So, my plan for building my vocabulary is to first go through the 500 vocabulary flash cards and separate the ones I know from the ones I do not know. My definition of "knowing" the definition is that what I think the word means is what the card says the word means and no cheating where I kinda got the feel of the word right, but not exactly. As a result I put a lot of words in the "don't know" column that I use regularly because I couldn't think of a decent definition. Out of 500, I only pulled out 170 or so and the 330 that remain are to be reviewed in the following manner: I will pull 25 cards at random from the deck, then I will go through them once and pull out any that I can give a close definition of, and then I will spend a week reviewing the remaining cards at least once a day. As it turns out, I've also decided to blog about them so I can practice through using them in a minimal fashion.
This is week 3 of 13 or so. I plan to go back through the cards that I have learned every four weeks and review them again and throw the ones I know know back into the pile.
Anyway, here's my 22 for the week of 4/19/09
Missive n. - A written note or letter
Exponent n. - One who champions or advocates
Impetuous adj. - Quick to act without thinking
Ephemeral adj. - Lasting a short time
Gambol v. - To dance or skip around playfully
Salubrious adj. - Healthful
Torpor n. - Extreme state of mental or physical sluggishness
Libertine n. - A free thinker, usually used disparagingly; one without moral restraint
Canard n. - A lie
Deference n. - Respect; courtesy
Guile n. - Deceit; trickery
Impecunious adj. - Poor; having no money
Lachrymose adj. - Tearful
Aberrant adj. - Deviating from what is normal or expected
Ardor n. - Intense and passionate feeling
Credulous adj. - Too trusting; gullible
Obsequious adj. - Overly submissive and eager to please
Quiescent adj. - Motionless
Liberal adj. - Tolerant or broad-minded; generous or lavish
Militate v. - To operate against; work against
Variegated adj. - Varied; marked with different colors
Pulchritude n. - Beauty
This process hasn't been difficult, but we'll see how retention goes next week. I need to buy a hefty book with a good math section and get to work on that, because man- do I suck at math.
