Words Worth Knowing
Precise words educated adults are expected to know, plus a few that most people use the wrong way.
A good vocabulary is about saying exactly what you mean, not about sounding clever. These are words that come up in books, news and work writing: ubiquitous, pragmatic, cogent, perfunctory. There are also a few traps, such as disinterested, nonplussed and enormity, whose traditional meanings are not the ones most people assume. Each card gives the word; flip it to check the meaning.
All 38 cards
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Ubiquitous
Found everywhere.
Smartphones are now ubiquitous.
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Ephemeral
Lasting a very short time.
An ephemeral trend.
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Pragmatic
Dealing with things in a practical way rather than by theory or ideals.
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Ambivalent
Having mixed or contradictory feelings about something.
Not the same as indifferent, which means not caring at all.
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Laconic
Using very few words.
From Laconia, home of the famously terse Spartans.
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Sanguine
Optimistic, especially in a bad situation.
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Obsequious
Too eager to please or obey.
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Equivocate
To speak vaguely on purpose, to avoid committing to anything.
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Exacerbate
To make a problem worse.
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Mitigate
To make something less severe.
Often confused with “militate”, which means to be a strong factor (militate against).
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Disinterested
Impartial; having nothing to gain either way.
Not the same as uninterested, which means not interested.
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Nonplussed
So surprised or confused that you don’t know how to react.
Often used to mean “unbothered”, the opposite of its traditional meaning.
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Enormity
The great wickedness of something.
Traditionally not just “enormous size”: the enormity of the crime.
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Begs the question
In logic: assumes the very thing it is trying to prove.
Commonly used to mean “raises the question”, which purists object to.
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Irony
A contrast between what is expected and what actually happens, or between what is said and what is meant.
Rain on your wedding day is bad luck, not irony.
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Petulant
Childishly sulky or bad-tempered.
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Magnanimous
Generous or forgiving, especially toward a rival or someone less powerful.
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Pedantic
Overly concerned with small details or rules.
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Esoteric
Understood by only a small group with special knowledge.
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Cogent
Clear, logical and convincing.
A cogent argument.
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Didactic
Intended to teach, often with a moral lesson, sometimes in a preachy way.
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Insidious
Spreading harm gradually and quietly.
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Perfunctory
Done quickly and without real care, as a matter of routine.
A perfunctory apology.
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Recalcitrant
Stubbornly uncooperative.
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Ostensibly
Apparently or supposedly, though perhaps not really.
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Schadenfreude
Pleasure at someone else’s misfortune.
From German: harm + joy.
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Zeitgeist
The spirit or mood of a particular period.
From German: time + spirit.
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Hubris
Excessive pride or self-confidence.
In Greek tragedy, the pride before the fall.
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Panacea
A supposed cure for every problem.
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Paradigm
A typical model or pattern; a framework of ideas.
A paradigm shift is a change in the basic assumptions of a field.
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Quixotic
Idealistic in an impractical way.
From Don Quixote, who tilted at windmills.
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Serendipity
Finding something good by chance.
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Ad hoc
Made for a particular purpose, as needed, not planned in advance.
Latin: “for this”.
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De facto
In fact, whether or not by law.
Compare de jure: by law.
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Bona fide
Genuine; real.
Latin: “in good faith”.
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e.g. vs i.e.
e.g. means “for example” (exempli gratia); i.e. means “that is” (id est).
e.g. gives some examples; i.e. restates exactly what you mean.
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Per se
By itself; intrinsically.
It isn’t the price per se, it’s the hidden fees.
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Caveat
A warning or condition attached to something.
Latin: “let him beware”, as in caveat emptor, “buyer beware”.