2/20/2023 0 Comments Panoply synonym![]() ![]() (Thanks to Capital Community College Foundation's Guide to Grammar and Writing.) Spotting Pompous Word Choice Five-dollar words:īig words with lots of syllables (which sometimes have short, simple synonyms. But, as one of the more honest vocabulary-builder books admits, an aptitude with words is probably linked to some other realm of intelligence that makes success possible. These hard-sell tactics want you to conclude that knowing a bunch of big words will somehow magically gain you big promotions and big incomes. They often show charts of higher salaries linked to larger vocabularies. The crass sensationalist ones proclaim that the more words you know, the more successful you will be. You're probably aware of those vocabulary-builder books that you can buy in bookstores. Strangely, some of the big words we do not know have simple synonyms that we all know. Others are almost within our reach if we'd just take a moment and look them up. Why so few? Plenty of those million words are highly specialized. Scholars estimate that there are over a million words in the English language and that an average educated person knows about 30,000 of those words. We think, "What a pompous wind-bag this writer is!" When these words are used unnecessarily, they cause comprehension problems for readers and often seem pompous. One of the great techniques for obfuscating our writing is to use words like "obfuscate." This chapter introduces you to lots of such words. How do you use these words? Let us know by leaving a plethora of comments on our website or our Facebook page.This is a work in progress: lots of writing, formatting, revising, proofing left to do! - David McMurrey Ton technically specifies 2,000 pounds, but it is now used as another synonym for a lot. Although this may be ahistorical, it is not necessarily incorrect. If you are happy to have options, you may say you have a plethora of choices. Today, plethora is not only used negatively. First plethora referred to an overabundance of the humors or of blood, then it signified a dangerous or unwanted excess. How about plethora, another word that means a lot? When plethora was introduced to the English language, it meant an overabundance of things. ![]() ![]() Although myriad of is a bit more common than myriad followed by a noun, either expression can be used. At that time, the saying myriad beauties was then considered correct. Finally, in the 18 th century, the noun was first dropped from the phrase. This allowed for phrases like a myriad of bubbles. Then, in 1609, the singular form of myriad was first used, followed again by of. When myriad first appeared in English, it was always plural and followed by of, such as many myriads of men. “ Myriad comes into English in the 16 th century when the word originally means 10,000, a specific number.” The word changed from referring to 10,000 of something, to meaning a countless number of something. “ Myriad of is older than myriad with the noun,” Curzan explains. When choosing between myriad possibilities and a myriad of possibilities, which phrase is correct? On this week’s edition of That’s What They Say, Host Rina Miller and University of Michigan English Professor Anne Curzan examine three words that mean a lot- myriad, plethora and ton. Most people agree that a myriad is a lot, but there’s less agreement about how to use myriad correctly. ![]()
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