100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know - Editors of the American Heritage Di 2016

Guide to the dictionary

THIS GUIDE EXPLAINS THE CONVENTIONS USED IN THIS BOOK.

ENTRY WORD The 100 words that constitute this book are listed alphabetically. The entry words, along with inflected and derived forms, are divided into syllables by centered dots. These dots show you where you would break the word at the end of a line. The pronunciation of the word follows the entry word. Please see the pronunciation guide and key on pages x—xi for an explanation of the pronunciation system.

PART OF SPEECH At least one part of speech follows each entry word. The part of speech tells you the grammatical category that the word belongs to. Parts of speech include noun, adjective, adverb, transitive verb, and intransitive verb. (A transitive verb is a verb that needs an object to complete its meaning. Wash is transitive in the sentence I washed the car. The direct object of wash is the car. An intransitive verb is one that does not take an object, as sleep in the sentence I slept for seven hours. Many verbs are both transitive and intransitive.)

INFLECTIONS A word’s inflected form differs from the main entry form by the addition of a suffix or by a change in its base form to indicate grammatical features such as number, person, or tense. They are set in boldface type, divided into syllables, and given pronunciations as necessary. The past tense, past participle, and the third person singular present tense inflections of all verbs are shown. The plurals of nouns are shown when they are spelled in a way other than by adding s to the base form.

LABELS A subject label identifies the special area of knowledge a definition applies to, as at metamorphosis. Information applicable only to a particular sense is shown after the number or letter of that sense; at metamorphosis, the biology sense is applicable to sense 2.

The Usage Problem label warns of possible difficulties involving grammar, diction, and writing style. A word or definition with this label is discussed in a Usage Note, as at paradigm.

Certain nouns are spelled as plurals but sometimes take a singular verb. This information is indicated in italic type, as at thermodynamics.

ORDER OF SENSES Entries having more than one sense are arranged with the central and often the most commonly sought meaning first. Senses and subsenses are grouped to show their relationships with each other. Boldface letters before senses indicate that two or more subsenses are closely related, as at parameter. In an entry with more than one part of speech, the senses are numbered in separate sequences after each part of speech, as at kowtow.

EXAMPLES OF USAGE Examples often follow the definitions and are set in italic type. These examples show the entry words in typical contexts. Sometimes the examples are quotations from authors of books or newspaper articles. These quotations are shown within quotation marks and are followed by the quotation’s author and source.

ETYMOLOGIES Etymologies appear in square brackets following the last definition. An etymology traces the history of a word as far back in time as can be determined with reasonable certainty. The stage most closely preceding Modern English is given first, with each earlier stage following in sequence. A language name, linguistic form (in italics), and brief definition of the form are given for each stage of the derivation. To avoid redundancy, a language, form, or definition is not repeated if it is identical to the corresponding item in the immediately preceding stage. Occasionally, a form will be given that is not actually preserved in written documents but which scholars are confident did exist—such a form will be marked by an asterisk (*). The word from is used to indicate origin of any kind: by inheritance, borrowing, or derivation. When an etymology splits a compound word into parts, a colon introduces the parts and each element is then traced back to its origin, with those elements enclosed in parentheses.

RELATED WORDS At the end of many entries, additional boldface words appear without definitions. These words are related in basic meaning to the entry word and are usually formed from the entry word by the addition of suffixes.

NOTES Some entries include Usage Notes or Word Histories. Usage Notes present important information and guidance on matters of grammar, diction, pronunciation, and nuances. Some refer to responses from our Usage Panel, a group of more than 200 respected writers, scholars, and critics. The editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries regularly survey these people on a broad range of usage questions. Word Histories are found at words whose etymologies are of particular interest. The bare facts of the etymology are explained to give a fuller understanding of how important linguistic processes operate, how words move from one language to another, and how the history of an individual word can be related to historical and cultural developments.

The final section of this book contains exercises that are designed to help you further strengthen your vocabulary.