Lesson 4: Thinking and Knowing

Let's start with words that describe wisdom and keen insight, often related to seeing things clearly or predicting what's to come.

Key Words

📝Example Usage:

• Portia displays sagacity beyond her years when she must decide the case between Shylock, who demands his 'pound of flesh,' and Antonio, whose life is at stake.
• According to the traditional verse, 'red clouds at morning, sailors take warning,' a scarlet sunrise can presage a coming storm.

🧠Memory Trick:

• The sagacious sage, known for his sapient advice, felt a presage of the coming storm.

This group of words all stem from the Latin root for "to know," covering everything from general awareness to infamous recognition.

Key Words

📝Example Usage:

• Until I read the report of the tornado, I did not have full cognition of how narrowly our town escaped disaster.
• A connoisseur of opera, my cousin also enjoyed the Grand Ole Op'ry.

🧠Memory Trick:

• The notorious art thief was finally caught because a connoisseur, who was fully cognizant of the painting's details, noticed a flaw—a detail that went beyond simple cognition.

These words share a common ancestor meaning "to think" or "to reckon," and they deal with calculating, assigning blame, and establishing reputations.

Key Words

📝Example Usage:

• The age of a tree can be roughly computed by counting its rings, which indicate its growing seasons.
• I resent your imputation that I can't be trusted with the project.
• Our visit to the Grand Canyon confirmed its putative charm and breathtaking scale.

🧠Memory Trick:

• Please don't impute my ability to compute the numbers; I am of good repute and the putative expert on our team's budget.

Rooted in the Latin word for "to know," these words describe different kinds of knowledge, from knowing right from wrong to knowing the future.

Key Words

📝Example Usage:

• Our science teacher insists that we be conscientious about wearing protective goggles and aprons when we work in the lab.
• With great prescience, she packed both a flashlight and a first-aid kit in her backpack before the long hike.
• In a 1971 plebiscite, Swiss women gained the right to vote in federal elections.

🧠Memory Trick:

• With great prescience, the conscientious leader called for a plebiscite to let the people decide the nation's future.