Verbal Advantage - Level 06 » Index

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  • Word 1: Legerdemain
    Word 1: Legerdemain [LEJ-ur-duh-MAYN]
    Sleight of hand, a cleverly executed trick or deception.
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    In a general sense, the simple word magic is a synonym of legerdemain. More challenging synonyms of legerdemain include prestidigitation and thaumaturgy, which I’ll discuss (and pronounce) in a moment, after I tell you about the expression “sleight of hand.”
    The word sleight (SLYT, like slight) is related to the word sly, and “sleight of hand” means literally slyness of the hand, a clever trick or illusion done with the hands.
    Legerdemain, prestidigitation (PRES-ti-DIJ-i-TAY-shin), and thaumaturgy (THAW-muh-TUR-jee) all refer to magic or deception, but each word has a more specific and precise meaning. Thaumaturgy comes from the Greek word for miracle, and by derivation means the working of miracles. The presti- in prestidigitation comes ultimately from the Italian presto, meaning nimble, quick; the digit in the middle of prestidigitation is the word digit (DIJ-it), which in one of its senses means “a finger.” By derivation prestidigitation is nimbleness with the fingers, quickfingeredness. Prestidigitation is used as a general synonym for legerdemain, sleight of hand, but sometimes it refers specifically to the art of juggling.
    Legerdemain comes from a Middle French phrase meaning “light of hand.” Today the word may refer specifically to adroitness with the hands, as in performing magic tricks, or to any display of clever skill and adroitness. For example, a surgeon, a musician, and an athlete all may display legerdemain. In current usage legerdemain may also denote a cleverly executed trick or deception: “Larry hired a sleazy accountant who promised he could outwit the IRS by performing financial legerdemain”; “The first lesson of politics is ‘Watch out for dirty tricks and other unscrupulous forms of legerdemain.’”
    When you spell legerdemain, remember that it does not have an e at the end.
  • Word 2: Puerile
    Word 2: Puerile [PYOOR-ul or PYOO-ur-ul]
    Childish, immature; hence, foolish, silly.
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    Puerile comes through the Latin puerilis, meaning youthful, childish, from puer, a child.
    Synonyms of puerile in the sense of “childish or immature” include infantile and juvenile. Synonyms of puerile in the sense of “foolish or silly” include inane (i-NAYN), frivolous, asinine, fatuous (FACH-oo-us), sophomoric (SAHF-uh-MOR-ik), and callow (word 30 of Level 4).
    Infantile, juvenile, and puerile all may be used in a general way to mean pertaining to childhood. Specifically, however, infantile means pertaining to infancy, to babyhood or very early childhood; puerile means pertaining to the childhood years, the time between infancy and puberty; and juvenile means pertaining to preadulthood, the teenage years.
    You can see the words used in this specific way in the phrases “infantile paralysis,” “juvenile court,” and “puerile respiration,” which is a respiratory murmur heard in healthy children that in adults is considered a sign of disease.
    These three words may also be used in a general sense to mean childish, immature, foolish, characteristic of youth. In this sense, juvenile is the least negative; puerile implies harsher judgment; and infantile is the strongest, suggesting the most disagreeable characteristics of childhood—extreme silliness and immaturity. For example, juvenile desires may be simply youthful desires, childlike thoughts in an older head. Puerile behavior is childish and inappropriate behavior, unbecoming of one’s years; it may refer to children who act younger than they are, and it may only be temporary. Infantile behavior, however, is extremely childish, and an infantile remark is foolish and stupid.
    Puerile has two corresponding nouns: puerilism (PYOOR-ul-iz-’m or PYOO- ur-ul-iz-’m) and puerility (pyuu-RIL-i-tee or PYOO-uh-RIL-i-tee). Puerilism is a psychiatric term for the abnormal appearance of childish behavior in an adult. In my considered but medically unsubstantiated opinion, puerilism is the chief occupational disorder of writers and actors. Puerility may be used in a general sense to mean childishness, immaturity; in civil law, puerility refers to the status of a child between infancy and puberty. Between puberty and the established legal age of maturity, the child is a juvenile.
  • Word 3: Complicity
    Word 3: Complicity [kum-PLIS-i-tee]
    Conspiracy, partnership in wrongdoing, criminal participation, direct association in guilt, the state of being an accomplice.
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    Conspiracy, confederacy, collusion, and complicity all refer to partnership or participation in disreputable or illegal activities.
    Conspiracy means the act of plotting and cooperating secretly, especially to achieve an unlawful, evil, or treacherous purpose, as a conspiracy to commit murder.
    Confederacy refers to people, groups, states, or nations united for a common purpose. It may be used neutrally to mean simply an alliance, as “OPEC is a confederacy of Middle Eastern oilexporting countries.” Quite often, however, confederacy is used in a negative sense to mean an alliance in wrongdoing, as “a confederacy of terrorists bent on overthrowing the government.”
    A collusion is a specific type of conspiracy: a secret understanding in which one person or group plays into another’s hands with the aim of defrauding a third party. For example, if witnesses in a legal trial or parties to a negotiation are in collusion, they are cooperating secretly while appearing to be adversaries.
    Here it seems appropriate to digress for a moment to discuss the noun connivance and the verb to connive, which today are often used interchangeably with collusion and the verb to collude. Strictly and traditionally, however, these words are not synonymous.
    Connivance and connive come from the Latin connivere, to wink at, and by derivation suggest the act of winking at wrongdoing. Originally, and in my opinion properly, to connive is not to conspire or cooperate secretly in an unlawful act but to wink at it, to pretend not to see it or know about it and so give tacit consent or encouragement: “They bribed the doorman so he would connive at the burglary”; “The police department connived at organized crime in the city.”
    In like manner, connivance properly means the act of conniving, feigning ignorance of wrongdoing: “Illegal gambling would not exist in this town without the connivance of the authorities”; “When investigators exposed the plot to embezzle company funds, they accused the vice president of connivance.”
    I should point out here that my opinion of how connive and connivance should be used is puristic, and to a certain extent wishful thinking. All current dictionaries countenance scheme, plot, and conspire as synonyms of connive and sanction conspiracy as a synonym of collusion. My point in raising this issue is not so much to condemn a minor implosion of language as it is to make you aware of the traditional definitions of connive and connivance, which current dictionaries also countenance but which you may not have known until now. My aim is not to prevent you or anyone else from using connive to mean to plot or conspire. My simple, earnest hope is only that you will learn and remember its other, original meaning: “to feign ignorance of wrongdoing.”
    And now back to our keyword, complicity. It comes from the Latin complicare, to fold up or fold together, the source also of the words complicate, which means literally “to fold or twist together,” and accomplice, which means literally “a person who is folded up” and therefore involved.
    Whereas connivance suggests passive cooperation in something unlawful, complicity denotes active participation or partnership in wrongdoing, the state of being an accomplice: “When charged with conspiracy, the defendant professed his innocence and denied any complicity in the plot.”
  • Word 4: Transmute
    Word 4: Transmute [tranz-MYOOT or transMYOOT]
    To transform; specifically, to change from one nature, form, or substance into another, especially to a higher, better, or more refined one.
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    The verb transmute combines the prefix trans-, meaning “across” or “beyond,” with the Latin mutare, to change. Literally, transmute means “to change across the board” or “to change something beyond what it is.”
    Transmute was once used in the primitive science of alchemy (AL-kuh-mee), which preceded modern chemistry, to refer to the changing of base metals or common elements into a higher form, as to transmute iron into gold. Today the word is used generally to mean to completely change the nature or substance of something, especially to change it to a more refined or more desirable state: You can transmute an idea into a reality, transmute sorrow into joy, or make a modest investment that over thirty years transmutes into a substantial nest egg for retirement.
  • Word 5: Abstruse
    Word 5: Abstruse [ab-STROOS]
    Difficult to understand, hard to grasp mentally, deep, profound, incomprehensible, unfathomable.
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    Antonyms of abstruse include manifest, discernible (word 32 of Level 3), lucid (word 45 of Level 3), and perspicuous, which I’ll discuss later in this level.
    Challenging synonyms of abstruse include inscrutable (word 48 of Level 3), esoteric (word 29 of Level 5), and also occult, cryptic, enigmatic, arcane, recondite, and acroamatic.
    Let’s take a closer look at some of those rather abstruse synonyms, all of which apply to things that are secret and mysterious or difficult to understand.
    By derivation esoteric (ES-uh-TER-ik) means understood by a select group, intended only for the knowledge of a few; hence, secret, confidential, or beyond most people’s knowledge or understanding.
    Occult (uh-KUHLT, first syllable like a in ago) by derivation means hidden or concealed. Today occult may be used either of that which is secret because it is hidden from view or of that which is secret because it is mysterious or incomprehensible.
    Cryptic (KRIP-tik) comes from the Greek kryptos, hidden, which comes in turn from the verb kryptein, to hide. The familiar word crypt comes from the same source and means a burial chamber hidden underground. In modern usage cryptic applies to that which has a hidden meaning: cryptic ideas are mystifying ideas; a cryptic message is an incomprehensible or coded message.
    The noun enigma (i-NIG-muh) and the adjective enigmatic (ENig-MAT-ik) come from a Greek verb meaning “to speak in riddles.” An enigma is something or someone like a riddle, a mystery, puzzle. Enigmatic means like an enigma, and therefore perplexing, puzzling, ambiguous, or incomprehensible. Enigmatic is perhaps most often used of something written or stated, but the word may also apply to actions and to people.
    Arcane (ahr-KAYN) comes from the Latin arcana, meaning “shut, closed,” or “secret,” and ultimately from arca, a box or chest, especially a money chest. By derivation arcane means shut or closed up, and, like esoteric, arcane is now used of that which is known only to a few people. The word usually applies to knowledge or information, as an arcane theory.
    Recondite (REK-un-dyt) comes from the Latin recondere, to put away, conceal. In modern usage recondite applies to that which is beyond the grasp of the ordinary person. To most people, for example, particle physics is a recondite subject.
    Acroamatic (AK-roh-uh-MAT-ik) is an abstruse and unusual synonym of esoteric—so unusual that you won’t find it listed in most dictionaries. Historically, acroamatic applies to certain writings by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle (AR-iSTAHT-’l) that were addressed to his disciples as opposed to his exoteric (EKS-uh-TER-ik) writings, which were intended for a popular audience. Acroamatic comes from the Greek akroamatikos, which means “designed for hearing only.” According to the encyclopedic Century Dictionary (1914), Artistotle’s acroamatic writings “were addressed to ‘hearers,’ that is, were intended to be read to his disciples or were notes written down after his lectures.” In a general sense, acroamatic may refer to that which is esoteric, intended for and understood by a select group, recondite, beyond the grasp of the average person, and abstruse, extremely hard to understand.
    By derivation abstruse means put or pushed away, and today the word connotes that which has been pushed out of the realm of comprehension. Scholars and scientists are fond of using abstruse academic jargon to discuss abstruse subjects and ideas. If you buy a computer, the user’s manual probably will be so abstruse that you’ll wind up having to call the customer service hotline for help.
  • Word 6: Edify
    Word 6: Edify [ED-i-fy]
    To instruct, improve, teach, enlighten; especially, to instruct or improve intellectually, morally, or spiritually.
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    Anything that improves the mind, the character, or the spirit can be described as edifying. If you find an experience instructive, eye-opening, or uplifting, you can say that it edified you or that you found it edifying. You can be edified by a movie, a play, a book, a conversation, by traveling, or by working on an interesting project. As I noted in the first half of the program, if you want to learn more about the world and learn more words, then reading is the best way to edify yourself. But even entertainment can be edifying, although some forms of entertainment, such as watching reruns of “Wheel of Fortune,” probably won’t edify you at all.
    The corresponding noun is edification, which means enlightenment—intellectual, moral, or spiritual improvement: “Public libraries exist for the benefit and edification of all people”; “He was a philanthropist devoted not only to the material betterment of less fortunate members of society but also to their edification.”
    Except when used humorously, the phrase “for your edification” should probably be avoided. It has become a cliché, and often has a condescending overtone.
  • Word 7: Supercilious
    Word 7: Supercilious [SOO-pur-SIL-ee-us]
    Haughty, proud, scornful, contemptuous, disdainful.
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    Supercilious comes from the Latin super-, meaning “over, above,” and cilium, eyebrow; by derivation it means with raised eyebrows, and therefore proud, haughty, disdainful. Supercilious suggests the proud, contemptuous attitude or expression of someone who thinks he’s superior and who looks down at others with scorn: “Lucy’s new supervisor had seemed quite amiable in her interview, but to her dismay she soon found out he had a supercilious way of assigning her a project and then telling her, ‘If I were you, I’d do it like this.’”
  • Word 8: Dissemble
    Word 8: Dissemble [di-SEM-buul]
    To disguise; conceal under a false appearance; speak or behave hypocritically; cover up the facts or one’s true feelings or motives; mask under a pretense or deceptive manner.
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    Synonyms of dissemble include to feign, affect, simulate, camouflage, equivocate (i-KWIV-uh-kayt), and prevaricate (pri-VARi-kayt).
    To disguise is the general word meaning to give something a false appearance so it won’t be recognized. We disguise our physical appearance, disguise facts, or disguise intentions.
    To feign (rhymes with rain) means to represent falsely, pretend that something exists or is real, as to feign interest, feign illness, feign innocence, or feign sleep.
    To affect (uh-FEKT) means to put on a false appearance to make a certain impression, as to affect knowledge, affect a cultivated pronunciation, affect social superiority, or affect a carefree manner when your heart is breaking.
    Our keyword, dissemble, comes from an Old French verb meaning “to appear different,” and by derivation means to make something appear different from what it is. When you dissemble the facts or dissemble your feelings, you conceal them under a false appearance. The person who dissembles speaks or behaves hypocritically so as to cover up the truth.
  • Word 9: Vacuous
    Word 9: Vacuous [VAK-yoo-us]
    Empty, vacant; devoid of substance, interest, intelligence, expression, or meaning.
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    Synonyms of vacuous include blank, unintelligent, shallow, stupid, senseless, inane, and fatuous. The corresponding noun is vacuity (va-KYOO-i-tee), emptiness, an absence of matter or intellectual content.
    Vacuous comes from the Latin vacuus, empty. In modern usage vacuous is not used where empty or vacant would be appropriate. An empty box or a vacant apartment cannot be described as vacuous. Vacuous usually applies to a figurative lack of content, meaning, or interest. We speak of vacuous eyes, a vacuous discussion, a vacuous mind, a vacuous remark, or a vacuous proposal.
  • Word 10: Capacious
    Word 10: Capacious [kuh-PAY-shus]
    Roomy, spacious, ample, able to contain or hold a great deal.
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    Capacious may be used either literally or figuratively. When used literally it is a synonym of spacious and roomy: a capacious house; their capacious office; an overcoat with capacious pockets. When used figuratively, it is a synonym of broad and comprehensive: a capacious intellect; a capacious embrace; a capacious view; a capacious treatment of a subject.
  • Word 11: Mnemonic
    Word 11: Mnemonic [ni-MAHN-ik]
    Helping or pertaining to the memory, assisting or improving the ability to recall.
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    The odd spelling of mnemonic, with its initial mn, comes from Greek. Ultimately, mnemonic comes from a Greek verb meaning to remember, and by derivation means “mindful.” In Greek mythology, Mnemosyne (ni-MAHS-uh-nee) is the goddess of memory and the mother of the nine Muses who preside over literature, the arts, and the sciences.
    The adjective mnemonic means assisting or pertaining to the memory. A mnemonic device is a memory aid, something that helps one to remember. For example, the old rhyme, “Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November” is a mnemonic device for remembering the number of days in a given month. The term mnemonics refers to any technique or system for improving the memory.
    Now, if you can remember all that, you’re doing well.
  • Word 12: Sonorous
    Word 12: Sonorous [suh-NOR-us or SAHN-uh-rus]
    Resonant; deep, full, and rich in sound; having, or capable of producing, a powerful, impressive sound: a sonorous voice; a sonorous speaker; the sonorous bells of a cathedral.
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    The pronunciation SAHN-uh-rus, with the accent on the first syllable, is a British import that began making its way into American speech in the late 1800s. The traditional American pronunciation is suh-NOR-us, with the stress on the second syllable. When it comes to American versus British pronunciation, my policy is that British speakers should use British pronunciations and American speakers should use American pronunciations. Perhaps indicating agreement with that dictum, the four leading current American dictionaries all list suh-NOR-us first. Nevertheless, it must be said that first- syllable stress in sonorous is more commonly heard today, and probably will prevail.
  • Word 13: Admonish
    Word 13: Admonish [ad-MAHN-ish]
    To warn or notify of a fault or error, especially in conduct or attitude; to criticize or reprove gently but earnestly.
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    Synonyms of admonish include advise, counsel, caution, apprise (uh-PRYZ, like a prize), exhort (eg- or ig-ZORT), and expostulate (ek-SPAHS-chuh-layt). The corresponding noun is admonishment, a gentle warning or mild criticism.
    To admonish comes from the Latin verb admonere, to warn, remind; the word suggests putting someone in mind of something he has forgotten, done wrong, or disregarded by giving him a strong but gently expressed warning or reminder. You can admonish an employee for tardiness or for overlooking an error; you can admonish a small child to obey a rule; or you can admonish a friend who is working too hard to take it easy.
  • Word 14: Paradigm
    Word 14: Paradigm [PAR-uh-dim or PAR-uh-dym]
    An example, model, or pattern.
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    Paradigm, which gets its unusual spelling from Greek, is used of an example that serves to illustrate or explain something or that serves as a model or pattern. Scholars develop paradigms for their theories; a novel may be a paradigm of contemporary morality; an important experience can serve as a paradigm for evaluating later experiences; and the successful strategy of one corporation may be the paradigm for another corporation’s plan to restructure itself and redefine its goals.
    The corresponding adjective is paradigmatic (PAR-uh-dig-MAT-ik), which means exemplary, typical, serving as a model or pattern.
    PAR-uh-dim is the original pronunciation, preferred by authorities of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The alternative pronunciation PAR-uh-dym came along sometime before 1900 and appears to have originated in Britain; it is now preferred by most educated speakers on both sides of the Atlantic. Modern authorities and current dictionaries countenance both pronunciations, and you may say the word as you please.
  • Word 15: Circuitous
    Word 15: Circuitous [sur-KYOO-i-tus]
    Roundabout, indirect, not straightforward, following a roundabout and often extended course.
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    Challenging synonyms of circuitous include devious, meandering (mee-AN-dur-ing), sinuous (SIN-yoo-us), tortuous (TOR-choo-us), serpentine (SUR-pin-teen or -tyn), and labyrinthine (LAB-uh-RINthin), which means like a labyrinth or maze.
    The adjective circuitous is formed by adding the suffix -ous to the familiar noun circuit. A circuit is a line or route that goes around and returns to where it started. Literally, circuitous means like a circuit, going around, following a roundabout and often lengthy course: “They took a circuitous route to avoid traffic”; “His argument was circuitous, going round and round and never getting to the point”; “Looking back on her career, Pamela realized that her path to success had been circuitous.”
  • Word 16: Vindicate
    Word 16: Vindicate [VIN-di-kayt]
    To clear from blame, free from suspicion of wrongdoing or dishonor, uphold or maintain the truth or innocence of something or someone in the face of criticism or imputations of guilt.
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    If you are accused of something but later the charge is dropped, then you have been vindicated. You can vindicate your good name or your reputation by clearing it from blame or suspicion. You can also vindicate a claim of ownership or your right to something by defending or upholding the truth of it.
    The corresponding noun is vindication: “In a civil lawsuit, the plaintiff seeks restitution for an alleged wrong, and the defendant seeks vindication from the charges.”
    To vindicate, to exonerate (eg- or ig-ZAHN-ur-ayt), and to acquit all mean to free from blame. Acquit refers specifically to a judicial decision to release someone from a charge. Exonerate implies removing the burden of guilt for a wrongdoing that may or may not have been committed. Vindicate means to clear from blame, criticism, or suspicion of guilt by bringing forth evidence and proving the unfairness of the charge. Someone may be acquitted by a jury and exonerated by his family and friends, but never vindicated in the eyes of the community.
  • Word 17: Bucolic
    Word 17: Bucolic [byoo-KAHL-ik]
    Rural, rustic, of or pertaining to country life.
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    Synonyms of bucolic include pastoral (PAS-tur-ul, be sure to stress the first syllable), provincial (pruh-VIN-shul), agrarian (uhGRAIR-ee-in), idyllic (eye-DIL-ik), and Arcadian (ahr-KAY-dee-in). Antonyms include urban, municipal, civic, metropolitan, and cosmopolitan.
    Bucolic comes from Latin and Greek words meaning a herdsman, shepherd, which in turn come from the Greek bous, an ox. Bucolic may mean either pastoral, pertaining to shepherds, or rustic, pertaining to farming and country life. Bucolic poetry is poetry about the country or country folk; bucolic scenery is rural or rustic scenery. Sometimes bucolic is used in a depreciatory sense to poke fun at people who live in the country. When supercilious city dwellers speak of bucolic manners or bucolic customs, they mean to imply that those manners or customs are crude or unsophisticated.
  • Word 18: Ostracize
    Word 18: Ostracize [AHS-truh-syz]
    To banish, send into exile, expel from a place; to bar, exclude, or reject from a group or from acceptance by society: “His questionable conduct led to his being ostracized by the other members of his profession”; “After the embarrassing incident her friends began to avoid her, and eventually they ostracized her from their social life.”
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    The verb to ostracize, the corresponding noun ostracism (AHStruh-siz-’m), and the related word petalism (PET-’l-iz-’m) share an interesting history. Ostracism and petalism were forms of banishment employed by the ancient Greeks. Ostracize and ostracism come from the Greek ostrakon, a potsherd, a piece of broken pottery. Ostracism was practiced by the ancient Athenians as a way of removing from the city people considered dangerous or embarrassing to the state. Citizens would vote by writing the name of the person to be expelled on a potsherd (PAHT-shurd) or earthenware tablet. Banishment was for a period of ten years, after which time the person was considered vindicated and free to return.
    Petalism was a similar mode of expulsion practiced in ancient Syracuse. Petalism differed from ostracism only in the method of voting, which was done by writing on an olive leaf instead of on a piece of clay, and in the length of the exile, which was for five instead of ten years. The Century Dictionary (1914) notes that petalism was eventually repealed “on account of its deterring the best citizens from participating in public affairs.”
  • Word 19: Plethora
    Word 19: Plethora [PLETH-uh-ruh]
    An excess, surplus, overabundance, oversupply.
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    Synonyms of plethora include superabundance, profusion, superfluity (SOO-pur-FLOO-i-tee), and surfeit (SUR-fit).
    Antonyms of plethora include scarcity, insufficiency, dearth (word 12 of Level 3), and paucity (PAW-si-tee): “The worst kind of boss is the one who offers a plethora of advice and a paucity of assistance.”
    Plethora comes from the Greek plethein, to be full. In medicine the word is used to mean an excess of blood in the body; in general usage plethora may refer to any excess, surplus, or overabundance: “This report contains a plethora of dull statistics.” “Throughout her career she was blessed with a plethora of opportunities.” “American consumers no longer give the bulk of their business to small, specialized retailers, but instead prefer to shop at superstores that offer a plethora of merchandise at discount prices.”
    Plethora is the noun; the corresponding adjective is plethoric (pleTHOR-ik). A plethoric harvest is an overabundant harvest, a bumper crop. Plethoric wealth is excessive wealth. Plethoric writing is verbose, inflated writing; it overflows with words or puffed-up self-importance. When used of language, plethoric is synonymous with the words bombastic (bahm-BAS-tik) and turgid (TUR-jid).
    Plethora is sometimes mispronounced with the stress on the second syllable, ple-THOR-uh. Dictionaries do not recognize this variant. Be sure to stress the first syllable: PLETH-uh-ruh.
  • Word 20: Proclivity
    Word 20: Proclivity [pro-KLIV-i-tee or proh-]
    An inclination, liking, leaning; a strong natural bent or tendency, often toward something disagreeable, objectionable, or wicked.
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    Synonyms of proclivity include partiality (PAR-shee-AL-i-tee), penchant (PEN-chint, word 9 of Level 3), predisposition, predilection (PRED-i-LEK-shin), and propensity (pro-PEN-si-tee).
    By derivation proclivity means a sloping forward or downward; hence, a leaning, tendency, or inclination. In current usage the word may have a neutral connotation, as a proclivity to study, a proclivity for music. More often, however, propensity is used in this neutral sense, and proclivity usually suggests a strong natural bent or inclination toward something bad or wrong. For example, a person may have a proclivity for drinking or gambling, a proclivity to lie, or antisocial proclivities.
  • Word 21: Commensurate
    Word 21: Commensurate [kuh-MEN-shur-it also kuhMEN-sur-it]
    Proportionate, corresponding in amount, measure, or degree; also, equal, of the same size or extent: “She wants to find a job commensurate with her abilities and experience”; “His paycheck was not commensurate with the number of hours he had worked.”
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    By derivation commensurate means “measured together,” and therefore corresponding or proportionate.
  • Word 22: Incessant
    Word 22: Incessant [in-SES-int]
    Constant, uninterrupted, continuous, unceasing.
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    Incessant combines the privative prefix in-, meaning “not,” with the Latin cessare, to stop, cease, and means literally not ceasing, never-ending.
    Synonyms of incessant include interminable, relentless, and unremitting. Antonyms of incessant include occasional, irregular, intermittent, incidental, sporadic (word 16 of Level 1), fitful, and erratic.
    Dictionaries often list the words continuous and continual as synonyms, and today many educated speakers use them interchangeably. They are not interchangeable, however, and the ability to distinguish continual and continuous precisely is one sign of a careful user of the language. Continual means happening again and again at short intervals. We speak of continual reminders, continual attempts, continual laughter, or the continual ringing of the telephone. Continuous means uninterrupted or unbroken. We speak of continuous noise, continuous rain, a continuous effort, or the continuous rotation of the earth.
    Continuous and incessant are close synonyms. The Century Dictionary (1914) explains that “continuous means unbroken, and is passive; incessant means unceasing, and is active.” On one level that distinction is simple: we say a railroad track or telephone cable is continuous, not incessant, because tracks and cables are inactive. But on another level the distinction can be quite subtle and subjective. For example, we may say that a fever is continuous or incessant depending on whether we perceive it as a state or an activity. Similarly, the flow of a waterfall is continuous if viewed as a passive condition of a bucolic scene; it is incessant if looked upon as an active condition within that scene. The bland background music we typically hear in elevators, restaurants, and waiting rooms is continuous to those who don’t mind it; but to those who are distracted or irritated by it, it’s incessant, unceasing, constant, never-ending.
  • Word 23: Sycophant
    Word 23: Sycophant [SIK-uh-funt; the last syllable, -phant, as in elephant]
    A flatterer, parasite, toady, fawning follower, hanger-on.
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    No one knows the precise origin of the words sycophant and toady, but various theories and folk etymologies abound. According to most sources, the word toady is related to toad. As the etymologist Joseph T. Shipley recounts the story in his Dictionary of Word Origins (1945), the charlatans and mountebanks of medieval times usually traveled with an assistant who would swallow, or seem to swallow, a live toad, “so that the master could display his healing powers. These helpers were called toadeaters; then the term came to mean a flattering follower,” and “the word has been shortened to toady.”
    Sycophant is thought to come from a Greek word meaning to show figs. As the legend goes, the Athenians passed a law prohibiting the export of figs from their city. Like many laws, this one was rarely enforced, but “there were always found mean fellows,” says Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, “who, for their own private ends, impeached those who violated it; hence sycophant came to signify first a government toady, then a toady generally.” Although by derivation sycophant means an informer, today the word refers to people who attempt to gain influence or advancement by ingratiating themselves through flattery and servility: “Joanne warned Lucy her first day on the job that Ralph and Diane were the office sycophants, always sucking up to the boss and stabbing people in the back.”
    The corresponding adjective is sycophantic (SIK-uh-FAN-tik).
  • Word 24: Tangential
    Word 24: Tangential [tan-JEN-shul]
    Not closely related, only slightly connected, digressive, divergent.
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    In geometry, the word tangent refers to a line that touches a curve but does not intersect it. When you “go off on a tangent” you make an abrupt change of course in what you are saying; you diverge, digress. Tangential may mean going off on a subject that is only slightly connected to the one under consideration, or it may mean slightly connected to or touching lightly on a subject. Tangential remarks diverge from the subject in question; they are only slightly connected to it. Tangential information touches lightly on the subject but is not closely related or essential to it.
  • Word 25: Tenable
    Word 25: Tenable [TEN-uh-buul]
    Defensible, reasonable; able to be defended, maintained, or upheld.
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    Tenable comes from the Latin tenere, to hold, grasp. From the same source come the unusual noun tenaculum (te-NAK-yuu-lum), a pointed, hooked instrument used in surgery for lifting and holding parts, such as blood vessels, and the useful adjective tenacious (te-NAY-shus), which means holding firmly, as a tenacious grip or a tenacious memory.
    Tenable means defensible, able to be maintained or upheld. The logic behind a course of action may be tenable, defensible, or untenable, indefensible. The legislature may pass a tenable law, one that can be upheld in the courts, or an untenable law, one that will be struck down. A tenable reason is a reason that can be defended, maintained, or upheld.
  • Word 26: Impalpable
    Word 26: Impalpable [im-PAL-puh-buul]
    Incapable of being felt or understood, not able to be perceived either by the sense of touch or by the mind.
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    Synonyms of impalpable include untouchable, imperceptible, and intangible (in-TAN-ji-buul). Antonyms include palpable (PAL-puhbuul), perceptible, manifest, and tangible (TAN-ji-buul).
    The adjective palpable means capable of being touched or felt, easily perceived or discerned. Palpable may be used either literally, as a palpable pulse or palpable heat, or figuratively, as a palpable error or palpable desire.
    Impalpable combines palpable with the privative prefix im-, meaning “not,” and means not able to be felt or grasped, either with the fingers or by the mind. An impalpable pulse is a sign of heart failure; an impalpable breeze is so faint as to be imperceptible; an impalpable idea is not easily grasped by the mind.
    Both palpable and impalpable come from the Latin palpare, to touch or stroke gently, the source also of the verb to palpate (PALpayt). Palpate is used chiefly in medicine to mean to examine or explore by touch, as to palpate a limb or an organ. The corresponding noun is palpation (pal-PAY-shin), the act of palpating, examining by touch.
  • Word 27: Odious
    Word 27: Odious [OH-dee-us]
    Hateful, detestable, offensive, revolting, arousing strong dislike or aversion.
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    The English language has a plethora of words that mean hateful or offensive, so odious has many synonyms. Here is a selection of them, ranging from the familiar to the not-so-familiar: disgusting, obnoxious, objectionable, disagreeable, contemptible, repellent, repugnant (ri-PUHG-nint), loathsome (LOHTH-sum), abominable, abhorrent (ab-HOR-int), heinous (HAY-nis), opprobrious (uh-PROHbree-us), flagitious (fluh-JISH-us, word 46 of Level 9), and last but not least, the thoroughly damning word execrable (EK-si-kruhbuul). By derivation execrable means expressing a curse, and today the word applies to that which is so horrible or wicked that it deserves to be cursed or damned.
    Odious comes from the Latin odiosus, hateful, which in turn comes from odium, hatred, the direct source of the English noun odium (OH-dee-um). Odium and hatred are synonymous, but odium refers less frequently to hatred directed toward someone or something else and more often to hatred experienced or incurred: “Alan’s supervisor was a supercilious, draconian tyrant who did not seem to care that her employees regarded her with odium.”
    The adjective odious refers either to that which arouses hate, disgust, or displeasure or to that which is regarded as hateful, detestable, or offensive. An odious remark is extremely unpleasant or offensive; an odious practice is a disagreeable or disgusting practice; an odious person is a person that others find hateful or detestable.
    The corresponding noun odiousness means the state or quality of being odious, as the odiousness of the crime.
    Be careful to distinguish odious from odorous both in spelling and usage. Odorous means emitting an odor, having a distinct aroma or smell. Odious means hateful, detestable, revolting. Odorous armpits or odorous garbage may be odious, but there is nothing odious, hateful or offensive, about odorous flowers.
  • Word 28: Ubiquitous
    Word 28: Ubiquitous [yoo-BIK-wi-tus]
    Existing or seeming to exist everywhere at the same time.
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    Ubiquitous and nonexistent are antonyms. Synonyms of ubiquitous include ever-present, universal, pervading, and omnipresent (AHM-ni-PREZ-int). The corresponding noun is ubiquity (yoo-BIK-wi-tee), the state of being or seeming to be everywhere at once, omnipresence.
    Ubiquitous comes from the Latin ubique, everywhere. Its closest synonym, omnipresent, links the combining form omni-, meaning “all,” with present to mean present in all places at once.
    Because few things other than the air we breathe can accurately be described as ubiquitous, existing everywhere at the same time, ubiquitous is often used to mean seeming to exist everywhere at once, extremely widespread. For example, when telephones and televisions first came on the market they were considered novelties and luxury items, but today we see them everywhere, so we could say they are ubiquitous. In George Orwell’s classic novel 1984, which depicts the horrors of life in a futuristic totalitarian state, the image of the dictator, Big Brother, and the slogan “Big Brother is watching you” are ubiquitous; they seem to be in all places at once.
    Ubiquitous is also often used to achieve an exaggerated effect. For example, a writer might state that the cockroach is a ubiquitous insect, or that graffiti has become ubiquitous in a neighborhood, or that fast-food restaurant chains are now ubiquitous in our society. And if you ever have the experience of running across a certain person nearly everywhere you go, you could say that person is ubiquitous.
  • Word 29: Ruminate
    Word 29: Ruminate [ROO-mi-nayt]
    To turn over in the mind, think about again and again, consider carefully or at length.
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    Synonyms of ruminate include to ponder, contemplate, meditate, deliberate, muse (MYOOZ), cogitate (KAH-ji-tayt), and mull (rhymes with dull).
    The etymology of the verb to ruminate may surprise you. It comes from the Latin ruminare, to chew the cud, and by derivation means to chew over and over again. In the science of zoology (which is properly pronounced zoh-AHL-uh-jee, not zoo-) the word ruminant (ROO-mi-nint) is used of animals that chew their cud, such as cows, oxen, sheep, goats, deer, giraffes, and camels. These ruminant creatures have multichambered stomachs, the first chamber of which is called the rumen (ROO-min). When a ruminant chews its cud, it is chewing food that has been swallowed, partially digested in the rumen, and then regurgitated into the mouth for thorough mastication. (As you may recall from Level 5, mastication means the act of chewing.) By a logical extension, the verb to ruminate has come to mean to chew the cud mentally, to regurgitate a thought and turn it over and over in the mind.
    Just as we often say that we chew on something, we often say that we ruminate on something: “Aging athletes may ruminate on the triumphs of their youth”; “When John heard the rumor of impending layoffs, he went back to his office and ruminated on his future with the company.”
  • Word 30: Remuneration
    Word 30: Remuneration [ri-MYOO-nuh-RAY-shin]
    Payment, compensation, or reward.
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    Remuneration is a suitable payment or reward for a service or something one has provided: “It is rare that the effort a writer expends in writing a book is commensurate with the remuneration received for writing it”; “When people volunteer their services for a cause, the satisfaction they get from doing something they believe in is more than enough remuneration”; “Mark took the job even though he knew the salary was not sufficient remuneration for the work he would have to do.”
    Synonyms of remuneration include reimbursement, recompense (REK-um-PENTS), consideration, indemnification (in-DEM-nuh-fi-KAY-shin), and emolument (i-MAHL-yuh-mint, word 3 of Level 8).
    The corresponding verb is remunerate (ri-MYOO-nuh-rayt), to pay or compensate for services rendered, trouble taken, or goods provided.
  • Word 31: Peccadillo
    Word 31: Peccadillo [PEK-uh-DIL-oh]
    A small sin, slight offense, minor fault or flaw.
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    Peccadillo means literally “a small sin.” It comes through Spanish and Italian ultimately from the Latin peccare, to make a mistake, blunder, sin. From the same source English has also inherited three other useful words: peccant (PEK-int), which means guilty, sinful, culpable; peccable (PEK-uh-buul), which means liable to sin or do wrong; and its antonym impeccable (word 40 of Level 4), which means incapable of sin, unable to do wrong, and therefore free from all faults or imperfections.
    Synonyms of peccadillo include failing, frailty, and foible (word 23 of Level 3). All these words suggest a weakness, imperfection, or defect of character or habit. Failing implies a relatively minor but noticeable shortcoming: Parents are never perfect; all have their failings. Frailty implies a weakness that can be exploited or that leads one to yield to temptation: Frailties are an inescapable part of human nature. Foible suggests a harmless or trivial weakness or flaw that can be easily overlooked: You may regret your failings and try to keep your frailties in check, but you can laugh about your foibles. Our keyword, peccadillo, is a small sin or slight offense that is easily forgiven: A good manager knows how to distinguish between an employee who commits peccadilloes and an employee who causes problems.
    The plural of peccadillo is peccadilloes, which is preferred by most American authorities and listed first in American dictionaries, or peccadillos, the British preference.
  • Word 32: Supine
    Word 32: Supine [soo-PYN, like sue pine]
    Lying down on the back, with the face turned upward: “He preferred to sleep in a supine position.”
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    Supine, prone, prostrate (PRAHS-trayt), and recumbent (ri-KUHMbent) all mean lying down in various ways.
    Supine takes its meaning directly from the Latin supinus, lying on the back with the face up.
    From the Latin pronus, leaning forward, we inherit the word prone, which may mean inclined or tending toward something, as in the phrase “prone to error,” or it may mean lying on the belly, stretched out face downward: “The dog lay prone on the rug, its chin resting on its paws.”
    Prostrate means lying flat, stretched out, either prone or supine. Because the word comes from the Latin prosternere, to throw down in front, cast down, in modern usage prostrate denotes lying down flat either as the result of physical or emotional exhaustion, or as an expression of submission, humble adoration, humiliation, or helplessness.
    Be careful not to confuse prostrate with prostate (PRAHS-tayt), the gland in men that contributes to the production of semen and helps control urination. After age forty, men should have regular checkups for prostate cancer, not prostrate cancer.
    Recumbent comes from the Latin recumbere, to lie back, recline. When you are recumbent you are lying down in a comfortable position, usually supine or on your side: The ancient Greeks and Romans assumed a recumbent posture when taking their meals. Visit any art museum and you are likely to see a portrait of a recumbent nude.
  • Word 33: Banal
    Word 33: Banal [BAY-nul or buh-NAL]
    Common, ordinary, unoriginal; flat, dull, and predictable; lacking freshness or zest.
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    Synonyms of banal include trite, commonplace, conventional, humdrum, hackneyed, shopworn, stereotyped, insipid (in-SIP-id), vapid (rhymes with rapid), and bromidic (bro-MID-ik), which means like a bromide (BROH-myd), a statement or idea that is stale and dull.
    Antonyms of banal include creative, imaginative, unconventional, unorthodox, ingenious, innovative, novel, and pithy (PITH-ee).
    Banal, which came into English from French in the mideighteenth century, originally referred to the facilities shared in common by the serfs and tenants of a feudal manor—such as the mill, the ovens, and the wine-press. In this now obsolete sense, banal meant “shared by all; used by the whole community.” From this notion of commonality, banal soon came to be used as a synonym of common in its sense of ordinary and unoriginal. Today banal is used of anything that is flat, dull, and predictable, that lacks freshness or zest: a television show, a song, a book, a movie, a remark, a conversation, a desire, a relationship, and even a person can be described as banal. When you consider how many things in this world are dull, ordinary, and unoriginal, banal suddenly becomes a useful word to add to your vocabulary.
    Most educated American speakers pronounce banal either BAY-nal (rhymes with anal) or buh-NAL (rhymes with canal). The variant buh-NAHL, the British preference, is less frequently heard in American speech. The variant BAN-ul (rhymes with channel), preferred by several older authorities, is nearly obsolete.
    The corresponding noun is banality (buh-NAL-i-tee), which means the quality or state of being common, ordinary, and unoriginal, as the banality of prime-time TV, or the banality of workaday life.
  • Word 34: Heterodox
    Word 34: Heterodox [HET-ur-uh-dahks]
    Having or expressing an opinion different from the accepted opinion; not in agreement with established doctrine or belief.
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    As you may recall from the discussion of heterogeneous, keyword 6 of Level 3, the prefix hetero- means other, different, unlike: heterosexual means attracted to the other sex; heterogeneous means consisting of different elements or kinds, diverse; and heterodox means having another opinion or different beliefs.
    The -dox in heterodox comes from the Greek doxa, an opinion, which in turn comes from the verb dokein, to think. From the same source come the rare English words doxy (DAHK-see), an opinion or doctrine, especially a religious opinion, and doxastic (dahk-SAStik), which means pertaining to opinion or to the formation of an opinion. I wouldn’t expect you to know those unusual words, but you may be familiar with doxology (dahk-SAHL-uh-jee), which combines the Greek doxa, opinion, with the verb legein, to speak. Doxology is used in Christian worship to mean an expression of praise to God, usually in the form of a brief hymn or chant.
    The antonym of heterodox is orthodox, agreeing with established opinion, adhering to accepted beliefs. A heterodox custom or a heterodox view goes against the prevailing norm; an orthodox custom or view is considered proper or correct.
    The prefix ortho- means right, upright, proper, or correct. Ortho- appears in a number of useful English words. Orthodontics (ORthuh-DAHN-tiks) is the dental specialty of correcting irregularities of the teeth. Orthoscopic (OR-thuh-SKAHP-ik) means having normal or correct vision. Orthography (or-THAHG-ruh-fee), which comes from ortho-, right, correct, and the Greek verb graphein, to write, means correct spelling; an orthographic (OR-thuh-GRAF-ik) error is a misspelled word or typographical mistake. Finally, the word orthoepy (OR-thoh-uh-pee or or-THOH-uh-pee or OR-thoh-EPee), which comes from ortho- and the Greek epos, meaning “word,” refers to the study of the proper pronunciation of words. By the way, did you notice that there are no fewer than three acceptable pronunciations of orthoepy? It just goes to show you that when it comes to pronunciation, even the experts don’t always agree. But that still doesn’t mean you should embrace heterodox pronunciations, ones different from those acceptable to most educated speakers.
    The adjectives heterodox and heretical (huh-RET-i-kul) both mean having or expressing a controversial opinion or belief, but the words differ in their intensity. Heterodox applies to that which differs in a way that does not necessarily challenge or threaten the norm. Heretical applies to that which differs from the norm in a way perceived as dangerously false, subversive, or evil.
    The corresponding noun is heterodoxy (HET-ur-uh-DAHK-see), an opinion or belief contrary to what is accepted and established.
  • Word 35: Grandiloquent
    Word 35: Grandiloquent [gran-DIL-uh-kwint]
    Characterized by lofty, high-flown language; full of grand or highsounding words.
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    Synonyms of grandiloquent include bombastic (bahm-BAS-tik, word 8 of Level 7), grandiose (GRAN-dee-ohs), florid (FLOR-id), and turgid (TUR-jid). All these words suggest speech or writing that is inflated, affected, or extravagant.
    Antonyms of grandiloquent include plain-spoken, forthright, unaffected, and candid.
    Grandiloquent combines the word grand with the suffix -iloquent, which comes from the Latin loqui, meaning “to speak.” By derivation, grandiloquent means “speaking in a grand manner.” The Latin loqui is also the source of loquacious, talkative, and colloquial (word 43 of Level 3), which means pertaining to informal speech or conversation.
    Believe it or not, the English language has more than twenty words that incorporate the suffix -iloquent and designate different ways of speaking. Of course, most of them reside quietly in the depths of unabridged dictionaries and are rarely used, but here are a few you may find useful: Magniloquent (mag-NIL-uh-kwint) comes from the Latin magnus, meaning “great, large,” and means speaking pompously, using grand or high-flown language. Magniloquent and grandiloquent are virtually interchangeable. From the Latin multus, meaning “many” or “much,” comes multiloquent (muhl-TIL-uh-kwint), using many words, talking up a storm; and from the Latin brevis, meaning “short,” comes the word breviloquent (bre-VIL-uh-kwint), speaking briefly.
    When you speak in an urbane, sophisticated manner, you are suaviloquent (swah-VIL-uh-kwint). When you speak like a scholar or an expert on some subject, you are doctiloquent. When you speak solemnly or of sacred matters, you are sanctiloquent (sangTIL-uh-kwint). And if you talk in your sleep, you are somniloquent (sahm-NIL-uh-kwint).
  • Word 36: Lugubrious
    Word 36: Lugubrious [luh-GOO-bree-us]
    Mournful and gloomy; expressing sadness or sorrow, often in an exaggerated, affected, or ridiculous way.
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    Synonyms of lugubrious include dismal, melancholy, dreary, funereal (fyoo-NEER-ee-ul), doleful, dolorous (DOH-luh-rus), disconsolate (dis-KAHN-suh-lit), plaintive (PLAYN-tiv), woeful, lachrymose (LAK-ri-mohs), and saturnine (SAT-ur-nyn).
    Antonyms of lugubrious include cheerful, jubilant, joyous, gleeful, mirthful, jovial (word 19 of Level 5), and sanguine (SANG-gwin, word 21 of Level 10).
    Lugubrious comes ultimately from the Latin lugere, to mourn or lament. The word was coined about 1600 and was at first merely a grandiloquent synonym for mournful and sorrowful. By the 1800s, however, it had come to suggest mournful, dismal, or gloomy in an exaggerated, affected, or ridiculous way.
    According to the second edition of Webster’s New International Dictionary (1934), the words lugubrious and doleful “have weakened from their original meaning, and are often used with a half-humorous connotation.” For example, lugubrious music is mournful or gloomy to an extreme; the expression “Woe is me” is now a lugubrious cliché; the mournful howling of a dog may be lugubrious; and if the expression on a person’s face is lugubrious, it is sad or sorrowful in an affected, almost ludicrous way. The corresponding noun is lugubriousness; the adverb is lugubriously, as “He spoke lugubriously about the company’s financial condition.”
  • Word 37: Infinitesimal
    Word 37: Infinitesimal [IN-fin-i-TES-i-mul]
    Too small to be measured or calculated.
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    Synonyms of infinitesimal include tiny, minute, microscopic, and minuscule. And speaking of minuscule—and strictly speaking—this word is traditionally and properly pronounced with the stress on the second syllable: mi-NUHS-kyool. The pronunciation MIN-uh-SKYOOL, now common among educated speakers, probably came about as a result of the persistent misspelling of the word as miniscule, as though it began with the prefix mini-. This misspelling is now so widespread that most current dictionaries list it as a variant without comment, and many also give priority to the pronunciation with first-syllable stress. I would argue, however, that the alternative spelling and pronunciation not only are at variance with the word’s history but are also, quite frankly, idiotic.
    Minuscule comes from the Latin minusculus (stress on -nus-), somewhat small. Look in any dictionary and you will see that the noun minuscule refers to a small, cursive script used in medieval manuscripts. From that sense it came to denote either a small or lowercase letter or something printed in lowercase letters. The adjective minuscule originally meant pertaining to that small medieval script or consisting of small letters; its antonym in this sense is majuscule (muh-JUHS-kyool), which means written in capital letters. By natural extension minuscule also came to mean tiny, very small.
    Our misspellings often mimic our mispronunciations, and in this case the evidence suggests that minuscule—probably from association with the words minimum, minimal, and miniature— came to be mispronounced MIN-uh- SKYOOL and then later misspelled with the prefix mini-, which means small.
    Today the variant MIN-uh-SKYOOL is so popular that I can’t in good conscience tell you that it’s wrong, but I can at least admonish and implore you to spell the word properly. There is no mini- in minuscule, and even if you choose to say MIN-uh-SKYOOL, for goodness’ sake remember that when you write the word it should be spelled like minus plus -cule.
    Well, now that we’ve straightened out that minuscule but not insignificant point of usage, I’m afraid that we’ve lost track of our keyword, infinitesimal. Of course, that’s not surprising because this rather large, thirteen-letter word means infinitely small and applies to that which is smaller than you can imagine. Unlike the words tiny, minute, and minuscule, which simply mean very small, and unlike microscopic, which means too small to be seen without a microscrope, infinitesimal is smaller still, and means specifically too small to be measured or calculated.
    Occasionally you will come across a writer or speaker who is unaware of the specific meaning of infinitesimal and who uses it loosely. For example, in your local newspaper you might see a sentence like this: “Scientists detected an infinitesimal amount of mercury and lead in the city’s tap water.” Because infinitesimal properly applies to that which is too small to be measured or even detected, that sentence should read like this: “In a test of the city’s tap water, scientists determined that if mercury and lead were present, the amounts were infinitesimal.”
  • Word 38: Goad
    Word 38: Goad [GOHD, rhymes with road]
    To prod or urge to action, stimulate, arouse, stir up.
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    Synonyms of the verb to goad include to egg on, spur, incite, impel, and instigate (IN-sti-GAYT). Antonyms of goad include soothe, pacify, appease, assuage (uh-SWAYJ, word 37 of Level 2), and mollify (MAHL-uh-FY).
    The noun a goad is a pointed stick used to prod animals and get them to move. From that sense goad also came to mean a stimulus, spur, incitement, anything that urges or drives something on. The verb to goad literally means to prick or drive with a goad; hence, to prod or urge to action. Someone can goad you to work harder, goad you to admit a fault or mistake, or goad you to the point of irritation or anger. In Measure for Measure, Shakespeare writes, “Most dangerous is that temptation that doth goad us on….”
  • Word 39: Malinger
    Word 39: Malinger [muh-LING-gur]
    To pretend to be sick or incapacitated so as to avoid work or duty; to shirk or dodge responsibility by feigning illness or inability.
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    Don’t be misled by the presence of the word linger in malinger. Despite what some people mistakenly believe, to malinger does not mean to linger, loiter, or hang around in a shiftless or threatening way. Although you might hear or read about “drug pushers malingering near schoolyards” or “homeless people malingering downtown,” don’t believe it. Those people may be loitering, but they are definitely not malingering, for malinger means to pretend to be sick or incapacitated so as to avoid work or duty.
    The verb to malinger comes from a French word meaning sickly, ailing, infirm, and is apparently related to the word malady (MALuh-dee), which means an illness or affliction. The corresponding noun is malingerer (muh-LING-gur-ur), a person who malingers.
    When malinger and malingerer entered English in the early 1800s, they were used of soldiers and sailors who shirked their duty by pretending to be sick. Of course, malingering is popular among the entire workforce, not just members of the military, so it wasn’t long before malinger and malingerer came to be used of anyone who dodges work or responsibility by feigning illness or inability.
  • Word 40: Aver
    Word 40: Aver [uh-VUR]
    To state positively, declare with confidence.
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    Synonyms of the verb to aver include assert, affirm, avow, profess, contend, and asseverate.
    To state means to express something in an explicit and usually formal manner. You state your answer or state your opinion. To declare means to state publicly or out loud, sometimes in the face of opposition. You declare your intentions, declare your position, or declare your independence. To assert means to declare forcefully or boldly, either with or without proof. You assert a belief or assert your rights. To asseverate means to declare in a solemn, earnest manner. Lawyers asseverate their claims in court, professors asseverate their theories from a lectern, and preachers asseverate their spiritual advice from the pulpit. To affirm means to state with conviction, declare as a fact based on one’s knowledge or experience. You can affirm the truth, affirm your presence, or affirm the existence of something. Our keyword, to aver, means to state positively and decisively, with complete confidence that what one says is true. You can aver that you have never disobeyed the law; you can aver that you have always paid all your taxes on time; you can aver that you have never used alcohol or drugs; and you can aver that there is life on the planet Mars. Of course, if you aver all that, then other people probably will aver that you are either lying or off your nut, so it’s always wise to watch what you aver, state positively, declare with confidence.
  • Word 41: Cacophony
    Word 41: Cacophony [kuh-KAHF-uh-nee]
    A harsh, jarring sound, especially a harsh and unpleasant blend of sounds.
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    Synonyms of cacophony include dissonance (DIS-uh-nints), discord (DIS-kord), disharmony, and stridency (STRY-den-see). Antonyms include silence, tranquility, serenity, placidity (pla-SID-itee), and quiescence (kwy-ES-ints), the noun corresponding to the adjective quiescent (word 22 of Level 3).
    Cacophony comes from the Greek kakos, bad, and phoné, sound, and by derivation means “bad-sounding.”
    You can see the influence of the Greek phoné, sound, in the English words phonetic (fuh-NET-ik), pertaining to or representing the sounds of speech; symphony, which means literally “sounding together”; and telephone, which by derivation means “a voice from afar.”
    The Greek kakos, bad, is the source of the English prefix caco-, which appears in front of a number of interesting English words to mean “bad” or “wrong.” For example, cacography (kuh-KOGruh-fee) is bad writing; cacology (kuh-KAHL-uh-jee) is bad speaking or a bad choice of words; cacoepy (KAK-oh-uh-pee or kuh-KOH-uh-pee or KAK-oh-EP-ee) is bad pronunciation, as opposed to orthoepy (OR-thoh-uh-pee or or-THOH-uh-pee or OR-thoh-EP-ee), good pronunciation; a caconym (KAK-uh-nim) is a bad or erroneous name; a cacodoxy (KAK-uh-DAHK-see) is a wrong or unacceptable opinion (cacodoxy is a synonym of heterodoxy, which I mentioned earlier in the discussion of heterodox, word 34 of this level); cacoeconomy (KAK-oh-ee-KAHN-uh-mee) is bad economy or bad management; and, last but not least, we have the fascinating word cacoëthes (KAK-oh-EE-theez).
    Cacoëthes combines the Greek kakos, bad, with ethos, habit, and means a bad habit, incurable itch, or an insatiable urge or desire: “Mary could overlook John’s fingernail biting, excuse his excessive smoking and drinking, and forgive his frequent use of foul language, but the one obnoxious habit she could not bring herself to condone was his addiction to channel surfing. That, in her estimation, was his most loathsome cacoëthes.”
    And now let’s return to our keyword, cacophony. Any harsh, jarring sound, and especially any harsh and unpleasant blend of sounds, can be described as a cacophony: the cacophony of traffic; a cacophony of angry voices; the cacophony created by a major construction project; the cacophony of newborn babies crying in the nursery.
    The corresponding adjective is cacophonous (kuh-KAHF-uh-nus), having a harsh, unpleasant, jarring sound: “The hungry animals in the barnyard together raised a cacophonous complaint”; “It seemed that every day the tranquility of his well-manicured suburban street was disturbed by a cacophonous orchestra of lawnmowers, blowers, and edgers.” Synonyms of cacophonous include dissonant (DIS-uh-nint), discordant (dis-KOR-dint), raucous (RAW-kus), and strident (STRY-dent).
  • Word 42: Refractory
    Word 42: Refractory [ri-FRAK-tur-ee]
    Stubborn and disobedient, actively resisting authority or control, unruly, impossible to work with or manage.
    →
    Because the human animal is so often stubborn, disobedient, and unruly, English abounds with words for these qualities. Synonyms of refractory include willful, headstrong, ungovernable, rebellious, obstinate (word 34 of Level 1), intractable (word 12 of Level 5), perverse, recalcitrant (ri-KAL-si-trant), intransigent (inTRAN-si-jint, word 4 of Level 8), and contumacious (KAHN-t(y)oo-MAY-shus).
    Antonyms of refractory include obedient, submissive, compliant, deferential, malleable (word 29 of Level 2), docile (word 28 of Level 7), tractable (see word 12 of Level 5), acquiescent (AK-weeES-int), and obsequious (uhb-SEE-kwee-us, word 3 of Level 7).
    I know that’s a lot of words to stuff in your head, so let’s take a moment to clarify some of them.
    Refractory, intractable, contumacious, intransigent, and recalcitrant all suggest stubborn resistance to control.
    Recalcitrant comes from the Latin re-, meaning “back,” and calcitrare, to kick, and means literally to kick back. The recalcitrant person resists direction or control in a rebellious and sometimes violent manner.
    Intransigent, both by derivation and in modern usage, means unwilling to compromise. The intransigent person takes an extreme position and will not budge an inch.
    Contumacious means stubborn in an insolent way. The contumacious person displays willful and openly contemptuous resistance to established authority. Examples of contumacious behavior would include insulting a police officer and ignoring a summons to appear in court.
    Intractable comes from the Latin tractare, which means to drag around, haul, and also to manage, control. Intractable implies passive resistance to direction. The intractable person refuses to cooperate and must be dragged along. An intractable problem does not respond to any attempt at a solution and stubbornly refuses to go away.
    Our keyword, refractory, applies to anyone or anything that is stubbornly disobedient and that actively resists authority or control. Horses, mules, machinery, and children are often described as refractory, but the word may also be applied appropriately to many other things, such as materials that are resistant to heat or chemical agents, or a medical condition that resists treatment, as a refractory case of athlete’s foot.
  • Word 43: Iconoclast
    Word 43: Iconoclast [eye-KAHN-uh-klast]
    A person who attacks cherished or popular beliefs, traditions, or institutions; someone who destroys or denounces an established idea or practice.
    →
    Iconoclast comes from the Greek eikonoklastes, an imagebreaker, a person who smashes icons or images. Originally the word referred to a person who destroyed religious images, or who was opposed to the use or worship of religious images. In modern usage iconoclast refers to a person who attacks, denounces, or ridicules cherished ideas or beliefs, or to someone who advocates the overthrow or destruction of established customs or institutions.
    Synonyms of the noun iconoclast include radical, extremist, insurgent (in-SUR-jent), and firebrand. The corresponding adjective is iconoclastic, attacking or opposing established or popular beliefs, customs, or institutions.
  • Word 44: Enervate
    Word 44: Enervate [EN-ur-vayt]
    To weaken, drain of energy, deprive of force or vigor.
    →
    Synonyms of enervate include exhaust, deplete, devitalize, and debilitate. Antonyms include energize, invigorate, stimulate, revive, enliven, animate, vitalize, and fortify.
    Whenever I am asked to appear on a radio show to discuss language or speak to a group about vocabulary building, I like to point out that the simple act of reading is probably the best yet most underrated method of building word power. If you want to learn more words, then you should read more and study words in context; at the same time, however, when you come across a word you don’t know, or a word you think you know, it’s essential that you make the effort to look it up in a dictionary, because the context can often be misleading or ambiguous.
    To illustrate that point, I like to relate an anecdote about a woman—the mother of a teenager—who came to one of the author signings for my book Tooth and Nail, a vocabulary-building mystery novel designed to teach high school students the words they need to know for the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT).
    “I think your idea of teaching vocabulary in the context of a story is great,” the woman told me. “I can almost always figure out what a word means from context, and I hardly ever need to use a dictionary.”
    Whenever people assert that they can guess what a word means or that they rarely need to use a dictionary, I see a big red flag with the words “verbally disadvantaged” on it.
    I looked at the woman and said, “I always encourage people to check the dictionary definition of a word, even if it’s a word they think they know. It’s not always so easy to guess what a word means from context, because the context doesn’t always reveal the meaning. May I give you an example?”
    “Sure,” the woman said, confident of her ability to guess what words mean and unaware of my devilish plot to expose that practice as a fallacy.
    “All right,” I said. “I’ll give you a word in the context of a complete sentence, and you tell me what the word means. Here’s the sentence: ‘After her exciting night on the town, she felt enervated.’ Can you tell me what enervated means?”
    The woman frowned, realizing that she had volunteered to go wading in verbal quicksand. “Um, well, I guess if her night on the town was exciting, she must have felt stimulated, or keyed-up, or maybe energized. Is that what enervated means?”
    Coldhearted inquisitor and unflinching defender of the language that I am, I told her the truth. Because enervate sounds like energize, many people are tempted to think the words are synonymous when in fact they are antonyms. From my sample sentence, “After her exciting night on the town, she felt enervated,” if you don’t know precisely what enervated means there’s no way you can guess because the context is ambiguous— it’s vague and capable of being interpreted in more than one way.
    The point is, as I’ve said several times before in this program, if you want to build a large and exact vocabulary, don’t rely only on context or on your intuition or on someone else’s definition of a word. When you have even a shred of doubt about a word, look it up. It won’t cost you anything to do that, and no one’s going to peer over your shoulder and say, “Hey, what’s the matter, stupid? You don’t know what enervated means?” On the other hand, someone might say “Whoa, get a load of Verbal Advantage-head digging through the dictionary again.”
    If something like that should ever happen, you can throw the book at the person—literally—but why ruin a good dictionary? Instead, you can rest easy in the knowledge that the insolent dullard already is eating your intellectual dust—for you, as a verbally advantaged person, know that reading, consulting a dictionary, and studying this book will invigorate, not enervate, your mind.
    To enervate means to weaken, drain of energy, deprive of force or vigor. The corresponding adjective is enervated, lacking energy, drained of vitality or strength.
  • Word 45: Levity
    Word 45: Levity [LEV-i-tee]
    Lightness or gaiety of manner or expression; specifically, a lightness or lack of seriousness that is inappropriate or unbecoming.
    →
    Levity comes from the Latin levitas, lightness, which in turn comes from levis, light, the source also of the familiar words levitate and levitation. Levity occasionally is used literally to mean buoyancy, the state or quality of having little weight, and it is also sometimes used to mean inconstancy, fickleness, or flightiness. In current usage, however, levity most often denotes a figurative lack of gravity, a lightness or lack of seriousness unsuitable to the occasion.
    Synonyms of levity in this most common sense include silliness, foolishness, frivolity (fri-VAHL-i-tee), flippancy (FLIP-’n-see), tomfoolery, triviality, and jocularity (JAHK-yoo-LAR-i-tee). Antonyms include seriousness, earnestness, sobriety, solemnity (suhLEM-ni-tee), and gravity.
    When you are trying to fix a word in your mind and make it a permanent part of your vocabulary, it helps if you can associate it with a vivid image or experience. The experience I associate with the word levity occurred way back in high school, which in my case was a small coeducational boarding school in western Massachussetts.
    One night in the dormitory some friends and I were up late, several hours after “bedcheck,” our prepschool term for “lights-out time.” We were shooting the breeze, laughing and joking, being loud and boisterous, and generally behaving in a puerile manner, when suddenly the door flew open and one of the English teachers stepped into the room.
    Instantly, we all shut up. In the long moment of silence that followed, the teacher looked at each of us like Clint Eastwood trying to decide whether some deadbeat has enough brains to pack his lunch. Finally he spoke. “This is no time for levity,” he growled. “Go to your rooms and go to bed.”
    To this day, when I think of the word levity I think of what that teacher said, and with a chuckle I remember that levity means foolishness, frivolity, a lightness or lack of seriousness that is inappropriate or unbecoming.
  • Word 46: Equanimity
    Word 46: Equanimity [EE-kwuh-NIM-i-tee]
    Composure, calmness, evenness of mind and temper.
    →
    Equanimity comes through French from the Latin aequanimitas, calmness, which in turn comes from aequus, which means “even” or “level,” and animus, which means “mind” or “spirit.” By derivation equanimity means precisely what it does today: composure, calmness, evenness of mind and temper.
    Synonyms of equanimity include poise, self-possession, serenity, tranquility, placidity (pla-SID-i-tee), imperturbability (IM-pur-TUR-buh-BIL-i-tee), and sang-froid (saw(n)-FRWAH). As I imagine you can tell from its peculiar spelling and pronunciation, sang-froid comes from French. Although sang-froid means literally “cold blood,” it is used figuratively to mean coolness of mind.
    Equanimity and composure are close synonyms, but they differ slightly in their use. Composure implies self-control. We maintain our composure under trying circumstances. Equanimity suggests an inherent mental and emotional balance, and applies to a person who stays calm and collected under all circumstances.
  • Word 47: Stricture
    Word 47: Stricture [STRIK-chur]
    A criticism, critical comment, especially an unfavorable or hostile observation or remark.
    →
    Synonyms of stricture include reproof, censure (word 28 of Level 3), condemnation, disapprobation (DIS-ap-ruh-BAY-shin), castigation (KAS-ti-GAY-shin), objurgation (AHB-jur-GAY-shin, word 12 of Level 7), and animadversion (AN-i-mad-VUR-zhun). Antonyms include praise, compliment, commendation, acclamation (AK-luh-MAY-shin), and plaudit (PLAW-dit).
    Plaudit, applause, and applaud all come from the Latin plaudere, to clap the hands, express approval. A plaudit is an enthusiastic expression of approval or praise. It’s always pleasant to be on the receiving end of a plaudit, and it’s always unpleasant to be on the receiving end of a stricture, an unfavorable criticism or hostile remark.
    Stricture comes from the Latin strictus, the past participle of the verb stringere, to draw tight, bind, the source also of the English words strict and stringent. Stringent (STRIN-jint) means tight, constricted, or rigorous and severe. We often speak of stringent laws, stringent measures, stringent regulations, or a stringent economic policy.
    In medicine, stricture is used to mean a contraction or narrowing of a duct or passage in the body. Stricture is also sometimes used as a synonym of limitation or restriction, as “to place strictures on imported goods.” Most often, though, stricture is used to mean a sharply critical comment, especially one that passes judgment or points out a fault in an antagonistic way: “During the debate, he displayed admirable equanimity when responding to his opponent’s strictures.”
    Bear in mind that stricture is a noun, not a verb. In other words, you cannot stricture something, but if you have an unfavorable opinion of a person or a thing, you can express your strictures, sharp criticisms or hostile remarks.
  • Word 48: Opulent
    Word 48: Opulent [AHP-yuh-lint]
    Rich, wealthy, very well-to-do, having substantial means.
    →
    Antonyms of opulent include indigent, destitute, and impecunious, which are discussed under indigent, word 39 of Level 3.
    The adjectives opulent (AHP-yuh-lint), affluent (AF-loo-int— stress the first syllable), and prosperous all connote wealth and success. Prosperous often is used interchangeably with wealthy, but in precise usage prosperous means marked by continued success, thriving, flourishing. A prosperous business is a successful, thriving business, and because successful businesses are profitable it is also likely to be an affluent business. Affluent, which comes from the Latin fluere, to flow, suggests a constant flow or increase of wealth accompanied by free or lavish spending.
    Opulent comes through the Latin opulentus, rich, wealthy, and opis, power, might, ultimately from the name Ops (rhymes with tops). In ancient Roman mythology, Ops was the goddess of the harvest and the wife of Saturn, the god of agriculture who presided over the sowing of the fields. Because of this etymological connection to agricultural abundance, opulent is sometimes used to mean ample or plentiful, but in current usage opulent most often applies either to a person who possesses great wealth and property or to a luxurious or ostentatious display of great wealth. If your lifestyle is affluent, you are making and spending large sums of money. If your lifestyle is opulent, you already have plenty of moolah and you enjoy showing off what it can buy.
    The corresponding noun is opulence, great wealth or a display of great wealth. A couplet from the eighteenth-century English satirist Jonathan Swift nicely illustrates this word: “There in full opulence a banker dwelt/Who all the joys and pangs of riches felt.”
  • Word 49: Disparage
    Word 49: Disparage [di-SPAR-ij]
    To belittle, depreciate, discredit, lower in estimation or value, speak of or treat as inferior.
    →
    Familiar synonyms of disparage include abuse (uh-BYOOZ), ridicule, scorn, slander, defame, and censure (word 28 of Level 3). Challenging synonyms of disparage include denigrate (DEN-iGRAYT), malign (muh-LYN), vilify (VIL-uh-fy, word 32 of Level 9), traduce (truh-D(Y)OOS, word 42 of Level 9), and calumniate (kuhLUHM-nee-ayt).
    You’d never guess from looking at it, but the word disparage is related to the noun peer, an equal, a person of equal status. Peer comes from the Latin par, meaning “equal,” the direct source of the familiar English word par, which is perhaps most often heard in the phrase “on a par with,” meaning on an equal footing. The meanings of par and peer sit quietly in the middle of the word disparage, which comes from an Old French verb that meant to marry unequally, marry a person who was not a peer or on a par with your rank in society.
    To marry an inferior person, someone beneath one’s station, was the meaning of disparage when the word entered English in the fourteenth century. Later it came to mean to degrade, lower in dignity or position, as “The prince disparaged himself by helping the servants prepare the meal.”
    From those now-obsolete senses evolved the modern meaning of disparage, to belittle, depreciate, lower in estimation or value. When you disparage someone or something, you speak of it or treat it as inferior: “Some people claim astrology is a legitimate science; others disparage it as foolish superstition.”
    The corresponding adjective is disparaging, as a disparaging remark or disparaging words. The corresponding noun is disparagement, as “The city council’s plan for economic recovery received only disparagement in the press.”
  • Word 50: Discursive
    Word 50: Discursive [dis-KUR-siv]
    Rambling, roving, covering a wide range of topics, wandering from one subject to another.
    →
    Don’t be confused by the presence of the word cursive in discursive. Discursive has nothing to do either with cursing or with cursive script, in which the letters are joined or flow together. Discursive comes from the Latin discursus, running about, the past participle of the verb discurrere, to run to and fro or in different directions. In modern usage, discursive applies to speech or writing that runs to and fro or in many different directions.
    Discursive, desultory (DES-ul-TOR-ee, rhymes with wrestle story), and digressive (di-GRES-iv or dy-) are close in meaning.
    Digressive means straying from the point, wandering away from the topic under consideration. Digressive remarks about what you discussed in your last therapy session don’t go over well in a job interview.
    Desultory means passing or leaping from one topic to another in an aimless, disconnected way. Conversation at a lively party is often desultory, and many of our dreams have a desultory quality.
    Discursive means rambling or roving over a wide range of topics without developing a unified theme or making a central point: “After dinner and a few drinks, Ben’s father was prone to indulge in long, discursive monologues that always began with complaints about business and politics, then moved on to observations about sports, and eventually concluded—after several more drinks— with a detailed assessment of the physical attributes of various female celebrities.”
Answer Key
Favorite Books
Verbal Advantage - Level 01

Verbal Advantage: Ten Easy Steps to a Powerful Vocabulary. A 10-step vocabulary program teaches 500 key words and 3,000 synonyms. Verbal Advantage provides a complete learning experience, with clear explanations of meanings, word histories, usages, pronunciation, and more. Far more than a cram session for a standardized test, the book is designed as a lifetime vocabulary builder, teaching a vocabulary shared by only the top percentage of Americans, with a proven method that helps the knowledge last.

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Verbal Advantage - Level 02

Verbal Advantage: Ten Easy Steps to a Powerful Vocabulary. A 10-step vocabulary program teaches 500 key words and 3,000 synonyms. Verbal Advantage provides a complete learning experience, with clear explanations of meanings, word histories, usages, pronunciation, and more. Far more than a cram session for a standardized test, the book is designed as a lifetime vocabulary builder, teaching a vocabulary shared by only the top percentage of Americans, with a proven method that helps the knowledge last.

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Verbal Advantage - Level 03

Verbal Advantage: Ten Easy Steps to a Powerful Vocabulary. A 10-step vocabulary program teaches 500 key words and 3,000 synonyms. Verbal Advantage provides a complete learning experience, with clear explanations of meanings, word histories, usages, pronunciation, and more. Far more than a cram session for a standardized test, the book is designed as a lifetime vocabulary builder, teaching a vocabulary shared by only the top percentage of Americans, with a proven method that helps the knowledge last.

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Verbal Advantage - Level 04

Verbal Advantage: Ten Easy Steps to a Powerful Vocabulary. A 10-step vocabulary program teaches 500 key words and 3,000 synonyms. Verbal Advantage provides a complete learning experience, with clear explanations of meanings, word histories, usages, pronunciation, and more. Far more than a cram session for a standardized test, the book is designed as a lifetime vocabulary builder, teaching a vocabulary shared by only the top percentage of Americans, with a proven method that helps the knowledge last.

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Verbal Advantage - Level 05

Verbal Advantage: Ten Easy Steps to a Powerful Vocabulary. A 10-step vocabulary program teaches 500 key words and 3,000 synonyms. Verbal Advantage provides a complete learning experience, with clear explanations of meanings, word histories, usages, pronunciation, and more. Far more than a cram session for a standardized test, the book is designed as a lifetime vocabulary builder, teaching a vocabulary shared by only the top percentage of Americans, with a proven method that helps the knowledge last.

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Verbal Advantage - Level 07

Verbal Advantage: Ten Easy Steps to a Powerful Vocabulary. A 10-step vocabulary program teaches 500 key words and 3,000 synonyms. Verbal Advantage provides a complete learning experience, with clear explanations of meanings, word histories, usages, pronunciation, and more. Far more than a cram session for a standardized test, the book is designed as a lifetime vocabulary builder, teaching a vocabulary shared by only the top percentage of Americans, with a proven method that helps the knowledge last.

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Verbal Advantage - Level 08

Verbal Advantage: Ten Easy Steps to a Powerful Vocabulary. A 10-step vocabulary program teaches 500 key words and 3,000 synonyms. Verbal Advantage provides a complete learning experience, with clear explanations of meanings, word histories, usages, pronunciation, and more. Far more than a cram session for a standardized test, the book is designed as a lifetime vocabulary builder, teaching a vocabulary shared by only the top percentage of Americans, with a proven method that helps the knowledge last.

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Verbal Advantage - Level 09

Verbal Advantage: Ten Easy Steps to a Powerful Vocabulary. A 10-step vocabulary program teaches 500 key words and 3,000 synonyms. Verbal Advantage provides a complete learning experience, with clear explanations of meanings, word histories, usages, pronunciation, and more. Far more than a cram session for a standardized test, the book is designed as a lifetime vocabulary builder, teaching a vocabulary shared by only the top percentage of Americans, with a proven method that helps the knowledge last.

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Verbal Advantage - Level 10

Verbal Advantage: Ten Easy Steps to a Powerful Vocabulary. A 10-step vocabulary program teaches 500 key words and 3,000 synonyms. Verbal Advantage provides a complete learning experience, with clear explanations of meanings, word histories, usages, pronunciation, and more. Far more than a cram session for a standardized test, the book is designed as a lifetime vocabulary builder, teaching a vocabulary shared by only the top percentage of Americans, with a proven method that helps the knowledge last.

Read more