I picked up a handy new vocabulary book while in the bookstore the other day not finding what I wanted (B&N, why don’t you stock APA’s style manual in my local store?). Webster’s Pocket Power Vocabulary is filled with 10-minute lessons broken up by topic, such as “Using Prefixes,” “Root Power I,” and “Imported Words.” Following each lesson is a short test. Also included are an index of terms and room for notes. This week, I’ll take words from the “Test for an Excellent Vocabulary.”
- Parsimonious, adjective: frugal, extremely sparing.
Law students have been particularly stung of late, as law firms continue to be rather parsimonious with job offers. –Wall Street Journal
- Exigency, noun: a situation requiring urgent action.
The house, located at 104 Wisteria Lane, was declared a state of exigency March 8 after a heavy rain system eroded a major portion of the yard behind the house, NRCS project engineer Norman Patterson said. –Natchez Democrat
- Catholic, adjective: comprehensive; wide variety.
Roots music is one gigantic gumbo that epitomises a truly catholic taste in music. –Scotsman.com Living (via Oxford Dictionaries Online)
- Obviate, verb: to make unnecessary; to prevent.
One reader pointed out that if schools provided wireless access, wifi-enabled phones would obviate the need for data plans. –Mindshift
- Erudite, adjective: scholarly; learned in a specific knowledge area.
It has taken decades and the result is an extravagantly erudite manifesto for rational thought. –Sydney Morning Herald
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