The editors of the American Heritage® dictionaries have compiled a list of 100 words they recommend knowing to sound like you are "in the know."
Maybe not all of them, but we certainly use “ennui” around here pretty often. “Heresy” and its relatives are also popular. As in, “‘I really liked the latest Twilight movie.’ ‘Heresy!’”
Don’t you all think that if “euphamism” is on the list, dysphamism should be too? Just a thought.
uniq thought. just curious to know wherether it came to your mind easily or you wanted to do something uniq.. out of the box, that’s why you thought hard n created this one? wnat to know the psycology behind it.
At least what I did with the 100 Words HS grads should know — I go through the list one word per week and write about something in my life that pertains to the word (on my blog) and then include the dictionary bit. I think with this list I will write a short story for each word and just slip it in appropriately.
I got 96% right off of the bat, but although I know those words well enough to use them in conversation, I probably only use 50% in my speaking vocabulary. Maybe because I’ve spent the last year speaking to an infant.
As with the last list, I’m not sure what knowing a word really means. Is it being able to give a definition? Feel confident enough to use it in a sentence? Be a word you use all the time? Be able to give the OED information?
For me, I tend to check a word off after I feel like I understand all its nuances and can comfortably give its definition…
I love words and the idea of this list, not to mention the words on it, just make me laugh.
Some of the words are actually phrases which seems a bit strange but…take it for what it is.
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