Increase Your Vocabulary with Word a Day

At dictionary.com you can sign up for an e-mail that will bring you a new word each day. It's fun to read about the word when it comes in and then try to find a way to use it at some point in the day. Here's an example of what an e-mail looks like:

Word of the Day for
Wednesday, August 29, 2007

cajole \kuh-JOHL\, transitive:

To persuade with flattery, repeated appeals, or soothing words; to coax.

If Robert had been an ordinary ten-year-old he would have cajoled and whined, asked and asked and asked until I snapped at him to keep quiet.
-- Anna Quindlen, Black and Blue

One of Virgil's great accomplishments was his ability to charm, cajole, weasel people out of their bad moods, especially when their bads moods inconvenienced him.
-- Anthony Tommasini, Virgil Thomson: Composer on the Aisle

Whiz kept to himself and spent long hours every day studying financials and technical charts and reading impenetrable economic publications. Even the warden had tried to cajole him into sharing market tips.
-- Belfry Holdings, The Brethren

Cajole derives from Early Modern French cajoler, originally, "to chatter like a bird in a cage, to sing; hence, to amuse with idle talk, to flatter," from Old French gaiole, jaiole, "a cage," from Medieval Latin caveola, "a small cage," from Latin cavea, "an enclosure, a den for animals, a bird cage," from cavus, "hollow." It is related to cave, cage and jail (British gaol).

Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for cajole


So later that day I used the word with my cat Luna, who is constantly "cajoling" me for food. Luna hops up on my shoulder when I am working at the computer and purrs in my ear. Then she nuzzles my ear and purrs louder and louder. It tickles and it makes me laugh. Sometimes she makes a sound like a horse when it whinnies.

"You're quite the little cajoler," I said to her as I opened up a new can of salmon Florentine.

But then I wondered if I used the word correctly. Could it become a noun? To answer my question, I clicked the link above ("Dictionary.com Entry...") and saw that it indeed could be a noun:

—Related forms

ca·jole·ment, noun

ca·jol·er, noun

ca·jol·ing·ly, adverb

A friend who knew I was writing about this word observed, "You rather enjoy the cajolement."

Download Microsoft Compatibility Pack

Class members will be exchanging files with each other and the instructor, so everyone who is using Microsoft 2003 or 1997 should download this compatibility pack.

If you don't have it and you encounter a .docx file, you'll be unable to open it.

If your computer has Works, you'll have to save as an .rtf and paste the contents into the e-mail dialogue box or send as an attachment.

A Link to Put in Your Writing Bookmarks

The Writer's Almanac by Garrison Keillor. You can read or listen.

He puts one out each day. By listening, you'll expand your horizons of writers and writing.

Write Every Day!

The best way to become a good writer is to write every day. By writing once a day--even if it is just a few paragraphs--you will have a chance to put into practice what you learn about writing in this course.

See the syllabus for guidelines about blog posts.