Do You?
100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know
abjure abrogate abstemious acumen antebellum auspicious
belie bellicose bowdlerize
chicanery chromosome churlish circumlocution circumnavigate
deciduous deleterious diffident
enervate enfranchise epiphany equinox euro evanescent expurgate
facetious fatuous feckless fiduciary filibuster
gamete gauche gerrymander
hegemony hemoglobin homogeneous hubris hypotenuse
impeach incognito incontrovertible inculcate infrastructure interpolate irony
jejune
kinetic kowtow
laissez faire lexicon loquacious lugubrious
metamorphosis mitosis moiety nanotechnology
nihilism nomenclature nonsectarian notarize
obsequious oligarchy omnipotent orthography oxidize
parabola paradigm parameter pecuniary photosynthesis plagiarize plasma polymer precipitous quasar quotidian
recapitulate reciprocal reparation respiration
sanguine soliloquy subjugate suffragist supercilious
tautology taxonomy tectonic tempestuous thermodynamics totalitarian
unctuous usurp
vacuous vehement vortex
winnow wrought
xenophobe
yeoman
ziggurat
"The words we suggest," says senior editor Steven Kleinedler, "are not meant to be exhaustive but are a benchmark against which graduates and their parents can measure themselves. If you are able to use these words correctly, you are likely to have a superior command of the language."
Okay, the four I put in bold are the ones I've never ever heard of, let alone use in conversation. Jejunum, yes - jejune, no.
abjure abrogate abstemious acumen antebellum auspicious
belie bellicose bowdlerize
chicanery chromosome churlish circumlocution circumnavigate
deciduous deleterious diffident
enervate enfranchise epiphany equinox euro evanescent expurgate
facetious fatuous feckless fiduciary filibuster
gamete gauche gerrymander
hegemony hemoglobin homogeneous hubris hypotenuse
impeach incognito incontrovertible inculcate infrastructure interpolate irony
jejune
kinetic kowtow
laissez faire lexicon loquacious lugubrious
metamorphosis mitosis moiety nanotechnology
nihilism nomenclature nonsectarian notarize
obsequious oligarchy omnipotent orthography oxidize
parabola paradigm parameter pecuniary photosynthesis plagiarize plasma polymer precipitous quasar quotidian
recapitulate reciprocal reparation respiration
sanguine soliloquy subjugate suffragist supercilious
tautology taxonomy tectonic tempestuous thermodynamics totalitarian
unctuous usurp
vacuous vehement vortex
winnow wrought
xenophobe
yeoman
ziggurat
"The words we suggest," says senior editor Steven Kleinedler, "are not meant to be exhaustive but are a benchmark against which graduates and their parents can measure themselves. If you are able to use these words correctly, you are likely to have a superior command of the language."
Okay, the four I put in bold are the ones I've never ever heard of, let alone use in conversation. Jejunum, yes - jejune, no.
Comments
My favorite of the words I'm going to have to look up is "moiety." I think that might just be "mighty" with an Irish accent, like "Moiety Mouse" or "Moiety, Moiety Bosstones."