Vocabulary For Dummies E-Book

Laurie E. Rozakis

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 335

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

Have an interest in words? From the meaning of prefixes and suffixes to word origins and trivia, this book can help you build your vocabulary Someone just called you captious. Should you be flattered? Considering your extreme lactose intolerance, is it a good idea to orderveau au béchamelfrom a French menu? Calumny is to slander as obloquy is to a) flattery, b) sermon, or c) invective? You've just heard that your new boss is a real martinet. Should you be worried or excited about this new addition to your workplace? Your partner says you have no élan; does that mean you're all out of yogurt? Starting to wish you'd paid more attention in English class? Don't worry, it's never too late to develop a million-dollar vocabulary--andVocabulary For Dummiesoffers you a fast, fun, and easy way to do it. Whether you're preparing for standardized tests, or you want to feel more knowledgeable at work or more comfortable in social situations, this book is for you. In no time you'll: * Dramatically expand your vocabulary * Speak with style * Write with panache * Make a better impression at work or school * Dine out with confidence * Have the right words for formal occasions and ethnic events * Get more out of what you read Vocabulary For Dummiesdoesn't overwhelm you with endless word lists. Instead, it gives you a complete vocabulary-building program that familiarizes you with words from all areas of life as they're used in context--from bar mitzvahs to business meetings, PCs to politics--with a host of fun features, including: * Word tables organized by common features, such as language of origin, professional or social contexts, similarities, and more * Sample conversations that incorporate new terms and define related ones * Before-and-After examples that show how to replace old, general terms with new, specific vocabulary * Pointers that reinforce understanding with examples of correct and incorrect usage * Chapters on terms from finance, law, medicine, eating and shopping, history and mythology, various languages, and more Vocabulary For Dummiesmakes it easier than ever for you to learn difficult words that impress your friends and coworkers. Grab your own copy and get ahead at school, at work, and in life.

Leseprobe

Vocabulary For Dummies®

by Laurie E. Rozakis, PhD

Vocabulary For Dummies®

Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2003 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions

Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of Wiley Publishing, Inc., in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax [phone].

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2005932583

ISBN: 978-0-7645-5393-6

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9

1O/TR/RR/QY/IN

About the Author

Dr. Laurie Rozakis earned her Ph.D. in English and American Literature from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. An Associate Professor of English at the State University of New York College of Technology at Farmingdale, Dr. Rozakis has published more than one hundred books and scores of articles. In addition to Vocabulary For Dummies, her publications include trade books, young adult books, textbooks, biographies, reference books, and articles.

Dr. Rozakis frequently appears on television, including the CBS Morning Show; the MauryPovich Show; Fox Good Day, New York;Metro Relationships; and Fox Personal F/X. Her career and books have been profiled in The New YorkTimes, the NewYork Daily News, Time magazine, andthe Chicago Tribune. Dr. Rozakis does a monthly Internet show for yo.com.

Dedication

To Robert from Long Island, my staunchest supporter and best friend.

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Online Registration Form located at www.dummies.com/register.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development

Project Editor: Kathleen A. Dobie

Senior Acquisitions Editor: Gregory W. Tubach

Copy Editor: Greg Pearson

Technical Editor: Thomas La Farge

Editorial Manager: Christine Meloy Beck

Editorial Assistants: Brian Herrmann, Jennifer Young

Cover Photos: © 1999 Photodisc

Production

Project Coordinator: Nancee Reeves

Layout and Graphics: LeAndra Johnson,Jackie Nicholas, Jill Piscitelli, Jacque Schneider, Betty Schulte, Julie Trippetti, Erin Zeltner

Proofreader: Aptara

Indexer: Aptara

Special Help: Tracy Barr, Alissa Schwipps

Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies

Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies

Kristin A. Cocks, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies

Michael Spring, Vice President and Publisher, Travel

Brice Gosnell, Publishing Director, Travel

Suzanne Jannetta, Editorial Director, Travel

Publishing for Technology Dummies

Andy Cummings, Acquisitions Director

Composition Services

Gerry Fahey, Vice President, Production Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Contents

Title

Introduction

About This Book

Conventions Used in This Book

Special Features

How This Book Is Organized

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I : Getting Your Bearings

Chapter 1: Figuring Out How Words Work

Getting an Idea of a Good Vocabulary

Talkin’ the Talk

Reaping Vocabulary’s Rewards

Trying to Make Sense of the English Language

Improving Your Vocabulary the Easy Way

Chapter 2: Building Your Vocabulary

Playing to Improve Your Vocabulary

Reading Up on Words

Boosting Your Vocabulary for Standardized Tests

Pronouncing Words Correctly

Exercising Your New Vocabulary

Chapter 3: Picking Up Meaning

Reading Between the Lines

Talkin’ the Talk

Talkin’ the Talk

Talkin’ the Talk

Being an Armchair Detective

Deciphering Words with Multiple Meanings

Chapter 4: Using the Right Word

Choosing Your Words

Digging into Diction

Talkin’ the Talk

Bringing Home the Bacon: Idioms

Talkin’ the Talk

Abbreviating Acronyms

Part II : Mastering the Basics

Chapter 5: Getting to the Root of the Matter

Tending to Word Roots

Getting Scientific with Greek Roots

Talkin’ the Talk

Cultivating Latin Roots

Chapter 6: Starting Off with Prefixes

Going to the Head of the Word

Talkin’ the Talk

Seeing Prefixes Everywhere: De-, Re-, In-, Un-, and Pre-

Eyeing Other Common Prefixes

Sailing through Greek Prefixes

Talkin’ the Talk

Pursuing Prefixes from Latin

Adding In Anglo-Saxon Prefixes

Acting Like a Prefix: Words that Do Double Duty

Chapter 7: Ending Well: Suffixes

Meeting the Most Often Used Suffixes

Expanding Your Suffix Collection

Talkin’ the Talk

Putting Suffixes to Work

Part III : Expanding Your Base

Chapter 8: Shading Meaning: Synonyms, Antonyms, Connotations, Denotations

Distilling Synonym Essentials

Talkin’ the Talk

Analyzing Antonyms

Understanding Subtext: Connotation and Denotation

Chapter 9: Hear Your Homonyms and Homophones Here

Differentiating Homonyms and Homophones (In Case You’re Curious)

Talkin’ the Talk

Dealing with Homonyms and Homophones

Making a Lo-o-o-ng List

Having Fun with Homonyms

Chapter 10: Compounding Words

Presenting Compound Basics

Using Compounds to Build Your Vocabulary

Compounding a Few, Final Words

Chapter 11: Romancing English: Words from French, Spanish, and Italian

Ooo La La! English Words from French

Talkin’ the Talk

Talkin’ the Talk

Ole! Words from Spanish

Living la Dolce Vita: Words from Italian

Talkin’ the Talk

Chapter 12: Borrowing from the Neighbors: Words from Other Languages

Liking Latin

Talkin’ the Talk

Talking Blarney: Words from the Irish and Scots

Oy Vey! English Words from Yiddish

Talkin’ the Talk

Dressing Up with Words from Arabic

Talkin’ the Talk

Lapping Up Words from Other Lands

Part IV : Getting Savvy with Vocabulary

Chapter 13: Trying Your Skills on Standardized Tests

Assembling the Skills You Need

Getting Familiar with the Types of Test Questions

Talkin’ the Talk

Incorporating General Test Prep Tips

Chapter 14: Taking Care of Business Vocabulary

Talking on Company Time

Talkin’ the Talk

Mastering Jargon

Chapter 15: Mutterings on Money Matters

Managing Your Money Day to Day

Talkin’ the Talk

Investigating Investment Terms

Talking about Markets

Taxing Terms

Talkin’ the Talk

Chapter 16: Speaking Legalese

Mastering Legal Terms

Talkin’ the Talk

Talkin’ the Talk

Talkin’ the Talk

Hailing the Chief: Words about Government

Chapter 17: Doctoring Your Words: Medical Terms

Talking about Your Body

Choosing a Specialist

Talkin’ the Talk

Determining What Ails You

Decoding Medical Lingo

Talkin’ the Talk

Chapter 18: Acquiring Shopping and Eating Language

Cashing In with Collectibles

Talkin’ the Talk

Dressing for Success: Terms for Clothes

Chowing Down: Terms for Food

Chapter 19: Expanding the Language: Recent Additions

Combining Old Words to Make New Words

New Words Galore: Neologisms

Talkin’ the Talk

Talkin’ the Talk

Chapter 20: Exploring Words from Real and Mythical People and Places

What’s in a Name? A Lot When It’s an Eponym!

Words from Places: Toponyms

Talking with Words from Animals

Talkin’ the Talk

Words from Myths and Literature

Part V : The Part of Tens

Chapter 21: Don’t Go There: Language to Avoid

Ageist Vocabulary

Bureaucratic Language

Doublespeak

Empty Words

Inflated Language

Euphemisms

Language Biased Against the Handicapped

Jargon

Racist Vocabulary

Sexist Language

Chapter 22: Distinctions Worth Making

Sound-Alike Words

What a Difference a Letter (Or Two) Makes

Words with Similar Meanings

One Word or Two?

Chapter 23: Ten Techniques for Nonnative Speakers

A or An

Degree of Comparison

Count Nouns

Noncount Nouns

Nouns That Can Be Both Count and Noncount

Nouns as Adjectives

Plurals

Proper Nouns

The and A

Who, Which, That

Introduction

W hat’s in this book? Words, words, and more words. Word roots, word suffixes, and word prefixes. And you’re reading this book because you have an interest in words — how to use them, how to make the most of them, and how to figure out the meaning of new words.

Whether you’re facing standardized tests and want to get your vocabulary up to snuff, or you’re wanting to improve your language skills to feel more knowledgeable at work or comfortable in social situations, this is the book for you.

About This Book

In the following chapters, I introduce you to a variety of words. The words are organized in a format that helps you make sense of them. Unlike other books that aim to help you improve your vocabulary, this book isn’t filled with list after list of words. Oh, I certainly include lots of tables filled with words, but I organize them by common features — the language that they came from or the root that they share, for example — so that you can remember the terms more easily.