Word Workout: Building a Muscular Vocabulary in 10 Easy Steps

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Something anachronistic may be out of keeping with the present time, as an anachronistic suit from the 1940s, or foreign to, not belonging to, any particular time—whether past, present, or future. In modern medicine, leeching is an anachronistic treatment, but a thousand years from now our most advanced treatments for cancer, such as radiation and chemotherapy, may be considered sadly anachronistic, belonging to a previous time, outmoded. And the author of a historical novel, set in the past, must take care to avoid words and expressions that are obviously anachronistic, out of keeping with the time period of the story because they were coined at some later date.

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.

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Garish suggests excessive showiness or unpleasant brightness, and is used of that which tries to attract attention in a loud and tasteless way: garish neon lights; New York City’s garish Times Square; garish modern architecture that confuses ornamentation with style.

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.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. Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, Northern Ireland and the Scottish Highlands) may take longer to reach you. Ex2b: When she asked me how my career as a chef was working out, I decided not to tell her that I’d burned down the kitchen after setting a pot roast on fire.

Start boosting younger kids’ vocabulary with our Epic Life duo of illustrated vocabulary books, which cover everything from emotions to technology. You can use these alongside our Mrs Wordsmith's 37 House Rules printable vocabulary worksheets, which were designed to help develop emotional intelligence. Once your kids master these words, move on to our Storyteller's Word a Day books: huge collections of illustrated words and easy-to-access information on word pairs, usage in literature, and examples. Synonyms of the adjective impertinent include disrespectful, presumptuous (word 2 of this level), arrogant, uncivil, saucy, impudent, insolent (word 5 of Level 2), brazen, officious, and malapert (MAL-uh-purt). Antonyms of impertinent include respectful, courteous, civil, mannerly, gracious, and deferential. 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.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. Stratagem comes from the Greek strat e gein, to be in command, from strat e gos, 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. One last example: Though it may be a mental workout to decide when to write the two words “work out” versus the single word, “workout,” you now have the tools necessary to work out the right answer every time. The noun is impertinence (im-PUR-ti-nints), unmannerly speech or behavior, rudeness, arrogance, incivility: a teacher who would not tolerate impertinence. Excessively showy or bright; harshly or crudely colorful; attracting attention in a loud and tasteless way.