100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know
December 18, 2007 by Lillie
Thanks to Georganna Hancock at A Writer’s Edge for introducing me to 100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know from the editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries.
I thought I had a pretty fair vocabulary – I usually do well on the quizzes at Free Rice, which not only helps you improve your vocabulary but also raises money to feed the hungry.
However, there were a number of words on the list of 100 words that I couldn’t easily define, but I had a general idea of their meaning. And there were a couple I didn’t know at all.
I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t remember the word orthography (one of the definitions is correct spelling – as an editor, I should certainly know that word!).
I don’t think I’ve ever heard of ziggurat. I looked it up and found a ziggurat is an ancient Babylian/Assyrian temple in the form of a pyramidal tower. I’m not quite sure why it’s among 100 words every high school graduate should know. How many ancient temples will those graduates encounter in their lifetimes?
However, the rest of the words are useful, even for those of us many, many years beyond high school graduation.
[tags]vocabulary, words, Free Rice[/tags]
Glad you liked the reference, Lillie. My experience with the list was similar to yours, although I am reaching the point of needing to look up every fifty-cent word I want to use … the true definitions are fading away to memories of how I think they are used. AND I AM MORE FREQUENTLY WRONG! How annoying for an editor. You should see the controversy this list has stirred up on the Writer’s Digest forum, where I also introduced the Free Rice website–to more controversy. If you like arguments, that’s the place to go!
I remember ziggurat from pre-college, Lutheran Sunday School bible studies. And I think it’s an important word because it appears in literature now and then. But maybe it was the best “Z” word they could come up with so that their list goes from A to Z!
Ones I thought I knew, but better look up just in case, are jejune, moiety and quotidian. They certainly aren’t in my active vocabulary.
I wonder how many of those who use parameter and paradigm know what they mean.
Oh my, I think Paul Simon hit the nail on the head with his song Kodachrome. “When I look back at all the tings I learned in high school….”
My 20 year reunion was last year but considering my age and rapidly approaching senility, I was impressed that there were only a few word on the list that I didn’t know the meaning of.
Well, being somebody who used to try to learn a new word every day, I was obsessed with looking up the meanings of the ord I didn’t know on dictionary.com, thanks for the educational post.
My favorite word from the list, one that I have never heard a high school student use, is moiety. My new resolution for the new year: Use the word moiety at least once a month.
I can honestly say that although I have a degree, none of these words are my normal vocab. Language is such a fastinating thing when you actually look into it, but I think I’d be more scared of using the words incorrectly and appearing ignorant.
Amy,
As I said in the post, most of the words were somewhat familiar, but, like you, they’re not words I use in daily conversation.
Pathetic. I couldn’t understand most of the words. Perhaps its because I am not in a high school anymore
. OK jokes apart. I am very bad at vocabulary and this post is an alarm to me. Georgeanna/Lillie thanks for reminding this to me. I feel so low. I will take it as a challenge and learn all those 100 words listed there.
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Girish,
Don’t feel bad. As I mentioned, there were a few words I’d never heard of and quite a few that I had heard of and had only a vague idea of their meaning. It’s an interesting list and exercise, but I’m not sure why many of them were listed as words high school graduates should know. A large percentage of them are words that most people will never have occasion to use.
Though I have a fairly good vocabulary, I prefer to use simple words whenever possible. My goal is for people to understand and enjoy reading what I write, not for them to be impressed with my vocabulary. Of course, sometimes a “big” words is the best choice, but in most cases, simpler words convey the same meaning in a more readable way.
Amazing. If we have a test to identify those words I would fail miserably. Lillie, dont you think that vocabulary should be given equal importance like Math or science. People like me will be benefited.
Alan,
Yes, I think vocabulary is important. However, that doesn’t mean we should use “big” words just because we know them. In many cases, simpler words convey the message as or more effectively than complex words. Being able to communicate is what matters—not the size of the words you know or the size of your vocabulary.
I read these words.These are really very useful for me and I am helpful to you for increasing my vocabulary.
manu,
It was an interesting list. I’m not sure how much we will use those words, but it’s always good to have a larger vocabulary.
Georganna should be definitely lauded for an effort like this. This could be a good entry for competitions or fillers in events. That way it is fun and also people learn new words when it is fun. I appreciate Lillie’s effort for writing a post for the same.
Thanks, Michael.
It certainly is an interesting list – but I have to say that the title is a bit of a misnomer! It isn’t only ‘ziggurat’ that I disagree with being a word that EVERY high school graduate should know … I’d love to see an analysis of how often these words have been used in mainstream media, or how often they are included in legal or medical documents that people in the mainstream need to be able to understand. I agree with around 20% of the words on the list being there – and don’t think that our education system has failed at all if graduates can’t put a meaning or context to up to 80% of these words.
Ricardo,
I’m not sure how this list was derived or the validity of it. I just thought it was interesting.
I would say a lot of the words used here I do not use in my day to day life but it is good to have a wider vocabulary as you never know when you might use it.
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Laura,
Most of us probably don’t use many of these words often.
I nearly laughed because I have forgotten most of them. Anyway, thanks a lot for sharing them, it reminds me of the time when I was in school
Diocelin,
Glad you got a chuckle and a good memory from the post.
I’m embarrassed to say that I do not know a lot of the words. Maybe it should be “100 words every College graduate should know” LOL
Sally,
Maybe you’re right.
Those are tough words for a high school graduate.
This is great. These are words not only high school students should remember but also for writers! Thanks for sharing it.
Excellent point, Sara. Even though I advocate writing simply to be understood, sometimes the right word is a “big” word. A good writer has a good vocabulary to be able to find just the right word.
I am a college graduate and I honestly don’t know a lot of these words. Does that mean my education suck?
Ali,
Not necessarily. Someone with a degree in science would probably have less reason to know these words than someone with a degree in English literature.
Good collection of words. Intelligently picked. It should help people. Good luck!
marry,
Of course, I had to do with picking the words.
But I’m glad you liked the post.
I, for one, hate “looser”I may be a loser, I may fail at life, but as far as I can tell I’m pretty tight.
Jack,
I have no idea how this relates to the 100 words every graduate should know. I’m sure “looser” and “loser” weren’t on the list.
These words were challenging. They are the kind of words that a successful high school graduate can learn from rigorous coursework in a standard variety of subjects.
Emma,,
You make it sound so hard!
I found this list to be quite strange. I was a linguist at one point in my military career and there are a lot of words on this list that I have never even heard of … and trust me, I’v done a lot of extensive work with language. Either way, I learned some new words today!
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Drake,
As you can tell from the date of this post, it’s been a while since I’ve looked at the list. But I remember that there were a few I’d never heard of and more that I had a vague idea of what they might mean but didn’t really know them.
Georganna,
Isn’t it annoying to be convinced you know something and be wrong? It does seem to happen more often as time passes. Like you, I find myself looking up words to be sure I’m using them right. My husband thinks I’m a dictionary – more for spelling than definitions but sometimes both. I usually tell him, “I think it’s ___, but you’d better look it up.”
Steve,
Those are good ones. Quotidian I know (means daily or ordinary) but moiety and jejune are vague in my mind.
Code4Gold,
You’re practically a new graduate.
My 40-year college reunion is coming up this year, so I’ve been out of high school more than twice as long as you have.
Glad to contribute to your vocabulary. Dictionary.com got some use from me over this list as well.
David,
Not only have I never heard a high school student use the word moiety, but I don’t believe I’ve ever used it myself.
Good luck with using the word monthly!