For words to become part of our working vocabulary (the words we use in everyday conversation) we need to do more than just know what they mean. We have to use them. Here are a list of words often used in adult conversation, newscasts, literature, and other types of media. Make it your goal to listen for the use of these words this week and to use them all at least once in normal conversation. Feel free to post a comment and let me know how you do. Find a partner (parent, friend, sibling) and let's play...
Untenable: impossible to maintain or defend, tolerate or endure. From the old French tenir meaning to hold.
Carte Blanche: unrestricted power to act at one's own discretion, unconditional authority or free pass. French: carte meaning ticket, blanche meaning white.
Ennui: dissatisfaction resulting from lack of interest; boredom. Old French meaning to annoy or to bore.
Ostracize: to exclude from a group. Greek from ostrakon meaning shell or potsherd.
Ok, let's see how many of these words you can find, read, or hear this week, but more importantly how many of them can you use? Remember, to have a word become part of your working vocabulary, you have to actually use it - more than once. If you are unsure how the word is pronounced go to www.dictionary.com and use the pronunciation feature.
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