Merriam-Webster's Vocabulary Builder - Second Edition - Learn classical word-building roots

Sep 28, 2026

Merriam-Webster's Vocabulary Builder (Second Edition) presents a structured program for expanding working vocabulary and mastering classical word-building roots. The approach emphasizes meaningful context to aid learning and recall, with explanations of how Greek and Latin roots help readers infer meanings of new words. The book organizes more than 250 roots into units, each supported by word groups, pronunciation guidance, definitions, example sentences, and brief explanatory paragraphs to strengthen practical usage.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages2066

Reading Time86 h 46 min

AccessFree to download

Contents

Introduction to the Second Edition

Pronunciation Symbols

Units 1-30

Answers

Index

Merriam-Webster's Vocabulary Builder Second Edition Mary Wood Cornog Merriam-Webster, Incorporated Springfield, Massachusetts A GENUINE MERRIAM-WEBSTER The name Webster alone is no guarantee of excellence. It is used by a number of publishers and may serve mainly to mislead an unwary buyer. Merriam-Webster™ is the name you should look for when you consider the purchase of dictionaries or other fine reference books. It carries the reputation of a company that has been publishing since 1831 and is your assurance of quality and authority. Copyright © 2010 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated Merriam-Webster 's Vocabulary Builder, Second Edition. ISBN 978-0-87779-795-1 All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyrights hereon may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems—without written permission of the publisher. CONTENTS → Copyright → Introduction → Pronunciation Symbols → Unit 1 → Unit 2 → Unit 3 → Unit 4 → Unit 5 → Unit 6 → Unit 7 → Unit 8 → Unit 9 → Unit 10 → Unit 11 → Unit 12 → Unit 13 → Unit 14 → Unit 15 → Unit 16 → Unit 17 → Unit 18 → Unit 19 → Unit 20 → Unit 21 → Unit 22 → Unit 23 → Unit 24 → Unit 25 → Unit 26 → Unit 27 → Unit 28 → Unit 29 → Unit 30 → Answers → Index INTRODUCTION to the Second Edition Merriam-Webster 's Vocabulary Builder is designed to achieve two goals: (1) to add a large number of words to your permanent working vocabulary, and (2) to teach the most useful of the classical word-building roots to help you continue expanding your vocabulary in the future. To achieve these goals, Merriam-Webster 's Vocabulary Builder employs an original approach that takes into account how people learn and remember. Some vocabulary builders simply present their words in alphabetical order; some provide little or no discussion of the words and how to use them; and a few even fail to show the kinds of sentences in which the words usually appear. But memorizing a series of random and unrelated things can be difficult and time-consuming. The fact is that we tend to remember words easily and naturally when they appear in some meaningful context, when they've been shown to be useful and therefore worth remembering, and when they've been properly explained to us. Knowing precisely how to use a word is just as important as knowing what it means. Greek and Latin have been the sources of most of the words in the English language (the third principal source being the family of Germanic languages) . All these words were added to the language long after the fall of the Roman empire, and more continue to be added to this day, with most new words—especially those in the sciences—still making use of Greek and Latin roots. A knowledge of Greek and Latin roots will not only help you remember the meanings of the words in this book but will help you guess atthe meanings of new words that you run into elsewhere. Remember what a root means and you'll have at least a fighting chance of understanding a word in which it appears. The roots in this book are only a fraction of those that exist, but they include almost all the roots that have produced the largest number of common English words. All these roots (sometimes called stems) formed parts of Greek and Latin words. Some are shown in more than one form (for example, CRAC/CRAT), which means that they changed form in the original language, just as buy and bought are forms of the same English word. Each of the more than 250 roots in this book is followed by four words based on the root. Each group of eight words (two roots) is followed by two quizzes. Every fifth group of words is a special eight-word section which may contain words based on classical mythology or history, words borrowed directly from Greek or Latin, or other special categories of terms

FAQs

What are the two main goals of Merriam-Webster's Vocabulary Builder (Second Edition)?

It aims to add many words to the reader’s permanent working vocabulary and to teach useful classical word-building roots for future vocabulary expansion.

How does the book help readers remember and understand new words?

It uses an original approach based on how people learn and remember, emphasizing meaningful context, usefulness, clear explanation, and word usage.

How is the material organized and what does each entry include?

More than 250 roots are grouped into units; each root group is followed by word sets and quizzes. Entries provide pronunciation, concise definitions, an example sentence, and an explanatory paragraph.

Sep 28, 2026

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