Vocabulary Mnemonics

May 10, 2024

Matt’s words

Fastidious (adj): meticulous; pays attention to detail; particular

Sentence: The queen was a fastidious dresser

Rockefeller was a fastidious accountant

Mnemonic: Think “tidy.” Tidy people want everything just right. They’re particular about details.

In short, they’re fas-tidy-ous.  

Peremptory (adj): brusque; not open to appeal; dictatorial in command

Sentence: A peremptory tone…

“The judge’s peremptory tone ended the argument.”

“That’s enough!”

Mnemonic: Change emp to “ump.” An umpire makes lot of peremptory statement: “Strike!” “Ball!” “You’re out of here!”

Mnemonic 2: In the middle of the word you have EMP – electromagnetic pulse. EMPs go off like a bomb.

So, imagine you’re in an argument with someone and he says, “This discussion is over, or else I’m setting off a pair of EMPs!”

Uncouth (adj): uncivilized; lacking good manners

Sentence: Replace “uncivilized”

Uncouth language or uncouth behavior…

“The boy’s uncouth behavior at the dinner table made his grandmother’s jaw drop.”

Mnemonic: Imagine being at a fancy dinner. You accidently pronounce this word “un cow-th.” How uncivilized would that be?

Mnemonic 2: Think of “eww” in the word. Being uncouth would cause people to say “eww.”

Attenuate (v): weaken; reduce in force.

Sentence: “When sick, a dose of medicine can attenuate the pain.”

Mnemonic: Eating late makes you feel weak the next morning.

So, imagine you’re a jedi training with Yoda. You wake up feeling especially weak. You don’t understand why, and he tells you “at ten you ate.”

That’s why you’re feeling weak.

Martinet (noun): Strict disciplinarian; strict rule-enforcer

Sentence: “The general may have been a martinet, but there was no denying his success on the battlefield.”

Mnemonic: Think of General Martin. When he punishes you, he puts you in his net. You hang there yelling “Martin, let me out of this net!”

He ignores you.

Dr. Mom’s words

Jambeau (n): a piece of medieval armor for the leg, especially below the knee

Sentence: Sir Lancelot was a famous knight, but somehow he could never remember to cinch up his jambeaux before a joust.

Mnemonic: “Jam” your “bow” and arrows down in your leg armor so it will be at the ready when needed.

Languid (adj): moving or speaking slowly, with little energy, often in an attractive way; relaxed but also listless, lethargic

Sentence: Taylor Swift disappointed her fans when she languidly sauntered around the stage during an upbeat song.

Mnemonic: “Languid” could sound like “laying (the) kid” (down on the bed). Envision how slowly, carefully, relaxedly you’d lay your sleeping child down.

Agog (adj): showing signs of eagerly awaiting something; enthusiastic, restlessly anticipating

Sentence: Cleveland Cavaliers fans, feeling confident after the team’s first-round win, were agog at the thought of the upcoming series against the Boston Celtics.

Mnemonic: Your one-year-old, who is just beginning to speak, becomes breathlessly enthusiastic at the sight of a canine creature, yelling, “A gog! A gog!”

Lexicon (n): a reference book containing information about words; a dictionary; can also mean the vocabulary associated with a given profession or hobby (i.e., “lingo)

Sentence: The tech world has its own seemingly incomprehensible lexicon, a fact that is annoying to a Luddite.

Mnemonic: Using rhymes, think “text” and “icon.” Text is printed language, and “icons” are symbols or meaningful pictures. A dictionary is a textbook of sorts full of icons, the symbolic characters which make up words.  

Deterge (v): to remove the dirt from; to clean

Sentence: After a recent run on an unexpectedly snowy and muddy trail, Mom deterged her clothing without delay.

Mnemonic: It is short for “detergent,” which is a cleaning agent.

BIG sentence:

The peremptory martinet, always agog about archery and fastidious when it came to deterging her jambeaux before every competition so as not to attenuate her chances of victory, came across as uncouth during an interview when she unintentionally misused the lexicon and languidly called her opponent’s weapon a slingshot.