The Tipping Point — Vocabulary
Malcolm Gladwell
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Exemplary sample	Uses	ACT/SAT
	45	top 100
contextcontext → out of context:in a misleading manner (because the quote left out additional words that changed the meaning of what was quoted) She said she was quoted out of context and that anyone who read her full speech would know it.more Show context notes When someone is quoted "out of context" it means that selected words were quoted that misrepresent the meaning of all their words. For example, if you said "I admire their effort, but they are dead wrong if they think this will work," and someone implied that you supported their plan by quoting you as only saying, "I admire their effort," they would be quoting you out of context. Show sample from book The Power of Context says that human beings are a lot more sensitive to their environment than they may seem.44 more situation or setting Show general definition the setting or situation in which something occurs
	28	top 200
innovateinnovate → innovative:introducing things that are new and different Apple is considered one of the most innovative companies.more Show sample from book In the manufacturing realm, they had a hundred and fifty people, and they worked closely together and there was peer pressure about how to be the best and how to be the most innovative.27 more innovate → innovative:able to develop good, new ideas Show general definition bring something new to an environment
	23	top 100
factorthing (that influenced a result) Cost was an important factor in our decision.more Show sample from book One big factor is that Bacon is a lot younger than most of them and as a result has made fewer movies.†22 more thing that affects a result or outcome Show general definition for factor (as in: It was the deciding factor.) something that affects a result or outcome Show editor's word notes You also may encounter x-factor or x factor--meaning "the most important thing that influences a result or outcome."
	1	top 100
alternativealternative → alternatives:possibilities Let's think of at least three alternatives before we decide what to do.more Show sample from book Suicide stories offer another kind of alternative.5 more possibility Show general definition for alternative (as in: an alternative plan) a different choice or possibility, or describing something that offers a different choice or possibility
	5	top 200
alternative#2non-standard I'm taking the pills the doctor prescribed, but I'm also looking into alternative medicine such as acupuncture.more Show sample from book The ads were put on billboards and in "wild postings" on construction-site walls and in alternative magazines.5 more non-traditional Show general definition for alternative (as in: alternative medicine) non-traditional or non-standard
	10	top 500
intuitionintuition → intuitive:able to understand things from feeling or instinct rather than conscious reasoning They were perfect partners--one highly intuitive and the other highly analytical.more Show sample from book We assume, intuitively, that neighborhoods and social problems decline in some kind of steady progression.†9 more intuition → intuitively:known instinctively rather than through reasoning Show general definition something known based on feeling or instinct rather than conscious reasoning; or the ability to know things in such a manner
	3	top 2000
acutesharp (severe or very bad) She felt an acute pain in her neck.more Show sample from book It used to be an acute infection, something that most people could get treated fairly quickly before they had a chance to infect many others.5 more severely negative Show general definition for acute (as in: acute pain) sharp (severe or strong) -- usually negative
	3	top 2000
acute#2excellent (highly perceptive) Dogs have an acute sense of smell.more Show sample from book The people who didn't get a buzz from their first cigarette and who found the whole experience so awful that they never smoked again are probably people whose bodies are acutely sensitive to nicotine, incapable of handling it in even the smallest doses.5 more acute → acutely:sharply (highly) Show general definition for acute (as in: acute sense of smell) sharp (highly perceptive in some area or mentally sharp)
	9	top 1000
narrativeStory He titled his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass.more Show sample from book She was making up stories, narratives, that explained and organized the things that happened to her.†8 more narrative → narratives:stories Show general definition for narrative (as in: Narrative of the Life of...) a story; or related to a story
	6	top 100
varybe different Your mileage may vary.more Show sample from book "We had the most varied set of slides we could imagine," said Palmer.†5 more vary → varied:differed; or changed Show general definition to be different, or to change Show editor's word notes Vary is often used to describe small differences or changes--especially about things of the same type. It would be more common to say "The weight of full-grown elephants varies depending upon diet and other factors," than to say "The weight of elephants varies from that of mice."
	5	top 10
illustratemake clear Pictures of flooding help to illustrate the problem of global warming.more Show sample from book Perhaps no one has done more to illustrate the potential of this kind of stickiness engineering, however, than children's educational television, in particular the creators of Sesame Street and, later, the show it inspired, Blue's Clues.4 more help make clear Show general definition for illustrate (as in: as illustrated by this example) to help make clear -- typically by example
	5	top 100
correlatecorrelate → correlation:a relationship between two things so that one can be predicted from the other My opponent is confusing correlation with causation. Just because kids who play violent video games are also more likely to behave violently, doesn't mean the video games cause the violence.more Show context notes Just because you can guess 'A' from 'B' doesn’t mean 'A' changes 'B.' Something else, like 'C,' might affect both, and that’s why 'A' can be guessed from 'B.' For example, children with larger shoe sizes are likely to know more math. It's not that shoe size helps with math, it's that older children tend to have larger feet and know more math. Show sample from book So what does correlate with brain size?†4 more to find or have a connection or relationship between two things, such that a cha… Show context notes Just because you can guess 'A' from 'B' doesn’t mean 'A' changes 'B.' Something else, like 'C,' might affect both, and that’s why 'A' can be guessed from 'B.' For example, children with larger shoe sizes are likely to know more math. It's not that shoe size helps with math, it's that older children tend to have larger feet and know more math. Show general definition to find or have a connection or relationship between two things, such that a change in one helps predict a change in the other Show editor's word notes Just because you can guess 'A' from 'B' doesn’t mean 'A' changes 'B.' Something else, like 'C,' might affect both, and that’s why 'A' can be guessed from 'B.' For example, children with larger shoe sizes are likely to know more math. It's not that shoe size helps with math, it's that older children tend to have larger feet and know more math.
	18
tetanusa deadly bacterial infection that results in muscle spasms whose symptoms include locking the jaw tightly closed The Masai guide had a gap cut between his front teeth so that nutrients could be consumed in the event of tetanus (lockjaw).more Show sample from book He divided them up into several groups, and gave all of them a seven-page booklet explaining the dangers of tetanus, the importance of inoculation, and the fact that the university was offering free tetanus shots at the campus health center to all interested students.†17 more bacterial infection typically contracted through a puncture wound with a dirty object Show general definition a bacterial infection typically contracted through a puncture wound with a dirty object -- such as a rusted nail Show editor's word notes Tetanus is also called lockjaw because of muscle spasms that make the patient incapable of opening their jaw. People who have had the DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) vaccine and a subsequent booster shot every 10 years, are protected from tetanus. Others should get a "tetanus shot" after a puncture wound with a dirty object. The tetanus shot provides immediate, short-term protection.
	1	top 200
implicitunderstood (without having been directly said) "Did she explicitly promise?" "Well, I guess not explicitly, but nobody who was there could have missed the implicit promise."more Show sample from book Wegner argues that when people know each other well, they create an implicit joint memory system — a transactive memory system — which is based on an understanding about who is best suited to remember what kinds of things.1 more Show general definition for implicit (as in: not explicitly but implicitly) not stated directly, but understood (or capable of being understood) from something else Show editor's word notes Shared information is often divided into two categories: That which is said explicitly (directly in words that leave no room for confusion or doubt) and that which is said implicitly.
	1	top 200
implicit#2without question or doubt Her team has implicit confidence in her decisions.more Show sample from book But we know, implicitly, where to go to find the answers to our questions — whether it is up to our spouse to remember where we put our keys or our thirteen-year-old to find out how to work the computer or our mother to find out details of our childhood.1 more Show general definition for implicit (as in: I trust her implicitly.) without question or doubt
	2	top 200
proportionalrelated in amount Salespeople at our company earn income proportional to their sales.more Show sample from book When it comes to epidemics, though, this disproportionality becomes even more extreme: a tiny percentage of people do the majority of the work.†1 more proportional → disproportionality:the quality of inappropriateness in size, amount, or degree Show context notes The prefix "dis-" in disproportionality reverses the meaning of proportionality. This is the same pattern as seen in words like disagree, disconnect, and disappear. Show general definition appropriate or related in size, amount, or degree
	3	top 1000
cognitivemental Sleep deprivation can seriously impair cognitive function.more Show sample from book Jennings Bryant, an educational researcher at the University of Alabama, conducted a study of 120 children, comparing the performance of regular Blue's Clues watchers to watchers of other educational shows on a series of cognitive tests.†2 more relating to mental processes like thinking, learning, remembering, and understan… Show general definition relating to mental processes like thinking, learning, remembering, and understanding
	3	top 2000
premisepremise → premises:things assumed to be true and upon which other things are based Her argument rests on two premises.more Show sample from book The absolutist approach to fighting drugs proceeds on the premise that experimentation equals addiction.4 more assumption (used to logically build an argument) Show general definition for premise (as in: the premise of the argument) something assumed to be true and upon which other things are based
	2	top 2000
premise#2underlying situation The premise of the series is that two very different people are forced to be roommates.more Show sample from book [Of an early Sesame Street cartoon episode] The problem, at root, is with the premise of the show — the essential joke that Big Bird doesn't want to be known as a big bird. That's the kind of wordplay that a preschooler simply doesn't understand.4 more the underlying situation Show general definition for premise (as in: the premise of the story) something that provides context -- such as the underlying situation in a situation comedy
	4	top 2000
positivecertain I'm positive I've seen her before.more Show sample from book I think I was positively creative in terms of my mental cruelty.†4 more positive → positively:absolutely (used for emphasis) Show general definition for positive (as in: I'm absolutely positive!) certain (having no doubt; or used for emphasis)