Vocabulary Mnemonics

October 13, 2024

Matt’s words

Salubrious (adj): healthful, promoting health

When Matt found out that being salubrious would require eating salad, he lost interest.

Mnemonic: “Salud” in Spanish means health. Also, salubrious has the same beginning as salad, which is associated with healthy eating.

Obstreperous (adj): noisy, loud

The obstreperous boys were being so loud that old Mrs. Jones had to go out and yell at them.

Mnemonic: “Strep” in the middle can make us think that you might be likely to get strep throat if you’re behaving obstreperously.

Punctilious (adj): precise, paying attention to trivialities

When diffusing a bomb, being punctilious is necessary.

Mnemonic: Begins like punctual. Punctual people are often precise, paying attention to time but also other things.

Rapacious (adj): greedy, predatory

With his giant vault of money, Scrooge McDuck is the poster child of rapaciousness.

Mnemonic: “Rap”pers often appear wearing lots of bling, such as gold jewelry, which could be associated with greediness.

Quixotic (adj): extravagantly idealistic or impractical

Building a swimming pool in the living room was a highly quixotic idea.

Mnemonic: Think of Don Quixote, who lives in a fantasy world in which he is a noble knight saving damsels in distress. He is idealistic and impractical.  

Dr. Mom’s words

Obtuse (adj): not quick or alert in perception, feeling, or intellect; not sensitive or observant; dull

The finer points of the mayor’s presentation were not appreciated by several obtuse board members.

Mnemonic: From geometry, obtuse angles measure greater than 90 degrees, as opposed to acute angles, which measure less than 90 degrees. The larger angles are less familiar, more difficult to pin down. It might be easier to perceive the size of smaller angles, so obtuse means more difficult to grasp, making one feel obtuse.

Coeval (adj): existing during the same period as; of the same age, date, or duration; coetaneous; coincident with

The students of European history were amazed when they learned that Shakespeare and Galileo were coeval, having been born within two months of each other.

Mnemonic: “Co” means the same, and “eve” can mean evening. Think of things happening on the same eve.

Calumniate (v): to make maliciously or knowingly false statements about; to malign, slander, besmirch

The senatorial candidate’s vicious comments were meant to calumniate his unsuspecting opponent.

Mnemonic: “Alum” is at the beginning of the word. It is a crystalline solid sometimes used as medical astringent or styptic. When you put a dab of alum on a canker sore, it stings like crazy; it hurts a lot, just like when someone calumniates about you.

Fervid (adj): marked by great passion or zeal; eager, enthused

Matthew and his siblings’ devotion to the Denver Broncos grows more fervid every year.

Mnemonic: When you hear “fer,” think of wearing a “fur” coat. You are out on the town looking and feeling “hot” and potentially passionate.

Agoraphobia (n): fear of open spaces, fear of crowds and/or the public

 Sometimes people develop agoraphobia as they age, perhaps due to their physical limitations.

Mnemonic: In ancient Greece, the marketplace was called the agora. If you are fearful (phobic) about going out in public into the “marketplace,” you may suffer from agoraphobia.

BIG sentences:

We know you are not obtuse inasmuch as you are listening to a vocabulary podcast and planning for a challenging college test. Become a fervid fan of learning; it’s okay to be rapacious when it comes to gaining skill and knowledge. But, be punctilious in your attention so you don’t improperly use your new words.