100 Words That All High School Graduates Should Know
The editors of the American Heritage dictionaries have compiled a list of 100 words they recommend every high school graduate should know.
“The words we suggest,” says senior editor Steven Kleinedler, “are not meant to be exhaustive but are a benchmark against which graduates and their parents can measure themselves. If you are able to use these words correctly, you are likely to have a superior command of the language.”
Here’s the list. How many do you know? I crossed out the ones I didn’t know.
| abjure abrogate acumen antebellum auspicious belie bellicose chicanery chromosome circumlocution circumnavigate deciduous deleterious diffident enfranchise epiphany equinox euro evanescent expurgate facetious |
fatuous fiduciary filibuster gamete gauche gerrymander hegemony hemoglobin homogeneous hubris hypotenuse impeach incognito incontrovertible inculcate infrastructure interpolate irony kinetic kowtow laissez faire lexicon loquacious |
metamorphosis mitosis moiety nanotechnology nihilism nomenclature nonsectarian notarize obsequious oligarchy omnipotent orthography oxidize parabola paradigm parameter pecuniary photosynthesis plagiarize plasma polymer precipitous quasar |
recapitulate reciprocal reparation respiration sanguine soliloquy subjugate suffragist supercilious taxonomy tectonic tempestuous thermodynamics totalitarian unctuous vacuous vehement vortex winnow wrought xenophobe yeoman ziggurat |
