Vocabulary 4000

English offers perhaps the richest vocabulary of all languages, in part because its words are culled from so many languages. It is a shame that we do not tap this rich source more often in our daily conversation to express ourselves more clearly and precisely. There are of course thesauruses but they mainly list common words. Other vocabulary books list difficult, esoteric words that we quickly forget or feel self-conscious using. However, there is a bounty of choice words between the common and the esoteric that often seem be just on the tip of our tongue. Vocabulary 4000 brings these words to the fore. Whenever possible, one-word definitions are used. Although this makes a definition less precise, it also makes it easier to remember. Many common words appear in the list of words, but with their less common meanings. For example, the common meaning of champion is “winner.” A less common meaning for champion is to support or fight for someone else. (Think of the phrase “to champion a cause.”) This is the meaning that would be used in the list. As you read through the list of words, mark any that you do not know with a check mark. Then when you read through the list again, mark any that you do not remember with two checks. Continue in this manner until you have learned the words. There are four types of quizzes interspersed in the word list: Matching, Antonyms, Analogies, and Sentence Completions. The Matching quizzes, review words that were just introduced. All the other quizzes contain words from any part of the list