (i.e., with negative connotations). The differences may stem from the level of uncleanliness or what causes them to be unclean. They can be better compared in this table:

dirty	A2	It is the most common and the one with less bias, hence its preference in more formal contexts (e.g., dirty money)
filthy	C1	It is the extreme adjective. It is quite loaded with negative connotations as it implies the disgust produced in the speaker. For such reason, it is considered an informal word (e.g., Wash your hands - they're filthy!). It is also used as an intensifier (e.g. He is filthy rich)
grubby	C2	It is also quite colloquial. It can also refer to dishonest or unacceptable behaviour. (e.g., She sees the business of making money as just grubby opportunism)
mucky	C2	It is also quite colloquial and disapproving (e.g., Get your mucky feet off that chair!)
grimy	C2	It is used to describe surfaces (usually skin or walls) that have a layer of dirt that can be washed off (e.g., The child's face was grimy and streaked with tears).
dusty	B1	The origin of dirt is dust (e.g., Piles of dusty books lay on the floor).
yucky	C2	It is quite colloquial. It comes from the exclamation ‘yuck!’ as an expression of disgust for something that cannot be eaten (e.g., My daughter says broccoli is yucky and refuses to eat it)