Have you ever completed the Word Power feature in Reader’s Digest? I’m not much interested in such games – I don’t even do crosswords! – but I am committed to increasing my own vocabulary. Why? Because if I know more words, I’ll be able to read more fluently. But even more important, I’ll be able to write better. Knowing lots of words allows me – and you — to be more precise in writing. In my word-of-the-week feature I share a word with you that I’ve discovered in my own reading.
Reading time: Less than 1 minute Increase your vocabulary and you’ll make your writing much more precise. That’s why I provide a word of the week. Today’s word: etiolated…. I encounter a word, every once in a while, that I’m sure I must know. It sounds familiar and yet, when I …
What does ‘etiolated’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute Increase your vocabulary and you’ll make your writing much more precise. That’s why I provide a word of the week. Today’s word: rubicund…. When I’m reading, I’m always looking for new or interesting words. Sometimes, I’m surprised to find thoughtful and sophisticated books almost …
What’s the meaning of ‘rubicund’? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute Increase your vocabulary and you’ll make your writing much more precise. That’s why I provide a word of the week. Today’s word: maelstrom…. Occasionally, I like to investigate words with which I am quite familiar, in terms of their meaning, but totally clueless as …
What is the origin of the word ‘maelstrom’ Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute Increase your vocabulary and you’ll make your writing much more precise. That’s why I provide a word of the week. Today’s word: calcareous… I’ve been captivated by the very fine writing of Stefan Hertmans. The Belgian writer and head of a study centre at …
What does the word ‘calcareous’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute Increase your vocabulary and you’ll make your writing much more precise. That’s why I provide a word of the week. Today’s word: ensorcelled…. I read the New York Times on my cellphone each day and get a great deal of pleasure out of the …
What does ‘ensorcelled’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute Increase your vocabulary and you’ll make your writing much more precise. That’s why I provide a word of the week. Today’s word: menhir… Most of us have vocabularies that are highly specific. They often reveal the places in which we live. Circular intersections were …
Reading time: Less than 1 minute Increase your vocabulary and you’ll make your writing much more precise. That’s why I provide a word of the week. Today’s word: aureate… Reading the book Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar has been a vocabulary-building exercise for me. Last week I learned the word …
What does ‘aureate’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute Increase your vocabulary and you’ll make your writing much more precise. That’s why I provide a word of the week. Today’s word: afflatus… I’ve been reading a lot about Ayad Akhtar lately. An American-born playwright, novelist, and screenwriter of Pakistani heritage who received the …
What does ‘afflatus’ mean? Read More »
Reading time: Less than 1 minute Increase your vocabulary and you’ll make your writing much more precise. That’s why I provide a word of the week. Today’s word: brachiated…. The word brachiated is an interesting one. I recently encountered it in Elizabeth McCracken’s amusing novel, Bowlaway. Here is how she …
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Reading time: Less than 1 minute Increase your vocabulary and you’ll make your writing much more precise. That’s why I provide a word of the week. Today’s word: perfidious…. I confess there are words I’ve heard multiple times and I still don’t know exactly what they mean. Back in the …
What does the word ‘perfidious’ mean? Read More »
