Essential Vocabulary and Contextual Usage Mastery

Categorized Vocabulary

Types of People

• People: Epicure, dolt, novice, dissenter, entrepreneur, emissary, troupe, sluggard, equestrian, dissident, swindler, impresario, electorate.

Funerals

• Funerals: Eulogy, dirge, elegy.

Religion

• Religion: Profane, theology, devout, ecclesiastical.

Money and Finances

• Finance: Gratis, impoverish, foreclose, exorbitant, fiscal, impecunious, prosperous.

Government and Official Matters

• Government: Emissary, fiat, embargo, edict, incumbent, electorate, monarch.

Words and Communication

• Communication: Elocution, eulogy, diatribe, discourse, tirade, expostulate, epilogue, double entendre, discursive, edict, explicate, prevaricate.

Critical Thinking and Usage

• If a witness gave testimony under duress, would that statement be considered valid and legal? (No)
• Is a harbinger usually considered to be a negative thing? (Yes)
• Would you describe those unruly little kindergarteners as being in their dotage? (No)
• If those generic dietary supplements are proven to be inimical to your immune system, would doctors and patients be generally pleased with the efficacy of the pills? (No)
• Should a good judge be dispassionate? (Yes)
• If an edifice is in a dilapidated state, would its facade be exquisitely maintained? (No)
• Would you be likely to trust a fledgling attorney to represent you in a death-row murder trial? (No)
• If a student's GPA is in a dire state, would she be likely to be exuberant and elated about it? (No)
• Is a glutton likely to consume a surfeit of food and drink on a regular basis? (Yes)
• Are you likely to endear yourself to your boss if you often harry her? (No)

Correct Usage Examples

• Emancipation from slavery entails the right to impunity (X)
• No one ever seemed to notice his chronic dissembling or embellishments, so he continued to lie with impunity (O)
• The prince appeared to the princess in the guise of a frog (O)
• The prince appeared to the princess in the facade of a frog (X)
• Grievously inculcated since birth with the most shocking fallacies, the impoverished and oppressed North Koreans were forced to pay homage daily to their draconian leader.
• I feel a tremendous amount of homage for my role model, who is able to envision and divine intricate economic trends with the greatest efficacy (X)
• When there was a huge discrepancy between what the textbook stated and what the teacher said in class, I felt so much disarray (X)
• I can't bear to lend my organized binder of math notes to my roommate ever again; last time she left the pages in so much disarray (O)
• It appears that Brenda has become estranged from her father over the years; she evinced no surprise when he didn't show up to her wedding (O)
• The undeserved enmity of my former best friend evokes his true nature; he clearly estranges me (X)

Semantic Distinctions

Antipathy, apathy, sympathy, empathy. Halcyon, folly (negative), exuberant.