A great challenge for anyone looking to improve their vocabulary is identifying the words they don't know. Yesterday, Slate contributor Seth Stevenson gave the phenomenon a name in Bubble vocabulary: the words you almost know, sometimes use, but are secretly unsure of. Continue reading...
Last month we launched the Vocabulary.com app for iPhones and iPads, bringing the addictive Vocabulary.com game and the powerful dictionary that supports it to the palm of your hand. The release was an instant hit, rocketing to the top of the App Store charts for education apps. Today we are pleased to announce that the Vocabulary.com app is now available for Android devices as well. Continue reading...
Victuals is one of those words that many people know by sound and sight but have not put sound and sight together. It's sort of like knowing someone by name and knowing someone by face, but not realizing the two are the same person. Until you accidentally find out, and it's usually embarrassing. Continue reading...
As I was searching Twitter while writing last month's column on bae, I occasionally found tweets saying things like, "Gonna turn up tonight with my bae!" Now why would someone find it newsworthy to announce that they were simply going to appear somewhere? Of course, not everything people tweet is newsworthy, but still, why such excitement over simply showing up? Continue reading...
In an editorial for the Chicago Tribune yesterday, columnist Eric Zorn took issue with the College Board's inclusion of obsequious in a list of "low-frequency words that would be unlikely to be assessed directly as words-in-context questions on the redesigned SAT." Continue reading...
It's William Shakespeare's 450th birthday today. What better way to celebrate than with a whole host of learning resources focused on his words? Continue reading...
Take a closer look at how Donna Tartt's word choices help her conjure up a place and wrap the reader in memory with 25 words from the Pulitzer-prize winning The Goldfinch. Continue reading...
The award-winning technology powering Vocabulary.com is now available as an app for Android devices!
Already played by millions online, the uniquely powerful word-learning system can now be enjoyed on mobile devices and tablets. The Vocabulary.com app provides personalized word learning on a big data scale. Continue reading...
We have occasionally invoked Tom Lehrer when discussing how the simple letter "e" can change the meaning of many words, citing his song "Silent 'E.'" That "e" can also magically change a word into another form, such as a noun into a verb. This being illogical English, there are few "rules" as to what it does, though. Continue reading...