Building a Better Vocabulary

ż ,I ZH DGG WKH SUH¿[ mal- to adroit, we get maladroit, an

adjective meaning badly skilled or badly agile—in other words,

awkward or bungling.

z To remember this word, take a moment to make your own

connection. Think of someone you know who is maladroit in some

way or perhaps an instance in your own life when you may not

have been as adroit as you would have liked. Be sure to write this

connection in your vocabulary notebook.

Malefactor (noun)

A criminal; a person who violates the law.

z Dividing the word malefactor into three parts helps us remember it:

mal- (“evil”) + fac (“make or do”) + -orVXI¿[LQGLFDWLQJDJHQF\

Combining these three parts gives us malefactor—literally,

“someone who does evil.”

z Another strategy for remembering words is to contrast them with

WKHLURSSRVLWHV,I\RXNQRZWKDWWKHSUH¿[bene- means “good,”

you know that a benefactor is someone who does good, such as a

patron or supporter. Benefactor is the opposite of malefactor.

z Lively synonyms for malefactor include criminal, scoundrel,

scalawag, NQDYH, cad, desperado, VFRIÀDZ, reprobate, and

snollygoster. This last word, snollygoster, meaning “a shrewd,

unprincipled person,” was recently removed from The Merriam-

Webster Dictionary because it is now considered archaic.

Malfeasance (noun)

$Q LOOHJDO RU KDUPIXO DFW XVXDOO\ FRPPLWWHG E\ D SXEOLF RI¿FLDO WKDW

violates the public trust.