Vocabulary For Dummies Book

	Introduction	1
	About This Book	1
	Conventions Used in This Book	1
	Special Features	3
	How This Book is Organized	4
	Icons Used in This Book	5
	Where to Go from Here	6
Part I	Getting your Bearings	7
Chapter 1	Figuring Out How Words Work	9
	Getting an Idea of a Good Vocabulary	9
	Reaping Vocabulary's Rewards	11
	Trying to Make Sense of the English Language	12
	Improving Your Vocabulary the Easy Way	15
Chapter 2	Building Your Vocabulary	17
	Playing to Improve Your Vocabulary	17
	Reading Up on Words	20
	Boosting Your Vocabulary for Standardized Tests	27
	Pronouncing Words Correctly	29
	Exercising Your New Vocabulary	36
Chapter 3	Picking Up Meaning	37
	Reading Between the Lines	37
	Being an Armchair Detective	46
	Deciphering Words with Multiple Meanings	47
Chapter 4	Using the Right Word	51
	Choosing Your Words	51
	Digging into Diction	53
	Bringing Home the Bacon: Idioms	59
	Abbreviating Acronyms	62
Part II	Mastering the Basics	63
Chapter 5	Getting to the Root of the Matter	65
	Tending to Word Roots	65
	Getting Scientific with Greek Roots	69
	Cultivating Latin Roots	76
Chapter 6	Starting Off with Prefixes	81
	Going to the Head of the Word	81
	Seeing Prefixes Everywhere: De-, Re-, In-, Un-, and Pre-	83
	Eyeing Other Common Prefixes	88
	Sailing through Greek Prefixes	94
	Pursuing Prefixes from Latin	97
	Adding In Anglo-Saxon Prefixes	99
	Acting Like a Prefix: Words that Do Double Duty	100
Chapter 7	Ending Well: Suffixes	101
	Meeting the Most Often Used Suffixes	101
	Expanding Your Suffix Collection	105
	Putting Suffixes to Work	113
Part III	Expanding your Base	119
Chapter 8	Shading Meaning: Synonyms, Antonyms, Connotations, Denotations	121
	Distilling Synonym Essentials	122
	Analyzing Antonyms	126
	Understanding Subtext: Connotation and Denotation	127
Chapter 9	Hear Your Homonyms and Homophones Here	131
	Differentiating Homonyms and Homophones (In Case You're Curious)	131
	Dealing with Homonyms and Homophones	134
	Making a Lo-o-o-ng List	134
	Having Fun with Homonyms	148
Chapter 10	Compounding Words	151
	Presenting Compound Basics	151
	Using Compounds to Build Your Vocabulary	156
	Compounding a Few, Final Words	166
Chapter 11	Romancing English: Words from French, Spanish, and Italian	167
	Ooo La La! English Words from French	168
	Ole! Words from Spanish	174
	Living la Dolce Vita: Words from Italian	178
Chapter 12	Borrowing from the Neighbors: Words from Other Languages	183
	Liking Latin	183
	Talking Blarney: Words from the Irish and Scots	187
	Oy Vey! English Words from Yiddish	188
	Dressing Up with Words from Arabic	190
	Lapping Up Words from Other Lands	195
Part IV	Getting Savvy with Vocabulary	197
Chapter 13	Trying Your Skills on Standardized Tests	199
	Assembling the Skills You Need	199
	Getting Familiar with the Types of Test Questions	202
	Incorporating General Test Prep Tips	212
Chapter 14	Taking Care of Business Vocabulary	215
	Talking on Company Time	215
	Mastering Jargon	221
Chapter 15	Mutterings on Money Matters	227
	Managing Your Money Day to Day	227
	Investigating Investment Terms	230
	Talking about Markets	231
	Taxing Terms	233
Chapter 16	Speaking Legales	237
	Mastering Legal Terms	237
	Hailing the Chief: Words about Government	246
Chapter 17	Doctoring Your Words: Medical Terms	251
	Talking about Your Body	251
	Choosing a Specialist	254
	Determining What Ails You	257
	Decoding Medical Lingo	258
Chapter 18	Acquiring Shopping and Eating Language	263
	Cashing In with Collectibles	263
	Dressing for Success: Terms for Clothes	267
	Chowing Down: Terms for Food	270
Chapter 19	Expanding the Language: Recent Additions	273
	Combining Old Words to Make New Words	274
	New Words Galore: Neologisms	276
Chapter 20	Exploring Words from Real and Mythical People and Places	287
	What's in a Name? A Lot When It's an Eponym!	287
	Words from Places: Toponyms	293
	Talking with Words from Animals	296
	Words from Myths and Literature	298
Part V	The Part of Tens	301
Chapter 21	Don't Go There: Language to Avoid	303
	Ageist Vocabulary	303
	Bureaucratic Language	303
	Doublespeak	304
	Empty Words	304
	Inflated Language	304
	Euphemisms	305
	Language Biased Against the Handicapped	305
	Jargon	305
	Racist Vocabulary	306
	Sexist Language	306
Chapter 22	Distinctions Worth Making	307
	Sound-Alike Words	307
	What a Difference a Letter (Or Two) Makes	308
	Words with Similar Meanings	311
	One Word or Two?	313
Chapter 23	Ten Techniques for Nonnative Speakers	315
	A or An	315
	Degree of Comparison	316
	Count Nouns	316
	Noncount Nouns	317
	Nouns That Can Be Both Count and Noncount	317
	Nouns as Adjectives	318
	Plurals	318
	Proper Nouns	318
	The and A	319
	Who, Which, That	319
	Index	321