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Technically speaking, the Presidential Inauguration only refers to when the president-elect takes the oath of office. It is important to keep in mind that the peaceful transition of power in this country rests on a few powerful words. Continue reading...

In chronicling WikiLeaks' involvement in the unfolding Edward J. Snowden affair, Scott Shane, who is the national security reporter in the Washington bureau of The New York Times, made use of the word bedevil in "Offering Snowden Aid, WikiLeaks Gets Back in the Game." Continue reading...

Did you know that the first Friday the 13th of the calendar year is also National Blame Someone Else Day? Here's a look at some words that point the finger, lay the blame, and go tsk-tsk. Continue reading...

If you'll be in Tarrytown, NY for the Center for Educational Innovation Summer Leadership Conference, come say hello! We'd love to show you how schools across NY are integrating differentiated vocabulary instruction across the curriculum to close the word gap and improve literacy for all students. Continue reading...

You may remember an interview we did last year with Katie Raynolds, a remarkable 10th grader and dedicated linguaphile from Seattle, Washington. Well, Katie just spent a busy week with us here at the VT's New York office as our editorial intern! She graciously put together this word list:

I discovered when I searched through the Dept. of Word Lists that they're based on a subject a person is passionate about. So I thought, what is my passion? The answer clearly is: words! I found the following words that serve to describe other words, and I explain how we use them. For some I also included interesting stories about their origins.

Eponym, a name derived from the name of a person (real or imaginary). Examples: Achilles tendon (Achilles the Greek hero), Freudian slip (Sigmund Freud), Louisiana (King Louis XIV).

Onomatopoeia, words that imitate the sound that they denote. Examples: Pow! Bam! (a type of onomatopoeia that was made popular in comic books), chickadee, meow.

Sibilant, a consonant characterized by a hissing sound (like s or sh). The word sibilant comes from the Latin word sibil (hiss), which is actually onomatopoeia for the sounds that a snake makes. Example of sibilance: Sally sells sea shell by the sea shore.

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Beware the ides of March! The vocabulary of time has plenty of other common and rare terms to help you navigate the space-time continuum. Here's a few timely terms that can build your vocabulary, and they're all learnable within a fortnight. Continue reading...

In the May 13 issue of New York Magazine, Kathryn Schulz introduced a critique of F. Scott Fitzgerald's much-beloved The Great Gatsby by referring to the current movie-driven Gatsby resurgence as a recrudescence:: "Since we find ourselves, as we cyclically do here, in the middle of another massive Gatsby ­recrudescence, allow me to file a minority report." Continue reading...

The Vocabulary Bowl leaderboards reflect the total words mastered by all your students. Help them maximize word mastery to propel your school to the #1 spot! Continue reading...

Looking to make your writing more vivid? Start with color! Here are more than 195 words to help you paint pictures in your readers' minds. Continue reading...