How to build a super vocabulary

) adj. acting as a poi-
son; poisonous. Many household
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cleaners are toxic and should be
kept out of the reach of children.
tran•scend•ent (tran sen´dənt) adj. sur-
passing; excelling; extraord-inary.
People often turn to religion in
search of a transcendent experience.
trans•for•ma•tion (trans´fər ma¯´
shən) n. the process of changing.
Butterflies and frogs have life cy-
cles that involve extraordinary
transformations.
trans•fuse (trans fyooz´) vt. to trans-
fer or transmit by causing to flow.
The crowd of spectators was soon
transfused with the cheerleaders’
energy and began joining in the
cheers.
trans•gres•sion (trans gresh´ən) n.
breach of a law or duty; sin. His
transgression earned the shoplifter
a hefty fine and a night in jail.
tran•si•ent (tran´shənt) adj. staying
only for a short time. Most of the
boardinghouse guests are tran-
sient people with no permanent
ties to the community.
tran•si•to•ry (tran´sə toˆr´e¯) adj. tem-
porary, fleeting. An adrenaline
rush causes a transitory feeling of 
excitement.
treach•er•ous (trech´ər əs) adj. giving
a false appearance of safety or reli-
ability. While the ocean looks calm,
its treacherous riptides are ex-
tremely dangerous.
trea•son (tre¯´zən) n. betrayal of one’s
country. Benedict Arnold, an
American general, committed trea-
son by trying to surrender West
Point to the British during the
Revolutionary War.
trep•i•da•tion (trep´ə da¯´shən) n. fear-
ful uncertainty or anxiety. My shak-
ing hands betrayed my trepidation
as I approached the snake.
tres•pass (tres´pəs) vi. to go on an-
other’s land or property without
permission. When the neighbor
caught us in his orchard, he
threatened to sue if we trespassed
again.
trite (trı¯t) adj. lacking freshness, orig-
inality, or novelty. In the poem I am
writing, I have tried to avoid trite
figures of speech.
u•biq•ui•tous (yoo bik´wə təs) adj.
present everywhere at the same
time. The tall man in the blue suit
seems to be ubiquitous; I saw him
everywhere I went today.
un•a•bridged (un´ə brijd´) adj. not
shortened; complete. Whenever I
listen to a book on audiotape, I
make sure it is the unabridged
version because I don’t want to
miss anything.
un•wield•y (un we¯l´de¯) adj. hard to
manage, handle, or deal with, as be-
cause of large size or heaviness, or
awkward form. She tried to mail a
tuba to her sister but found the
package unwieldy.
u•surp (yoo zurp´) vt. to take or as-
sume (power, a position, property,
or rights) and hold in possession by
force or without right. The military
usurped control of the government
from the elected president.
vac•il•late (vas´ə la¯t´) vi. to sway to
and fro; waver. I vacillated for a
whole day, trying to decide
whether I would research dolphins
or orcas.
vac•u•ous (vak´yoo əs) adj. having or
showing lack of intelligence, inter-
est, or thought. His vacuous com-
ments show that he has given the
matter no thought.
ven•er•ate (ven´ər a¯t´) vt. to regard
with deep respect and admiration. I
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venerate my sister for being able to
manage a successful career as 
a lawyer while also raising four
children.
ver•bose (vər bo¯s´) adj. wordy; long-
winded. The tour guide’s verbose
explanation of how the dam was
built used up almost all the time
we had.
ves•tige (ves´tij) n. a trace, mark, or
sign of something that once existed
but has disappeared. The Mayan
ruins are vestiges of a civilization
that once was great and powerful.
vice versa (vı¯´sə vur´sə) adv. With the
order or relation reversed; con-
versely. I’ll help you when you need
it, and vice versa.
vig•i•lance (vij´ə ləns) n. watchful-
ness; state of being alert to danger.
The security guard’s vigilance pre-
vented the robbers from entering
the bank.
vin•di•cate (vin´də ka¯t´) vt. to clear
from criticism, blame, guilt, or sus-
picion. New evidence in the trial
vindicated the defendant; the case
was dismissed and he was free 
to go.
vin•dic•tive (vin dik´tiv) adj. revenge-
ful in spirit; inclined to seek
vengeance. Watch out for Adam—
he is vindictive when he loses a
game.
vir•u•lent (vir´yoo lənt) adj. ex-
tremely poisonous or injurious;
deadly. Black widow spider bites
are virulent and cause an immedi-
ate, painful reaction.
vol•a•tile (väl´ə təl) adj. likely to shift
quickly and unpredictably; unstable;
explosive. When I make a mistake,
I have to be careful of my boss’s
volatile temper.
vol•un•tary (väl´ən ter´e¯) adj. brought
about by one’s own free choice.
Because I feel sorry for homeless
animals, I make a voluntary con-
tribution to the local shelter often.
vo•ra•cious (voˆ ra¯´shəs) adj. very
greedy or eager in some desire or
pursuit. It is hard to satisfy her vo-
racious appetite with just one
sandwich.
vul•ner•a•ble (vul´nər ə bəl) adj. that
can be wounded or injured; open to
criticism or attack. Houses that are
built on the ocean shore are ex-
tremely vulnerable during a hurri-
cane.
whim•si•cal (hwim´zi kəl) adj. arising
from caprice; oddly out of the ordi-
nary; fanciful. My boss’s decisions
are often whimsical, instead of
based on planning and strategy.
wran•gle (ra
´gəl) vi. to argue; dis-
pute. I’ve used every defensive ar-
gument I have and do not want to
wrangle with her anymore.
writhe (r ı¯th) vi. to make twisting or
turning movements; squirm. Live
worms on a fishing hook writhe
and catch the attention of fish.
yield (ye¯ld) vt. to give; concede; grant.
The accident was my fault because
I failed to yield the right of way
before I turned.
zea•lot (zel´ət) n. a person who has an
extreme or excessive devotion to a
cause; fanatic. Lorene is such a
zealot about protecting whales that
she talks about nothing else.
ze•nith (ze¯´ nith) n. the highest point;
peak. He reached the zenith of his
acting career before he was twelve
and has been struggling to get back
there ever since.
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INDEX
A
affixes, 20–24
African words, in English, 12
American Indian words, in English, 12
antonyms
as clues to meaning, 32
in dictionaries, 42
appositives, as clues to meaning, 28–29
Arabic words, in English, 12
B
base words, 16–17
affixes, 20–24
borrowed words, 11, 12
Boycott, Captain C. C., 10
Burnside, General Ambrose Everett, 11
C
Chinese words, in English, 12
clichés, 69–70
collective nouns, 62
combining forms, 19
comparisons, as clues to meaning, 30–31
confusing words, 48–51
conjunctions, as clues to meaning, 32
context clues, 27–36
contrasts, as clues to meaning, 32
crossword puzzles, 63
D
Darwin, Charles, 6
definitions
in dictionaries, 40, 42–43, 73–106
in sentences, 29
dictionaries, 37–43, 73–106
antonyms, 42
citations, 40
entries, 39–42
etymologies, 7, 9, 40
kinds, 38–39
multiple meanings, treatment of, 42–43
pronunciation guides, 40, 41, 42
synonyms, 40, 45
usage notes, 39–42
using to check spelling, 48
drawing, as memory aid, 59
Dutch words, in English, 12
E
editing, 68
England, Norman Conquest of, effect on
language, 12
eponyms, 10–11
etymologies, 7, 9, 17, 40
examples, as clues to meaning, 30
F
Ferris, George W. G., 10
flash cards, as memory aids, 59–60
French words, in English, 11, 12
G
German words, in English, 12
Gerry, Elbridge, 10
Greek roots, in English, 17, 18, 19
H
homographs, 55
homophones, 53–55
I
Inuit (Eskimo) words, in English, 12
Italian words, in English, 12
J
journal, vocabulary, 60–61
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K
key words, as clues to meaning, 30
L
language
changes, 6–7, 8
history, 3–13
origin theories, 4–6
Latin roots, in English, 17, 18, 19
listening, as memory aid, 60
M
mapping words, 61
Maverick, Samuel, 11
meanings, of words
changes, 7, 8
context clues, 27–36
multiple, 42–43
reasoning out, 33–34
memory tips, 58–60
mispronunciations, 52–53
mnemonics, 58–59
Montagu, John, fourth earl of Sandwich,
11
N
Norman Conquest of England, effect on
language, 12
nouns
collective, 62
use as verbs, 8
O
Old Norse words, in English, 12
onomatopoeic words, 5–6
overused words, 69–70
P
Pei, Mario, 6
plurals, irregular, 54
predicate nominatives, as clues to mean-
ing, 28–29
prefixes, 20–22, 23
pronunciation
common mistakes, 52–53
dictionary guides, 40, 41, 42, 72
homographs, 55
homophones, 53–55
Q
qualifiers, 70
R
redundancy, avoiding, 67–69
relationships, as clues to meaning, 32
repetition, avoiding, 67
Roget, Pater Mark, 44
roots, of words, 15–25
Russian words, in English, 12
S
Scandinavian words, in English, 12
slang, 70
Spanish words, in English, 12
speaking, formal, and word choice, 70
spelling, 48
adding suffixes, 23–24
homographs, 55
homophones, 53–55
suffixes, 20, 22–24
synonyms
as clues to meaning, 30–31
in dictionaries, 40, 45
in thesauri, 44–45
synonymies, 45
T
thesauri, 44–45
V
verbs
formed from nouns, 8
irregular, 42
visual aids to building vocabulary, 59
vocabulary. See also words
building, 1–2, 57–64
reading and, 63
writing and, 65–71
vocabulary journal, 60–61
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W
word families, 16, 17
word games, 63
word maps, 61
wordiness, 67–69
words
affixes, 20–24
archaic, 7
base words, 16–17
borrowed, 11, 12
combining forms, 19
confusing, 48–51
context clues to meaning, 27–36
correct usage, 48
definitions, in sentences, 29
difficult, tackling, 47–56
eponyms, 10–11
etymologies, 7, 9, 17
homographs, 55
homophones, 53–55
lively, 66–67
new, 7
overused, 69–70
qualifiers, 70
roots, 15–25
slang, 70
vocabulary, 73–106
writing
editing, 68
vocabulary, 65–71
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