Do not panic when you encounter an unfamiliar word. Develop the skill of guessing its meaning “to some extent” from the context. This is an advanced application of Unit 8, Lesson 5.
Basic Rules
① From Appositives and Additional Explanations:
- “a philanthropist, someone who donates large sums to charity” ← philanthropist = a person who gives to charity
- A comma + noun phrase / relative clause often serves as an explanation
② From Contrast:
- “Unlike his frugal brother, he is extravagant.” ← extravagant is the opposite of frugal → frugal = economical
- but / however / although / on the other hand / in contrast
③ From Cause-and-Effect Relationships:
- “She was so famished that she ate the entire pizza.” ← From the result of so ~ that, famished = extremely hungry
- because / since / so / therefore / as a result
④ From Prefixes and Suffixes:
- un-/in-/dis-/non- = negation → impossible
- -less = without ~ → hopeless
- -ful = full of ~ → wonderful
- -ize = to make or become ~ → modernize
⑤ From Roots:
- bio- (life) → biology, biography
- tele- (far) → telephone, television, telescope
- chrono- (time) → chronology, chronic
- spect- (look) → inspect, spectacle, perspective
The medication has a soporific effect, making patients drowsy and ready to sleep.
← soporific = causing drowsiness. Infer it from making A B.
Despite being indefatigable in his youth, he now tires easily.
← From the contrast between Despite and “now tires easily,” indefatigable = tireless or determined
Points to Remember
① Accuracy of guesses: You may be able to answer a question even without knowing the exact meaning, as long as you know whether the word is “positive or negative.” Even if you do not know “lethargic,” it is enough to determine from the context that it has a negative meaning.
② Words with multiple meanings: Even a word you already know may have a different meaning in context. “Run a company” means “manage,” not the usual meaning of run, “move quickly on foot.”
③ Verb or noun: In “She faced a difficult problem,” face is a verb, while in “On the other face of the coin,” face is a noun. Confirm the part of speech before guessing the meaning.
④ Have the courage to move on: In an examination with limited time, skip words you cannot infer. If you understand the overall meaning of the context, you can often answer the question even if you do not know one or two words.
- Guess from appositives and additional explanations (comma + explanation)
- Guess the opposite meaning from contrast (unlike / however)
- Guess a related meaning from cause and effect (so ~ that / because)
- Break down meanings using prefixes, suffixes, and roots
- Sometimes it is enough to know only whether the meaning is positive or negative
Practice
- Guess the meaning of the underlined word from the context: The detective was lauded for solving the difficult case. (What does lauded mean?)
- Guess the meaning of the underlined word: His arguments were so cogent that even the opposition agreed. (What does cogent mean?)
- Break “inseparable” into a prefix and suffix, and give its meaning.