Webster Essential Vocabulary

wield (WEELD) vt. 1. to handle and use (a weapon or tool, with some skill
being implied); 2. to exercise (power, influence, and so on)

• The blacksmith wieldshis hammer very deftly.


• The amount of power the president of the United States wieldshas
  increased since the drafting of the Constitution.
  [-ed, -ing] [Syn. handle]
  wilderness(WIL doer nis) n. 1. an uninhabited (by humans), uncultivated
  region; wild; waste; 2. any open, barren, or empty area, including the ocean;

3. a confused, tangled mass

• Foxes and cougars can thrive only in the wilderness,while deer seem to be
  better able to coexist with people.


• The wildernessof the Brazilian rain forest is rapidly disappearing.


• Laura hadn’t combed or cut her hair in two years, so when she went to the
  stylist, he was greeted with a tangled wildernessof hair.
  [Syn. waste]

Quick Review #86.

Match the word from column 2 with the word from column 1 that means most
nearly the same thing.

240 Essential Vocabulary

1. viscous


2. vitality


3. vitiate


4. vocalization


5. vocation


6. vociferously


7. vulgar


8. ward


9. whereas


10. whimsical


11. wield


12. wilderness

a. because

b. common

c. waste

d. parry

e. handle

f. unpredictable

g. corrupt

h. profession

i. energy

j. articulation

k. viscid

l. stridently