Ten Words You Should Know in High School

Theodore Geisel, best known as Dr. Seuss, wrote The Cat in the Hat after an editor challenged him to write a book that would use 250 of the 400 words that beginning readers should know. He came very close, using 220. Later, a publisher bet Geisel $50 that he couldn’t write a book using only fifty words. He could! You probably know the children’s favorite that resulted from the bet: Green Eggs and Ham. The $50 bet ultimately yielded the author years of royalty payments. Using words well does pay off!

As you get older, the number of words you can read, understand, and use grows exponentially. The more you use new words, and the more comfortable you are expanding your vocabulary, the better.

Words You Should Know in High School is a user-friendly reference guide, where you’ll find more than 1,000 words that high school students of all levels should know. Each entry features a word, its definition, and an example of that word in a sentence. Here are ten of those words. How many do you know?

abrogate (A-bro-gate), verb

To formally repeal or cancel something, such as an agreement or a contract. To take official action leading to such an end.

The business partners agreed to abrogate their contract after they discovered their venture was no longer profitable.

dichotomy (die-KAH-tuh-mee), noun

Two parts, ideas, or concepts that differ from, contradict, or perfectly complement each other. A division of mutually exclusive ideas or groups.

The dichotomy of good and evil is a theme in almost all classic novels read in high school.

inscrutable (in-SKROO-tuh-bul), adjective

Hard to interpret because something is not expressed obviously. Dense or difficult to understand or to decipher.

The Mona Lisa’s inscrutable smile has inspired eclectic emotions and thoughts in those privileged to view the painting.

loquacious (loe-KWAY-shuss), adjective

Tending to talk a great deal. Prone to nervous chatter.

It was difficult to tell whether Julia’s loquacious behavior was caused by nervousness, or whether she always spoke incessantly.

microcosm (MY-kruh-kah-zum), noun

A model that represents a larger system; literally, a miniature world.

The characters and settings of The Great Gatsby show us the social issues and concerns of the 1920s in microcosm.

odyssey (AH-duh-see), noun

A long journey; a series of travels, adventures, or dangerous travails. From Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey, which describes a grand journey undertaken by Odysseus.

High school is an odyssey from childhood to young adulthood, full of many unexpected challenges.

peripatetic (pair-ih-puh-TET-ik), adjective

Traveling from place to place, especially working in different locales and traveling between; wandering from one place to another.

The peripatetic lifestyle of professional athletes can have a negative effect on their family.

succinct (suk-SINKT), adjective

Compact and clear, expressed without unnecessary words.

Thomas’s acceptance speech was succinct, lasting only one minute and composed of fewer than a hundred words.

temblor (TEM-blor), noun

An earthquake. Not a trembler, as some think, but in the same vein as tremor, which is a shaking or vibration before or after an earthquake.

Since the last earthquake all new construction was required to be built to withstand large temblors.

zenith (ZEH-nith), noun

The highest point or climax of a thing or event. The peak or apex.

It’s hard to predict the zenith of an athlete’s career, but it is easy to identify it in hindsight.