Building a Better Vocabulary

Inchoate (adjective) Not completely formed or developed; only partly in existence. Not organized; lacking order. z Both nasce ...

Lecture 8: Words for Beginnings and Endings feathers. This meaning has been extended to encompass the idea of inexperience. Dile ...

ż Tenderfoot was coined in the 1800s to refer to new immigrants to the United States who weren’t used to the hardships of ranch ...

Lecture 8: Words for Beginnings and Endings z The etymology for this word is straightforward and helpful: Puerile comes from th ...

important visual clue to the meaning of these words. In this way, the spelling helps us to remember meaning. ż 7KH DEVRUEHG SU ...

/HFWXUH:RUGV([SUHVVLQJ)HDU/RYHDQG+DWUHG :RUGV([SUHVVLQJ)HDU/RYHDQG+DWUHG Lecture 9 I n this lecture, we’ll loo ...

social, commercial, and religious activities. From this word, we get agoraphobia, meaning a fear of open or public spaces. Gloss ...

/HFWXUH:RUGV([SUHVVLQJ)HDU/RYHDQG+DWUHG z Other phobias that you may or may not have heard of include arachnophobia, ...

z The origin of canoodle is uncertain; however, we know that it was an American slang word in usage as far back as the 1850s. O ...

/HFWXUH:RUGV([SUHVVLQJ)HDU/RYHDQG+DWUHG ż Curse and damn both suggest angry denunciation by blasphemous oaths. Curse ...

Words for the Everyday and the Elite Lecture 10 M ark Twain once said, “When red-headed people are above a certain social grade ...

Lecture 10: Words for the Everyday and the Elite z To remember vapid, highlight vap and think of the related word vapor; in fac ...

z To remember the meaning of prosaic, think of prose writing, which we tend to consider less creative and imaginative than poet ...

Lecture 10: Words for the Everyday and the Elite z Polloi, meaning “many,” is related to the Greek root poly, which also means ...

z BromideRULJLQDOO\UHIHUUHGWRDVHGDWLYHVSHFL¿FDOO\DFKHPLFDO compound of bromine and another metal. Of course, sedativ ...

Lecture 10: Words for the Everyday and the Elite z Synonyms for nonpareil include matchless, peerless, inimitable, unrivaled, u ...

:RUGVIURP*RGVDQG+HURHV Lecture 11 J ust mentioning the names of characters from Greek and Roman mythology brings to mind viv ...

/HFWXUH:RUGVIURP*RGVDQG+HURHV KDQGFXIIVIRUJHGE\+HSKDHVWXVWKHJRGRIEODFNVPLWKV¿UHDQG volcanoes. But Sisyphus ...

ż Dionysius had made his point: With great power and authority come great fear and anxiety; rulers live in constant fear becaus ...

/HFWXUH:RUGVIURP*RGVDQG+HURHV the pin around which the knot had been tied. In either case, Alexander took quick and dec ...