As if you haven’t taken enough tests! But this one is for fun. It’s just a 10-question quiz to see how good your vocabulary is, compare your score to others in your age group, and maybe learn some new words.
Take the Merriam-Webster Vocabulary Quiz.
If you like word games, this site also links to several others, including a “Name That Thing” visual vocab quiz.
And if you’d like to increase your vocabulary in 2012, but Santa doesn’t give you one of those calendars that give you a word per day, try the Oxford English Dictionary‘s “word of the day!” You can sign up for an RSS feed so you don’t have to remember to go to the site. Also on the database web site you can learn “recently published” definitions so you can keep up with the English language. On December 21st, for example, the word of the day was greenhew. On the same day the recently published terms included earworm.
- What’s an earworm?
- an earwig
- a counsellor who secretly advises a monarch
- a catchy tune or piece of music
- all of the above
If you said all of the above, you’re right! The best part is that the OED provides examples of usage and dates it. These examples can be interesting and even entertaining. OED’s examples of using earworm include these two:
“2003 Windsor Star (Ont.) (Nexis) 23 Oct. b9 He surveyed about 500 students, faculty and staff on campus asking about the type, frequency and duration of earworms and possible causes and cures. Among the songs respondents picked as most likely to become stuck were: The Lion Sleeps Tonight and Who Let the Dogs Out.
2011 Atlantic Monthly Apr. 104/2 The best advice I’ve heard for making earworms go away is to just stop being irritated by them, and come to peace with the fact that you’re humming Britney Spears.”
Is anyone else humming one of those songs from the 2003 example? Or maybe something from Britney? Enjoy.
Interesting test.