Vocabulary Challenge #5

Here it is again, "100 Words Every High School graduate Should Know".  Last Vocabulary Challenge left us with #40 - Incontrovertible : impossible to deny or disprove.

Are you up for the next ten?

41) Inculcate
42) Infrastructure
43) Interpolate
44) Irony
45) Jejune
46) Kinetic
47) Kowtow
48) Laissez faire
49) Lexicon
50) Loquacious

Again, with some of the words I could narrow down the meaning but don't think I could just throw them in a sentence without actually looking up the definition.  I love using this challenge as a reminder that we should always keep learning, refreshing, & stimulating our minds.

How did you do with this round of vocabulary words?

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Vocabulary Challenge #4

It's the beginning of the month and that means another round of Vocabulary Challenge, thanks to Vocabulary.com!  Last round left off with GAMETE, let's see the next 10 words...

31) Gauche
32) Gerrymander
33) Hegemony
34) Hemoglobin
35) Homogeneous
36) Hubris
37) Hypotenuse
38) Impeach
39) Incognito
40) Incontrovertible

Gerrymander, hypotenuse... are you sure we really learned this in high school, ha-ha?
 

How did you do?  I give myself a C+

Vicious Vitamin

Besides eating healthy and exercising, we all know vitamins are extremely important.  I myself take quite a few, and I have my daughter also taking vitamins (an old post delves more in to the vitamin topic).  When it comes to myself, I'm generally not picky when it comes to the brand, I tend to buy store brand purely because of the price difference.  The last time I was in The States I was sure to hit up Walmart to buy things we can get here, but are just cheaper there.  One of which being Centrum, I was a huge fan of this particular brand when I lived in Florida.  But as I stood at Walmart my frugal side took over and said, why not just buy Walmart brand, I used to use Equate products regularly.  And since the purchase I have regretted buying their multi-vitamin.  (Equate Women's One Daily, to be exact.)  Why, it makes me puke if I don't have a full stomach!  I know taking aspirin or ibuprofen on a empty stomach can make you sick, but also a vitamin?  I had to find out the hard way while on vacation, and sadly enough it took multiple times before I put 2 & 2 together.  I guess I pinned the restless stomach on food in The States and even travel anxiety (was travelling internationally with just my toddler)... turned out to be the vitamin.  Since making the realization I do my best to take my vitamins right after lunch (this is recommended for a lot of vitamins).  But there are still times when I didn't eat enough or remembered the multi-vitamin just a bit too late and it hits me.  I feel the warmth sweep over me and the nausea coming on (similar to low blood sugar) and there is nothing I can do but wait it out.  My husband thinks I'm crazy and said I should just throw the bottle out and buy something that suites me better, but I'm stubborn and want my money's worth.  (I'm shaking my head at my own trait, right now.)  Out of curiosity, do any of you have problems with certain multi-vitamins?

Vocabulary Challenge #3

It's been a while, but here is round 3 of the vocabulary challenge!  Here are the following 10 words that everyone should have learned in high school, according to the Vocabulary.com list :

21) Equinox
22) Euro
23) Evanescent
24) Expurgate
25) Facetious
26) Fatuous
27) Feckless
28) Fiduciary
29) Filibuster
30) Gamete

Well, as usual, there were a couple words that I know I've heard but personally have never used (I'm blushing a little).  But I must say, at least these words look familiar, unlike many of the ones from round 1!  How did you do?  Did you know the meaning of the words?

Vocabulary Challenge #2

I promised you a follow-up post to the Vocabulary Challenge, so here are the following 10 from the list :

(Quick reminder, these are words that apparently every high school graduate should know!)

11) Chromosome
12) Churlish
13) Circumlocution
14) Circumnavigate
15) Deciduous
16) Deleterious
17) Diffident
18) Enervate
19) Enfranchise
20) Epiphany

How familiar are you with the above words?  I am proud to say this round went much better for me!!!

Vocabulary Challenge (#1)

According to Vocabulary.com there are 100 words every high school graduate should know.  I've been out of school for over a decade now, so I thought I'd challenge myself and see how much I managed to retain.  I'll start out with 10, and follow-up on this post again.

Do you know the definitions of the following words :

  1) Abjure
  2) Abrogate
  3) Abstemious
  4) Acumen
  5) Antebellum
  6) Auspicious
  7) Belie
  8) Bellicose
  9) Bowdlerize
10) Chicanery

I admit, I'm a bit embarrassed... I call myself a writer and yet a few of these words I've never heard before and a few I recognize but have no idea what the definition is!! 
What about you?

DWOTD

DWOTD = Dutch Word of the Day, it's a fun website about Dutch words and phrases.  Like so often you hear of things via-via (word of mouth is great marketing), and I found out about this site through a friend at M&T's.  I've lived in the Netherlands long enough to know most of the words and phrases I have seen on the site but it's still interesting to hear someone else's take on the word (so much can be lost in translation).  I hope my family abroad will also appreciate this site!  My parents are always trying to pick up Dutch words here & there... my Dad likes to post things on Facebook in Dutch and my Mom wants to learn words so she can communicate with my daughter.  (Our daughter is 2 1/2 and bi-lingual, but she is still so young she mixes the English & Dutch.)  I also hope my foreign friends living in the Netherlands enjoy this site, it's a nice way to learn words (you have to start somewhere when taking on a new language).  I am fascinated with words.  When I was kid my parents had a "bodybuilding phase" and I was stuck at the gym multiple evenings a week, I would tote my thick red dictionary to the waiting area, plop down on a couch, and read read read.  In elementary & middle school, I was enrolled in ALPHA classes and words were also made to be fun - designing a city and everything had to start with the letter "S" (fun kid challenges).  Now that I am a bi-lingual adult (didn't learn Dutch until I was in my 20's - I'm still learning), the challenges have changed.  Nowadays I am just trying to remember the English word for things I haven't said in a while, it's amazing what you'll forget.  One of the last times I was in The States I wanted whip cream on my coffee and I kept calling it mousse, she looked quite confused but figured it out.  My mother is always having to fill in my sentences, she hears this often, "uh, um, urgh, what's the word I'm looking for... you know that thing, um."  Maybe I should check into an English word of the day site, ha-ha!  As we've all heard in the past, it's important to keep learning and to keep flexing our brains no matter what our age.  I have family members in their 70's & 80's still earning college degrees, will that be you?  Well anyway, I'll keep this post short, just wanted to promote a cool finding!