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The Right Word
February, 2007 - "Filling Your Vocabulary Quiver"
February, 2007 - "Filling Your Vocabulary Quiver"
Words are the arrows in a writer’s quiver. The writer, like an archer, takes a word out of his quiver, puts
the word in his bow, pulls back the cord, aims, and shoots. His target is the audience of readers. Can he
hit the target? Not if he runs out of arrows. It is important for a writer to build his English vocabulary so
that he will have lots of words to use in his writing, a full quiver of arrows for hitting his target.
When you are searching for the right word in writing poetry, you should have three references handy: a
dictionary of the English language, a thesaurus, and a rhyming dictionary. These tools will help you to build
and expand your vocabulary as you write poems. These three tools can help you to find the right word for
your writing.
A dictionary is a book that lists words in alphabetical order and gives their definitions. A dictionary will
help you to find words, spell them correctly, pronounce them correctly, and understand their exact
meaning. It can also give you the grammatical part of speech for a word (noun, pronoun, verb, adjective,
adverb, preposition, conjunction, or interjection) so that you can use the word properly in sentences. A
dictionary may give a brief history of the word’s origins (such as Greek, Latin, French, German, Spanish, or
Old English). An unabridged or complete dictionary lists every standard word in the English language and
gives all of the standard meanings of the word. It will also include informal uses of the word, such as slang,
colloquialism, and idiom. Besides listing full words, it also lists prefixes, suffixes, and abbreviations, and
gives their meanings. An unabridged dictionary will also list words that are no longer being used, but
which were used in classic English literature in the past, so that you can understand that past literature
when you are reading it. (Click here for The Right Word’s Brief History of the English Dictionary.)
A thesaurus will help you to find other words related to your word. A thesaurus lists words in alphabetical
order and gives you a list of their synonyms, which are words that have similar meanings. A thesaurus may
also give you antonyms, which are words that have opposite meanings, and it may give you other types of
related words. Once you have found a related word in the thesaurus, it is wise to look up that related
word in your dictionary to find its exact meaning and usage before you decide whether to use it in your
writing.
A rhyming dictionary lists words, or the ending syllables of words, in alphabetical order, along with their
correct pronunciation. Many rhyming dictionaries list the ending syllables of words using a phonetic
spelling rather than an alphabetical spelling. For each word or ending, the rhyming dictionary gives you a
list of other words that have the same ending sound. This will help you to find words that rhyme. Once
you have found a rhyming word, it is wise to look up that rhyming word in your regular dictionary to find
the word’s exact meaning and usage before you decide whether to use it in your writing.
Your dictionary, your thesaurus, and your rhyming dictionary are wonderful tools. Play around with these
three tools to get familiar and comfortable with using them. It is fun to experiment with words, and
becoming handy with the reference tools will help you to build your vocabulary and fill your quiver of
arrows.
For example, pick a word like “cool” and look it up in your dictionary, thesaurus, and rhyming dictionary.
(If you do not have these reference tools at home, click here for The Right Word’s Choosing Your
Vocabulary Reference Tools. link somehow to go to my accompanying article For now, you can use an
online dictionary by clicking on the links provided.) How many standard English meanings for “cool” do you
find listed in your dictionary? Did you know all those meanings? When I looked up the word “cool” in my
dictionary, I found that it has been a word in the English language for a long time. My dictionary gave
seven standard meanings as an adjective and four standard meanings as a verb. It also gave several slang
meanings and idiom phrases for the word. Slang and idioms are not the best way to use words in serious
writing, so I will not add those meanings to my vocabulary quiver. How many synonyms do you find listed
for “cool” in your thesaurus? When I looked up the word “cool” in my thesaurus, I found that it has dozens
of synonyms as an adjective and verb. It only has a couple of good antonyms (“warm” and “ardent”). Two
of the synonyms were words that I did not understand: “frore” and “aplomb”. So I looked up those two
new words in my regular dictionary to find out their origins and exact meanings. The word “frore” was
labeled as “archaic” in my dictionary, which means the word is not new at all. In fact, archaic words are
old words that are no longer used in modern English. I will not add the archaic word to my vocabulary
quiver for writing. How many rhyming words do you find listed for “cool” in your rhyming dictionary? When
I looked up the ending “-ool” in my alphabetical-spelling rhyming dictionary, I found over 50 suggested
rhyming words. Seventeen of the rhyming words were words that I did not recognize, so I looked them up
in my regular dictionary to find out their meanings. I also looked up the ending in my phonetic-spelling
rhyming dictionary under the correct phonetic version of “-ul”, and found many of the same rhyming words.
By playing around with my three references and the word “cool”, I now understand the word “cool” much
better. I found many synonyms and rhyming words for “cool”, and I also found many new words that I
could contemplate adding to my vocabulary quiver. Use your dictionary, thesaurus, and rhyming dictionary
to help you become an excellent writer with a full quiver of arrows!
the word in his bow, pulls back the cord, aims, and shoots. His target is the audience of readers. Can he
hit the target? Not if he runs out of arrows. It is important for a writer to build his English vocabulary so
that he will have lots of words to use in his writing, a full quiver of arrows for hitting his target.
When you are searching for the right word in writing poetry, you should have three references handy: a
dictionary of the English language, a thesaurus, and a rhyming dictionary. These tools will help you to build
and expand your vocabulary as you write poems. These three tools can help you to find the right word for
your writing.
A dictionary is a book that lists words in alphabetical order and gives their definitions. A dictionary will
help you to find words, spell them correctly, pronounce them correctly, and understand their exact
meaning. It can also give you the grammatical part of speech for a word (noun, pronoun, verb, adjective,
adverb, preposition, conjunction, or interjection) so that you can use the word properly in sentences. A
dictionary may give a brief history of the word’s origins (such as Greek, Latin, French, German, Spanish, or
Old English). An unabridged or complete dictionary lists every standard word in the English language and
gives all of the standard meanings of the word. It will also include informal uses of the word, such as slang,
colloquialism, and idiom. Besides listing full words, it also lists prefixes, suffixes, and abbreviations, and
gives their meanings. An unabridged dictionary will also list words that are no longer being used, but
which were used in classic English literature in the past, so that you can understand that past literature
when you are reading it. (Click here for The Right Word’s Brief History of the English Dictionary.)
A thesaurus will help you to find other words related to your word. A thesaurus lists words in alphabetical
order and gives you a list of their synonyms, which are words that have similar meanings. A thesaurus may
also give you antonyms, which are words that have opposite meanings, and it may give you other types of
related words. Once you have found a related word in the thesaurus, it is wise to look up that related
word in your dictionary to find its exact meaning and usage before you decide whether to use it in your
writing.
A rhyming dictionary lists words, or the ending syllables of words, in alphabetical order, along with their
correct pronunciation. Many rhyming dictionaries list the ending syllables of words using a phonetic
spelling rather than an alphabetical spelling. For each word or ending, the rhyming dictionary gives you a
list of other words that have the same ending sound. This will help you to find words that rhyme. Once
you have found a rhyming word, it is wise to look up that rhyming word in your regular dictionary to find
the word’s exact meaning and usage before you decide whether to use it in your writing.
Your dictionary, your thesaurus, and your rhyming dictionary are wonderful tools. Play around with these
three tools to get familiar and comfortable with using them. It is fun to experiment with words, and
becoming handy with the reference tools will help you to build your vocabulary and fill your quiver of
arrows.
For example, pick a word like “cool” and look it up in your dictionary, thesaurus, and rhyming dictionary.
(If you do not have these reference tools at home, click here for The Right Word’s Choosing Your
Vocabulary Reference Tools. link somehow to go to my accompanying article For now, you can use an
online dictionary by clicking on the links provided.) How many standard English meanings for “cool” do you
find listed in your dictionary? Did you know all those meanings? When I looked up the word “cool” in my
dictionary, I found that it has been a word in the English language for a long time. My dictionary gave
seven standard meanings as an adjective and four standard meanings as a verb. It also gave several slang
meanings and idiom phrases for the word. Slang and idioms are not the best way to use words in serious
writing, so I will not add those meanings to my vocabulary quiver. How many synonyms do you find listed
for “cool” in your thesaurus? When I looked up the word “cool” in my thesaurus, I found that it has dozens
of synonyms as an adjective and verb. It only has a couple of good antonyms (“warm” and “ardent”). Two
of the synonyms were words that I did not understand: “frore” and “aplomb”. So I looked up those two
new words in my regular dictionary to find out their origins and exact meanings. The word “frore” was
labeled as “archaic” in my dictionary, which means the word is not new at all. In fact, archaic words are
old words that are no longer used in modern English. I will not add the archaic word to my vocabulary
quiver for writing. How many rhyming words do you find listed for “cool” in your rhyming dictionary? When
I looked up the ending “-ool” in my alphabetical-spelling rhyming dictionary, I found over 50 suggested
rhyming words. Seventeen of the rhyming words were words that I did not recognize, so I looked them up
in my regular dictionary to find out their meanings. I also looked up the ending in my phonetic-spelling
rhyming dictionary under the correct phonetic version of “-ul”, and found many of the same rhyming words.
By playing around with my three references and the word “cool”, I now understand the word “cool” much
better. I found many synonyms and rhyming words for “cool”, and I also found many new words that I
could contemplate adding to my vocabulary quiver. Use your dictionary, thesaurus, and rhyming dictionary
to help you become an excellent writer with a full quiver of arrows!