Learn to build your vocabulary words with our Word To The Wise english vocabulary learning resources. Become a more persuasive writer and speaker … build your self-confidence and intellect … increase your attractiveness to others … just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR’s new vocabulary resource – Words to the Wise
Someone who’s bumptious (BUMP-shus) is pushy; offensively self-assertive. The word was possibly derived from a combination of “bump” and “presumptious.”
Example (as used by John Wood today): “Most successful people are very friendly and will be happy to talk to you. (Provided you aren’t overbearing or bumptious.)”
Aplomb (uh-PLOM) — from a French phrase meaning “balanced” — is imperturbable self-assurance. (It literally means “on the plumb line.”)
Example (as used by Peter Fogel today): “But though my friend has proven that you don’t need high self-esteem to be an effective speaker (or a successful entrepreneur) — he’s also shown that you need to be able to present your material with aplomb and conviction.”
To be cognizant (KOG-nuh-zunt) — from the Latin for “to learn” — is to be fully aware.
Example (as used by Rich Schefren today): “Your job right now is to become cognizant of what you need to know to achieve your main goal.”
A Pergola (PUR-guh-luh) — from the Italian for “arbor” — is an open lattice structure, usually covered with roses or other climbing plants, that forms a decorative, shaded passageway.
Example (as used by Michael Masterson today): “[This] savvy marketer spent the money to build an 8-foot stucco wall around the property… And he created a very elaborate entrance with pillars, pergolas, and arches.”
I learned a lovely word today: MacGuffin. A MacGuffin is an irrelevant interest grabber — a story whose purpose is to draw attention to itself and away from something else.
It comes from a plot device invented by Alfred Hitchcock. He borrowed it from a shaggy-dog story that goes something like this:
A couple, riding in an English train, notice a tall man carrying a large, odd-looking package. They ask him what it contains. Instead of telling them to mind their own business, he says, “A MacGuffin.” (more…)
In my reading, I frequently encounter misused and confused words. Here are five recent sightings, most from major newspapers:
The writer means faint praise — not very much. A feint is a deceptive or diversionary action. (more…)
Angst (ENGK-stuh) — from the German — is a feeling of dread or anxiety.
Example (as used by Dr. Srikumar Rao today): “If happiness is our nature, why do we not experience it more often? Why are our lives filled with angst and sorrow?”
To asseverate (uh-SEV-uh-rate) — from the Latin for “spoken in earnest” — is to emphatically declare. (more…)
A degenerate (dih-JEN-uh-rit) — from the Latin for “to decline” — is a person who has lost the moral and ethical qualities considered to be normal or desirable. (more…)
A contentious issue among language enthusiasts is the use of the split infinitive. Before reviewing the arguments of the two sides, let’s look at a few examples: (more…)
Weltanschauung (VELT-ahn-shou-oong) — German for “world” + “perception” — is an individual’s personal philosophy, the ideas and beliefs through which he sees and interprets the world. (more…)
Something that’s acrimonious (ak-ruh-MOH-nee-us) — from the Latin for “sharp” or “sour” — is resentful, caustic, or bitter. (more…)
“Eighty-six” is diner slang for taking an item off the menu or canceling an order. It’s also used by bars and restaurants when they refuse to serve an unruly or drunk customer. By extension, it can mean rejecting, discarding, or getting rid of anything or anyone (especially gangster style). (more…)
Laissez-faire (lay-zay-FARE) — French for “allow to do” — is the economic policy of allowing markets to be free of intervention by the government. (more…)
Parsimonious (par-suh-MOH-nee-us) is another way of saying miserly or excessively frugal.
Example (as used by Michael Masterson today): “Stingy rich people are parsimonious because they enjoy being so. Pinching pennies isn’t a financial planning strategy for them, it’s a twisted hobby.” (more…)
A predilection (pred-l-EK-shun) — from the Latin for “to choose or love before others” — is a preconceived preference — a tendency to think favorably of something in particular. (more…)
Consternation (kon-ster-NAY-shun) — from the Latin for “to throw into confusion” — is the state of being utterly bewildered.
Example (as used by Bob Cox today): “Imagine my consternation (and embarrassment) when the new CEO declined to come downstairs to the conference room to meet with us.”
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A lexicon (LEK-sih-kon) — from the Greek for “speech” or “word” — is the vocabulary used by a particular language, profession, social class, or individual.
Example (as used by Rich Schefren today): “There is something about the [Starbucks] lexicon that makes us feel like we are members of a club. (With club locations seemingly on every street corner.)”
An ideologue (AYE-dee-uh-lawg) — from the French — is a zealous supporter of a particular system of beliefs and values.
Example (as used by Dr. Mardy Grothe and quoted by Michael Masterson today): “In Man and Superman (which is [George Bernard] Shaw’s re-telling of the Don Juan story) the hero of the play is John Tanner, a witty ideologue who in Shaw’s fictional world is the author of ‘The Revolutionist’s Handbook.’”
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Temerarious(tem-uh-RARE-ee-us) — from the Latin for “heedless” — means reckless or rash.
Example (as used by Michael Masterson today): “The truth is that the most successful entrepreneurs started small and took modest, calculated risks. They were not temerarious and brave, as the business magazines would have you believe.”
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Horse Sense is a folksy way of saying common sense. The expression was inspired by the cow ponies of the Old West. They were trained to herd cattle, and were so intelligent that they could do the work with very little direction from their riders.
Example (as used by John Wood today): “Now asking something like ‘Is your oil at the proper level today, sir?’ would seem to be just good horse sense. A line so simple you’d think most gas station owners would naturally come up with it — but few did.”
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An inherent (in-HERE-unt) quality, attribute, or characteristic is one that is permanent — inseparably attached or connected. The word is derived from the Latin for “to stick.”
Example (as used by Bob Bly today): “Self-publishing is not inherently better than traditional publishing. Nor is the reverse true.”
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Limelight was an early type of lighting used to illuminate a stage. The light was created by using a flame to heat a cylinder of lime to incandescence, and then intensifying the light with a lens. These days, we use the word metaphorically to mean the center of attention.
Example (as used by Robert Ringer today): “Where would Oliver North and Mark Fuhrman be today had they not been thrust into the limelight through accidents of history?”
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A whippersnapper (WIP-er-snap-per) — a colloquialism that can be traced back to 17th century England — is someone who is young, impertinent, and presumptuous, with an excess of ambition.
Example (as used by Michael Masterson today): “Those young whippersnappers don’t know the fundamentals. And what they don’t know, they can’t teach.”
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Something that’s counterintuitive (kown-ter-in-TOO-ih-tiv) is contrary to what intuition or common sense would lead you to believe.
Example (as used by Alex Green today): “Few scientific truths are self-evident. Many are counterintuitive. It is by no means obvious, for example, that empty space has structure or that everything is made of the same basic elements.”
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An autoresponder is a program that automatically generates a reply to incoming e-mails. Some people use autoresponders to deliver “out of office” messages when they are away from their computers for any length of time. Internet marketers use them to follow up with customers who’ve made a purchase online and prospects who have signed up to receive information from them.
Example (as used by Jay White today): “If you’re an Internet marketer and you’re not taking advantage of autoresponders to accelerate your profits, listen up. (And if you are, listen up anyway. Because I have a few tricks up my sleeve for you.)
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