Smart Words: Vocabulary for the Erudite

by Mim Harrison

How and where to use 500 of the words that make you sound more cultured, worldly, and downright smart.

Whoever said sounding smart had to be painful? It's all in how you acquire the "ten-dollar words" of English. Smart Words makes fast and smooth learning of words such as prelapsarian ,  sedulous , sybaritic and draconian . How? By sticking to ultra-simple definitions, then offering a memorable--and often funny--description of when or why to use the word. A sample sentence shows you how. And the phonetics are a snap.

Here's the description of sybaritic , defined as luxurious : "Make that luxurious with a capital S. The word got its start from Sybaris, an ancient Greek city known for being a tad over the top in the pamper-me department."

Whether you're a word lover, a fan of quirky reference books, or simply in need of a vocabulary makeover, Smart Words will help you be smart(er) about the words you use and the way you use them.

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing, Language, Self Help

208 pages, Paperback

First published November 4, 2008

Reviews

[GW]

I got a real kick out of reading this one. The pronunciations feature will help me immensely. I used to read Thesauruses but, I haven't learned how to pronounce the words so I come off as a bungler, but I'm very smart in word usage I only needed this follow-up to enhance my verbal vocab. The editor uses a practical manner in spelling the "how to pronounce" part of this helpful book.

[Margie]

Good fun. Not a lot of unfamiliar words, but lots of fun to look through. Even my son likes it (and he's not a reader).

[Dawn Livingston]

This was a good book. I got it from the library and wrote down in my notebook the words I wanted to add, mostly words I'd heard of but never knew what they meant. I would borrow this from the library but I wouldn't buy it.

[Christina Gregory]

Awesome fun...guaranteed to enhance anyone's vocabulary in a fun and delightful way!! I refer to it over and over...a gift of words that keeps giving.

[Jennifer]

Will use this in daily vocabulary lessons