Words and Meaning
Vocabulary in context
Work out what an unfamiliar word means from the sentence around it.
You will never know every word you read, and you do not need to. A good reader guesses well. The sentence around an unfamiliar word almost always leaves clues, and learning to spot them is worth more than any list of definitions.
Clue one: the explanation
Often the sentence explains itself. "The room was immaculate — not a speck of dust anywhere." The dash tells you the rest of the line is the definition.
Clue two: the contrast
Words like but, although and however signal an opposite. "She was hesitant at first, but soon joined in happily." So hesitant must be the opposite of joining in happily.
Clue three: the consequence
Look at what follows. "The soldiers were famished, and ate everything on the table." Only hunger explains that.
Worked example
What does "tranquil" mean in: "After the crowds left, the lake was tranquil once more"?
Note the contrast: crowds, and then the crowds leaving.
"Once more" tells you the lake is returning to how it was before the crowds.
Try it together
Let us work out two unfamiliar words together, using nothing but the sentences they sit in.
The first sentence: The path was so precarious that we crawled along it on our hands and knees.
1.Which of the three clues is this sentence giving you — an explanation, a contrast or a consequence? Write one word.
Have a go
"The shopkeeper was frugal and never spent a single coin more than he had to." What does "frugal" mean?
Ready to practise?
Eight questions on what you have just read. Nothing is timed, and you can play as many times as you like.