Merriam-Webster's Vocabulary Builder - completely revised

Very interesting reading, not only a study guide. Fascinating anecdotes as you read on which keep you alert. Good for those with a fine vocabulary as well as for high schoolers studying for the SAT.

I hesitate to be at all negative about this book. I am aware that I have a somewhat strong vocabulary, but I'd hoped this book would increase it. It didn't. There were fewer than a dozen words with which I was not already very familiar. The book will now go into the little free libraries around town. It's a great book for learning how to recognize the etymological roots of words. As an undergraduate, I studied dead languages precisely because I wanted to learn the roots of English. So this wasn't a helpful feature for me; however, I think it would be fantastic for someone slightly less word-nerdy than myself--and let me tell you, it wouldn't take much to be less of a nerd than I am. I do not see this as a virtue, by the way. Knowing words is just a matter of rote, not intelligence. I don't fool myself at all about that! So...I highly recommend this book for non-word nerds. But if you are a diligent student of the English language (and other languages), I'd say skip it. I'm still on the search for a book that will offer an extensive vocabulary for those who love words enough to already have made friends with a fairly large number of them. If you know of one, please pass it my way. Many thanks!

This will help me to build a better vocabulary which I need. I think I will use this the rest of my life. The only bad thing about it I should had many years ago. I can study it with the Kindle software while on the phone.

I primarily use this with both adults and children. Having a grasp of the English language really builds a strong foundation for life.
I love Merriam-Webster, and their authenticity is above reproach.

I am a teacher/tutor who struggles to help students improve their vocabularies. I was delighted to find this book. It is so logical and so useful that I bought one for myself and others for two of my students who are very bright but (so far) very badly educated. The feedback from the boys has been very positive. I am now a fan.

When I pointed out that he could learn this vocabulary by reading good literature, but he assures me that he cannot possibly cover all those classics in time - not with AP Chemistry to pass well! He finds this vocabulary builder very helpful because it starts with roots and works from there.

The method used to remember vocabulary is well proven over many centuries. This book is not only a valuable collection of words but illustrates how to remember them by association. The method is not the best for recalling words effectively.

Shipped quickly and is what it is described as.However, I wouldn't recommend this for anyone studying for the SAT(who presumably wants to do well.), unless they are a non native English speaker. Most of the words are fairly basic, and what I would expect an 8th grader to know. My friends who are foreign have said that this book has benefited them a lot, so it would be very good for someone who has recently moved to an English speaking country. Admittedly, I am a prodigious reader, so I was hoping for more of a challenge. If someone doesn't read as much in English as I do, they might benefit immensely from this book.

Merriam-Webster's Vocabulary Builder , New Edition 2010 , written by Mary Wood Cornog, will be useful to undergraduates, journalists, editors and all who work in the communications field.

I have personally completed the first Unit out of thirty units ; well, it is money well invested as I felt my brain got a good workout. Here are two terms I definitely enjoyed learning about : reprobate, nestor . Let's see if you can make out their meaning from the following 2 sentences :

1 His wife finally left him, claiming he was a reprobate .

2 The guest of honor was a nestor among journalists .

There is an Introduction to the second edition outlining the 2 goals :

(1) to add a large number of words to your permanent working vocabulary
(2) to teach the most useful of the classical word-building roots to help you continue expanding your vocabulary in the future .

The author provides a knowledge of Greek and Latin roots, those that have produced the largest number of common English words, 250 of them roots.

Pronunciation symbols are provided to help recognize them when you hear them.

The 30 units discuss a total of 1 200 words in detail.
Quizzes folow each 8-word group along with review quizzes at the end of each unit.

Answers and a word index are provided at the end of the pocket book ; you cannot put the book in your pocket but it can be opened and held in one hand ,as it is no longer than an opened hand.

Useful also for GRE and TOEFL students .

I have been an instructor of freshman English language and writing on a college level for several years. While each college had its own required textbooks for the course, I have always supplemented them with Merriam-Webster's Vocabulary Builder. In the beginning, the reason was two-fold: first, this great little book gave students the chance to learn and use, correctly, new words to help them become better readers and writers; and, second, because it allows students to appreciate the vast pool of influences from which the English language is drawn. Students also appreciate that all this is available in a book that costs them the price of a mocha latte.

However, a recent development has added a third reason for making Merriam-Webster's Vocabulary Builder a required text in my class: technology. Too many new students feel it's appropriate to use "LMAO", "IMHO", "BTW", etc., in their essays. It is not appropriate. Of course, abbreviations have long been a part of our language, but this shorthand is getting students away from real words and their meanings. To me, however, the biggest danger comes from the thesaurus software that is available on every computer. At best, students use alternate words without learning or retaining their meanings. At worst, students are using these words, thinking that they express what they really want to say when they do not. For example, one student used the word "myriad" instead of "many" to describe the number of papers she had to write for a particular class. Yes, she may have had to write MANY papers but not a COUNTLESS NUMBER of them. (The student was not being creative or indulging in hyperbole; she thought "myriad" meant many because the thesaurus offered it to her.)

One final comment, students actually like the book. The affordability aside, several have mentioned that they like "the feel" of the book, that it has a certain "authority" while also being accessible. These reasons may sound NEBULOUS but it's the type of feedback I've received over my MANY (not MYRIAD) years of teaching.

An Easy Vocabulary Builder

A Review of "Merriam-Webster's Vocabulary Builder"

by Mary Wood Cornog

ISBN 0-87779-910-5

Copyright 1998

This book 558 pages and is organized into twenty-five study units.

Each of the twenty five-study unit is composed of a series of classical roots. Each root has an explanation.

Following each root/explanation is a list of words based on the classical root. Each modern word has a pronunciation key, followed by a simplified definition and an example. The definitions are good and the examples are well thought-out. Frequent quizzes ensure comprehension.

This book is a good vocabulary builder and is easy to read and use as a self-study guide.

See also:

Merriam-Webster's Everyday Language Reference Set: Vocabulary Builder/Thesaurus/Dictionary

I recommend "Merriam-Webster's Vocabulary Builder" because it is so easy to read. It is a first-class, uncomplicated self-study text.