Building a Better Vocabulary

z In English, agitprop usually carries a negative connotation and is used generally to describe any work, particularly in an ar ...

Lecture 14: Words Relating to Belief and Trust “through or beyond the limits of faith.” A trusted friend who stabs you in the ba ...

ż Ambivalent PHDQV KDYLQJ PL[HG IHHOLQJV DQG GLI¿FXOW\ FKRRVLQJ7KLVZRUGDOVRFRQWDLQVWKHSUH¿[ambi-, meaning “both. ...

Lecture 14: Words Relating to Belief and Trust The professor’s __ approach to teaching left little room for open discussion in ...

Words for the Way We Talk Lecture 15 T he baseball player Yogi Berra was known for his humorous sayings, including “I never said ...

Lecture 15: Words for the Way We Talk Pithy (adjective) Language that is short and terse but meaningful. z Both pithy and lacon ...

Foment (verb) 7RVWLUXSLQFLWHURXVHSURYRNHLQÀDPHHQFRXUDJHRULQVWLJDWH z Foment is often used alongside its colloca ...

Lecture 15: Words for the Way We Talk z Synonyms for philippic include invective, vituperation, diatribe, rant, tirade, harangu ...

ż A harangue can be a noun that means a scolding or a long and intense verbal attack. +DUDQJXH can also be used as a verb meani ...

Lecture 15: Words for the Way We Talk Bowdlerize (verb) To change a text by removing or modifying parts that could offend people ...

In turn, the leader of Johnson’s party __ against what he GHHPHGDVWKHPHGLD¶VWHQGHQF\WRUHSRUW¿UVWDQGLQYHVWLJDWHODWHU ...

/HFWXUH:RUGVIRU3UDLVH&ULWLFLVPDQG1RQVHQVH :RUGVIRU3UDLVH&ULWLFLVPDQG1RQVHQVH Lecture 16 I n the last ...

person accused of a crime would be locked. Today, we use pillory as a verb, meaning “to expose to public ridicule.” Jeremiad (no ...

/HFWXUH:RUGVIRU3UDLVH&ULWLFLVPDQG1RQVHQVH Badinage (noun) Light, playful banter; raillery. z Badinage comes fro ...

z In ancient Greece, a paean was a hymn of invocation or thanksgiving to Apollo or another Greek deity. Today, the word is used ...

/HFWXUH:RUGVIRU3UDLVH&ULWLFLVPDQG1RQVHQVH the House but to the voters in Buncombe. In other words, Walker wanted ...

Roots for “Speak” z We’ll end this lecture with three powerful roots that center on the meaning of “speak.” We’ve touched on so ...

/HFWXUH:RUGVIRU3UDLVH&ULWLFLVPDQG1RQVHQVH What might you call the light, playful banter that occurs between two ...

(SRQ\PVIURP/LWHUDWXUHDQG+LVWRU\ Lecture 17 I n this lecture, we’ll explore eponyms—words named after people. The word eponym ...

/HFWXUH(SRQ\PVIURP/LWHUDWXUHDQG+LVWRU\ of written laws, disseminated around 621 B.C.E. For each crime, the code mandate ...