think you know your vocabulary

Introduction: The Top 20 Reasons Why You—Yes, You—Need a Better Vocabulary v PART ONE Vocabulary Boot Camp: Just the Basics 7 Day 1 Person, Place, or Thing?. The dictionary further pins

THINK YOU KNOW YOUR VOCABULARY?

Specialized Words Everyone Needs to Know

®

Copyright © 2009 Learning Express, LLC.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American CopyrightConventions Published in the United States by LearningExpress, LLC, New York

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009926366

A copy of this title is on file with the Library of Congress

Or visit us at:

www.learnatest.com

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Introduction: The Top 20 Reasons Why You—Yes, You—Need a Better Vocabulary v

PART ONE Vocabulary Boot Camp: Just the Basics 7

Day 1 Person, Place, or Thing? Commonly Used Nouns 9

Day 2 It’s Alive! Vivid, Vibrant Verbs 17

Day 3 Coming Close: Studying Synonyms 25

Day 4 When Opposites Attract: Awesome Antonyms 33

Day 5 What’s the Difference? Handling Homophones 39

Day 6 Make It Real: Adding Adjectives 49

Day 7 Make It Real—Again: Time for Adverbs 57

C O N T E N T S

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PART TWO In No Uncertain Terms: Specialized

Day 8 How Are You Feeling Today? Emotional Terms 65

Day 9 Just the Facts, Ma’am: Mathematical Terms 71

Day 10 Name That Tune: Musical Terms 77

Day 11 On the Hunt: Job Search Terms 83

Day 12 Sign on the Dotted Line: Contract Terms 91

Day 13 Politics on Parade: Political Terms 97

Day 14 The Weather Report: Meteorological Terms 103

Day 15 Where in the World? Geographical Terms 109

Day 16 Pieces and Parts: Mechanical Terms 115

Day 17 Patron of the Arts: Humanities Terms 121

Day 18 In the Doctor’s Office: Medical Terms 127

Day 19 The World Wide Web: Computer Terms 133

Day 20 Does It Take Batteries? Electronic Terms 139

Day 21 The Right Time and Place: Historical Terms 145

Day 22 What’s Cookin’? Culinary Terms 151

Day 23 If You Build It: Construction Terms 157

Day 24 Order in the Court: Legal Terms 163

Day 25 Between Your Ears: Psychological Terms 169

Day 26 It’s a Science: Scientific Terms 175

Day 27 People-Watching: Anthropological Terms 181

Day 28 Play Ball! Sports Terms 187

Day 29 You Design It: Interior Design Terms 193

Day 30 School Days: Educational Terms 199

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INTRODUCTION The Top 20 Reasons Why You—Yes, You— Need a Better Vocabulary

E veryone needs a strong, extensive vocabulary.Why, you ask? Simply put, a good vocabulary is something that you’ll

use every single day, in one way or another You’ll meet people all the time who

use specialized words, and if you don’t understand them, you may be the one topay the price Take a look at the following top 20 reasons for developing a strongvocabulary You’ll probably find yourself in there somewhere

Having an extensive vocabulary will help you to:

1 do better in school, from taking tests to writing papers Better grades

mean better colleges, better resumes, and better job opportunities In theend, that can mean a better income and ultimately, more money!

2 impress teachers, bosses, friends, parents, mentors, and other relevant

people

3 understand more quickly and easily any materials you’re given in school or

on the job

I N T R O D U C T I O N

viii

4 express your emotions and thoughts in a more articulate and accurate way.

5 be less likely to have people catch you off guard when they use words that

are unfamiliar to you

6 communicate easily with a wider variety of people.

7 most likely score higher on tests like the ACT or SAT; higher scores may

mean more college opportunities

8 ace magazine and newspaper quizzes and puzzles.

9 improve your overall self-confidence

10 avoid feeling lost or confused when talking to experts in different fields

11 watch PBS documentaries and History Channel shows without running

for a dictionary

12 fill up your conversations with more interesting words or phrases than

like, you know, and whatever.

13 avoid being left out of conversations because you’re struggling to figure

out what a certain word means

14 better formulate your ideas, goals, and plans when speaking or writing

about them

15 improve the quality of your letters, memos, e-mails, and maybe even your

text messages!

16 read faster because you won’t be slowed down by having to decipher, skip

over, or look up unfamiliar words

17 give stronger, more persuasive speeches whether going for a good grade,

convincing your boss to give you a raise, or persuading your parents to letyou have a new mp3 player

18 understand the world better because you’ll have a stronger knowledge of

what’s going on around you

19 keep up with your favorite TV shows because you’ll finish your homework

faster

20 race through this book, laughing maniacally because you know every single

word in it!

A word about these words: The first thing to know is that almost all of the

words are officially considered to be at the eleventh-grade level and up Some ofthe words may have more actual definitions than are included here You’llmostly find the main definitions of words as they are used in normal conversa-tion, but feel free to look up additional ones at your leisure

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I N T R O D U C T I O N

DO Try This at Home

Think your vocabulary is just fine? Try this simple experiment For the next

seven days, every time you read or hear a word you can’t easily define, write it

down This includes words you hear on television as well as in conversations

at home, school, and work Write down any word you find in your textbooks,

newspapers, books, magazines, or on the Internet that you can’t easily define

When you’re finished, you may be surprised at how many words you come

across on a daily basis that, if you had to define, you couldn’t!

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PRETEST: HOW MUCH

DO YOU KNOW?

B efore you begin reading and learning all the

new words in this book, test the strength of your vocabulary as it standsright now This pretest gives you examples of words you’ll find in each lesson.Good luck!

Read each statement below and circle the correct answer

1 The word faction refers to a

30 Someone who is bilingual is

a able to speak in two different languages.

b allowed to have residency in two countries.

c born in one country but living in another.

d trained to speak English as a primary language.

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PA RT

O N E

VOCABULARY BOOT CAMP:

JUST THE BASICS

D AY 1

I f you’ve ever played 20 Questions, you’ve heardpeople ask, “person, place, or thing?” or “animal, vegetable, or mineral?”While the answer to these questions changes throughout the game, they all have

one thing in common: they are nouns

Think back to grammar class You probably remember that a noun is, quitesimply, a person, place, or thing The dictionary further pins it down as “a word

or group of words used as the name of a class of people, places, or things, or of aspecific person, place, or thing.” Does that help? Need more of an explanation?

Just remember that a noun is something or someone It’s not an action

(that’s a verb) It doesn’t describe anything (those are adjectives and adverbs)

Many times, a noun is something you can touch, but not always After all, tion is a noun and so are faith, courage, dreams, and other things you can’t

affec-touch These qualify as generic “things” in the definition

Without nouns, our words and speech wouldn’t make much sense Forexample, imagine leaving this note:

PERSON, PLACE,

OR THING?

COMMONLY USED NOUNS

D E F I N I T I O N S

alumnus a person who has attended or has graduated from a particular school

[The plural of alumnus is alumni.]

boycott the process of refusing to deal with a person, organization, or country,usually to express disapproval or to force acceptance of terms

[This word can act as either a noun or a verb in a sentence.]

charlatan a person who pretends to have more knowledge, skill, or ability than

he or she actually possesses[The word comes from Italy and is based on people from the village ofCerreto, most of whom were deemed medical quacks.]

condiment something used to make food tastier, such as mustard, ketchup,salt, pepper, or other seasonings

Just Be Glad

Be thankful this is a vocabulary book and not a grammar book If it was,you’d see instructions on how nouns relate to appositives, articles, pronouns,compound-possessive forms, infinitives, objective complements, plural pos-sessives, direct objects, and subordinate clauses Whew Don’t you feel luckyright now?

Pet Peeve

Don’t you just hate it when you look up a word in the dictionary and a form

of the same word is in the definition? It can make you feel like your brain isgoing in circles This book tries not to repeat the word or a version of it in def-initions so that the meaning is as clear as possible

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P E R S O N , P L AC E , O R T H I N G ? C O M M O N LY U S E D N O U N S

dissertation a long, usually written, thesis or essay on a subject, normally part

of the process for earning a college degree

epoch (1) an event or time that begins a new period of development; (2) a

memorable event, date, or period; (3) a division of geologic time less than a

period and greater than an age

facsimile (1) an exact copy; (2) a system of transmitting and reproducing

printed matter or pictures by means of signals sent over telephone lines

[This is where the word fax comes from, as in “I’m sending you a fax.” The

word is also commonly used as a verb, as in “I’m faxing you a copy right now.”]

faction a group or clique acting together within a larger body, party,

govern-ment, or organization

habitat the place or type of place where a plant or animal naturally or

nor-mally lives or grows; the natural environment of an organism

heretic a person who believes or teaches something opposed to the current

beliefs of the majority; a person who doesn’t conform to any established

atti-tude, doctrine, or principle

iconoclast a breaker or destroyer of images, especially religious ones; a person

who attacks cherished beliefs or traditional institutions as being based on error

or superstition

[Most likely, a heretic and an iconoclast would be good friends—and a lot

of trouble!]

interloper a person who intrudes or interferes wrongly or without reason; a

person who thrusts him- or herself uninvited into the affairs of others

kindred a group of related individuals or a person’s relatives, family, tribe, or race

[This is often shortened to “kin” or “kinfolk” in some communities.]

labyrinth (1) a place full of passageways and blind alleys arranged to make it

difficult to find one’s way around or find the exit; (2) something extremely

complicated or twisting; (3) the bony and membranous part of the internal ear

[In classical mythology, the Labyrinth was a huge maze built in Crete byDaedalus, under the command of King Minos It was used to cage the

Minotaur, a creature that was part man, part bull.]

metropolis the chief or capital city of a country, state, or region; any large, busy

city

[In comics and films, this is the name of Superman’s favorite city.]

set-to go inset-to military service

prodigy (1) an amazing event or action; (2) an unusually talented or gifted child

restoration the act of returning something to its former, original, or normalcondition

symposium (1) a group meeting at which there are several speeches and often

a group discussion; (2) a collection of opinions on a subject[These things have certainly changed a lot since Greek and Roman timeswhen the word just meant a big party!]

Activity 1: HIDDEN WORDS

All the vocabulary words from the lesson are hidden in this puzzle Look across,down, diagonally, and backward to find them

P E R S O N , P L AC E , O R T H I N G ? C O M M O N LY U S E D N O U N S

Activity 2: WORD MATCH

Match each vocabulary word on the left with a word on the right that means

almost the same thing—also known as a synonym (remember that for a later

Choose the best vocabulary word to complete each sentence

1 If you and your high school buddies decided to get together after you

graduated, you would host a(n) _ party

2 If you refused to serve a certain kind of chip dip because you discovered

that the company that made it didn’t pay their workers well, you startedyour own

3 Despite the lack of chip dip, you would make sure to serve more than one

for the hot dogs and burgers

alumnusboycottcharlatancondimentdissertationepochfacsimile

factionhabitathereticiconoclastinterloperkindredlabyrinth

metropolisnomenclaturepacifistprodigyrestorationsymposium

T H I N K YO U K N OW YO U R VO C A B U L A RY ?

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4 To get the party started, you might decide to stand up and read the

fantas-tic _ you wrote as part of earning your honors status inyour senior year

5 Your teacher told you that it was so amazingly well written that a new

has begun in student essays, although he was rolling hiseyes when he said it

6 Even though everyone at your party would be having fun, there would be

the typical who would sit in the corner, only interactingamong themselves

7 You might be tempted to tell them to go back to their own

, but you’d just smile and keep playing the part of aperfect, polite host

8 There could be a(n) at the party, who doesn’t agree with

anyone else’s attitudes or perspectives

9 Hopefully, your neighbors wouldn’t call and accuse you of being a(n)

_ because you play music that they are opposed to inprinciple

10 After all, you’d be doing such a great job keeping the place from getting

trashed that a(n) would not be required

Activity 4: WORD MIX-UP

Unscramble each vocabulary word and write it correctly

P E R S O N , P L AC E , O R T H I N G ? C O M M O N LY U S E D N O U N S

Activity 5: TRUE OR FALSE?

Read each statement Write T if it’s true or F if it’s false

_ 1 A condiment is something that is added to food to improve the flavor

_ 2 The people who go to the same school as you do are known as kindred

_ 3 An exact copy of a document or illustration is a facsimile

_ 4 Your neighborhood can be referred to as a metropolis

_ 5 A pacifist is unlikely to be interested in negotiation

2 someone opposed to a set of 1 where an animal lives

6 a person who breaks and destroys history

8 someone not willing to fight about knowledge

10 the act of making something look 7 someone who is most

11 a person who claims to be 9 relatives, such as aunts, uncles,

something he/she is not and cousins

D AY 2

A h, verbs They may just seem like another

part of that gloomy world of grammar, but you would be lost

with-out verbs Well, actually, no, you wouldn’t You couldn’t because lost, in one form, is a verb Verbs are the life force of writing and speaking They’re where

the action is; they tell you what’s happening Without verbs, you’d be unable

to do anything—or at least, your communication about the things you were

doing would be seriously lacking in substance Being able to use a wide ety of verbs when you talk or write will make it far easier to explain what you mean

vari-For example, you might write, “The wind blew.” That’s straightforward,but also rather simple How about:

“The wind roared.”

“The wind whispered.”

IT’S ALIVE!

VIVID, VIBRANT VERBS

T H I N K YO U K N OW YO U R VO C A B U L A RY ?

18

“The wind bellowed.”

“The wind murmured.”

Each of the verbs just listed creates an entirely different picture of what’s ally happening By changing one word—the verb—the entire sentence commu-nicates something new That’s how powerful verbs can be

actu-Just as you can’t communicate clearly without a noun, you can’t do sowithout a verb For a sentence to be complete, you need both nouns and verbs;they work hand in hand Remember that message you left for your parents?Well, if you wrote another one with nouns but no verbs, you’d end up withsomething like the following:

John and I the mall Dinner too My job today

See? Still, there is no clear message John and you what? What about dinner?What about your job? Without verbs, the message is a complete mystery! Okay, so you’ve got it—verbs are important Using a variety of them iseven more important Learning a lot of verbs and understanding how each hasits very own nuance (look it up!) and meaning can help you add spice, flavor,and personality to your spoken or written words Knowing the different defini-tions of verbs can also help you better understand the words and meanings inother people’s communications

Some verbs are useful, but they’re very overused One of the best examples

is said It’s used so often that it gets old quickly What are some alternatives to said? Here are just a few.

The following are some really fascinating verbs you can learn As you readeach definition, imagine using that word in a sentence to become more familiarwith it

Beyond Said

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I T ’ S A L I V E ! V I V I D, V I B R A N T V E R B S

D E F I N I T I O N S

accrue (1) to increase in amount and value, especially over a period of time;

(2) to come about as a natural growth or addition

admonish (1) to rebuke or scold someone mildly but sincerely; (2) to give

advice to someone to do or not do something

atrophy (1) to waste away or shrink in size, especially a part of the body; (2)

the lessening of an ability

beguile (1) to draw notice or interest with charm; (2) to deceive by cunning

capitulate to surrender, usually on terms that have been agreed on in advance

chastise (1) to criticize harshly; (2) to punish severely

delineate (1) to describe in sharp or vivid detail; (2) to indicate through lines

or sketching

disseminate (1) to distribute; (2) to spread around as if sowing seeds

embody (1) to give definite form to or make something tangible; (2) to

incor-porate things into an organized whole

garnish (1) to decorate; (2) to embellish or dress up

[This is another word that can be used as either a noun or a verb As anoun, it’s a spiffy little bit of food, like parsley, added to a plate of food to make

it look pretty.]

imbibe (1) to drink something; (2) to receive into the mind and retain

inveigle (1) to win over or persuade through flattery or cleverness; (2) to trick

or con

modulate (1) to change sound to a certain key or pitch; (2) to alter or adjust

something to the proper proportion

[In the world of electronics, this means varying the quality of an magnetic wave for the transmission of information Most likely, you won’t ever

electro-use it that way, but there it is You are more likely to electro-use it to ask someone to

lower his or her voice or music.]

officiate (1) to perform a ceremony; (2) to enforce or referee the rules of a

game or sport

T H I N K YO U K N OW YO U R VO C A B U L A RY ?

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ostracize (1) to force to leave or exclude, usually in society; (2) to ignore orsnub

[This is from the ancient Greek word ostrakon, meaning “a piece of

pot-tery.” What does that have to do with anything, you ask? Good question Potteryfragments were used in ancient Athens as a kind of ballot Each year citizenswould gather to decide if anyone needed to be banished for the “good of the city.”

If your name was written on the most pieces, you were sent away—ostracized!]

paraphrase (1) to give the same meaning in slightly different words; (2) tosummarize

plagiarize (1) to steal, copy, or pass off as one’s own work or idea; (2) to leg or use illegally

boot-propagate (1) to have offspring or reproduce; (2) to cause an idea or belief tospread out and affect a greater number of people or a wider area

redress (1) to make up for something or set a wrong right again; (2) to evenout or equalize

vacillate (1) to hesitate between options or struggle to decide: (2) to swingback and forth

Activity 1: WORD MATCH

Match each word on the left with its synonym on the right

Activity 2: YOU DECIDE

Read each question below and circle the correct answer

1 If you had a little bit of money, what would you hope it did as quickly as

3 If you were asked to officiate at your sister’s basketball game, it would

mean that you were allowed to

a play in the game

b throw the first ball

c sit in the stands

d make the rules

4 If your parents are upset with you, they’re most likely going to

I T ’ S A L I V E ! V I V I D, V I B R A N T V E R B S

Activity 3: ANALOGIES

In these analogies, each set of verbs are antonyms, or opposites Look at the first

set, then figure out which vocabulary word is missing from the second set

1 accrue : dwindle :: : decisive

2 atrophy : strengthen :: _ : ignore

3 imbibe : refuse :: _ : offend

4 ostracize : embrace :: _ : original

5 admonish : praise :: _ : strip

Activity 4: WORD MIX-UP

Unscramble each vocabulary word and write it correctly

T H I N K YO U K N OW YO U R VO C A B U L A RY ?

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Activity 5: PICK-A-WORD

Choose the word from the box that best completes each sentence

1 When the referee explained his reasons, I realized he was right and had no

other choice but to

2 People in the back rows of the audience couldn’t hear the speaker so he

had to his voice in order to reach them

3 She is known for breaking into tears if you her

4 The lawyer talked on and on for almost an hour, so in my essay I had to

what he said

5 Could her song possibly _ everything I had been feeling about

myself for years?

6 My brother has been able to _ over my soccer games for as

long as I can remember

7 My parents tried to convince me that if I _ my mistake I will

feel much better

8 Mrs Connors has been trying to _ her wildflowers for a

decade now

9 Does the course’s outline _ exactly what we have to do in

order to earn an A in the class?

10 A rumor can _ throughout the school by lunch hour

disseminate

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D AY 3

S ynonyms are words that mean almost the

same thing as another word Each one might have a certain shade ornuance that the other word doesn’t, but often they can be used interchangeably.Knowing synonyms is important because it gives your writing and speakingmore variety Each synonym gives a slightly different meaning to the sameaction So you can avoid what your teacher might label “vague and abstract

terms,” like things or stuff.

To give you an idea of how synonyms work, I’ve organized this section alittle differently Hopefully, it will give you a glimmer of how synonyms canimprove your writing and speaking, and show you the many options theEnglish language offers if you just take the time to go beyond the usual “stuff.”

COMING CLOSE:

STUDYING SYNONYMS

T H I N K YO U K N OW YO U R VO C A B U L A RY ?

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D E F I N I T I O N S

To replace vague words like things or stuff, try the following.

accoutrement (noun) accessory items of personal clothing or equipment, ally used in the plural form

usu-appurtenance (noun) an important accessory, instrument, or piece of equipment

paraphernalia (noun) equipment, apparatus or personal belongings; can be

used as singular or plural

Perhaps you would like to describe a pretty woman or handsome man.How about:

beauteous (adjective) lovely to look at

pulchritudinous (adjective) physically beautiful and appealing

winsome (adjective) innocently lovely or engaging

How about a grumpy, irritable person? You could use:

belligerent (adjective) hostile, waging war, or eager to be part of a fight

cantankerous (adjective) difficult or irritating to work or spend time with

pugnacious (adjective) ready and willing to start or join a battle of any kind

On the other hand, how about that really friendly person you enjoy ning into? You could describe the person as:

run-affable (adjective) at ease and pleasant, especially in conversation; polite, nerly

man-Thesaurus: No, It’s Not a Dinosaur!

You already know that a dictionary is for looking up what a word means Itmay list a synonym of the word, but what if you want to know as many syn-onyms as possible to enrich your vocabulary? You’re in luck A thesaurus doesjust that Words may be in alphabetical order, as in a dictionary, or organized

by categories Either way, this resource can supply quite a few synonyms andoften antonyms Your computer probably has a thesaurus you can access at theclick of a button You can also find online thesauri—note the plural ending

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C O M I N G C L O S E : S T U DY I N G S Y N O N Y M S

convivial (adjective) friendly, fond of feasting and going to parties

gregarious (adjective) tending to associate with others, sociable

[In the world of science, this means being part of a flock of animals orplants growing in clusters.]

How about simple words like small and big? Do they have replacementsthat could spice up your descriptions? Of course!

colossal (adjective) extraordinarily great in size, extent, or degree; gigantic

[In the world of architecture, it pertains to a classic style in which columnsspan two or more stories of a building.]

diminutive (adjective) of small or tiny size, often with the quality of being

lov-able or pitiful

[This can also be used as a noun to indicate a small person or thing.]

gargantuan (adjective) enormous or very large

[The word first appeared in the late 1600s in books by Rabelais about alarge-mouthed giant named Gargantua The base word in Spanish means “gul-

let,” and both gargantuan and gargle come from the same root Imagine a

gar-gantuan giant gargling!]

infinitesimal (adjective) exceedingly small, almost immeasurably so

[In the world of math, this means “capable of having values approachingzero as a limit.”]

minuscule (adjective) very small

Verbs can be replaced also Remember all the choices you read earlier for

said? How about some alternatives to replace a word like walk?

amble (verb) to maintain a slow, easy pace, such as a stroll

[This can also be used as a noun for a horse whose same-side legs move

together The word ambulance comes from the same base but, hopefully, if

someone’s being transported in one, it’s not moving at a slow, easy pace.]

saunter (verb) to take a leisurely walk

traipse (verb) to walk or wander about aimlessly or without reaching one’s

goal

T H I N K YO U K N OW YO U R VO C A B U L A RY ?

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Activity 1: THE SEARCH IS ON!

All the vocabulary words from the previous pages are hidden in this puzzle.Look across, down, diagonally, and backward

colossalconvivialdiminutivegargantuan gregariousinfinitesimalminuscule

paraphernaliapugnaciouspulchritudinoussaunter

traipsewinsome

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3 I’m someone who no one seems to want to spend any time around

because I’m grumpy What am I?

Activity 3: GET CREATIVE

On the lines below, write a story using at least five of the vocabulary words in

T H I N K YO U K N OW YO U R VO C A B U L A RY ?

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Activity 4: CHOOSE-A-WORD

Read each question and circle the correct answer

1 When you look in the mirror, you hope this word comes to mind.

3 If you’re ever stuck in an elevator, you should hope it’s filled with people

who exhibit this characteristic

5 If you have to fight any battles, you might want to take along someone

who is known for being

C O M I N G C L O S E : S T U DY I N G S Y N O N Y M S

Activity 5: TRUE OR FALSE?

Read each statement Write T if it’s true or F if it’s false

_ 1 Belligerent people and convivial people behave the same way

_ 2 Gregarious is a term sometimes used about plants.

_ 3 Minuscule and gargantuan are synonyms for each other

_ 4 An attractive person could add pulchritudinous to his or her list of

attributes

_ 5 Amble and ambulance have the same base word.