5 words a day (second attempt) - day 10
1) shrivel (verb)
The team has lost seven consecutive games so their hopes to win the title shriveled drastically.
2) ravaging (noun)
I won't let these young criminals to get away with the ravaging of my car.
3) vanquish (verb)
With these skills, he could be the best footballer ever if he only managed to vanquish his alcohol addiction.
4) hamper (verb)
The stress of failure always hampers me and, as a consequence, I can't give my best.
5) hum (verb)
I couldn't hear what she was trying to tell me because the people around were humming loudly.
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Corrections · 5
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5 words a day (second attempt) - day 10
1) shrivel (verb)The team has lost seven consecutive games so their hopes to win the title shrivelled drastically.
(It would not be common to use this words in this context, though creative writing such as a novel or fantasy writing this can be stretched! It is more likely to be used with flowers, natural substances, - something getting smaller or dried up. For example, the old lady's skin was shrivelled from being outdoors all day working in her garden, The leaves on the old tree shrivelled up and fell on the ground.)
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I won't let these young criminals to get away with the ravaging vandalising/wrecking my car.
Again this word wouldn't be used in this context, not with a vehicle:) Her deeply lined face showed the ravages of time. The ravaging effects of the storm were plain to see. The Trump scenario is ravaging the USA.
3) vanquish (verb)
With these skills, he could be the best footballer ever, if he only managed to vanquish his alcohol addiction.
4) hamper (verb)
The stress of failure always hampers me and, as a consequence, I can't give my best.
5) hum (verb)
I couldn't hear what she was trying to tell me because the people all around us were humming loudly.
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Hi, Mike. Thanks for your opinion. When I come across a word I don't know on the list, I look it up in an Internet dictionary which already gives me some example sentences. Not always are they correct - like with shrivel (there was a reference to ambition, something like 'their ambition shrivelled' which in light of what Gillian wrote wouldn't be correct I guess), so sometimes to make sure I also check it at Oxford dictionaries (although most often I am short of time and skip this part), but most often they are. Then, when I have a feel of what the word may mean, I try to slightly modify the context in a way that seems correct to me or in a way I would think of using the word in my language if it meant what I think it does. My point is: I deliberately try to use words in contexts that might not be sure to check whether they really fit there. But you are right - watching TV, listening to the radio, or reading news articles is a great way to extend your vocabulary, so I try to do this on a regular basis as well.
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Hi Janek,
I read your message from a few days ago that you were selecting your words from a list of "Top 15000 most frequently used English words" rather than from tv or news articles. I commend your efforts, but IMHO, I think that it's much more difficult to do it this way, because you don't have as much context in which to see how the words should be used. I really think that you'd have better luck if you choose words from instances in which you actually come across them IRL rather than picking them randomly from a list - just my opinion.
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