Enhancing Vocabulary Skills Through Vocabagrams

I have been enhancing my vocabulary skills through reading various books on words and vocabulary recently. When I got hold of Nurnberg and Rosenblum's All About Words, I found vocabagrams so interesting and fun that I decided to make a hub on it and share it here on Hubpages. I hope that readers would find it interesting, fun and helpful in building better vocabulary skills.

Vocabagram is a game based on anagrams and authored by Maxwell Nurnberg and Morris Rosenblum.

Anagram comes from the Greek word ana, meaning backward and gram, meaning letter. Vocabagrams, in other words, are vocabulary words that spell the same but the letters could be twisted, interchange or rearrange backward and forward to form the word that is being defined. This is one of the many word activities that would painlessly increase or sharpen your vocabulary.

How Does It Work

Simple! For every given word, rearrange the letters backward and forward to form the word that is being defined.

Examples:

1. wither (word given - anagram); twist in pain (definition) = writhe (word that is defined)

2. marital (anagram); warlike (definition) = martial (word that is defined)

3. dormant (anagram); bitter (definition) = mordant (word that is defined)

1. Rearranging letters only

Examples:

• editing = set afire ~ past tense → (ignited)

• bleating = palpable → (tangible)

• plane = relating to punishment → (penal)

• undated = intimidated → (daunted)

2. Adding one letter as you rearrange the word to meet the definition given.

Examples:

• dried + e = to ridicule → (deride)

• mental + b = flickering → (lambent)

• odor + n = a movement in music → (rondo)

• nine + u = boredom → (ennui)

3. Deleting one letter as you rearrange the word to meet the definition given.

Examples:

• grimace - c = optical illusion → (mirage)

• ratio - r = an extremely small quantity → (iota)

• pursue - e = seize power → (usurp)

• entrails - r = outstanding → (salient)

4. By adding prefix as clue

Examples:

• timer = to send back /[ re_____ ] → (remit)

• discern = cancel /[ re_____ ] → (rescind)

• tale + x = lift up /[ ex____ ] → (exalt)

• murder - r = to slander /[ mal____ ] → (malign)

5. By adding suffix as clue

Examples:

• clears + u = worldly, not religious /[ _____ar ] → secular

• printed + i = fearless /[ _____id ] → intrepid

• estimating - m = incite /[ ______ate ] → instigate

• medicine - i = prevalent in a region /[ ______ic ] → endemic

6. By adding two words

Examples:

• sit + sea = afternoon nap → siesta
  

• cool + port = ceremonial procedure → protocol

• set + set = last six lines of a sonnet → sestet

• mad + mile = quandary → dilemma

This is supposed to be in a quiz capsule but since there is no option for one and only correct answer which the participants must write, I suggest that those who are interested to answer the following vocabargams may write their answers in the comment section.

Instruction. Use the same procedure. The answer will be the name of somebody or something mythological or a word formed from such a name.

Reference: All About Words: An Adult Approach To Vocabulary Building by Maxwell Nurnberg and Morris Rosenblum