A couple of years ago, I was studying for the GRE and decided to make up a rap to learn the common vocabulary words found on the test. I recorded the song a while back and recently threw together a video for the song using stop motion animation and some choppy footage I took when I snuck my video camera into the library. As a public service for those who may be taking the SAT or GRE in the future, we bring you “Wordsmithin’” - a video guaranteed to teach you a new word and/or give you motion sickness. Ironically, I still haven’t applied to grad school or used one of these words in a conversation. The guys over at Flocabulary have turned educational raps into an art form, though I’m sure they’d probably have something to say about the pedagogical soundness of this video.

Dissonance — disagreeable sounds
Dissent — A difference of opinion
Pittance — An inadequate payment;
Repent — Change one’s mind, rethink, regret or be sorry for past sins
Constrain — (hold back).
Consternation — alarm, dismay.
Stoic– Not displaying any external signs of being affected by pain or distress
Vilify – Criticize
Proclivity -, propensity, inclination to, leaning
Shifty – deceitful, untrustworthy
Mendacity - untruthfulness
Verbose - containing more words than necessary
Morose - melancholy; gloomy
Grandiloquent - Overly wordy, pompous, flowery, or elaborate
Trenchant - having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought, expression, or intellect
Exculpate - acquit, assoil, clear, discharge, exonerate
Bucolic – Rustic, Pastoral
Halcyon - quiet; peaceful; undisturbed; happy.
Mitigate — make less severe or harsh
Effrontery – audacious, arrogant behavior
Chicanery – trickery, deception
Iconoclast – one who opposes the establishment
Accolade – recognition, honor
Hedonist – pleasure seeker
Acumen – insightful, shrewdness
Prodigal – Wastefully extravagant
Mercurial – erratic, unstable
Fulminate – criticize, condemn, denounce
Pun - A joke made by confusing two similarly pronounced words or phrases.
Pathetic - Misfortunate, pitiful, wretched, ridiculous
Ascetic – One who is austere, spartan, practicing great self-denial
Burgeoning – To grow and flourish
Nascent - Young and growing, newly created, newly-born.
Welter – am ess, clutter, jumble, muddle
Contrition — deep sorrow and repentance for sin
Predilection – penchant, preference
Enervate - Weaken morally and/or mentally
Onerous - difficult, wearing, tiring
Laconic – terse, curt, short on words
Soporific - Tending to induce sleep
Counter – speak in response
Hegemony - Domination, Supremacy
Insipid - Utterly lacking in intelligence or depth; foolish
Absurd – unreasonable, illogical
Unanimously - acting together as a whole
Pusillanimous- lacking in courage and manly strength
Cadre – cell or unit of personel
Padre – Father (Spanish)
Padrino – God Father (Spanish)
Fino – Fine (Spanish)
Perpetually – constantly, uninterrupted
Precise – exact, accurate
Implicate – to imply or intimate an incriminating connection
Suffice – to satisfy, to meet the needs
To Suck – Surpass Infinite Vacuum
Improvise – ad lib, extemporize
Curse – Expletive, swear word
Capricious - Impulsive and unpredictable
Undulate – to ripple, to move in waves
logorrhea - Excessive use of word
Pejorative - a disparaging, belittling or derogatory word or expression
Peoria - A Native American people forming part of the Illinois confederacy.
Hot Pockets – See Jim Gaffighan
Keak Da Sneak – Bay Area Hyphy Rapper
Capacity – capability
Sagacity – Judgement, Discernment
Truckle – kowtow, suck up
Discountenance – show disapproval of
50 Cents – Wack Rapper
T.R.I.T.E - worn out, hackneyed
C.R.I.N.G.E. - wince, recoil
Discordant – Disagreeable to the ear
Sordid – dirty, sleazy, seedy
Quill – writing instrument made from a feather
Sample – Try out
Shambles – carnage
Prohibitive – Preventing
Derivative – copied, adapted
Lark – a carefree adventure, escapade, frolic
Decibel – a unit to measure sound intensity
Protean – changeable, variable
Felicity – happiness
Maxim – a general truth or principle
Succinct – concise, precise
Hoodwink – to deceive or trick
Prescient – foresight
Linguistic – study of language
Languish - melancholy look or expression.
To Bite – steal
Stainless – resistant to stains

Tags: communications, dictionary, educational, english, hip-hop, language, learning, literature, Music, rap, thesaurus, tool, video, vocabulary, webster

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