Serious readers routinely look up any words they do not know. But there are also “intuitive” readers, who figure out a word just by reading the context in which the word is used and look up its meaning to fully grasp the writer’s meaning. I've heard some call this wishful thinking and the GrammarBook.com recently posted on this exact topic. Here is what they shared. The three examples below are sentences you might find in print or online. Each contains a possibly unfamiliar word which, if misinterpreted, sabotages the meaning of the sentence. • On a blistering August morning we came upon a 1960 Buick coruscating in the sun . Understanding coruscating is the key to understanding the sentence. The Intuitive Reader ponders the word, with its echoes of corrosion and rust , and concludes that the car was falling apart. A reader’s first impressions matter, and this reader now is picturing a broken-down old wreck. But coruscating means “sparkling.” In fact, the car in the tale ...
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