English 1: ACT-SAT Vocabulary: Speaking of Words
Word
Aphorism
(n.)
Colloquial
(adj.)
Misnomer
(n.)
Neologism
(n.)
Sentence
Definition from Sentence Context
Name _________________________
Dictionary Definition*
Fortune cookies gained in
popularity due to the
inclusion of small printed
aphorisms that people could
discuss after their meals.
Students are usually
discourages from using
colloquial language in their
formal research papers.
The World Series of baseball
is a misnomer, as it only
represents the National and
American leagues of the
U.S., not the whole baseballplaying world.
Philosophers routinely
redefine words or concepts
for their own purposes,
creating neologisms and
entire new vocabularies.
*To obtain the definition, use Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English at http://www.ldoceonline.com/.
English 1: ACT-SAT Vocabulary: Speaking of Words
Word
Sentence
Obfuscate
(v.)
The lawyer, knowing his
client was guilty,
encouraged him to
obfuscate the details in his
testimony, without actually
lying, in order to confuse
the jury.
Succinct
(adj.)
Terse
(adj.)
Verbose
(adj.)
Definition from Sentence Context
Name _________________________
Dictionary Definition*
Student writers that try to
display their vocabulary
skills, often have trouble
keeping their sentences
succinct.
Her selfish actions quickly
drew many terse replies
from her friends and
family.
Charles Dickens’ writing
contracts often paid him by
the word, encouraging him
to be all the more verbose
in his storytelling.
*To obtain the definition, use Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English at http://www.ldoceonline.com/.