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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Introduction
Key to Pronunciation
List of Keywords
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6
Level 7
Level 8
Level 9
Level 10
Notes
Word Workout Selected Bibliography
Also by Charles Harrington Elster
About the Author
Copyright
INTRODUCTION
IN TODAY’S FAST-PACED WORLD ,
a large and precise vocabulary is a tremendous asset. It is the basis of
knowledge and the foundation of eloquence. If you aspire to speak and write well—and think well—
you owe it to yourself to build your knowledge of words.
The notion of building your vocabulary may call to mind the dull drills of grade school. But
learning new words, and learning more about words, doesn’t have to be tedious. Unlike with physical
exercise, you can gain without pain. Unlike with dieting, the rewards are permanent. Best of all, you
can start building your vocabulary at any age and, with a minimum of effort, keep it growing for the
rest of your life.
In fact, like physical exercise, which can enhance your quality of life no matter what your age,
vocabulary building can help keep your brain and memory vital—even into your nineties.1 “Older
adults can remember bigger vocabularies than younger people,” says Christie Chung, associate
professor of psychology at Mills College, in Oakland, California, and director of the Mills Cognition
Laboratory. “Our semantic memory increases as we grow older.”
Building a versatile vocabulary is a form of exercise—one essential to your professional, social,
and even mental health. If you believe in the benefits of exercise for your body, why not do the same
for your mind? Like your muscles, your brain needs regular stretching. And a workout with words is
nowhere near as taxing as twenty minutes on a StairMaster. In fact, flexing your word muscles can be
downright rejuvenating. (To rejuvenate, from re-, again, and the Latin juvĕnis, young, means to make
young again.)
Of course, words won’t just come to you; you must seek them out. And that’s one reason I’ve
written Word Workout: to make it easier for you to find, learn, and use new words. Consider me your
personal trainer in all things verbal, and consider this book your personalized course in the ways and
wonders of words.
Word Workout is not a set of flashcards masquerading as a book. Nor is it a monotonous march
through a swamp of words. It doesn’t rely on gimmicks or warmed-over pop psychology. It doesn’t
make you learn by rote or by hit-and-run memorization. And it doesn’t take shortcuts, meaning that
there aren’t any superficial lessons with only a definition and a sample sentence. Word Workout is the
real McCoy: a comprehensive, accessible vocabulary-building program, written by a nationally
recognized expert on the English language, that will teach you hundreds of relevant, vigorous words
used by our most eloquent writers and speakers.
If you’ve already completed my first vocabulary-building program for adults, Verbal Advantage,
you know this well. You know that research has shown that we learn words in order of their difficulty,
from easier words to harder ones, and that the best way to build your word power is to study words in
ascending order of difficulty. That’s why Word Workout, like Verbal Advantage, is a graduated
program that begins with words known by most college graduates and ends with words known by only
the most educated, intelligent, and well-read adults. And, even more than Verbal Advantage, Word
Workout is chock-full of information about synonyms, antonyms, and word origins. You’ll also get
plenty of good advice on usage and pronunciation, and there are review tests all along the way to help
reinforce what you’ve learned.
If you haven’t yet read Verbal Advantage, don’t worry. Word Workout is modeled on Verbal
Advantage, but it’s not a sequel or a prequel. It’s a companion volume that teaches an entirely new set
of words. In short, you’ll learn a lot if you read this book, and a whole lot more if you read both.
Words are the key to knowledge, and knowledge is the key to success. Every word you add to your
vocabulary broadens your understanding of the world, improves your comprehension of what you hear
and read, and sharpens your ability to express your ideas. That is the premise, and the promise, of
Word Workout— to help you become a more knowledgeable and confident user of the English
language in the most effective and entertaining way possible.
So grab your verbal gym suit and a bottle of Evian (did you know that’s naive spelled backward?)
and let me pump you up with a professional word workout!
How Best to Use This Book
Like Verbal Advantage, Word Workout is arranged in ten increasingly challenging levels consisting of
fifty keywords each, and each level is divided into five sets of ten keyword discussions. After each of
these sets there is a review test. If you get eight answers or more right on the review test you may
proceed to the next set of ten keyword discussions. But if you score fewer than eight correct you
should review that set of keywords, or at least the ones you got wrong, before continuing with the
program.
When it comes to building your vocabulary there is no substitute for discipline. Try to read Word
Workout for a set amount of time each day, preferably thirty minutes. You will also benefit if you go
over the material a second and even a third time before taking each review quiz and before beginning
each new level.
Also, don’t rush. You will make better progress if you take your time than if you try to ingest
everything in a few big bites. And please resist the temptation to jump ahead. It’s all right to follow
my cross-references, but you will gain the most from Word Workout if you proceed through the
lessons in order without skipping around.
KEY TO PRONUNCIATION
a—at
a—final, woman
ah—spa
ahr—car
air—fair
ay—hay
aw—saw
ch—chip
e—let
e—item, novel
ee—see
eer—deer
i—sit
i—charity, April, nation
kh—as in German ach, Scottish loch (a guttural sound)
’l—apple, cattle
’m—spasm
’n—hidden
(n)—as in French bon, vin, blanc (a nasalized sound)
ng—sing
o—carrot, summon
oh—go
oo—soon
or—for
oor—poor
ow—cow
oy—toy
sh—she
th—thin
th—this
u—focus, column
uh—up, but
ur—turn
uu—pull, took
y or eye—by, I
zh—measure
(y)—indicates that some speakers employ the y sound of you and others do not: for example, N(Y)OO, new
Syllables printed in capitals are stressed. In words with primary and secondary stress, the syllable with
primary stress is printed in boldface capitals and the syllable with secondary stress is printed in roman
capitals: for example, pruh-NUHN-see-AY-shin (pronunciation).
LIST OF KEYWORDS
LEVEL 1
1. DEPRAVITY
2. PRESUMPTUOUS
3. GRANDIOSE
4. DISSEMINATE
5. ECLECTIC
6. SERVILE
7. VORACIOUS
8. CONVOLUTED
9. RANT
10. STRATAGEM
11. EMACIATED
12. MISGIVING
13. ADULATION
14. DEVOTEE
15. VIVACIOUS
16. ANACHRONISTIC
17. GARISH
18. QUALM
19. CONSUMMATE
20. IMPERTINENT
21. RAMIFICATION
22. ELUCIDATE
23. ADAGE
24. BESOTTED
25. RUEFUL
26. SPASMODIC
27. DETRITUS
28. AWRY
29. ENCUMBER
30. BLEMISH
31. IMPEDIMENT
32. MODICUM
33. DOSSIER
34. ALLITERATION
35. RECTITUDE
36. VEXATIOUS
37. EPITHET
38. TRAVESTY
39. WANE
40. HUBRIS
41. VICARIOUS
42. STIPULATE
43. DESPOTIC
44. UNSAVORY
45. INTIMATE
46. PREDISPOSE
47. APACE
48. VERDANT
49. CAJOLE
50. BANE
LEVEL 2
1. DIATRIBE
2. EVOCATION
3. IMBUE
4. REPUGNANT
5. INSOLENT
6. IMPUNITY
7. STAGNATE
8. EMBLEMATIC
9. PLAINTIVE
10. RAPACIOUS
11. PEON
12. INTUIT
13. OPINE
14. LANGUISH
15. VESTIGIAL
16. SOMNOLENT
17. SUPPLANT
18. EUPHEMISM
19. VISCERAL
20. DISPASSIONATE
21. INDEFATIGABLE
22. ARCHETYPE
23. VERACITY
24. MINION
25. INVETERATE
26. EXTOL
27. GAFFE
28. INDOCTRINATE
29. NUANCE
30. PLACATE
31. DEIFY
32. RECAPITULATE
33. LUMINARY
34. CONFOUND
35. SOJOURN
36. ASKEW
37. HISTRIONIC
38. COALESCE
39. LISTLESS
40. ABATE
41. PONDEROUS
42. CONSECRATE
43. FLORID
44. INCORRIGIBLE
45. ASSAIL
46. ELIXIR
47. IMPRESARIO
48. SENTIENT
49. LACKLUSTER
50. BENEFICENT
LEVEL 3
1. TRIBULATION
2. DERIDE
3. NEFARIOUS
4. IDEOLOGUE
5. DALLIANCE
6. FATUOUS
7. MEANDER
8. CULPABLE
9. SEDATE
10. IMPROPRIETY
11. MEGALOMANIA
12. VOCIFEROUS
13. CONTRIVE
14. NONPLUS
15. IMPERIOUS
16. PRIVATION
17. SUFFUSE
18. DISCONSOLATE
19. CONUNDRUM
20. DOTAGE
21. VACUOUS
22. INTEMPERATE
23. STYMIE
24. AMBROSIA
25. VIVIFY
26. PURLOIN
27. BULWARK
28. MAGISTERIAL
29. TALISMAN
30. STUPEFY
31. RANCOROUS
32. ENNUI
33. CENSORIOUS
34. MARGINALIZE
35. REPROVE
36. RELEGATE
37. BEHEMOTH
38. INCENDIARY
39. STALWART
40. ENMITY
41. MALIGN
42. LIBATION
43. GESTICULATE
44. CIRCUMLOCUTION
45. BESMIRCH
46. IMMUTABLE
47. DECLAIM
48. THRALL
49. SATE
50. GADFLY
LEVEL 4
1. HACKNEYED
2. INIQUITY
3. WHIMSICAL
4. ENSCONCE
5. PLUTOCRAT
6. BEATIFIC
7. UNFETTERED
8. ESTRANGE
9. SIBILANT
10. PUNDIT
11. REDOLENT
12. DEMAGOGUE
13. MAUDLIN
14. BEGRUDGE
15. AVOWAL
16. PROSELYTIZE
17. GUILELESS
18. UNCONSCIONABLE
19. CONFLATE
20. ANIMUS
21. SWATH
22. CONFLAGRATION
23. RAREFIED
24. MENDICANT
25. RECOMPENSE
26. INUNDATE
27. AGGRANDIZE
28. OUTRÉ
29. QUINTESSENTIAL
30. PANDER
31. SACROSANCT
32. INDOMITABLE
33. METTLE
34. ELLIPSIS
35. PETULANT
36. DEIGN
37. BERATE
38. HARBINGER
39. CORPULENT
40. AGGRIEVED
41. POLYGLOT
42. COMPORT
43. REVILE
44. PERSPICACIOUS
45. TRIUMVIRATE
46. AUGURY
47. PALLID
48. INDOLENT
49. UTILITARIAN
50. SALACIOUS
LEVEL 5
1. BEREFT
2. NEMESIS
3. EQUIVOCATE
4. PHILISTINE
5. BACCHANALIAN
6. SCHISM
7. LINGUA FRANCA
8. WINSOME
9. PATRICIAN
10. REDACT
11. PRÉCIS
12. TAXONOMY
13. SUBLIMINAL
14. MISANTHROPY
15. IMPRIMATUR
16. CANARD
17. PERFIDIOUS
18. EPIPHANY
19. PRATTLE
20. PLEBEIAN
21. GULL
22. COMPENDIOUS
23. RHAPSODIZE
24. OXYMORON
25. PROVENANCE
26. LAISSEZ-FAIRE
27. PRETERNATURAL
28. DISABUSE
29. COURTESAN
30. DEBAUCH
31. BRAGGADOCIO
32. FLAGELLATE
33. INSURGENT
34. PANACHE
35. OMNIBUS
36. MILITATE
37. NIHILISTIC
38. TORPID
39. SEMINAL
40. CRAVEN
41. MALADROIT
42. GORMANDIZE
43. POLEMICAL
44. EPOCHAL
45. COGNOSCENTI
46. IMMOLATE
47. HIDEBOUND
48. MOLDER
49. FRATRICIDE
50. SPLENETIC
LEVEL 6
1. INELUCTABLE
2. MORIBUND
3. BELLWETHER
4. PERMUTATION
5. INTERLOPE
6. HECTOR
7. DISSOLUTE
8. LINEAMENTS
9. CHURLISH
10. PREPOSSESSING
11. ELEGIAC
12. UKASE
13. ASPERITY
14. DELECTATION
15. BOOTLESS
16. EXPLICATE
17. PEJORATIVE
18. LABYRINTHINE
19. LEONINE
20. DOCTRINAIRE
21. PRESCIENCE
22. LOCUTION
23. OLFACTORY
24. LOGOPHILE
25. PERTURB
26. DISSIMULATE
27. BAUBLE
28. CONTRARIAN
29. LUMMOX
30. FECUND
31. HOI POLLOI
32. FELICITOUS
33. PAEAN
34. SERENDIPITY
35. EPISTOLARY
36. GUSTATORY
37. COSSET
38. RIPOSTE
39. PATOIS
40. ANIMADVERSION
41. EXEGESIS
42. DOYENNE
43. ACIDULOUS
44. GELD
45. BATHOS
46. OVERWEENING
47. FEBRILE
48. BENIGHTED
49. TURPITUDE
50. IMPRECATION
LEVEL 7
1. SIMPER
2. DENUDE
3. SUI GENERIS
4. JEREMIAD
5. SOBRIQUET
6. REGNANT
7. HAUTEUR
8. PATERFAMILIAS
9. APOGEE
10. MIEN
11. DYSPEPTIC
12. ANAPHORA
13. PHILANDER
14. MISSIVE
15. PENULTIMATE
16. ZEITGEIST
17. SENTENTIOUS
18. INTERDICT
19. MALAISE
20. PROGENY
21. BELIE
22. FACTOTUM
23. JINGOISM
24. GAINSAY
25. NEOLOGY
26. EXCRESCENCE
27. CORBEL
28. SEDULOUS
29. MAUNDER
30. SALTATION
31. ANODYNE
32. AUTODIDACTIC
33. JOCUND
34. SIMULACRUM
35. LAMBENT
36. SUPERVENE
37. VAINGLORIOUS
38. PETRIFACTION
39. FECULENT
40. SOLOMONIC
41. LEITMOTIF
42. SCARAMOUCH
43. EFFLORESCE
44. SKEIN
45. INTERSTICE
46. COMMENTARIAT
47. PEREGRINATION
48. FILIGREE
49. GIMCRACK
50. IMMITIGABLE
LEVEL 8
1. PANOPLY
2. RECHERCHÉ
3. VERTIGINOUS
4. KISMET
5. TEMPORIZE
6. PLEONASM
7. VERISIMILITUDE
8. CABAL
9. POSTPRANDIAL
10. ONOMATOPOEIA
11. DUDGEON
12. HEGEMONY
13. PREMONITORY
14. RETRONYM
15. RECUSE
16. PENURY
17. ROUÉ
18. LUDDITE
19. SCHADENFREUDE
20. COSTIVE
21. GALLIMAUFRY
22. ANALECTS
23. PARTURITION
24. ATRABILIOUS
25. TRANSMOGRIFY
26. SCREED
27. MATUTINAL
28. CRAPULENT
29. IPSO FACTO
30. DEBOUCH
31. IMMURE
32. CORRIGENDUM
33. LATITUDINARIAN
34. STENTORIAN
35. ABECEDARIAN
36. JUVENILIA
37. HIDALGO
38. ELEEMOSYNARY
39. PLANGENT
40. LAGNIAPPE
41. ACOLYTE
42. CHATOYANT
43. DOPPELGÄNGER
44. SUPERNUMERARY
45. REBARBATIVE
46. LOUCHE
47. INTERREGNUM
48. ALEMBIC
49. OLEAGINOUS
50. WASTREL
LEVEL 9
1. SANGFROID
2. DESUETUDE
3. SHIBBOLETH
4. CRI DE COEUR
5. INCUNABULA
6. CHEF-D’OEUVRE
7. IAMB
8. FRISSON
9. PRELAPSARIAN
10. MÉTIER
11. ABLUTION
12. APOSTASY
13. SUMPTUARY
14. TATTERDEMALION
15. ABJURE
16. NOBLESSE OBLIGE
17. PRIMOGENITURE
18. XERIC
19. UXORIOUS
20. OPPUGN
21. AGNOSIA
22. CASUISTRY
23. PARAPRAXIS
24. POLYMATH
25. ENCOMIUM
26. CHARRETTE
27. DEBRIDE
28. LAPIDARY
29. OVIPAROUS
30. MARMOREAL
31. NUGATORY
32. PRESBYCUSIS
33. CICERONE
34. PANSOPHIC
35. RUBICUND
36. PICARESQUE
37. ENDOGENOUS
38. PERORATE
39. ONYCHOPHAGY
40. DÉJÀ LU
41. VERBIGERATE
42. TENEBROUS
43. AGNATE
44. ULULATE
45. ZUCCHETTO
46. PSEUDANDRY
47. CAESURA
48. PHILODOX
49. VALETUDINARIAN
50. APOTHEOSIS
LEVEL 10
1. CHIAROSCURO
2. CONTEMN
3. APOLOGIA
4. GORGONIZE
5. SCHOLIA
6. CATHECT
7. SORTILEGE
8. TERPSICHOREAN
9. ESPRIT DE L’ESCALIER
10. POPINJAY
11. CATACHRESIS
12. ETIOLOGY
13. DEMIMONDE
14. NUMINOUS
15. LEXIPHANIC
16. BRACHIATE
17. QUIDNUNC
18. CATECHUMEN
19. SYBARITE
20. QUISLING
21. CATHOLICON
22. DISCALCED
23. INCONDITE
24. AFFLATUS
25. FLANEUR
26. QUOMODOCUNQUIZE
27. PASQUINADE
28. XANTHIPPE
29. POCOCURANTE
30. HOMUNCULUS
31. MORGANATIC
32. PARALEIPSIS
33. MUMPSIMUS
34. BIBLIOPHAGIC
35. CORYBANTIC
36. AUBADE
37. LYCANTHROPY
38. NULLIPARA
39. WELTSCHMERZ
40. NOETIC
41. QUIDDITY
42. RESISTENTIALISM
43. NULLIBIQUITOUS
44. FLOCCULENT
45. BOUSTROPHEDON
46. CLINQUANT
47. CASTELLATED
48. ULTRACREPIDARIAN
49. THERSITICAL
50. PERENDINATE
LEVEL 1
Word 1: DEPRAVITY (di-PRAV-i-tee)
Wickedness, moral perversion, corrupt or evil character or behavior.
Synonyms of depravity include deviancy, degeneracy, baseness, vileness, iniquity (word 2 of Level 4),
debauchery (di-BAWCH-uh-ree, see debauch, word 30 of Level 5), and turpitude (word 49 of Level
6). Antonyms include virtue, integrity, uprightness, rectitude (word 35 of Level 1), scrupulousness,
impeccability, and probity.
Depravity began as the shorter word pravity, which came to English in the 16th century through
Middle French pravité from the Latin prāvitās, crookedness, irregularity, deformity. The prefix de-,
which has several meanings, was added by the mid-17th century and in this instance means
completely, thoroughly, to the bottom or core, as in denude (di-N[Y]OOD), to strip completely, make
bare; despoil (di-SPOYL), to take all the spoils, and thus to rob, plunder, pillage; and deliquesce
(DEL-i-KWES), to melt away completely, dissolve.
In modern usage depravity always applies to morals and, because of that intensifying prefix de-,
suggests thorough corruption or wickedness: the sexual predator’s depravity. The adjective is
depraved, corrupt, wicked, perverted, as depraved fantasies, a depraved lifestyle, a depraved appetite
for drugs.
Word 2: PRESUMPTUOUS (pri-ZUHMP-choo-us)
Overly forward, taking undue liberties, acting or speaking too boldly, venturing beyond the limits of proper behavior or good sense.
Synonyms of presumptuous include arrogant, impertinent (word 20 of Level 1), impudent, insolent
(word 5 of Level 2), shameless, overweening (word 46 of Level 6), and brazen.
One of the meanings of the verb to presume is to take undue liberties, or, to take upon oneself
without permission or authority. For example, you can presume to know what’s good for someone
else, presume you can do something better than someone else, or presume to speak when you ought to
be silent.
From this sense of presume comes the adjective presumptuous, overly forward, unduly confident
or bold. When you are presumptuous you go beyond what is considered appropriate or proper, or you
take it upon yourself to do or say something without permission or authority. A presumptuous person
takes undue liberties with others, such as bossing them around or making unwanted amorous
advances. Presumptuous speech is overly bold or arrogant. Presumptuous logic is overly confident in
its rightness and arrogantly ignores the flaws in its reasoning.
In its more common sense, presume means to suppose, believe, take for granted, infer—as when
Sir Henry Morton Stanley, upon finding the explorer David Livingstone in Ujiji, Tanzania, in 1871,
famously asked, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” In this sense it is often interchangeable with assume.
But sometimes a fine distinction can be drawn between these two words.
When you assume, you suppose something that is realistic or probable, that is likely to happen or
be true: teachers assume that their students will do their homework; employees assume they will be
paid. When you presume, you suppose more boldly and confidently, believing or asserting the
likelihood or truth of something that may be doubtful or wrong: optimists presume things will always
work out for the better; students often presume to know the answer to a teacher’s question.
The distinction between the nouns assumption and presumption, however, is slightly different. An
assumption can be anything supposed or taken for granted, often without any probable evidence:
“Before Copernicus and Galileo, the common assumption was that the earth was flat.” A presumption
is anything supposed or believed that is based on probable, though not conclusive, evidence: “The $3.8
trillion budget released by the White House on Monday includes $150 billion in deficit reduction over
10 years on the presumption that a health care bill will be adopted” (The New York Times).
In law, the notion that a defendant is innocent until proved guilty is called “presumption of
innocence,” which Black’s Law Dictionary defines as “the fundamental principle that a person may
not be convicted of a crime unless the government proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, without
any burden placed on the accused to prove innocence.”
Word 3: GRANDIOSE (GRAN-dee-ohs, rhymes with handy dose)
Showy and grand in an exaggerated, artificial way; affected, inflated, pompous.
Synonyms of grandiose include pretentious, highflown, ostentatious (AH-sten-TAY-shus), bombastic
(bahm-BAS-tik), grandiloquent (gran-DIL-uh-kwint), and turgid (TUR-jid).
Although grandiose has been used of things that are impressive without being objectionable—as
when Ralph Waldo Emerson, in 1843, wrote, “This grandiose character pervades his wit and his
imagination”—the word is usually used in a disparaging way of something that tries so hard to
impress or appear grand that it seems showy and pompous. A person’s way of dressing, behaving, or
speaking can be described as grandiose if it is so affected or exaggerated as to border on the absurd.
Grandiose may also mean unnecessarily complicated or elaborate, extravagant, overblown. In this
sense we often hear or read of grandiose plans, ideas, or dreams, and grandiose architecture, music, or
terminology.
The noun is grandiosity (GRAN-dee-AH-si-tee).
Word 4: DISSEMINATE (di-SEM-i-nayt)
To spread widely, scatter as if sowing seed.
The verb to disseminate comes from the Latin dissēmināre, to sow, spread abroad, from dis-, apart,
away, and sēmen, sēmĭnis, seed, that which is sown or planted, the direct source of the English semen
(SEE-min), which dictionaries typically define as “a viscid, whitish fluid produced in the male
reproductive organs and carrying spermatozoa.” Viscid (VIS-id), by the way, means thick and sticky.
The Latin sēmen, sēmĭnis, seed, is also the source of the words seminary and seminal. A seminary
may be a place where something originates and is nurtured and developed (a seminary of provocative
ideas for tackling social problems), or a school where people study theology and are trained to become
ministers, priests, or rabbis. The adjective seminal (word 39 of Level 5) literally means like a seed,
and therefore so original and important as to influence later development or future events (a seminal
scientific study that charted the course of all subsequent research).
Synonyms of disseminate include broadcast, disperse, and promulgate. Of these, to broadcast, to
spread abroad, make widely known, is closest in meaning to disseminate. To disperse may mean to
move or scatter in different directions, as the crowd dispersed; to send or drive off in different
directions, as the police dispersed the crowd; or, like disseminate, to spread abroad or about,
distribute, as to disperse heat or a disease dispersed throughout the city. To promulgate (pro-MUHLgayt or PRAHM-ul-gayt) means to make known formally or officially, publish, proclaim, as to
promulgate a new policy of amnesty, or to teach publicly, advocate openly, as to promulgate the
doctrine of nonviolence.
Word 5: ECLECTIC (i-KLEK-tik)
Varied or diverse in an interesting way; selecting, or consisting of selections, from a variety of sources, especially the best of those
sources. “Not confined to any one model or system,” says The Century Dictionary, “but selecting and appropriating whatever is
considered best in all.”
Although the adjectives eclectic and diverse are close in meaning, they are not synonymous. Diverse
means having variety, consisting of different kinds. You can have diverse opinions, a diverse society,
o r a diverse wardrobe . In careful usage, eclectic does not mean merely varied but rather selected
thoughtfully, with the goal of achieving an interesting variety. Thus, although an eclectic collection of
music may include many kinds of music, and in this sense be diverse, eclectic also implies that this
variety was achieved by careful selection rather than by chance.
Unfortunately, eclectic is often used as a showy substitute for diverse by writers who are not
sensitive to the subtle distinction between these words. For example, the phrase China’s eclectic
cuisine is poor usage because the Chinese invented their own diverse cuisine; they did not select it
with care from other great cuisines of the world. And the phrase an eclectic mix of people milled in
front of the building is also poor usage because the mix is random, not intentionally arranged. Only if
people have been chosen to create an especially interesting mix can a group be called eclectic.
Haphazard means selected or assembled at random or by chance, without any thought for
arrangement. Diverse and miscellaneous both mean of mixed character, composed of different kinds
of things, and usually do not imply judgment or taste in selection. Eclectic should always imply
judgment and taste in selection, especially choosing the best from a variety of sources. An eclectic
approach to philosophy or religion selects from them those ideas that seem best, while an eclectic
diner will go to various restaurants, sampling a bit here and a bit there, looking for the best fare to be
had.
Word 6: SERVILE (SUR-vil, rhymes with chervil)
Like a slave, slavish, submissive, obedient, subservient, yielding.
Servile is the adjective. The noun is servility (sur-VIL-i-tee), submissive behavior, unquestioning
obedience, or the condition of being a slave or servant.
Synonyms of servile include groveling, fawning, truckling, toadying, sycophantic (SIK-uh-FANtik), and obsequious (uhb-SEE-kwee-us). All these words suggest submissive behavior, but in slightly
different ways.
T o grovel (GRAH-vul or GRUH-vul), from Middle English and Old Norse words meaning
facedown, prone, is to lie or crawl with one’s face down. Because, in days of yore, this position was
assumed to show humility and obedience before a noble person or one’s superiors, grovel came to be
used figuratively to mean to humble oneself out of loyalty, remorse, or fear.
To fawn, which dates back to 1225, originally applied to animals, especially dogs, and meant to
show delight, affection, or a desire for attention in the manner of a dog—in other words, to wag the
tail, whine, crouch, roll submissively, and so on. By the early 14th century fawn had come to be used
figuratively of submissive behavior intended to gain notice or favor, and today this word applies to
anyone who curries favor by apple-polishing or kissing up: the pop star’s fawning admirers; she
fawned on her boss in hopes of a promotion.
What we now call a trundle bed, a kind of low bed that moves on casters and can slide under a
larger bed when not in use, was originally called a truckle bed. The verb to truckle at first meant to
sleep in a truckle bed, but because the person who slept in the truckle bed was invariably the servant
or pupil of the master, who slept in the more comfortable high bed, truckle soon came to mean to act
like a servant or a fawning pupil, to submit or yield meekly. You can truckle to, as in this 1789
quotation from Samuel Parr’s Tracts Warburton: “He was … too proud to truckle to a Superior.” Or
you can truckle for, as in this quotation from 1885: “Doubtful people of all sorts and conditions
begging and truckling for your notice.”
In his Dictionary of Word Origins, Joseph T. Shipley tells how “medieval traveling medicinemen” used to have an assistant who would swallow a live toad, or seem to, “so that the master could
display his healing powers.” The assistant came to be called a toadeater, which was eventually
shortened to toady and used of any flattering follower, a person who truckles to the rich or powerful.
To toady is to be like a toady, to be a yes-man or apple polisher.
A sycophant (SIK-uh-funt, with -phant as in elephant) is an especially self-serving kind of toady.
The word goes back to ancient Greek and in English originally meant an informer or malicious
accuser. Today the word refers to those who attempt to gain influence or advancement through
fawning flattery and slavish subservience. And while the toady is merely a faithful follower or
servant, underneath his guise of servility the sycophant is usually a scheming backstabber.
The adjective obsequious comes from the Latin obsĕqui, to comply with, yield to, obey. The
obsequious person follows the wishes or bows to the will of another, and is always ready and willing
to serve, please, or obey. “I see you are obsequious in your love,” wrote Shakespeare in The Merry
Wives of Windsor.
Our keyword, servile, comes from the Latin adjective servīlis, slavish, of a slave, from servire, to
be a servant or slave. Because of this derivation, servile has always been used of those who accept an
inferior position and whatever menial duties and undignified concessions come with it. A servile
person is a bootlicker, a kowtower, one who behaves in the bowing, cringing manner of a servant or
slave.
Antonyms of servile include unruly, defiant, intractable (in-TRAK-tuh-bul), refractory (ri-FRAKtur-ee), recalcitrant (ri-KAL-si-trant), and intransigent (in-TRAN-si-jent).
Word 7: VORACIOUS (vor-AY-shus)
Extremely hungry, having a large appetite or cravings that are difficult to satisfy.
Voracious may be used either literally, of great physical hunger, or figuratively, either of a great
appetite for intellectual or emotional nourishment or of an excessive eagerness or greed for
something. A voracious reader is an extremely avid reader; a voracious lover is one whose appetite for
erotic pleasure cannot be satisfied; a voracious look is a hungry, desirous, and perhaps predatory look.
Synonyms of voracious in its literal sense include famished and gluttonous. Synonyms of
voracious in both its literal and figurative senses include insatiable (in-SAY-shuh-b ul or in-SAY-
shee-uh-bul), ravenous, rapacious (word 10 of Level 2), and edacious (ee-DAY-shus).
Word 8: CONVOLUTED (KAHN-vuh-LOO-tid)
Intricate, complicated, very involved, hard to unravel.
Convoluted comes from the Latin convolūtus, the past participle of the verb convolvĕre, to roll
together, roll round, intertwine, the source also of the unusual verb to convolve, to roll up, coil, twist,
and the more familiar noun convolution, a winding, coil, twist or fold, as of something rolled upon
itself: “It hath many convolutions, as worms lying together have,” says the earliest citation for this
word, from 1545, in the Oxford English Dictionary (hereafter the OED).
The morning glory is a common plant known for its ability to support itself by twining around
anything its vigorous tendrils can grasp. Like the morning glory, which twists and coils itself around
things, that which is convoluted is so intricate and complex, so folded in upon itself, that it is difficult
and sometimes impossible to unravel. A long, complex argument—or even a complicated sentence—
is often described as convoluted. Mathematical equations and philosophical reasoning can be
convoluted, and the regulations of the federal tax code are notoriously convoluted. The human body
also has its well-known convolutions: the brain is a convoluted mass of gray and white matter, and if
you were to unravel the convolutions of the small intestine it would stretch to more than twenty feet.
Word 9: RANT (rhymes with slant and can’t)
To speak in an excited, vehement, or violent manner; speak fervently or furiously.
Synonyms of the verb to rant include to storm, rage, rail, denounce, fulminate (FUHL- or FUUL-minayt), and inveigh (in-VAY).
To rant comes from an obsolete Dutch word meaning to talk foolishly, rave. In the early 1600s
Shakespeare and Ben Jonson used rant to mean to speak or declaim in an extravagant or melodramatic
manner, and the word has since often been applied to actors or orators who delivered grandiose
speeches. Though this sense is still in good standing, by the mid-1600s the now-familiar expression to
rant and rave had appeared in print, and rant by itself was more often used to mean to talk in a wild,
furious, or delirious manner. By the early 20th century rant had also come to be used to mean to
engage in a long, vehement, and often furious speech. The noun rant is a lengthy and intemperate
expression of outrage, dissatisfaction, or disgust. (Intemperate is word 22 of Level 3.)
Word 10: STRATAGEM (STRAT-uh-jem)
A trick, deception, ruse, artifice; specifically, a clever scheme or artful maneuver used to deceive, outwit, or gain an advantage over
an enemy, adversary, or rival.
Stratagem comes from the Greek stratēgein, to be in command, from stratēgos, a military
commander, general, and is related to the more common word strategy. A stratagem, a deceptive and
sometimes underhanded maneuver, is one element of a strategy, which is a more far-reaching plan to
achieve a goal or attain victory. For example, the D-day invasion of Europe at Normandy was the
stratagem the Allies employed in their final push to defeat Hitler. And a ruthless business strategy to
outstrip the competition might involve various ethically questionable stratagems.
Although stratagem comes ultimately from ancient Greek, English acquired the word in the 15th
century from the Old French stratageme, which is why we spell it with an a in the second syllable and
not with an e, as in strategy. Take care to spell it stratagem, not strategem.
Review Quiz for Keywords 1–10
Let’s review the ten keywords you’ve just learned. Consider the following questions and decide
whether the correct answer is yes or no. Answers appear here.
1. Would stealing a loaf of bread to feed your starving family be a sign of depravity?
2. Is it presumptuous to ask for directions when you’re lost?
3. Can someone’s speech be grandiose?
4. Does the sanitation department disseminate garbage?
5. Can a person’s library be eclectic?
6. Is a disobedient child being servile?
7. If you can’t get enough of something, are you voracious?
8. Can writing be convoluted?
9. Do radio talk show hosts sometimes rant about politics?
10. Would an unsuccessful stratagem help you gain an advantage?
* * *
Now let’s turn to the first of the features that will appear throughout Word Workout after each set of
ten keyword discussions.
Difficult Distinctions: May and Might
Some people think the words may and might are interchangeable, but they are not. There is a subtle
difference in the degree of probability they express.
“May poses a possibility; might adds a greater degree of uncertainty to the possibility,” writes
Theodore M. Bernstein in The Careful Writer . “This shade of difference appears in the following
sentence: ‘Any broadcasting station that airs more commercials than the code allows may be fined,
and in extreme cases its license might be taken away.’”
To put that another way, may indicates greater possibility than might. If a weather report says it
may rain, you should take an umbrella. If it says it might rain, you can take the umbrella or take your
chances.
Difficult Distinctions: A or An?
“In elementary school, I was taught to use an before vowels and a before consonants,” writes a faithful
reader named James. “But recently I’ve heard more and more people say an before words beginning
with h, in phrases such as an historic event. Is this correct?”
Your teachers taught you right. If a word begins with a vowel or vowel sound, use an (an idea, an
egg). If it begins with a consonant, use a (a friend, a story). The general rule, say nearly all the usage
guides published since the 19th century, is that if the h is sounded, use a. If it is silent, use an. Thus, a
history, a happening, a humble man, but an hour, an honor, an herb.
The problem with certain words beginning with h, such as historic, is that the first syllable is not
stressed and the h may seem to be suppressed, so the speaker is tempted to use an. The Brits, who have
a history of dropping their h’s, tend to use an—except with herb, because they pronounce the h. But in
American English the h is sounded in historic, historical, hysterical, hypnosis, humble, and heroic,
and, as Mark Twain noted back in 1882, “Correct writers of the American language do not put an
before those words.”