luc - light
elucidate- enlighten
lucid-clear
translucent- allowing some light to pass through
magn - great
magnify- enlarge
magnanimity- generosity, greatness of soul
magnitude- greatness, extent
mal - bad
malevolent- wishing evil
malediction- curse
malefactor- evil doer
man - hand
manufacture- create (make by hand)
manuscript- written by hand
emancipate- free (let go from the hand)
mar - sea
maritime- connected with seafaring
submarine - undersea craft
mariner- seaman
mater, matr - mother
maternal- pertaining to motherhood
matriarch- female ruler of a family, group, or state
matrilineal- descending on the mother’s side
mit, miss - to send
missile- projectile
dismiss- send away
transit- send across
mob, mot, mov - move
mobilize- cause to move
motility- ability to move
immovable- not able to be moved
mon, monit - to warn
admonish- warn
premonition- foreboding
monitor- watcher (warner)
mori, mort - to die
mortuary- funeral parlor
moribund- dying
immortal- not dying
morph - shape, form
amorphous- formless, lacking shape
metamorphosis- changing of shape
anthropomorphic- in the shape of a man
mut - change
immutable- not able to be changed
mutate- undergo a great change
mutability- changeableness, inconstancy
nat - born
innate- from birth
prenatal- before birth
nativity- birth
nav - ship
navigate- sail a ship
circumnavigate- said around the world
naval- pertaining to ships
grad, gress - go,step
digress- go astray (from the main point)
regress- go backwards
gradual- step by step, by degrees
graph, gram - writing
epigram- pithy statement
telegram- instantaneous message over great distance
stenography- shorthand (writing narrowly)
greg - flock, herd
gregarious- tending to group together as in a herd
aggregate- group, total
egregious- conspicuously bad; shocking
helio - sun
heliotrope- flower that faces the sun
heliograph- instrument that uses the sun’s rays to send signals
it, itiner - journey, road
exit- way out
itinerary- plan of journey
jac, jact, jec - to throw
projectile- missile; something thrown forward
trajectory- path taken by thrown object
ejaculatory- casting or throwing out
jur, jurat - to swear
perjure- testify falsely
jury- group of men and women sworn to seek the truth
adjuration- solemn urging
labor, laborat - to work
laboratory- place where work is done
collaborate- work together with others
laborious- difficult
leg, lect, lig - to choose, to read
election- choice
legible- able to read
eligible- able to be selected
leg - law
legislature- law-making body
legitimate- lawful
legal- lawful
liber, libr - book
library- collection of books
libretto- the “book” of a musical play
libel- slander (originally found in a little book)
liber - free
liberation- the fact of setting free
liberal- generous (giving freely); tolerant
log - work, study
entomology- study of insects
etymology- study of words parts and derivations
monologue- speech by one person
loqu, locut - to talk
soliloquy- speech by one individual
loquacious - talkative
elocution - speech
brevity (n.) - conciseness
Brevity is essential when you send a telegram or cablegram; you are charged for every word.
Ex: shortness, briefness
bristling (adj.) - rising like bristles; showing irritation
The dog stood there, bristling with anger.
Ex: become upset
brittle (adj.) easily broken; difficult.
My employer’s self-control was as brittle as an egg-shell. Her brittle personality made if difficult for me to get along with her.
Ex: fragile, irritable
broach (v.) introduce; open up.
Jack did not even try to broach the subject of religion with his in-laws. If you broach a touchy subject, it may cause a breach.
Ex: bring up a topic, mention
brunt (n.) main impact or shock.
Tom Sawyer claimed credit for painting the fence, but the brunt of the work fell on others. However, he bore the brunt of Aunt Polly’s complaints when the paint began to peel.
Ex: bad end of a situation
brusque (adj.) blunt; abrupt
Was Bruce too brusque when he brushed off Bob’s request with a curt “Not now!”?
Ex: brief
buccaneer (n.) pirate
At Disneyland the Pirates of the Caribbean sing a song about their loves as bloody buccaneers.
Ex: pirates raid, steal loot
bucolic (adj.) rustic; pastoral
Filled with browsing cows and bleating sheep, the meadow was charmingly bucolic sight.
Ex: rural
buffet (v.) slap, batter; knock about.
To buffet something is to rough it up. (Buffet rhymes with Muffett. Was Miss Muffett buffeted by the crowd on the way to the buffet tray?
buffoonery (n.) clowning
In the Ace Ventura movies, Jim Carrey’s buffoonery was hilarious: like Bozo the Clown, he’s a natural buffoon.
bulwark (n.) earthwork or other strong defenses; person who defends.
The navy is our principal bulwark against invasion.
Bumptious (adj.) self-assertive
His classmates called him a show-off because of his bumptious airs.
Bungle (v.) mismanage; blunder.
Don’t botch this assignment, Bumstead; if you bungle the job, you’re fired!
Buoyant (adj.) able to float; cheerful and optimistic.
When the boat capsized, her buoyant life jacket kept Jody afloat. Scrambling back on board, she was still buoyant mood, certain that despite the delay she’d win the race.
burgeon (v.) grow forth; send out buds.
In the spring plants that burgeon are a promise of the beauty that come.
burlesque (v.) give an imitation that ridicules.
In Space Rick Moranis burlesques Darth Vader of Star Wars, ingeniously parodying Vader’s stiff walk and hollow voice.
burly (adj.) husky; muscular.
The burly mover lifter a packing crate with ease.
burnish (v.) make shiny by rubbing; polish.
The maid burnished the brass fixtures until they reflected the lamplight
bustle (v.) move about energetically; teem
David and his children bustled about the house getting in each other’s way as they tried to pack for the camping trip. The whole house bustled with activity
buttress (v.) support; prop up
The attorney came up with several far-fetched arguments in a vain attempt to buttress his weak case
buxom (adj.) plump; full bosomed
Fashion models, and usually slim and willowy rather than buxom
cabal (n.) small group of persons secretly united to promote their own interests
The cabal was defeated when the scheme was discovered.
cache (n.) hiding place.
The detectives followed the suspect until he led them to the cache where he has stored his loot. He had cached the cash in a bag for trash: it was a hefty sum.
cacophonous (adj.) discordant; inharmonious
Do the students in the orchestra enjoy the cacophonous sound they can stand the racket. cacophony.
cadaver (n.) corpse
In some states, it is illegal to dissect cadavers.
cadence (n.) rhythmic rise and fall ( of words or sounds); beat
Marching down the road, the troops sang out, following the cadence set by the sergeant.
cajole (v.) coax; wheedle
Diane tired to cajole her father into letting her drive the family car. cajolery.
calamity (n.) disaster; misery.
As news of the calamity spread,offers of relief poured in to the stricken community.
caldron (n.) large kettle
“why, Mr. Crusoe,” said the savage heating the giant caldron, “wed love to have you for dinner!”
caliber (n.) ability; quality
The scholarship commitee searched for students of high caliber, ones with the intelligence and ability to be a credit to the school.
callous (adj) hardened; unfeeling
He had worked in the hospital for so many years that he was callous to the suffering in the wards.
callow (adj) youthful; immature, inexperienced
As a freshman Jack was sure he was a man of the world; as a sophomore, he made fun of freshmen as callow youths. In both cases, his judgment showed just how callow he was.
calorific (adj.) heat-producing
Coal is much more calorific than green wood
calumny (n.) malicious, ,misrepresentation; slander
he could endure his financial failure, but he could not bear the calumny that his foes heaped upon him.
camaraderie (n.) good-fellowship.
what he loved lest about his job was the sense of camaraderie he and his coworkers shared.
candor (n.) frankness; open honesty.
Jack can carry candor too far; when he told Jill his honest opinion of her, she nearly slapped his face
canny (adj.) shrewd thrifty
The canny Scotsman was more than a match for the swindlers
cant (n.) insincere expressions of piety; jargon of thieves
Shocked by the news of minister’s extramarital love affairs, the worshippers dismissed his talk about the sacredness of marriage as mere cant. Cant is a form of hypocrisy; those who can, pray; those who cant, pretend.
cantankerous (adj.) ill humored; irritable.
Constantly complaining about his treatment and refusing to cooperate with hospital staff, he was a cantankerous patient.
canter (n) slow gallop
Because the race horse had outdistanced its competition so easily, the reporter wrote that the race was won in a canter
capitulate (v.) surrender.
The enemy was warned to capitulate or face annihilation.
capricious (adj.) unpredictable, fickle, fanciful
The storm was capricious: it changed course constantly, Jill was capricious too, she changed boyfriends almost as often as she hanged clothes.
captivate (v.) charm or enthrall.
Bart and Lisa were captivated by their new nanny;s winning manner.
cardinal (adj.) chief.
If you want to increase your word power, the cardinal rule of vocabulary building is to read.
careen (v.) lurch; sway from side to side
The taxicab careened wildly as it rounded the corner.
caricature (n.) exaggerated picture or description; distortion
The cartoonist’s caricature of President Bush grossly exaggerated the size of the president;s ears.
carnal (adj.) fleshly
Is the public more interested in carnal pleasures than in spiritual matters? Compare the number of people who read PLayboy daily to the number of those who read the Bible or Koran every day.
carnivorous (adj.) meat-eating
The lion’s a carnivorous beast A hunk of meat makes up his feast. A cow is not a carnivore. She likes the taste of grain, not gore.
carping (adj.) finding fault.
A carping critic is a nit-picker: he loves to point out flaws. If you don’t like this definition, feel free to carp.
castigate (v.) criticize severely; punish
When the teacher threathened that she would castigate the mischievous boys if they didn’t behave, they shaped up in a hurry.
cataclysm (n.) violent upheaval, deluge
The Russian Revolution was a political and social cataclysm that overturned czarist society.
catalyst (n.) agent which brings about a chemical change while it remains unaffected and unchanged
Many chemical reactions cannot take place without the presence of a catalyst.
cataract (n.) great waterfall; eye abnormality
She gazed with awe at the mighty cataract known as Niagara Falls.
canto (n.) division of a long poem
DAnte’s poetic masterpiece The Divine Comedy is divided into cantos.
canvass (v.) determine votes, etc,
After cavassing the sentments of his constituents, the congrssman was confident that he represented the majority option of his districts.
capacious (adj.) spacious.
In the capacious rotunda of the railroad terminal, thousands of travelers lingered while waiting for their train.
browbeat (v.) bully; intimidate
Billy resisted Ted’s attempts browbeat him into handing over his lunch money.