THE MYTH OF A "POWERFUL" VOCABULARY

  

Many websites offer language help under the heading “Word of the Day.” They mean well, but they peddle arcane vocabulary that has little to do with our contemporary needs. I say this despite being a pedant and a lover of precise words. Years ago, in college, I bought a little booklet entitled Ten Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary, which was filled with obscure, archaic terms nobody would ever understand in daily discourse. I see that this practice continues, to my regret, because I endorse building vocabulary in context, not in lists. I always try to expand my vocabulary when reading, especially literature produced by good writers.

    Expand your vocabulary by reading and looking up words you encounter, and not by relying on lists like this:

Fortuitous
Vilipend
Nefarious
Rancor
Mellifluous
Verdigris
Slopulation