As you read, you may have highlighted some words that are unfamiliar. Did you highlight obscure and proliferate? If so, don’t look them up in a dictionary yet. If you do a little detective work, you can determine their definitions by looking carefully at how they are used in the paragraph.

What Does Obscure Mean?
Start with obscure. How is this word used?

The shows transform waitresses, hairdressers, investment bankers, counselors, and teachers, to name a few, from obscure figures to household names.

Even if you have no idea what obscure means, you can still learn about the word by how it is used, by examining the words and ideas surrounding it. This is called determining word meaning through context. Like detectives looking for clues at a crime scene, we must look at the passage for clues that will help us define this word.

So, given the sentence we have here, what can we tell about obscure? Well, since the shows transform waitresses, hairdressers, investment bankers, counselors, and teachers from one position obscure figures, to another position household names, that immediately tells us that an obscure figure and a household name are two different things.

Furthermore, we know from the sentence that the people in question are involved in typical, everyday jobs (waitresses, hairdressers, bankers, etc.) and that from this position, they are transformed into household names, which means they achieve some level of fame and notoriety. Now you can take a pretty good guess at the meaning of obscure.

Review: Finding Facts
Here’s a quick review of what you learned in Lesson 1.

What Does Proliferate Mean?
Look again at the sentence in the passage in which proliferate is used:

Whatever their attraction, these shows are among the most popular on television, and every season, they proliferate like weeds in an untended garden.

Again, even if you have no idea what proliferate means, you can still tell what kind of word it is by the way it is used. You know, for example, that these shows proliferate like weeds in an untended garden. Therefore, you can answer this question:

Now that you’ve established that proliferate relates to growth, you can determine a more specific meaning by looking for more clues in the sentence. The sentence doesn’t only tell us that these shows proliferate like weeds. It also tells us that they proliferate like weeds in an untended garden. Just imagine a neglected garden, one that has been left to its own devices. Weeds will begin to grow in every nook and cranny of that garden.

In fact, they’ll quickly take over, to the detriment of the plants. The phrase “weeds in an untended garden” is quite descriptive, and as such, it serves as a wonderful clue. Based on the words and phrases surrounding it, an active reader should have no problem determining the meaning of the word proliferate.

How Much Context Do You Need?

In the previous example, you would still be able to understand the main message of the passage even if you didn’t know or couldn’t figure out the meaning of obscure and proliferate. In some cases, however, your understanding of a passage depends on your understanding of a particular word or phrase. Can you understand the following sentence, for example, without knowing what adversely means?

Reality TV shows will adversely affect traditional dramas and comedies.

What does adversely mean in this sentence? Is it something good or bad? As good a detective as you maybe, there simply aren’t enough clues in this sentence to tell you what this word means. But a passage with more information will give you what you need to determine meaning from context.

Reality TV shows will adversely affect traditional dramas and comedies. As reality TV increases in popularity, network executives will begin canceling more traditional dramas and comedies and replacing them with the latest in reality TV.

You may also have noticed that adversely is very similar to adversary. And if you know that an adversary is a hostile opponent or enemy, then you know that adversely cannot be something positive. Or, if you know the word adversity hardship or misfortune then you know that adversely must mean something negative or difficult. All these words share the same root adverse. Only the endings change.

Practice
Read the following passages and determine the meaning of the words from their context. The answers appear immediately after the questions.

Although social work is not a particularly lucrative career, I wouldn’t do anything else. Knowing I’m helping others is far more important to me than money.

When you are in an interview, try not to show any overt signs that you are nervous. Don’t shift in your chair, shake, or stutter.

Summary

The ability to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words from their context is an essential skill for reading comprehension. Sometimes, there will be unfamiliar words whose meaning you can’t determine without a dictionary. But more often than not, a careful look at the context will give you enough clues to meaning.

• Highlight any unfamiliar words you come across today and the rest of the week. Instead of looking them up in a dictionary, try to figure out the meanings of these words from their context. Then, look them up in a dictionary to make sure you are correct.
• Begin a vocabulary list of the words you look up as you work your way through this book. Many people feel insecure about their reading and writing skills because they have a limited vocabulary. The more words you know, the easier it will be to understand what others are saying and to express what you have to say. By writing down these new words, you’ll help seal them in your memory